STRATEGIC READING: GUIDING STUDE

Jeffrey Wilhelm and his coauthors know that before reading can be learned, it must be taught. As students move on to more challenging texts in middle and high school, their reading skills don't grow automatically to meet those demands. They need help figuring out how to read, not just what to read. Strategic Reading provides the tools teachers need to help students of all abilities make this important transition to higher-level texts.

Rather than "student-centered" or "teacher-centered," Wilhelm and his coauthors rely on a "learning-centered" approach to reading. They offer a thorough examination of the issues surrounding teaching and learning, and of the specific demands particular texts make on readers. Then they provide dozens of innovative strategies for teaching students to comprehend, engage, and make use of these kinds of texts. By placing the emphasis on learning how to learn, students become active participants in their own education and part of a classroom community of learners.

For too many students, reading instruction falls by the wayside at the time when they need it most. As the focus on reading more sophisticated kinds of texts intensifies in our schools, students need more help than ever. Using Wilhelm and his coauthors' learning-centered approach, teachers can make reading processes visible and available to students. Armed with an understanding of reading strategies and the ability to apply them in any context, students become empowered readers not only in the English classroom, but in their lives as well.

Tanya Baker has been teaching high school English for the past eight years. She has presented nationally and internationally. A mentor teacher in the University of Maine PDN network, Baker has recently completed her Master’s degree at the University of Maine and is a 1997 National Writing Project Fellow.

Julie Dube Hackett taught English and reading at the secondary level for seven years. A frequent presenter at national educational conferences, she was recently hired as Principal of Medway Middle School. Dube is a 1997 National Writing Project Fellow and has also worked as a mentor teacher in the University of Maine PDN network.

Jeffrey Wilhelm is coauthor with Michael Smith and James Fredricksen of Get It Done!; Oh, Yeah?!; and So, What’s the Story?.

Jeff has cowritten or coedited four other Heinemann books, Going with the Flow, “Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys”, Strategic Reading, and Imagining to Learn. For Chevys he and coauthor Jeff Wilhelm received the NCTE David H. Russell Award for Distinguished Research in the Teaching of English.

Jeff is an internationally-known teacher, author, and presenter. He is driven by a desire to help teachers to help their students to more powerful literacy and compassionate, democratic living. What he most wants for teachers to get out of his work is motivation, a vital passion and impulse to continue experimenting and learning about teaching, as well as ways to frame instruction so it is meaningful and compelling to students. 

A classroom teacher for fifteen years, Jeff is currently Professor of English Education at Boise State University. He works in local schools as part of a Virtual Professional Development Site Network sponsored by the Boise State Writing Project, and regularly teaches middle and high school students.  He is the founding director of the Maine Writing Project and the Boise State Writing Project.

He has authored or coauthored numerous books and articles about literacy teaching and learning. In addition to the Russell award, his “You Gotta BE the Book” won the NCTE Promising Research Award. Jeff has worked on numerous materials and software programs for students including Scholastic’s e21 and ReadAbout, and has edited a series of 100 books for reluctant readers entitled The Ten. Jeff enjoys speaking, presenting, working with students and schools. He is currently researching how students read and engage with non-traditional texts like video game narratives, manga, horror, fantasy, etc. as well as the effects of inquiry teaching on teachers, students, and learning. 

Jeff grew up on a small strawberry farm in Northeastern Ohio. He loved the Hardy Boys as a boy, and has continued to love reading ever since, progressing through Hermann Hesse, John Steinbeck, and James Baldwin as literary mentors.  In high school he was named a Harrier All-American for cross-country and track. He was then a two-time Small College All-American in Cross-country. He has competed Internationally in cross country, track, and nordic skiing. He now enjoys marathon nordic skiing and whitewater kayaking.