Synopses & Reviews
This bestseller demonstrates how effective reading instruction combines aspects of both skills-emphasis and whole language approaches. The second edition has been augmented with new material on phonemic awareness; comprehension problems; decoding and comprehension; vocabulary instruction; development of word knowledge; and "flooding" the classroom with motivation. It also features a new discussion of the place of Reading Recovery within balanced instruction, including an in-depth case study.
Review
"This text is very readable and will command a wide audience. Literacy researchers and faculty members will find it an excellent resource. Graduate students, classroom teachers, reading specialists, and administrators will gain valuable information about how to provide engaging, effective literacy instruction, and will also have at their fingertips pertinent research findings and practices to share with parents and community members. The new data, information, and resources added to the second edition greatly enhance the utility of this outstanding book."--Lynn Romeo, EdD, Department of Educational Leadership and Special Education, Monmouth University
"This book is probably the quintessential statement on balanced literacy instruction. It should spark lively debate in graduate classrooms and send students running to the research library. Michael Pressley has provided a highly personalized interpretation of reading research and what it says about reading instruction. One might not always agree with Pressley's strong opinions and provocative interpretations, but his claims are intriguing and well expressed."--Timothy Shanahan, PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago
"At last, a professional resource for reading educators that brings together the best and most current research and thinking about reading instruction. Rather than fueling the fire or participating in the whole language versus skills-first debate, Pressley does a brilliant job of focusing on the contribution each perspective has made to the field and attempting to seek common ground. Building on the foundations of the first edition, the second edition incorporates the significant research conducted within the last five years on the importance of teacher-directed instruction in the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, and comprehension. This book should serve as the core text for any foundations of reading course."--Elizabeth W. English, PhD, Early Literacy Specialist, Fairfax County Public Schools, Annandale, Virginia
PRAISE FOR THE FIRST
Review
"No one does a better job of describing a truly balanced approach to reading instruction than Michael Pressley, particularly with the new chapters on fluency, vocabulary, and writing. If I had only ten books on reading on my bookshelves, this would be one of them."--Michael F. Graves, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota
"After reading the third edition of this book, I knew that I had another valuable resource for my classroom. I was encouraged to find coverage of new aspects of reading instruction, including new research that is relevant to my students. Current instructional standards are reflected in the new chapters on fluency, vocabulary, and writing. I highly recommend this book to elementary teachers and special educators."--Sheri Louis, MA, Special Education Teacher, Westcott Junior High School, Westbrook, Maine
"Reading Instruction That Works, Third Edition, demonstrates once again how scholarship can inform instructional practice. With a keen analytical eye, Pressley takes disparate research findings and integrates them into a model of teaching children to read that goes well beyond the recommendations of the National Reading Panel. Moving thinking in the field forward, this third edition is an invaluable resource for both emerging scholars of literacy development and accomplished practitioners and researchers. The reader is left with an overarching sense of what is important: Pressley shows how effective literacy instruction begets engagement and how, as teachers learn to become excellent, 'they also seem to become agents of peace in children's lives.'"--Anne McGill-Franzen, PhD, Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, and Reading Center, University of Tennessee "This book is a tremendous resource for teachers and principals in school districts across the country. It emphasizes research-based practice in a manner that supports the importance of balanced reading instruction. Ideal for teachers' book groups and district-wide staff development initiatives, the book is also an important reference for reading specialists and reading supervisors. School districts could avoid a lot of 'bandwagons' by making use of the wealth of research in this text."--Carol S. Beers, School of Education, College of William and Mary; former Superintendent, Williamsburg-James City County (Virginia) Public Schools
Review
"Pressley thoroughly defines and describes each type of instruction before showing how successful classrooms provide teacher support as children apply the skills they are learning."--Curriculum Connections
Synopsis
Since the initial publication of this important text, the research support for balanced literacy instruction has continued to grow. This revised and updated second edition incorporates findings from reports by the National Reading Panel and the National Research Council, as well as ongoing research by the author and others. Interjecting a voice of reason into ongoing debates on the "one best way" to teach reading, Michael Pressley demonstrates how effective reading instruction combines aspects of both skills-emphasis and whole language approaches. Topics covered include the various components of both whole language and skills instruction, how the balanced approach is applied in real classrooms, and motivational issues. The second edition has been augmented with new material on phonemic awareness, comprehension problems, decoding and comprehension, vocabulary instruction, development of word knowledge, and "flooding" the classroom with motivation. It also features a new discussion of the place of Reading Recovery within balanced instruction, including an in-depth case study. Ideal for teacher educators and graduate students, reading specialists, staff developers, in-service professionals, and policymakers, the book also serves as a text in reading methods and materials courses.
Synopsis
This widely adopted text provides a comprehensive guide to effective literacy instruction in the elementary grades. Distinguished scholar and educator Michael Pressley presents research-based, classroom-tested best practices for combining skills-based and whole-language approaches in the context of a highly motivating environment. The book explains the theoretical underpinnings of recommended strategies and techniques and shows how exemplary teachers actually put them into practice.
About the Author
Michael Pressley, PhD, was University Distinguished Professor, Director of the Doctoral Program in Teacher Education, and Director of the Literacy Achievement Research Center at Michigan State University. An expert on effective elementary literacy instruction, he was the author or editor of more than 300 journal articles, chapters, and books. Dr. Pressley was the recipient of the 2004 E. L. Thorndike Award (American Psychological Association, Division 15), the highest award given for career research accomplishment in educational psychology.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Whole Language
2. Skilled Reading
3. Children Who Experience Problems in Learning to Read
4. Before Reading Words Begins
5. Learning to Recognize Words
6. Fluency, with Lauren Fingeret
7. Vocabulary, with Laurel Disney and Kendra Anderson
8. Expert Primary-Level Teaching of Literacy Is Balanced Teaching, with Ruth Wharton-McDonald and Jennifer Mistretta Hampston
9. The Need for Increased Comprehension Instruction, with Ruth Wharton-McDonald
10. Writing, with Mary M. Juzwik
11. Motivation and Literacy
12. Concluding Reflections...for the Time Being