Reading Is Our Business: How Libraries Can Foster Reading Comprehension - Softcover

American Library Association

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0838909124 ISBN 13: 9780838909126

Publisher: ALA Editions, 2006

Synopsis

According to award-winning librarian-educator and author Sharon Grimes, to help students love books and reading, their skills must go beyond merely recognizing words and turning pages without comprehension. She frames the situation with an insightful overview of current research on reading and how children learn.

About this title

About the Author

Sharon Grimes is a media specialist at Lansdowne Elementary School in Baltimore. Author of the SLJ article, "The Search for Meaning: How You Can Boost Kids' Reading Comprehension," she has also created online research models, including a national model to integrate information, science, technology, and visual literacies. The Baltimore Sun recognized her as a Reading All-Star for her work in promoting reading and comprehension at all grade levels. She was named Baltimore County Teacher of the Year in 2004-2005 and the 2003 Educational Technology Teacher of the Year for integrating information literacy and technology.

Reviews

Grimes, an award-winning librarian, led a school-wide research study with classroom teachers to transform the reading program at Lansdowne Elementary School in Baltimore. The study resulted in dramatic and measurable gains in student reading achievement. This book can be used as a toolkit to duplicate those results. Grimes's work is informed by solid educational research in the field of reading comprehension. The text is lively and clearly written, accessible to teachers and librarians. Twenty-three pages of useful appendixes include a bibliography for each reading-comprehension skill corresponding to the matching stage of reading development, evaluation tools for library media specialist/teacher collaboration, and charts and graphic organizers for student lessons. Grimes demonstrates the transformative role of a librarian who is at the forefront of moving an entire school toward increased reading achievement. This book will interest administrators and inspire reading specialists, classroom teachers, and, above all, library media specialists.–Bobbee Pennington, Bryan Public Library, TX
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Grimes claims that it is not enough for librarians to introduce kids to and provide access to wonderful literature. Librarians need to do more by providing reading--comprehension instruction. Using research-based techniques, she emphasizes modeling for all of the strategies she describes, even modeling her library lessons for readers. In addition to the chapters on the eight strategies that she teaches her elementary students, she gives readers a blueprint for creating a library media center and program that is conducive to developing good readers. There are forms, student activity sheets, and a rubric for student achievement. Lists of suggested titles to use with dependent, emergent, and independent readers for each strategy are included. Informative for all librarians but especially school librarians this book should be read straight through first to get an overview and then used as a step-by-step guide to develop the program. Rochelle Glantz
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: ALA Editions
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0838909124
• ISBN 13: 9780838909126
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 155