This book is effective as a classroom text to be used alongside an Informal Reading Inventory. It is equally effective as a classroom tool. The informal reading inventory examiner can use it to suggest specific instructional directions in his/her evaluation report. The classroom teacher can use this book to base instruction on informal reading assessment which s/he may or may not have conducted. The classroom teacher will also find many instructional suggestions that can be used with all students, not just those who are struggling with reading.

Table of Contents:
Preface ix CHAPTER ONE An Overview of Reading Instruction for Struggling Readers 1 Reading Instruction–Past Perspectives 1 Reading Instruction–Present Perspectives 3 Principles of Effective Intervention Programs 4 Current Issues 5 Summary 9 References and Recommended Readings 10 CHAPTER TWO Patterns of Reading Difficulty 15 General Patterns 15 Defining a Student’s Reading Level 17 Reading Level: An Indicator of Problem Severity 18 Reading Level: An Indicator of Word Identification Proficiency 18 Reading Level: An Indicator of Comprehension Proficiency 21 Designing the Intervention Focus 22 Summary 23 References and Recommended Readings 24 CHAPTER THREE The Structure of Intervention Sessions 25 The Importance of Consistent Structure 26 Individual Tutoring Structures at the Elementary Level 28 Individual Tutoring Structures at the Middle Level 29 Group Tutoring Structures at the Elementary Level 29 Group Tutoring Structures at the Middle Level 32 Group Tutoring Structures at the High School Level 33 Classroom Intervention Structures 34 Schoolwide Intervention 36 Designing Your Own Structure 36 Application to English Language Learners 37 Application to Adolescent Learners 41 Response to Intervention 41 Summary 41 References and Recommended Readings 42 CHAPTER FOUR Phonological Awareness 45 What Is Phonological Awareness and Why Is It Important? 46 The Importance of Rhyme 48 The Informal Reading Inventory as an Indicator of Rhyme Knowledge 49 Phonological Awareness Instruction 50 The Importance of Phonemic Awareness 53 Developing Phonemic Awareness Aurally 55 Application to English Language Learners 58 Application to Adolescent Learners 60 Response to Intervention 60 Summary 61 References and Recommended Readings 61 CHAPTER FIVE Word Identification Instruction: Phonics and More 63 What is Systematic Phonics Instruction? 64 The Informal Reading Inventory as an Indicator of Problems with Word Identification 65 Guidelines for Exemplary Phonics Instruction 67 Teaching Consonant Sounds Using Shared Reading 69 Teaching Vowel Sounds: Using Spelling Patterns to Read by Analogy 72 The Importance of Cross-Checking 76 How to Learn Words That Are Difficult to Decode 81 Putting It All Together: Guided Reading 85 Teacher Prompting During Oral Reading 87 Application to English Language Learners 88 Application to Adolescent Learners 89 Response to Intervention 91 Summary 91 References and Recommended Readings 92 CHAPTER SIX Word Identification Instruction: Fluency 95 The Importance of Fluency 95 The Informal Reading Inventory as an Indicator of Lack of Fluency 96 General Principles for Developing Fluency 98 Instructional Activities for Developing Fluency 99 Application to English Language Learners 108 Application to Adolescent Learners 110 Response to Intervention 110 Summary 111 References and Recommended Readings 111 CHAPTER SEVEN Prior Knowledge and Concept Development 115 How Prior Knowledge Affects Comprehension 115 How to Assess Prior Knowledge 118 Building a Knowledge Base: Concept Development 119 Application to English Language Learners 123 Application to Adolescent Learners 125 Response to Intervention 125 Summary 125 References and Recommended Readings 126 CHAPTER EIGHT Vocabulary Learning 127 The Importance of Vocabulary Learning 127 The Informal Reading Inventory as an Indicator of Vocabulary Learning 129 General Principles for Developing Vocabulary Learning 129 Instructional Activities for Fostering Word Learning 134 Application to English Language Learners 142 Application to Adolescent Learners 143 Response to Intervention 144 Summary 145 References and Recommended Readings 145 CHAPTER NINE Comprehension Instruction: Retelling Narrative Text 151 The Importance of Retelling 151 The Informal Inventory as an Indicator of Ability to Retell Narrative Text 152 General Principles for Developing Narrative Retelling 154 The Importance of Modeling 155 Biographies: Bridging Narrative and Expository Text 156 Application to English Language Learners 159 Application to Adolescent Learners 161 Response to Intervention 162 Summary 163 References and Recommended Readings 163 CHAPTER TEN Comprehension Instruction: Expository Retelling 165 Retelling Expository Text 165 The Informal Reading Inventory as an Indicator of Ability to Retell Expository Text 166 General Principles for Developing Effective Expository Retellings 167 Instructional Strategies for Constructing Expository Retellings 170 Expository Idea Map 176 Main Idea Map 180 Application to English Language Learners 182 Application to Adolescent Learners 183 Response to Intervention 183 Summary 184 References and Recommended Readings 184 CHAPTER ELEVEN Comprehension Instruction: Answering Questions 193 The Complexity of Answering Questions 193 The Importance of Self-Questioning 195 The Informal Reading Inventory as an Indicator of Ability to Answer Questions 196 General Principles for Helping Students to Answer Questions 197 Instructional Activities for Answering Questions 199 Application to English Language Learners 205 Application to Adolescent Learners 206 Response to Intervention 206 Summary 207 References and Recommended Readings 207 CHAPTER TWELVE Comprehension Instruction: General Interactive Strategies 209 The Informal Reading Inventory as an Indicator of Problems with Comprehension 210 Frameworks for Interactive Teaching of Comprehension Strategies 210 Application to English Language Learners 224 Application to Adolescent Learners 226 Response to Intervention 227 Summary 228 References and Recommended Readings 228 CHAPTER THIRTEEN Pulling It All Together: Designing the Intervention Structure 231 Primary Level 232 Intermediate Level 236 Middle Level 240 A Generic Intervention Plan 243 Summary 244 Appendix Summary of Intervention Strategies 245 Index 249