Comprehension Instruction: Research-Based Best Practices - Softcover

Pressley, Michael; Block, Cathy Collins

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1572306920 ISBN 13: 9781572306929

Publisher: The Guilford Press, 2001

Synopsis

Comprehension instruction is widely recognized as an essential component of developing students' pleasure and profit from reading. Yet despite significant recent gains in knowledge about how comprehension develops and how it can be taught effectively, classroom practice still lags behind research in this crucial area. This volume brings together the field's leading scholars to summarize current research and provide best-practice guidelines for teachers and teacher educators. Each coherently structured chapter presents key findings on a particular aspect of comprehension, discusses instructional practices supported by the research, and addresses what still needs to be known in order to provide the best possible comprehension instruction for every student. Topics covered include assessment, curriculum, methods, and comprehension difficulties, from the preschool level through high school.

About this title

About the Author

Cathy Collins Block, PhD, has served on the graduate faculty of Texas Christian University since 1977. She has taught at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, served as Research Assistant at the Wisconsin Research and Development Center for Cognitive Development, and taught kindergarten through high school in private and public schools. Dr. Block has directed and served as principal investigator of six nationally funded research projects and has served on the boards of directors of a number of organizations, including the National Center for Research and Training for Learning Disabilities and the National Reading Conference.

Michael Pressley, PhD (deceased), 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.

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Contents
1. Introduction, Cathy Collins Block and Michael Pressley
I. Theoretical Foundations: New Directions for the Future
2. Comprehension Strategies Instruction: A Turn-of-the-Century Status Report, Michael Pressley
3. The Case for Direct Explanation of Strategies, Gerald G. Duffy
4. Process-Based Comprehension Instruction: Perspectives of Four Reading Educators, Cathy Collins Block, Joni L. Schaller, Joseph A. Joy, and Paola Gaine
5. Implications of Cognitive Resource Allocation, Gale M. Sinatra, Kathleen J. Brown, and Ralph E. Reynolds
6. Metacognition in Comprehension Instruction, Linda Baker
7. Teaching Reading Self-Assessment Strategies, Peter Afflerbach
II. Branching Out and Expanding Our Horizons in the 21st Century
8. Reading in Web-Based Learning Environments, Hiller A. Spires and Thomas H. Estes
9. Using the Theme Scheme to Improve Story Comprehension, Joanna P. Williams
10. "Oh Excellent, Excellent Question!": Developmental Differences and Comprehension Acquisition, Laura B. Smolkin and Carol A. Donovan
11. Individual Differences That Influence Reading Comprehension, Darcia Narvaez
12. Teaching Readers How to Comprehend Text Strategically, Tom Trabasso and Ed Bouchard
13. Challenges of Implementing Transactional Strategies Instruction for Reading Comprehension, Pamela Beard El-Dinary
III. Comprehension Instruction in Preschool, Primary, and Intermediate Grades
14. Preparing Young Learners for Successful Reading Comprehension: Laying the Foundation, Diane H. Tracey and Lesley Mandel Morrow
15. Building Comprehension When They're Still Learning to Read the Words, Gay Ivey
16. Comprehension Instruction in the Primary Grades, P. David Pearson and Nell K. Duke
17. Beyond Literature Circles: Helping Students Comprehend Informational Texts, Donna Ogle and Camille L. Z. Blachowicz
18. Contexts for Reading Engagement, John T. Guthrie and Sevgi Ozgungor
19. Children Searching and Using Information Text: A Critical Part of Comprehension, Mariam Jean Dreher
20. Imagery: A Strategy for Enhancing Comprehension, Linda B. Gambrell and Patricia S. Koskinen
IV. Intensification of Comprehension Instruction throughout Middle School, High School, and College
21. The Argument Schema and Learning to Reason, Alina Reznitskaya and Richard C. Anderson
22. Straddling Two Worlds: Self-Directed Comprehension Instruction for Middle Schoolers, Rachel Brown
23. Improving the Reading Comprehension of At-Risk Adolescents, Joseph B. Fisher, Jean B. Schumaker, and Donald D. Deshler
24. Encouraging Active Reading at the College Level, Michelle L. Simpson and Sherrie L. Nist
IV. Conclusion
25. Summing Up: What Comprehension Instruction Could Be, Michael Pressley and Cathy Collins Block
Index

Edition details

• Publisher: The Guilford Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1572306920
• ISBN 13: 9781572306929
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 414
• Editor: Block PhD Cathy Collins, Pressley PhD Michael