The Common Core has brought close reading to the forefront in discussions of literacy education. Drawing on their professional expertise and their in-depth knowledge of the CCSS, Heinemann authors have developed practical resources that address the rigorous demands of close reading without sacrificing engagement, student independence, or the joy of reading. We are going to spend some time taking a closer look at each of these authors and resources and how they can help you in your classroom.
The range of reading skills seems wider than ever in any given class that walks through our doors. We see more kids with identified learning issues, more kids who are just acquiring English, kids who lack the background knowledge we took for granted back in the day, and still more kids who just seem to fight off reading with all their might. How can we train our students to read, work, talk, and think productively together? The trick is to teach kids how to read deeply and then have intellectually engaging discussions. It all starts with a combination of interesting text, instruction in smart-reader strategies, and an explicit understanding of what skills are needed for a good discussion.
Texts and Lessons for Teaching Literature contains the best and most engaging short literature for young people, along with a collection of new, step-by-step lessons that guide students into, through, and beyond these texts. Sometimes it seems as though the same 50 short stories and the same 15 poems are anthologized over and over. But there are plenty of other works of great literature out there, if you know where to look. To plan out what selections would be included in this book, Smokey and Nancy logged many hours of emails and calls, trading and reading aloud great short pieces. The reading selections gathered in Texts and Lessons for Teaching Literature cover the genres of short story, poetry, drama and the novel.
With over three dozen innovative, Common Core-correlated lessons selected for their literary quality and student engagement, Texts and Lessons for Teaching Literature can help save you hours of prep time looking for mentor texts and compiling lessons that match the reading strategies you’re trying to teach. Engage and empower your students while promoting joy in reading!
In Texts and Lessons for Content-Area Reading, authors Harvey “Smokey” Daniels and Nancy Steineke have compiled more than 75 of their favorite articles from sources ranging from the New York Times to Rolling Stone to the Chicago Art Institute. Each of these reproducible, kid-tested nonfiction texts was chosen for its subject-area relevance, its interest to teens, and for its “wow factor”—the texts most likely to engage kids in discussion and debate.
Texts and Lessons for Content-Area Reading includes 33 simple, ready-to-go lessons that can help you deepen comprehension and support effective collaboration. Step-by-step lessons accompany each text, including 23 strategy lessons that focus on at least one key comprehension strategy or collaboration skill that proficient readers use, and 10 text set lessons that offer deeper, longer engagement in the subjects and strategies at hand. By using quick and engaging activities that add to, rather than steal from, subject-matter learning, Smokey and Nancy show that you can turn your kids into much better readers in your subject field.
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To find out more about Texts and Lessons for Teaching Literature or Texts and Lessons for Content-Area Reading, visit Heinemann.com!