Literacy for the 21st Century: Teaching Reading and Writing in Pre-Kindergarten Through Grade 4

Based on a parent book that is the best-selling literacy read on the market, this new volume addresses strategies for teaching reading and writing to children from Preschool to Grade 4. The author provides a solid foundation in the content of literacy instruction—phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension—liberally spiced with her trademark “minilessons” and replete with children's writing samples. Included are a wealth of age-appropriate assessment tools, authentic classroom activities, and illustrative examples of how effective teachers engage children in preschool through primary grades in the captivating act of reading and writing. For practicing elementary school teachers seeking to improve their techniques for providing individual attention, assessment, and evaluation of student reading skills.

Gail E. Tompkins is a Professor at California State University, Fresno, in the Department of Literacy and, Early Education, where she teaches courses in reading, language arts, and writing for preservice teachers and students in the reading/language arts master's degree program. She directs the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project and works regularly with teachers, both by teaching model lessons in classrooms and by leading staff development programs. Recently Dr. Tompkins was inducted into the California Reading Association's Reading Hall of Fame in s recognition of her publications and other accomplishments in the field of reading. She has also been awarded the prestigious Provost's Award for Excellence in Teaching at California State University, Fresno.

Previously, Dr. Tompkins taught at Miami University in Ohio and at the University of Oklahoma in Norman where she received the prestigious Regents' Award for Superior Teaching. She was also an elementary teacher in Virginia for eight years.

Dr. Tompkins is the author of three books published by Merrill/Prentice Hall: Teaching Writing: Balancing Process and Product, 3rd (2000), 50 Literacy Strategies (1998), and Language Arts: Content and Teaching Strategies, 5th ed. (2002). She has written numerous articles related to reading and language arts that have appeared in The Reading Teacher, Language Arts, and other professional journals.