Reading Beyond the Basics: Key Routines for Engaging, Research-Informed Instruction in Grades 2-6 (Practical Methods for Effective Reading Instruction (Paperback or Softback)

Teacher and literacy coach Catlin Goodrow offers research-informed strategies and personal reflections to help older elementary school students engage with complex, vocabulary-rich texts. Grounded in effective tools and routines, her approach focuses on the teacher-supported reading of worthy texts. Teachers will find practical resources, templates, and examples of lessons to foster student engagement, accelerate reading skills, and support ongoing literacy development.

• Shape literacy instruction around flexible principles versus prescribed programs of practice
• Analyze and select texts that both foster literacy skills and encourage personal reflection
• Develop literacy lesson structures that support students before, during, and after reading
• Implement simple, reproducible exercises as grounding routines for reading engagement
• Create safe learning environments where students can engage and explore their reading

Catlin Goodrow is an intervention teacher and instructional coach at the Spokane International Academy in Spokane, Washington. Previously, she worked as a first- and second-grade teacher in Houston, Texas, and as designer of professional development for teachers, instructional coaches, and other instructional leaders. As a statewide coordinator for Texas Reading First and a designer for Teach For America, Goodrow was privileged to observe classroom instruction across the United States, developing her vision for high-quality instruction. This vision is centered on building literate communities, culturally responsive education, and support for educators in developing their practice.
Goodrow has presented throughout the United States on topics ranging from reading comprehension instruction, instructional vision for leaders, and explicit, systematic instruction. She has also written curriculum for students as young as preK and up to eighth grade, designing clear and coherent lessons that put research principles into the hands of teachers.
Goodrow received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Whitworth University, and a master’s degree in teaching from Relay Graduate School of Education.