'The wealth of this information is like finding a chest of jewels you always knew was under the ocean but now here it is, a wonderful discovery that validates everything I knew was right about teaching to the needs of the individual learner' - Leslie Morris, Reading First Coach Enhance your repertoire of literacy teaching strategies! Reading proficiency is the most fundamental learning skill, critical to students' success. Renowned educators and authors, Cathy Collins Block and Susan Israel, present an indispensable guide that will give teachers and literacy advisers crystal clear understanding of research-based teaching practices, along with the tools to adopt them. The authors further expand the support for enriched classroom practice through evidence and practical how-to for additional domains that show proven benefits for students, including writing, metacognition and oral language. Through their explanations, teaching directions, and sample lessons, this resource bridges the gap between key research and daily reading classroom teaching. Each chapter includes: - Short classroom-relevant research summaries for teachers - What teachers need to know about phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency - Lesson plans addressing each area of literacy - Components to assess learning - Strategies to differentiate for special learners and advanced readers Reading First and Beyond is packed with enriching ideas for all educators that will enhance their list of literacy instructional strategies, while achieving high levels of reading proficiency from all students.

`Education is not about filling a pail, it's about lighting a fire.' -W.B.Yeats Through carefully selected and contextualized quotes, this book provides an engaging and inspiring way for reading teachers to look at and reflect on their own practice and grow professionally. A year's worth of thought-provoking quotations from thinkers in and out of education are tied to 11 themes for a reading educator's professional development. With each quote, the authors provide: Three reflective questions relating the core idea of the quote to teaching practice Lesson prompts that provide ways to use the quote with students Links to books for K-2, 3-8 and 9-12 to extend thinking generated by the quote The introduction spells out for teachers and literacy coaches how reflective use of the quotes and related prompts can promote and document professional development. It also provides multiple applications for the quotes in the classroom to directly foster enhancement of students' literacy, metacognitive skills and goal setting.

This volume provides the first comprehensive, research-based examination of metacognition in literacy learning. Bringing together research findings from reading, linguistics, psychology, and education, it is logically organized as follows: Part I provides the theoretical foundation that supports the teaching of metacognition; Parts II and III provide new methods for metacognitive assessment and instruction in literacy contexts at all grade levels; and Part IV provides new information on integrating metacognition into professional development programs. Key features include: *Chapter Structure.Teacher reflections at the beginning of each chapter illustrate teacher thinking about the chapter topic and metacognitive connections at the end of each chapter link its content with that of the preceding and following chapters. *Contributor Expertise. Few volumes can boast of a more luminous cast of contributing authors (see table of contents). *Comprehensiveness. Twenty chapters organized into four sections plus a summarizing chapter make this the primary reference work in the field of literacy-based metacognition. This volume is appropriate for reading researchers, professional development audiences, and for upper-level undergraduate and graduate level courses in reading and educational psychology.

This volume provides the first comprehensive, research-based examination of metacognition in literacy learning. Bringing together research findings from reading, linguistics, psychology, and education, it is logically organized as follows: Part I provides the theoretical foundation that supports the teaching of metacognition; Parts II and III provide new methods for metacognitive assessment and instruction in literacy contexts at all grade levels; and Part IV provides new information on integrating metacognition into professional development programs. Key features include: *Chapter Structure.Teacher reflections at the beginning of each chapter illustrate teacher thinking about the chapter topic and metacognitive connections at the end of each chapter link its content with that of the preceding and following chapters. *Contributor Expertise. Few volumes can boast of a more luminous cast of contributing authors (see table of contents). *Comprehensiveness. Twenty chapters organized into four sections plus a summarizing chapter make this the primary reference work in the field of literacy-based metacognition. This volume is appropriate for reading researchers, professional development audiences, and for upper-level undergraduate and graduate level courses in reading and educational psychology.

Enhance Your Thinking Power and Your Leadership Abilities

Power Thinking is an invaluable resource for leaders. It contains profiles of twenty-three outstanding leaders from a wide variety of organizations and describes the thinking strategies that they regularly use. The book includes the Yale Assessment of Thinking, a standardized test that has been used to enhance thinking skills and to develop successful abilities in over fifty thousand leaders in the United States and in other countries. It also describes and illustrates the usage of strategies shown to be the most conducive to problem solving, decision making, and creative thinking.

Advance Praise for Power Thinking

"Every business leader or wannabe business leader should read this book. Mangieri and Block's power thinking strategies are a sure way to reach the top and stay there."
- Stephen M. Yesenosky, president, The Corporate Promotions Group

"There is a lot of talk in professional literature these days about 'taking it to the next level.' This book is different in that it goes beyond talk and instead describes the actions that leaders will need to take if we are going to succeed in tomorrow's highly competitive business world."
- Robert M. Curran, vice president, E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.

"Many leaders often fail to think in an objective and clear way when they are confronted with problems and organizational challenges. This book provides a rich resource as to how leaders can reach decisions and solve problems more effectively. This book is a must for leaders who want to improve their thinking skills in a systematic and thorough way."
- Anne J. Udall, executive director, Lee Leadership Institute

"Having directly worked for over a decade with the best-known authors and thinkers of leadership, I thought I had a clear idea as to how leaders solve problems and reach decisions. This book provides more strategies and ideas about these crucial aspects of being a leader-and more importantly, ways to apply this knowledge-than any other book I have read. The strategic advantage outlined in Power Thinking should be used by every individual and every organization."
- Paul A. Sanders, CEO, LumaCore

"This book is outstanding. It will help me and other leaders to become more effective in performing our many and complex responsibilities."
- Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president, Fordham University

'The wealth of this information is like finding a chest of jewels you always knew was under the ocean but now here it is, a wonderful discovery that validates everything I knew was right about teaching to the needs of the individual learner' - Leslie Morris, Reading First Coach Enhance your repertoire of literacy teaching strategies! Reading proficiency is the most fundamental learning skill, critical to students' success. Renowned educators and authors, Cathy Collins Block and Susan Israel, present an indispensable guide that will give teachers and literacy advisers crystal clear understanding of research-based teaching practices, along with the tools to adopt them. The authors further expand the support for enriched classroom practice through evidence and practical how-to for additional domains that show proven benefits for students, including writing, metacognition and oral language. Through their explanations, teaching directions, and sample lessons, this resource bridges the gap between key research and daily reading classroom teaching. Each chapter includes: - Short classroom-relevant research summaries for teachers - What teachers need to know about phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency - Lesson plans addressing each area of literacy - Components to assess learning - Strategies to differentiate for special learners and advanced readers Reading First and Beyond is packed with enriching ideas for all educators that will enhance their list of literacy instructional strategies, while achieving high levels of reading proficiency from all students.

`Education is not about filling a pail, it's about lighting a fire.' -W.B.Yeats Through carefully selected and contextualized quotes, this book provides an engaging and inspiring way for reading teachers to look at and reflect on their own practice and grow professionally. A year's worth of thought-provoking quotations from thinkers in and out of education are tied to 11 themes for a reading educator's professional development. With each quote, the authors provide: Three reflective questions relating the core idea of the quote to teaching practice Lesson prompts that provide ways to use the quote with students Links to books for K-2, 3-8 and 9-12 to extend thinking generated by the quote The introduction spells out for teachers and literacy coaches how reflective use of the quotes and related prompts can promote and document professional development. It also provides multiple applications for the quotes in the classroom to directly foster enhancement of students' literacy, metacognitive skills and goal setting.

Developed for teachers of English and literacy, this rich resource incorporates higher-level thinking and reading strategies that promote academic achievement for both gifted learners and struggling students. Susan E. Israel, Dorothy A. Sisk, and Cathy Collins Block, recognized leaders in the fields of reading and literacy, provide teachers with tools to create collaborative literacy classrooms where students can generate ideas independently, discuss them, and then develop new concepts within a group environment. Collaboration boosts critical thinking skills and helps develop and enrich reading, writing, speaking, and thinking experiences not just for gifted readers, but for all learners! You'll gain important insights on: * Understanding how collaborative literacy affects gifted students and your entire classroom * Building collaborative literacy using specific resources such as adaptable lessons and activities * Creating an enriched collaborative literacy environment for all students * Involving parents in collaborative literacy learning * Stimulating creativity to increase critical thinking and develop richer comprehension Develop higher-level thinking and reading strategies to help your students become independent researchers, writers, and readers!