Synopses & Reviews
Where other assessment and benchmark systems leave you wondering "Now what?" Fountas and Pinnell have provided a link from assessment to instruction via proven classroom practices such as guided reading and read aloud.
This book contains seven continua. Each continuum focuses on an area of the language arts curriculum. Six continua provide grade level expectations and are designed for planning group instruction. The seventh, the Guided Reading continuum, is organized by Fountas and Pinnell level from A to Z and correlates directly with the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System levels.
The continua provide specific descriptions of the texts that students read, listen to, write, and perform. In addition, each continuum lists specific behaviors and understandings that are required at each level for students to demonstrate thinking within, beyond, and about the text. These behaviors and understandings describe what students will be expected to do in order to effectively read and understand the text.
As the world of literacy changes, we also see some important changes in the acquisition of literacy across grade levels. The second edition of The Continuum of Literacy Learning has been adjusted to reflect those changes.
First, the preschools of today are different from those of five years ago; so a Pre-Kindergarten set of continua has been added to the Pre-K -8 and Pre-K-2 versions of this book. This Pre-Kindergarten continuum does not represent "moving" the first grade curriculum down. Instead, it presents a rich array of understandings relative to oral language, story telling, and playful print awareness to provide a strong foundation for Kindergarten learning.
The basic detailed descriptions of behaviors and understandings to notice, teach, and support for grades K through 8 remain the same; but in this new edition of the seven continua, we have added new challenges such as the effective processing of graphic texts and novels. We have also examined carefully the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) framework for 2009-2010 and made changes in some of the ways behaviors and understandings are expressed. Additionally, we have strengthened the expectation to recognize and effectively process genres that are embedded within other genres (hybrid texts-for example a letter, diary entries, or newspaper articles within fictional narratives).
The continuum has also been adjusted in response to current research as well as to a great deal of information related to the implementation of assessment in schools. Finally, the continuum has a new design that makes it easier to read and interpret.
About the Author
Irene C. Fountas, a professor in the School of Education at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been a classroom teacher, language arts specialist, and consultant in school districts across the nation and abroad. She works extensively in the literacy education field and directs the Literacy Collaborative in the School of Education at Lesley University. Together with Gay Su Pinnell she has authored numerous books, videos, and websites with Heinemann that are now considered standards in the field of literacy instruction and staff development. Their latest innovations are The Fountas & Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention and The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System, a comprehensive assessment system for grades K-8. Fountas and Pinnell have influenced the classroom practices of teachers nationwide through bestselling books such as: The Fountas & Pinnell Prompting Guide 1 (2008) When Readers Struggle (2008) The Fountas && Literacy Come Together, K-2 (2000) The Primary Literacy Video Collection Series of DVDs: Guided Reading; Classroom Management; and Word Study (2006) Word Matters: Teaching Phonics and Spelling in the Reading/Writing Classroom (1998) The Reader's Notebook Help America Read and Coordinator's Guide (1997) In addition, through Heinemann's firsthand line of classroom materials, Fountas and Pinnell have authored Phonics Lessons (Grades K, 1, and 2), Word Study Lessons (Grade 3), Sing a Song of Poetry, and their corresponding word and picture cards. These materials are used in thousands of classrooms throughout the country. Fountas and Pinnell together present workshops nationwide on a variety of literacy-instruction topics through Heinemann Professional Development.Gay Su Pinnell is a professor in the School of Teaching and Learning at The Ohio State University. She has extensive experience in classroom teaching and field-based research, and in developing comprehensive approaches to literacy education. She has received the International Reading Association's Albert J. Harris Award for research and the Charles A. Dana Foundation Award for her contributions to the field of education. She is also a member of the Reading Hall of Fame. Together with Irene Fountas she has authored numerous books, videos, and websites with Heinemann that are considered standards in the field of literacy instruction and staff development. Their latest innovations are The Fountas & Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention and The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System, a comprehensive assessment system for grades K-8. Fountas and Pinnell have influenced the classroom practices of teachers nationwide through bestselling titles such as: The Fountas & Pinnell Prompting Guide 1 (2008) When Readers Struggle (2008) The Fountas && Literacy Come Together, K-2 (2000) The Primary Literacy Video Collection Series of DVDs: Guided Reading; Classroom Management; and Word Study (2006) Word Matters: Teaching Phonics and Spelling in the Reading/Writing Classroom (1998) The Reader's Notebook Help America Read and Coordinator's Guide (1997) In addition, through Heinemann's firsthand line of classroom materials, Fountas and Pinnell have authored Phonics Lessons (Grades K, 1, and 2), Word Study Lessons (Grade 3), Sing a Song of Poetry, and their corresponding word and picture cards. These materials are used in thousands of classrooms throughout the country. Fountas and Pinnell together present workshops nationwide on a variety of literacy-instruction topics through Heinemann Professional Development.