Knowledge to Support the Teaching of Reading - (Jossey-Bass Education) by Catherine Snow & Peg Griffin & M Susan Burns (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Basic reading proficiency is key to success in all content areas, but attending to students' literacy development remains a challenge for many teachers, especially after the primary grades. Knowledge to Support the Teaching of Reading presents recommendations for the essential knowledge about the development, acquisition, and teaching of language and literacy skills that teachers need to master and use. This important book is one result of an initiative of the National Academy of Education's Committee on Teacher Education, whose members have been charged with the task of creating a core knowledge base for teacher education.

From the Back Cover

KNOWLEDGE to SUPPORT the TEACHING of READING

It is generally accepted that reading with comprehension is key to success in all academic domains. This means that every teacher must be able to help students deepen their reading and writing skills. What is the core knowledge base teachers need for this task? Knowledge to Support the Teaching of Reading offers a definitive guide to reading and literacy preparation in teacher education and professional development.

Despite the current obsession with improving national educational standards for our children, an alarming number of teachers lack grounding in the fundamentals of theory and practice of reading and literacy. This book is a part of a major initiative of the National Academy of Education's Committee on Teacher Education, whose members have been charged with the task of creating a core knowledge base for teacher education. A subcommittee of experts on language and literacy developed Knowledge to Support the Teaching of Reading to delineate the essential knowledge about the development, acquisition, and teaching of language and literacy that all teachers need.

This important book links evidence about student accomplishments and effective instructional practices to teacher knowledge and teacher preparation. The editors include information for meeting the more challenging situations teachers may encounter when teaching reading. Written for teacher educators, the book defines teacher preparation as a developmental process that evolves from recurring cycles of learning, enactment, assessment, and reflection.

About the Author

THE EDITORS

CATHERINE E. SNOW is the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She conducts research on first and second language acquisition and literacy development in monolingual and bilingual children.

PEG GRIFFIN is a research affiliate of the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition of the University of California at San Diego. She studies language and literacy in various school subjects and in preschools.

M. SUSAN BURNS is co-coordinator of the Early Childhood Education Program in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. She studies cognition, language, and literacy in the early childhood education of culturally, linguistically, and ability diverse children. In addition to the editors, the subcommittee includes Gina Cervetti, Claude Goldenberg, Louisa Moats, Annemarie Palincsar, P. David Pearson, Dorothy Strickland, and MaryEllen Vogt.