The Nonfiction Now Lesson Bank, Grades 4-8

Dr. Nancy Akhavan has spent more than 30 years as an educator and consultant. Her work focuses on student support through literacy instruction and intervention, English Language Development, leadership development and organizational systems to increase student achievement. Currently, she is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at Fresno State. She is the founder of Nancy Akhavan Consulting, Inc. Dr. Akhavan has been a bilingual teacher, principal of three schools, and a district administrator of a large urban district for ELA, Math, Social Studies, Science and World Languages. She also served as Assistant Superintendent Secondary Division in a large urban school district. Dr. Akhavan is recognized for her expertise in teaching literacy practices and has published twelve books that focus on instruction that increases student achievement, and has worked with districts and county offices in multiple states and internationally to increase student achievement in reading, writing, and in content areas.

Foreword by Jennifer Serravallo Acknowledgments Part I. The "Now" Factor of Nonfiction Reading Chapter 1. Yes, We Are Asking More of Our Nonfiction Readers Chapter 2. Model It: Four Lessons for Introducing Close Reading Chapter 3. Taming the Textbook: Strategies for Helping Students Handle These Tomes Chapter 4. The Key Strategies for Deep Reading Nonfiction Part II. The Daily Duo Chapter 5. The Daily Duo: A Sequence That Promotes Student Reading and Writing to Learn Chapter 6. The Daily Layout of Teaching Nonfiction Chapter 7. Planning Instruction for Student Success Part III. The Lessons and Texts Lessons for Getting Main Idea by Understanding Text Structures Prereading and Think-Aloud Lessons for Main Idea and Details Lessons That Support Students While Reading for Main Idea and Details After-Reading Engagements: Exploring the Main Ideas and Details in Texts Summarizing to Comprehend Understanding Key Vocabulary Writing About Reading Appendix: The Ready-to-Use Texts Reproducible Forms References Photo Credits Index

"When you read this book what shines through is: Nancy is a teacher. Only a teacher would know that this is just-the-right book for teachers, right now. Right now, with the pressures to help kids read more and more complex texts, Nancy has a solution that is sensible. . . . Now, just as it's always been, it's about comprehension." -- Jennifer Serravallo, Author of Independent Reading Assessment "A practical look at teaching nonfiction texts. The ideas in this book will guide upper-elementary and middle school teachers toward success with the demands of reading for information. The lessons will get you started tomorrow and will allow for increased proficiency for students." -- Douglas Fisher, Coauthor of Rigorous Reading "I predict this will be one of the most dog-eared, tattered, sticky-noted books in your professional library. As teachers face the challenge of incorporating more nonfiction into our teaching, Nancy Akhavan has seamlessly blended research, critical foundational information and endlessly useful teaching tactics into one go-to resource." -- Ellin Keene, Author of Talk About Understanding "I love what Nancy Akhavan has done! She meshes best practices with what's best about the Common Core-and never loses sight of what motivates students to read in the first place: worthy texts and clear purposes for reading them. If I had to choose, what I love best are the lessons, organizers, and these great short texts-all for enhancing student understanding. I'm ready to use this book. Now!" -- Leslie Blauman, Author of The Common Core Companion, Grades 3-5