Books by Robb, Tovani, Daniels and Zemelman, and Forsten, Grant, and Hollas

Here are a few good books on this issue's theme―Supporting Struggling Readers in Content-Area Learning:

Teaching Reading in Social Studies, Science, and Math: Practical Ways to Weave Comprehension Strategies into Your Content Area Teaching by Laura Robb (New York: Scholastic, 2003)

Laura Robb's first chapter is entitled "Rethinking Content Area Reading." Throughout her book, she guides readers on that journey, frequently inviting them to pause and reflect upon their own practices. She addresses the challenges to building a constructivist classroom where learning is an active process. Robb shows how to teach responsively by tuning in to students' strengths and weaknesses and then scaffolding instruction to support students as they learn. She proposes a three-part learning framework and provides abundant examples of key practices to use before, during, and after learning. Each strategy lesson contains the following components: "How It Helps You," "Purpose," "Materials," "Guidelines," and finally, a detailed "Strategy Snapshot" drawn from an actual classroom. The easily accessible format includes pictures, text boxes that highlight tips and key information, and student work samples. Although Robb's rich model lessons are from 3-8 classrooms, high school content-area teachers will find them easily adaptable.

Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? Content Comprehension, Grades 6-12 by Cris Tovani (Portland, ME: Stenhouse, 2004)

A busy author and national consultant, Chris Tovani continues to teach high school full-time. In addition to her own classes, she works daily with content-area teachers who want to help their students understand difficult texts. She finds that teachers of different content areas read their texts differently. Throughout this warm, thoughtful book, Tovani encourages teachers to trust their own voices, reassuring them that they know more about reading instruction than they think. Noting that teachers are the best readers of their own course content, Tovani shows teachers how to use that expertise by modeling their own reading processes as the basis for strategy instruction. Teachers will find specific suggestions for helping students set their own purposes, ask their own questions, mark texts thoughtfully, and hold their thinking to remember and reuse. An appendix provides twelve reproducible guides including "Comprehension Constructors" and a "Highlight and Revisit" form. Brimming with classroom vignettes, student work samples, suggestions for powerful group work, and practical ideas for assessment, this book will inspire teachers as they create proficient readers in all subject areas.

Subjects Matter: Every Teacher's Guide to Content-Area Reading by Harvey Daniels and Steven Zemelman (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2004)

With its teacher-friendly voice and its humor and passion, this practical guide by Harvey Daniels and Steven Zemelman can energize reading in all subject areas. While the authors show how to use textbooks effectively for basic content-area information, they also argue for a balanced diet of reading. There are specific suggestions and bibliographies for heightening engagement by including related reading materials from many other genres. Tips are given for successfully using in-depth inquiry projects that require real-world reading. The authors emphasize the importance of showing kids how smart readers think. They present twenty-four reading strategies as tools for thinking across the curriculum. Each strategy section is a quick reference guide―complete with a description, rationale, directions, references, and, in most cases, an example. The final chapter offers a clear and succinct summary of relevant recommendations from recent reading research. This book will provide solid support for all middle and high school teachers who are interested in making school reading meaningful for their students.

Differentiating Textbooks: Strategies to Improve Student Comprehension by Char Forsten, Jim Grant, and Betty Hollas (Crystal Springs Books, Peterborough, NH, 2003)

This book's guiding motto is "Teach the student, not the textbook!" The authors believe, however, that much can be done to help all students comprehend even the driest of textbooks, and they provide the resources to do it. With an emphasis on creating independent learners through modeling and guided practice, the chapters spotlight strategies to use before, during, and after reading. What makes this book especially appealing is the 8- by 11-inch format. Each active reading strategy is described in one colorful page and accompanied by a graphic to help teachers envision how the tool can be implemented. There are specific suggestions for how to effectively adapt textbooks to make information more accessible. Content-area teachers can see at a glance an explanation of the strategy, the materials needed, and all directions. The appendix supplies useful reproducibles such as math equivalent cards for creating random groupings and a textbook adaptation plan for use with students who need accommodations. The appendix also includes lists of products, supplies, adaptive services, organizations, and websites. Any teacher who uses textbooks will find eighty immediately applicable ways to engage students and strengthen comprehension.

Sheila Cantlebary is a reading content specialist at the Ohio Resource Center. As a former teacher in Columbus Public Schools, she taught English, language arts, and reading (7-12), served as a K-12 English language arts coordinator, and was a teacher in the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow program. Her teaching experience also includes facilitating State Institute for Reading Instruction and English Language Arts Academy sessions. She is currently co-facilitator of the High School Language Arts Network sponsored by the Central Ohio Regional School Improvement Team.

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