Teaching Comprehension and Exploring Multiple Literacies: Strategies from the Reading Teacher

Whatever grade level, content, or texts you teach, your ultimate goal is to develop your students' understanding of what they read. The 29 articles in this anthology offer you a wealth of ideas to help your students comprehend different types of texts and literacies, from technology literacy to visual, theatre, and music literacy. You'll find instructional strategies and activities on a wide range of topics, including narrative and expository texts, the K-W-L strategy, anticipation guides, graphic organizers, wordless picture books, shared books, the Internet as a teaching resource, and integrating music, reading, and writing at the primary level.

Make no mistake, comprehension is what reading is all about! Reading is comprehension. No matter what grade level you teach, no matter what content you teach, no matter what texts you teach with, students' comprehension and understanding are what you want to achieve. However, comprehension is a complex process. Each individual comprehends differently because each comes to the reading task with different experiences and abilities.

Teaching Comprehension and Exploring Multiple Literacies: Strategies from The Reading Teacher will add to your cache of comprehension instruction strategies by presenting the "best of the best" classroom-tested ideas, approaches, and practical applications for helping students learn about words. The articles have been drawn from the Teaching Reading department of The Reading Teacher from 1993-1999; this section of the journal is devoted to practical reading instruction strategies for classrooms, reading clinics, and homes. The articles have been compiled by Timothy Rasinski and Nancy Padak, editors of The Reading Teacher from 1993-1999, and their team of associate editors.

The ideas and strategies offered in Teaching Comprehension and Exploring Multiple Literacies provide building blocks for developing comprehension activities that are engaging and effective for all students. This book will challenge classroom teachers to put together the instructional ideas you find most appropriate into a comprehension routine that will work for you and your students and meet the objectives of your curriculum.