Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement, Second Edition

Since its publication in 2000, Strategies That Work has become an indispensable resource for teachers who want to explicitly teach thinking strategies so that students become engaged, thoughtful, independent readers. In this revised and expanded edition, the authors have added twenty completely new comprehension lessons, extending the scope of the book and exploring the central role that activating background knowledge plays in understanding. Another major addition is the inclusion of a section on content literacy which describes how to apply comprehension strategies flexibly across the curriculum. When readers use these strategies, they enjoy a more complete, thoughtful reading experience. Engagement is the goal. When kids are engaged in their reading they enhance their understanding, acquire knowledge, and learn from and remember what they read. Best yet, they will want to read more. This edition is organized into four sections: (1) Part I, The Foundation of Meaning, highlights what comprehension is and how to teach it, including the principles that guide practice, a review of recent research, and a new section on assessment; (2) Part II, Strategy Lessons, contains lessons and practices for teaching comprehension; (3) Part III, Comprehension across the Curriculum, includes chapters on social studies and science reading, topic study research, textbook reading and the genre of test reading; and (4) Part IV, Resources That Support Strategy Instruction, consists of the following appendixes: (1) Great Books for Teaching Content in History, Social Studies, Science, Music, Art, and Literacy; (2) Magazines, Newspapers, and Websites; (3) Professional Journals for Selection of Children's Books; (4) Assessment Interview with Fourth Graders; and (5) Anchor Charts for the Comprehension Strategies. (Contains references to children's, professional, and adult resources and an index.)