40 Ways to Support Struggling Readers in Content Classrooms, Grades 6-12

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.

Problem-Solution Table of Contents Topical Table of Contents List of Instructional Aids Preface Acknowledgements About the Author 1. Teach the Seven Strategies of Highly Effective Readers 2. Engage in Teacher and Student Think-Alouds Daily 3. Teach Students How to Activate Prior Knowledge and Make Connections to New Knowledge 4. Teach Students How to Infer 5. Teach Students How to Monitor Their Comprehension 6. Teach Students How to Ask Questions 7. Teach Students How to Question the Author 8. Teach Students How to Search and Select 9. Teach Students How to Summarize 10. Teach Students How to Graphically Organize Text and Concepts by Chunking 11. Use and Teach Concept Maps 12. Teach Students How to Mark Text as They Read 13. Provide Advance Organizers Before Lessons 14. Use the I Do It, We Do It, You Do It Lesson Plan 15. Provide Models, Examples, and Nonexamples 16. Preview and Preteach Critical Concepts and Vocabulary 17. Check Frequently for Understanding 18. Assess for Learning and for Grading 19. Use and Teach Content Vocabulary Daily 20. Teach Academic Vocabulary 21. Teach Vocabulary Using Graphic Organizers 22. Reduce the Cognitive Load 23. Teach the Structure of Your Discipline 24. Use Easy Nonfiction to Build Background Knowledge 25. Determine What's Hard for Students and Teach It 26. Provide Easy-to-Read Short Articles Based on Content Standards 27. Assign Oral-Assisted Repeated Reading of Content Text 28. Use a Variety of Oral Reading Approaches 29. Vary Your Models, Moves, and Activities 30. Design Interactive Lessons 31. Use the Cooperative Learning Model 32. Create Content-Based Cooperative Games and Activities 33. Vary Your Seating and Grouping Arrangements 34. Give Students Reasons for Reading 35. Develop and Use Scoring Rubrics 36. Increase Wait Time 37. Build In Frequent Processing Breaks 38. Use and Teach Mnemonic Devices 39. Schedule Writing in Response to Reading on a Regular Basis 40. Expect Students to Activate, Connect, and Summarize Daily Conclusion References Index

"The format is easy to understand. Content-area teachers can quickly and easily find specific ideas to help students. Bottom line: This book is reader-friendly!" -- Barbara L. Townsend, Reading Specialist "The book's major strengths are its ease of use and the range of approaches to address many different reading issues. You can read straight through for a host of ideas or you can pinpoint exactly which kind of strategy to explore." -- Kristie Mary Betts, English Teacher "The parallel structure of each chapter helps the reader anticipate what is coming next by modeling a key reading strategy." -- Sandra Ness, Literacy Teacher "A key ingredient for success for any teacher who would help students using tested classroom techniques." -- The Bookwatch, July 2007 "This straightforward, no-nonsense book lives up to its title." -- Curriculum Connections, Spring 2008