Early literacy instruction typically emphasizes foundational skills--often at the expense of engaging young children in reading and supporting their comprehension of different types of texts. This book explains the essential elements of comprehension and shares a wealth of classroom-tested instructional practices. It presents developmentally informed strategies for scaffolding comprehension skills, using content to promote engagement, and implementing high-level discussions and writing tasks. Ways to teach and assess English learners and other diverse students are highlighted throughout. The book features explicit links to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as well as helpful reproducible forms. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl, EdD, is Clinical Associate Professor of Reading at New York University (NYU), where she serves as Director of the Literacy Program and teaches graduate courses. In addition to teaching in public elementary school classrooms for over 25 years, she has extensive experience working with struggling readers in clinical settings. Her research focuses on reading acquisition, struggling readers, and comprehension. Dr. Stahl is the author or editor of several books, and her articles have appeared in leading journals of research and practice. She is a recipient of the Jeanne S. Chall Visiting Researcher Award from Harvard University and the Teaching Excellence Award from the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.

Georgia Earnest García, PhD, is Professor Emerita in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She served on the National Literacy Panel for Language Minority Children and Youth and the RAND Reading Study Group on Skillful Reading and was Associate Editor for the American Educational Research Journal. Her work has been published in leading academic journals. Dr. García was previously a bilingual/ESL/English teacher at the elementary, middle school, high school, and community college levels. Although retired, she continues to work with teachers and schools and conduct research on the literacy development, instruction, and assessment of students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

1. Unifying Theory, Research, and Practice
2. Comprehension Considerations for Students from Diverse Linguistic and Cultural Backgrounds
3. It's All About Scaffolding
4. Using Content to Create Engagement
5. Comprehension Strategy Instruction and Self-Regulation
6. Let's Talk About It: High-Level Discussions
7. Written Responses to Text and Writing Projects
8. Assessing Reading Comprehension in the Early Grades
9. Beyond the Classroom: Intervening to Provide Additional Comprehension Support