Teaching Literacy Effectively in the Modern Classroom for Ages 5-8

Designed as a “one stop shop” for classroom teachers, this book covers assessment, planning, and progression of writing, spelling, decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension to expand the teaching toolbox.

Dymock and Nicholson explore major focus areas in literacy instruction for teachers based on data-driven research advances. They provide the teacher a handy reference manual to consult when designing lessons to teach young children from diverse backgrounds to help them read and write for success. A general discussion of the research literature is built into the structure of the book to give teachers a knowledge base to teach and explain to children the why and the how of what they are learning. The chapters cover recent concepts of structured literacy, including systematic teaching of decoding skills, vocabulary, comprehension, writing, and spelling. This practical guide uses a scope and sequence approach to teaching that gives children a solid foundation of reading and writing skills. The resources and lesson ideas will engage diverse groups in a classroom, including those at risk of literacy difficulties such as dyslexia, so they also can achieve typical achievement levels for their age – and beyond. Containing a wealth of resources and tips for teaching children ages 5–8, alongside easily downloadable lesson plans, hand-drawn charts, and posters, this book will be of great interest to all classroom teachers involved in teaching literacy.

This resource-filled book will appeal to teachers, professionals, and researchers in teacher training, with a focus on the needs of the teacher, providing practical and insightful ways to teach effectively in diverse classroom settings.

Sue Dymock, originally from Portland, Oregon, started her career as a primary and intermediate school teacher and later became a Senior Lecturer at the University of Waikato (New Zealand) where she taught pre- and in-service teachers for 20 years. Sue’s PhD thesis won the National Reading Conference (now Literacy Research Association) outstanding research award; the first time it had been awarded to anyone outside the US. Sue directed the long-running University of Waikato Reading Centre for children with reading difficulties and won a University Community Impact Research Excellence Award for her work. Sue was a Fellow of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities.

Tom Nicholson originally from Sydney, Australia, started his career as a high school teacher, then as a researcher in the Education Department of South Australia. After completing a PhD at the University of Minnesota, he took a University position in New Zealand, taught pre- and in-service teachers for many years, held a personal chair at The University of Auckland, and is currently Professor Emeritus of Education at Massey University. He directed for nearly ten years an after-school literacy programme in inner city Auckland for children. Tom is a member of the Reading Hall of Fame.