What Really Matters for Struggling Readers

Description

Richard L. Allington is a past president of the International Reading Association and of the National Reading Conference. He has written more than 100 published papers and reports on reading difficulties, and is the author or coauthor of What Really Matters in Response to Intervention, What Really Matters in Fluency, Classrooms That Work, and Schools That Work. Dick is a former classroom teacher, reading specialist, and federal programs director who has studied and written about reading intervention including his influential article in the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, “If They Don’t Read Much, How They Ever Gonna Get Good?”.

A part of the What Really Matters series, the Third Edition of What Really Matters for Struggling Readers examines the increasing amount of research demonstrating that we can teach every child to read.

Using non-technical summaries, nationally recognized scholar and author Dick Allington delivers a concise and balanced introduction to reading remediation and intervention programs; showing teachers how to use a variety of best practices with children who are struggling readers in order to transform them into proficient readers. This new edition includes new findings on reading achievement and instruction, reading volume as it relates to reading proficiency, reader-text match, fluency development, comprehension strategies and instruction for struggling readers. Its emphasis is on explaining what the research says, why it works and how to use this information to provide intensive, expert reading instruction for all children. The continued focus on helping teachers design reading remediation and intervention programs around well-established reality and research-based components is framed within the confines of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Written by authors you know and trust, each of the books in the What Really Matters series offers a succinct presentation of what matters most when teaching different aspects of the reading process. With a thought-provoking, rich presentation, Dick Allington explores complex issues teachers of reading face in today’s classrooms and brings each of the topics to life. These brief and inexpensive books are written in a lively narrative with clear organization, exceptional pedagogy, and special features. Their friendly design and compact size make the books accessible, convenient, and easy-to read.

Richard L. Allington

What Really Matters for Struggling Readers, Third Edition

Nationally recognized scholar and author Richard Allington once again delivers a concise and balanced introduction to reading remediation and intervention programs, showing teachers how to use a variety of best practices with children who are struggling readers in order to transform them into proficient readers. This new edition includes the latest findings on reading achievement and instruction, reading volume as it relates to reading proficiency, reader-text match, fluency development, comprehension strategies, and instruction for struggling readers. Its emphasis is on explaining what the research says, why it works, and how to use this information to provide intensive, expert reading instruction for all children. The continued focus on helping teachers design reading remediation and intervention programs around well-established reality and research-based components is framed within the confines of the No Child Left Behind Act. Paired with Dick’s book What Really Matters in Response to Intervention, educators have the best tools for helping every student learn to love reading.

In their well-known and much welcomed thought-provoking style, Pat Cunningham, Dick Allington, and others bring you the best research-based instructional advice available. Each of the brief and inexpensive books in the What Really Matters series features what Pat and Dick know about one aspect of teaching and learning to read independently with understanding. To learn more about the series see the inside front cover.  

“This is an accessible, readable, and engaging affirmation for practicing teachers, reminding them of their importance in literacy programs and offering ideas for their continued growth and ever-developing repertoire of effective strategies and approaches…I commend Allington for this faith in teachers as decision-makers.”

“A strength of using Allington’s book is reading friendliness.  As I read his book, I felt like I was having a conversation with him.” 

Richard L. Allington is a past president of the International Reading Association and of the National Reading Conference. He has written more than 100 published papers and reports on reading difficulties, and is the author or coauthor of What Really Matters in Response to Intervention, What Really Matters in Fluency, Classrooms That Work, and Schools That Work. Dick is a former classroom teacher, reading specialist, and federal programs director who has studied and written about reading intervention including his influential article in the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, “If They Don’t Read Much, How They Ever Gonna Get Good?”

Click here to take a guided tour of the Third Edition!

A part of the What Really Matters series, the Third Edition of What Really Matters for Struggling Readers examines the increasing amount of research demonstrating that we can teach every child to read.

Using non-technical summaries, nationally recognized scholar and author Dick Allington delivers a concise and balanced introduction to reading remediation and intervention programs; showing teachers how to use a variety of best practices with children who are struggling readers in order to transform them into proficient readers. This new edition includes new findings on reading achievement and instruction, reading volume as it relates to reading proficiency, reader-text match, fluency development, comprehension strategies and instruction for struggling readers. Its emphasis is on explaining what the research says, why it works and how to use this information to provide intensive, expert reading instruction for all children. The continued focus on helping teachers design reading remediation and intervention programs around well-established reality and research-based components is framed within the confines of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Written by authors you know and trust, each of the books in the What Really Matters series offers a succinct presentation of what matters most when teaching different aspects of the reading process. With a thought-provoking, rich presentation, Dick Allington explores complex issues teachers of reading face in today’s classrooms and brings each of the topics to life. These brief and inexpensive books are written in a lively narrative with clear organization, exceptional pedagogy, and special features. Their friendly design and compact size make the books accessible, convenient, and easy-to read. 

Chapter 1: Reading Achievement and Instruction in U.S. Schools

Chapter 2: What Really Matters: Kids Need to Read a Lot

Chapter 3: Kids Need Books They Can Read

Chapter 4: Kids Need to Learn to Read Fluently

Chapter 5: Kids Need to Develop Thoughtful Literacy

Chapter 6: Where to Begin: Instruction for Struggling Readers

• Follows the What Really Matters format–focusing on one aspect of the reading process and capturing the best, research-based instructional advice on that topic.
• Delivers a concise and balanced introduction to reading remediation and intervention programs–and presents evidence-based practices that can transform students from struggling readers to proficient readers.
• Offers non-technical summaries of research–that show a variety of best practices that are effective with children who are struggling readers.
• Includes research sections on critical topics such as reading fluency, comprehension strategies, access to appropriate books and critical design.

• Includes more findings from the federal Reading First initiative—and updated reports on reading achievement in U.S. Schools.
• Updates the topic of reading volume—to explain how reading volume predicts reading proficiency.  
• Emphasizes the importance of reader-text match—and reveals why struggling readers need large amounts of high-success reading and why it is a critical aspect of lesson planning.
• Offers a stronger chapter on fluency—and discusses why expanding reading volume works even better than repeated reading in fluency development.
• Examines how to use vocabulary development and literate conversations—as a means of fostering comprehension growth.
• Explores the federal RtI legislation and the unique opportunity it provides to finally get reading instruction for struggling readers’ right and to eliminate kids labeled LD or struggling readers.
• Strong focus on what we know and why it is time to use this knowledge and teach every child to read well.

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