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.
Michael Pressley, PhD, who passed away in May 2006, was University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University, as well as Director of the Doctoral Program in Teacher Education and Director of the Literacy Achievement Research Center, with both roles part of his professorship in the Department of Teacher Education and the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education. He was an expert on effective elementary literacy instruction, with his research appearing in more than 300 journal articles, chapters, and books. Dr. Pressley served a 6-year term as editor of Journal of Educational Psychology. He was honored with awards from the National Reading Conference, the International Reading Association, the American Educational Research Association, and the American Psychological Association, among others. Dr. Pressley received the 2004 E. L. Thorndike Award from Division 15 of the American Psychological Association, the highest award given for career research accomplishment in educational psychology.
