Instructing Students Who Have Literacy Problems (4th Edition)
- Book Review,
by Sandra McCormick
Book Description
This is the definitive book for understanding the teacher's role in reading remediation. Here is balanced treatment of the two elements of reading: word recognition and comprehension. Here is balanced treatment of the two elements of remediation reading: assessment and intervention. And here is an interactive model of the remediation process based on fundamental research into how children and adults acquire literacy. The author blends theory and research with a wealth of practical suggestions for integrating reading, writing, and spelling into remedial reading programs that are practical, effective, and viable for all struggling readers, including special populations. Includes discussion of high-stakes/low-stakes testing, description of computer-administered tests, and numerous examples of current tests. Also covers the differences in various popular reading inventories. For professionals in the field of teaching.
The publisher, Prentice-Hall Career & Technology
For courses in remedial/clinical reading instruction, this text offers comprehensive treatment based upon an interactive model of the reading process. Coverage offers a smooth, cohesive blend of theory, research, and practical suggestions that carefully balances information on diagnosis and remediation, subskill and holistic intervention approaches, and current findings related to how children and adults achieve literacy. Practical strategies suggested in the text will work effective with elementary and secondary students, and with students of all ages from a variety of language backgrounds, within the framework of remedial instruction.
From the Back Cover
This is the definitive book for understanding the teacher's role in reading remediation. Here is balanced treatment of the two elements of reading: word recognition and comprehension. Here is balanced treatment of the two elements of remediation reading: assessment and intervention. And here is an interactive model of the remediation process based on fundamental research into how children and adults acquire literacy. The author blends theory and research with a wealth of practical suggestions for integrating reading, writing, and spelling into remedial reading programs that are practical, effective, and viable for all struggling readers, including special populations. Includes discussion of high-stakes/low-stakes testing, description of computer-administered tests, and numerous examples of current tests. Also covers the differences in various popular reading inventories. For professionals in the field of teaching.
About the Author
Sandra McCormick. Before assuming a teaching position at a university, Sandra McCormick taught as a fourth- and fifth-grade classroom teacher in schools comprised primarily of at-risk youngsters, served as a Title I reading teacher for elementary and middles-school students, worked as a Reading Resource Teacher assisting teachers in inner-city schools with their classroom reading and language arts programs, and supervised a citywide reading program that served 129 elementary schools in a large Midwestern city. She also was a television reading teacher, teaching children in eight cities in Ohio via a PBS program aimed at students with reading disabilities. After receiving her Ph.D. at The Ohio State University, Dr. McCormick joined the faculty in the College of Education at that university where she taught courses on remedial and clinical reading assessment and instruction, and on methods for instructing students with learning disabilities. She also supervised a university-based reading clinic for a number of years. Dr. McCormick is the author or editor of several books in addition to this one, including Remedial and Clinical Reading Instruction and Cognitive and Social Perspectives for Literacy Research and Instruction (the latter with Jerry Zutell). She publishes articles frequently in journals such as Reading Research Quarterly, The Reading Teacher, Journal of Reading, Journal of Reading Behavior, Journal of Educational Research, Exceptional Children, Journal of Learning Disabilities, and Language Arts. Dr. McCormick was coeditor of the National Reading Conference Yearbook for three years and on the editorial advisory review board for several journals. Her research interest, as might be expected, is with students having literacy problems. Though her research focus was on comprehension instruction and reading/learning disabled students for several years, currently she is investigating ways to facilitate word learning with severely delayed readers, including nonreaders. Dr. McCormick has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Reading Association, was a distinguished finalist in 1990 for the Albert J. Harris Award presented annually for significant research on reading disabilities, and has been elected to Fellow Status in the National Conference on Research in English. Dr. McCormick is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences, and she has regularly reviewed research and development proposals for the United States Department of Education.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The fourth edition of Instructing Students Who Have Literacy Problems, like the previous editions, reflects the balanced outlook on literacy instruction now held by most reading educators. While acknowledging that the ultimate purpose of reading is to comprehend text, this current perspective also recognizes that adequate word recognition and word identification strategies are necessary precursors for understanding printed material. In the continuing tradition of this book, the present edition thoroughly treats both issues—word learning and comprehension—for students who have difficulties in learning to read. The balanced conception of reading programs is further exhibited in suggestions for integrating reading, writing, and spelling instruction to advance overall literacy attainment with low-achieving readers. This book is intended for upper level undergraduates and graduate students in courses on corrective, remedial, and/or clinical reading instruction. It also is suitable for use in courses focusing on instruction of individuals with learning disabilities because the educational dilemmas of those students center more frequently on reading problems than on any other academic area. Much that was popular with instructors and students in the previous editions has been retained, but much is new with this revision as well. Content and Organizational Changes for the Fourth Edition All four assessment chapters have been updated. The assessment unit in the previous edition, comprised of Chapters 4-7, included basic information on assessment as well as sections on the role of portfolios in remedial reading programs and learning disabilities programs, a delineation of ways to use listening comprehension to judge reading potential, descriptions of running records, discussions of tests of phonemic awareness, and a depiction of varied tests of metacognitive strategy use. All of this critical information has been retained. In addition, the following has been added in the present revised edition. A special feature now found in each of the four chapters is STEPS: Administering Assessments in Your Own Classroom, which, in boxed material, lists for students "step by step" how to conduct various assessments. New topics have been introduced, such as discussions of high-stakes versus low-stakes testing, descriptions of computer-administered tests, and other timely information. In-depth descriptions of popular informal reading inventories (IRIS) have been provided in a unique section in Chapter 5. To complement the segment on spelling assessment, the complete word lists plus administration and interpretation directions for the Schlagel Qualitative Spelling Inventory have been added. All Test Banks have been revised to include only the latest available tests. New, current test examples are included. Many additional illustrative materials, including figures and tables, have been added to explicate information. Certain sections have been shortened to allow inclusion of new material and permit greater treatment of contemporary issues. The length of the assessment unit remains approximately the same as in the third edition. While the assessment chapters were particularly targeted for revision, there are additions and revisions throughout the other chapters as well. Some of these include: In every chapter, new visuals have been added to clarify, inform, extend, illustrate, summarize, generate interest, and provide actual materials teachers can use. New topics are treated. A sampling of these across chapters include descriptions of new early-intervention programs, plus research reports of early intervention results in general; a description in vignette form of a model America Reads program; new data on outcomes of inclusion programs; discussions of causation issues currently receiving multidisciplinary attention; a wholly revised section on roles of reading specialists; and others. A new feature found in two chapters, titled Q and A (Questions and Answers), poses questions and reports answers found in the literature search conducted by the National Reading Panel. To support this book's continuing emphasis on use of high-quality literature with delayed readers, there are several additions of resource information. Added to the section "Using Literature in Remedial and Clinical Reading Programs," in Chapter 8 and other chapters the reader will now find lists of books that can be used with students in the earliest stages of literacy development, summaries of recently published books to use with high school students, and an annotated bibliography of research related to use of literature with delayed readers. Suggestions of commercially available instructional materials have been updated. Guidelines for fluency rates are included. The multipage table delineating trends and issues in the history of remedial and clinical reading instruction has been taken into the first decade of the 21st century. Web sites for literacy programs are given. To accommodate these expansions and additions, some text from several chapters of the third edition has been eliminated to decrease the density of the material. In addition to these changes in the text itself: A greatly expanded Instructor's Manual is available upon request to all instructors. New to this manual are: multiple transparency masters for each chapter, which are especially supportive for conveying important chapter information to students. a comprehensive listing of suggested course activities for each chapter, designed to give students opportunities to learn course content in a variety of ways and to provide useful instructional models for their own teaching. Instructors adopting this text may contact the publisher for a free copy of the manual. Popular Text Features Certain text features have been preserved from the previous edition of the book. These features offer a cohesive blend of theory, research, and practice that have proven serviceable to teachers. Retained features from the last edition are the following: A focus on both elementary and secondary students (and a section in Chapter 15 addressing illiterate and functionally illiterate adults). Pedagogical aids—now under the new title "Learning From Text"—interspersed throughout chapters to help students understand, reflect on, and apply information presented in this book. These insertions consist of boxed material, signaled by an icon, that poses questions and gives directions to serve as ongoing study guides for the reader. All "Learning From Text" aids are based on metacognitive and comprehension research, and are designed to also instruct teachers in how to teach their own students how to study. Margin notes, found in every chapter, highlighting critical information. Case studies in many chapters, including the popular ongoing case study of hypothetical student David Adams, who leads readers through the assessment process across the four chapters of the assessment unit. All case studies are highlighted by a line in the margin to call the reader's attention to this information. The purpose of the case studies is to demonstrate how chapter information is employed in real classroom settings. A "Reflections" section at the end of each chapter focusing on questions and activities to prompt reflective thinking about chapter content. Some provide the basis for exercises that can be carried out during class sessions in college courses. Key terms defined in text and printed in bold. A chapter-long treatment of research-based principles for remedial and clinical instruction. Among other issues, data supporting the principles of early intervention, one-to-one tutoring, and collaborative learning in special programs are included. Findings of motivational theory research are reported along with suggestions for implementing these findings. The previously well-received chapters on causation, although shortened somewhat. Discussions of current views on emergent literacy and implications of these views for preventing literacy delays. Instructional details of popular learning systems, such as Reading Recovery and Success for All, are provided along with information on new programs that are available. In regard to word recognition, information is included on developmental phases of word learning. The practical significance of this knowledge for teachers of poor readers is demonstrated through teaching ideas. Based on recent research offerings, views of the best pedagogical procedures for increasing word identification strategies are given. Included are explanations of research-based approaches for improving phonemic awareness, discussion of controversies related to phonic analysis and context as word identification cues, specific teaching recommendations about phonic analysis and structural analysis, and other critical topics. Coverage of the body of research on stages of spelling development, on the connections between spelling and reading, and on uses of writing to aid word recognition, word identification, and other areas of reading growth. A treatment of technology use in remedial programs. Innovative methods for increasing students' understandings of word meanings. Two chapters providing research findings on comprehension instruction. One is devoted to understanding narrative text, and the other highlights comprehension of expository selections, including understanding of content-area materials. In both chapters, the best that research has to say about methods of comprehension instruction is thoroughly described for teachers, along with practical delineations for carrying these methods out in classrooms with low-achieving readers at all levels. A full chapter devoted to severely delayed readers and nonreaders. Reviewers of the previous editions have particularly valued this chapter because this subject is skirted in many texts on remedial and clinical reading instruction, and in most books directly addressing learning disabilities as well. In the fourth edition, this chapter details many data-based procedures for instructing these students. Discussions of reading instruction for students with linguistic and cultural backgrounds that differ from the mainstream. Furthermore, attention has been given to those individuals traditionally considered at risk for educational failure, and descriptions of family literacy programs are provided. Test questions available in the Instructor's Manual. Many, though not all, of the test questions are based on the questions, statements, and activities highlighted throughout the "Learning From Text" aids. A variety of test question types are included to assess literal, interpretive, and applied understandings. A review of the book will disclose other changes that should be beneficial to preservice and inservice teachers. Although this book presents important background details, it also provides teachers and prospective teachers with specific, practical assessment and instructional strategies for use with students who have literacy problems.
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