Building Comprehension in Adolescents: Powerful Strategies for Improving Reading and Writing in Content Areas

Comprehension problems have become an epidemic: One out of every four secondary school students is unable to read and comprehend the material in textbooks.* Start addressing the root of the problem today with this practical guidebook, designed to strengthen adolescents' reading comprehension and written expression so they can master academic content.

Developed for middle and high school teachers, this book helps educators improve students' reading and writing through Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), an evidence-based instructional approach that shows students how to apply proven strategies independently to boost their school success. Teachers will get complete lesson plans for teaching strategies that

• Use proven, validated SRSD methods that are based on sound instructional theory and have had documented positive effects.
• Build a foundation for higher achievement.Teachers will discover ways to embed reading, writing, and organization strategies into science and social studies lessons, so students can sharpen their understanding of complex academic content.
• Are classroom-ready and easy-to-use, with helpful lesson overviews and objectives, suggested teacher scripts, explicit step-by-step instructions, and detailed vignettes.
• Help a wide range of struggling learners, from students with disabilities to learners who simply need extra supports (great for the whole class or with individual students!).
• Free up teacher time.When students learn self-regulation strategies, teachers have much more flexibility—they can assist one group while other students engage in productive independent work.

Practical, photocopiable worksheets and other instructional materials make the lessons easy to implement in any classroom. Teachers will help students develop new skills with a variety of self-monitoring checklists, goal charts, self-instruction sheets, graphic organizers, and more.

With the highly effective strategies in this research-backed guide, educators will help build a stronger foundation for academic success and ensure that all of their students are reading and writing to learn.

*The Alliance for Excellent Education, 2006

Improve skills critical to higher achievement:

• vocabulary development
• essay writing
• story writing
• biography writing
• identifying the main idea of a paragraph
• summarizing content
• quick writing
• sustaining attention
• goal setting
• note organization
• classroom preparation
• homework completion

Dr. Linda H. Mason has a joint appointment in the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education and the Children, Youth, and Families Consortium at The Pennsylvania State University. Prior to completing her Ph.D., Dr. Mason taught special education in an inclusive public elementary school for six years. She has been awarded two U.S. Department of Education grants focusing on reading comprehension and writing intervention for low-achieving students. Dr. Mason serves on six editorial boards, including journals focused on research-topractice. At Penn State, she teaches courses in literacy for students with special needs, curriculum development, reading and writing methods, assessment, and effective instruction. Dr. Mason was awarded the Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Research Distinguished Early Career Award in 2011 and a Fulbright Scholarship to teach in Hungary in fall 2011.

Dr. Reid specializes in the education and treatment of children with learning disabilities and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. He teaches courses on mainstreaming, cognitive strategy instruction, and special education methods. His current interests include functional assessment, treatment of attention-deficit disorder, and strategy instruction. He has done extensive work in the area of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in the schools. Dr. Reid received the Jeannie Balilies Award for contributions to child mental health research. Dr. Reid also serves as a consulting editor and field reviewer for a number of special education journals.

Dr. Hagaman received her Ph.D. in educational studies from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She specializes in the education of students with learning disabilities and at-risk students. Prior to completing her Ph.D., Dr. Hagaman taught at the early childhood and elementary levels. Her research interests include early intervention for at-risk students, reading instruction and interventions, strategy instruction, and academic interventions.