Seven Strategies of Highly Effective Readers

Elaine K. McEwan is an educational consultant with The McEwan-Adkins Group, offering professional development for educators to assist them in meeting the challenges of literacy learning in Grades Pre K-6. A former teacher, librarian, principal, and assistant superintendent for instruction in several suburban Chicago school districts, Elaine is the award-winning and best-selling author of more than three dozen books for educators. Her Corwin Press titles include Raising Reading Achievement in Middle and High Schools: Five Simple-to-Follow Strategies for Principals, Second Edition (2006), Seven Strategies of Highly Effective Readers: Using Cognitive Research to Boost K-8 Achievement (2004), Ten Traits of Highly Effective Principals: From Good to Great Performance (2003), Making Sense of Research: What's Good, What's Not, and How to Tell the Difference (2003), Seven Steps to Effective Instructional Leadership, Second Edition (2003), Teach Them ALL to Read: Catching the Kids Who Fall through the Cracks (2002), and Ten Traits of Highly Effective Teachers: How to Hire, Mentor, and Coach Successful Teachers (2001). McEwan was honored by the Illinois Principals Association as an outstanding instructional leader, by the Illinois State Board of Education with an Award of Excellence in the Those Who Excel Program, and by the National Association of Elementary School Principals as the National Distinguished Principal from Illinois for 1991. She received her undergraduate degree in education from Wheaton College and advanced degrees in library science (MA) and educational administration (EdD) from Northern Illinois University.

Preface About the Author The Goals of the Book Special Features of the Book Who the Book is for Overview of the Contents Acknowledgments 1. The Power of Strategic Reading Instruction What is Strategic Reading? What is Strategic Reading Instruction (SRI) What are the Seven Strategies of Highly Effective Readers? What are the Prerequisites for Strategic Reading Instruction? When is a Strategy not a Strategy? What's Ahead? 2. Becoming a Strategic Teacher What Does a Strategic Teacher Look Like? The Teaching Moves of a Strategic Teacher The Challenges of Strategic Reading Instruction The Benefits of SRI What's Ahead? 3. Understanding the Seven Strategies Cognitive Strategy #1: Activating Cognitive Strategy #2: Inferring Cognitive Strategy #3: Monitoring-Clarifying Cognitive Strategy #4: Questioning Cognitive Strategy #5: Searching-Selecting Cognitive Strategy #6: Summarizing Cognitive Strategy #7: Visualizing-Organizing What's Ahead? 4. Instructional Activities to Engage Your Students Turn on Your CPU (Central Processing Unit): Grades 1-8 Turn on Your Math CPU (Central Processing Unit): Grades 4-8 Add it up: Grades 3-8 A Dozen Ways to Infer: Grades 3-8 A Dozen Ways to Say Infer: Grades 4-8 Fix-up Your Mix-ups: Grades 1-8 Do You Have Any Questions? Grades 4-8 The Prospector: Grades 4-8 The Summarizers Five C's: Grades 3-8 Visualize a Video: Grades K-2 It Pays to Increase Your Word Power: Grades 2-8 Organize it: Grades 3-8 What's Ahead? 5. Organizing for Strategic Reading Instruction (SRI) in Your Classroom When Should Strategy Instruction Begin? How Should I Introduce SRI to My Students? Do I Have to Think Aloud? How Should SRI Be Paced and Sequenced? What if an Instructional Activity Doesn't Work? How Will I Know if My Students are Using the Strategies? Where Will I Find Time for SRI? How Can I Juggle It All? What Does a Lesson Look Like? What's Ahead? 6. Implementing Schoolwide Strategic Reading Instruction SRI Requires a Pervasive and Persuasive Reading Culture SRI Requires Balanced Instruction SRI Requires a Research-based Curriculum Is Your School or District Ready for SRI? Conclusion References Index

"The strengths of this book are many. It translates theory into practice, showing how a solid theory can inform one's teaching." -- Stevi Quate, Co-director of the Secondary Literacy Network "Very comprehensive! It contains everything a teacher needs to guide students in comprehension." -- Aileen Carew, Marin Reading Council President & Reading Specialist "With a veteran teacher's insight, Elaine McEwan presents practical instructional activities to which all of my students have responded, even my most reluctant readers. I would recommend this book to both reading and content area teachers." -- Larry Snyder, 8th Grade Language Arts Teacher