Thinking Tools For Young Readers And Writers

In her new book, bestselling author and professional developer Carol Booth Olson and colleagues show teachers how to help young readers and writers construct meaning from and with texts. This practical resource offers a rich array of research-based teaching strategies, activities, and extended lessons focused on the “thinking tools” employed by experienced readers and writers. It shows teachers how to draw on the natural connections between reading and writing, and how cognitive strategies can be embedded into the teaching of narrative, informational, and argumentative texts. Including artifacts and written work produced by students across the grade levels, the authors connect the cognitive and affective domains for full student engagement. “This book seamlessly bridges the gap from research to everyday practice.... You get an extremely well-organized set of overarching instructional principles that are right for our era and brought to life through well-explained instructional guides and classroom activities.” —From the Foreword by Judith Langer, University at Albany, SUNY “I have always admired Carol Booth Olson’s work with secondary students and teachers. She now applies those essential principles and practices to elementary and middle school students. Bravo!” —P. David Pearson, professor emeritus, University of California, Berkeley

Why take a cognitive strategies approach to helping young readers and writers to think big? -- Best practices in reading and writing instruction for students in grades 2-8 -- Reading and writing narrative texts -- Reading and writing informative/expository texts -- Reading and writing opinion, persuasive, interpretive, and argumentative texts.

Although the Common Core and C3 Framework highlight literacy and inquiry as central goals for social studies, they do not offer guidelines, assessments, or curriculum resources. This practical guide presents six research-tested historical investigations along with all corresponding teaching materials and tools that have improved the historical thinking and argumentative writing of academically diverse students. Each investigation integrates reading, analysis, planning, composing, and reflection into a writing process that results in an argumentative history essay. Primary sources have been modified to allow struggling readers access to the material. Web links to original unmodified primary sources are also provided, along with other sources to extend investigations. The authors include sample student essays from each investigation to illustrate the progress of two different learners and explain how to support students’ development. Each chapter includes these helpful sections: Historical Background, Literacy Practices Students Will Learn, How to Teach This Investigation, How Might Students Respond?, Student Writing and Teacher Feedback, Lesson Plans and Materials. Book Features: Integrates literacy and inquiry with core U.S. history topics. Emphasizes argumentative writing, a key requirement of the Common Core. Offers explicit guidance for instruction with classroom-ready materials. Provides primary sources for differentiated instruction. Explains a curriculum appropriate for students who struggle with reading, as well as more advanced readers. Models how to transition over time from more explicit instruction to teacher coaching and greater student independence. “The tools this book provides—from graphic organizers, to lesson plans, to the accompanying documents—demystify the writing process and offer a sequenced path toward attaining proficiency.” —From the Foreword by Sam Wineburg, co-author of Reading Like a Historian “Assuming literate practice to be at the core of history learning and historical practice, the authors provide actual units of history instruction that can be immediately applied to classroom teaching. These units make visible how a cognitive apprenticeship approach enhances history and historical literacy learning and ensure a supported transition to teaching history in accordance with Common Core State Standards.” —Elizabeth Moje, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, School of Education, University of Michigan “The C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards and the Common Core State Standards challenge students to investigate complex ideas, think critically, and apply knowledge in real world settings. This extraordinary book provides tried-and-true practical tools and step-by-step directions for social studies to meet these goals and prepare students for college, career, and civic life in the 21st century.” —Michelle M. Herczog, president, National Council for the Social Studies

Brady loves life on the Chesapeake Bay with his friends J.T. and Digger. But developers and rich families are moving into the area, and while Brady befriends some of them, like the DiAngelos, his parents and friends are bitter about the changes. Tragedy strikes when the DiAngelos’ kayak overturns in the bay, and Brady wonders if it was more than an accident. Soon, Brady discovers the terrible truth behind the kayak’s sinking, and it will change the lives of those he loves forever. Priscilla Cummings deftly weaves a suspenseful tale of three teenagers caught in a wicked web of deception.

A clear and concise guide to teaching reading strategies to young learners.

Avi charts the turning points in seven young lives in this extraordinary collection of short stories. In the overlapping years when childhood and adolescence blend and shift like waves and sand, nothing is certain and everything is changing. Now award-winning author Avi creates seven astonishing portraits of life in the middle-school years. In these stories you will meet, among others, William, of "What Do Fish Have to Do with Anything?" who wonders why he shouldn't ask questions that have no answers. Is it because he might discover the truth? A minister's son, the baddest of the bad, is dared to be good in "The Goodness of Matt Kaizer." And in the chilling tale, "Pets," Eve is haunted by the ghosts of her cats. Always with a surprise built in, an angle unseen, these are stories that step just beyond the edge of the everyday.

Using a rich array of research-based practices, this book will help teachers improve the academic writing of English learners. It provides specific teaching strategies, activities, and extended lessons to develop E Learner students' narrative, informational, and argumentative writing, emphasized in the Common Core State Standards. It also explores the challenges each of these genres pose for English Learners and suggests ways to scaffold instruction to help students become confident and competent academic writers. Showcasing the work of exemplary school teachers who have devoted time and expertise to creating rich learning environments for the secondary classroom Helping English Learners Write includes artifacts and written work produced by students with varying levels of language proficiency as models of what students can accomplish. Each chapter begins with a brief overview and ends with a short summary of the key points.

There’s a Writer in Our House! is an invitation to parents of children in first grade through fifth grade interested in actively participating in their children’s early literacy learning from the very first steps. Founded upon well-researched literacy instructional methods that have been informed by the author’s clinical perspective as well as her years of experience with many kinds of learners, this book provides a valuable understanding of how both writing and reading contribute to child development in multiple areas. Chapters provide background concepts regarding grammar and specific critical thinking skills in both writing and reading as well as customizable, child-centered activities used to practice and build writing and reading comprehension skills. You will learn how to advance and encourage your child’s learning and communication skills by highlighting important literacy areas such as vocabulary development, background knowledge, and critical thinking. You will also learn to recognize and track the significant developmental achievements of your child as you proceed from the early to the more complex At-Home activities, as well as receive strategies for how to respond and give feedback in specific situations, such as when a child writes something that makes sense to the child but not to the parent, how to offer feedback that identifies and labels a child’s strengths, and how to collaborate effectively with a child who is just developing new interests or a new willingness to try something that previously seemed “hard.” Practical, accessible, and most importantly, fun, this book is a must-read for all parents, regardless of background, seeking to support their children’s ongoing literacy development confidently and effectively.