Achieving Excellence in Preschool Literacy Instruction. Edited by Laura Justice & Carol Vukelich, $37.50

High-quality preschool programs are essential to improving children's outcomes in reading achievement and leveling language and literacy disparities among students from diverse backgrounds. Grounded in state-of-the-art research evidence, this practice-oriented book demonstrates how preschool professionals can create, evaluate, and sustain exemplary programs.

Becoming a Literacy Leader: Supporting Learning and Change. Jennifer Allen, $26.95

Becoming a Literacy Leader chronicles the work of Jennifer Allen, an elementary teacher who moved to a new school and a new job as a literacy specialist, and found herself tackling everything from teacher study groups to state-mandated assessment plans. The book is rooted in Allen's belief that teachers know what they need when it comes to professional development in literacy, and the best literacy leaders are those who listen to and respect the educators in their midst.

Brain, Behavior and Learning in Language and Reading Disorders. Maria Mody & Elaine Silliman, $55.50

Grounded in cutting-edge research on brain/behavior relationships, this book explores how language and reading disorders develop, and presents exciting new approaches to examining and treating them. Experts from multiple disciplines investigate how children's learning trajectories in spoken and written language are shaped by the dynamic interplay of neurobiological, experiential, and behavioral processes. The volume includes innovative neuro-imaging applications and other techniques that help shed new light on childhood disorders such as dyslexia, language impairment, writing disabilities, and autism. Implications for evidence-based diagnosis, intervention, and instruction are discussed.

Creating a Literacy Environment for Boys: Ideas for Teachers, Administrators, and Parents. Christopher Spence, $38.95

Creating a Literacy Environment for Boys provides practical insights and purposeful strategies to motivate and engage struggling and reluctant readers in today's classrooms. Author Chris Spence, Director of Education for the Toronto District School Board, focuses on ways to help boys become more successful readers, and how to foster positive classroom interactions and ways to recognize and implement strategies for positive change.

This highly adaptable program provides a year’s worth of fun and flexible lessons, complete with themes, art and dramatic play activities, story and song selections and group lesson plans laid out in both a monthly and a week-by-week format.

50 Early Childhood Literacy Strategies. Janice Beaty, $27.25

50 Early Childhood Literacy Strategies compiles practical strategies to engage young children in reading and writing and to encourage their emerging literacy skills. 50 Strategies is firmly grounded in current research into the brain mechanisms that underlie the skill of reading. Author Janice Beaty presents an easy-to-use, easy-to-understand approach that builds on young children’s' eagerness to communicate with others.

From Literature Circles to Blogs: Activities for Engaging Professional Learning Communities. Susan Church & Margaret Swain, $24.95

Explore the possibilities of teacher-learning communities with this inspiring book that provides both a useful framework and workable strategies that support and guide reflection, cooperation, and collaboration. The book offers everything teachers need — from the intricacies of initiating a collaborative group to setting a purpose and encouraging widespread participation. It also supplies specific ideas for making the transition from busy teacher to open and eager learner.

Each chapter focuses on a particular type of learning experience, and includes examples of how to apply said experience, suggestions for incorporating technology, and a discussion of classroom implications. This flexible resource offers various entry points and can be easily adapted to individual needs. It gives both new and experienced teachers activities to build trust and rapport, and expand the possibilities of self-directed learning.

Getting Dads on Board: Fostering Literacy Partnerships for Successful Student Learning. Jane Baskwill, $24.95

Effective strategies for attracting, recruiting and keeping fathers involved in their children’s literacy learning. Getting Dads on Board argues that children do better academically when fathers get involved; share their interests and strengths; praise and support children with their schoolwork and homework. This practical book explores programs that increase cognitive abilities, build self-esteem and nurture social competence.

Going with the Flow: How to Engage Boys (and Girls) in their Literacy Learning. Michael Smith & Jeffrey Wilhelm, $33.95

In Going with the Flow, Michael Smith and Jeffrey Wilhelm share new and powerful ways to build strong literacy habits in adolescent boys-and girls. Going with the Flow fully illustrates their approach to designing and sequencing instruction, taking you from developing activities that prepare students for success before they are even given assignments to fostering meaningful classroom discussions. Learn how to help teenagers love learning and how to assist them in meeting new literacy challenges.

How the Brain Learns to Read. David Sousa, $45.95

How the Brain Learns to Read presents what scientists have uncovered about how children develop spoken language and use spoken language abilities when learning to read. Best-selling author David Sousa explores source material on brain research and provides scores of practical reading strategies for the K-12 classroom … Reading is essential for success in our society. With this guide to cutting-edge reading research, you’ll find the keys to unlocking reading success in your students!

Integrating Literacy and Math: Strategies for K-6 Teachers. Ellen Fogelberg, et al, $27.95

Many teachers—and students—still think of mathematics as a totally separate subject from literacy. Yet incorporating math content into the language arts block helps students gain skills for reading many kinds of texts. And bringing reading, writing, and talking into the math classroom supports the development of conceptual knowledge and problem solving, in addition to computational skills. This invaluable book thoroughly explains integrated instruction and gives teachers the tools to make it a reality. Grounded in current best practices for both language arts and math, the book includes planning advice, learning activities, assessment strategies, reproducibles, and resources, plus a wealth of examples from actual classrooms.

Integrating Literacy and Technology: Effective Practice for Grades K-6. Susan Watts Taffe & Carolyn B. Gwinn, $23.95

Integrating Literacy and Technology sets the stage for using technology effectively in the literacy classroom by taking the reader step-by-step through the ongoing cycle of planning, teaching, and assessment in a technology-rich environment. They demonstrate how to use the Internet and reading and writing software not only to teach core literacy skills, but also to help children develop new reading and communication competencies for the digital age. The book also offers tools and tips to support professional development, including reproducible materials for use by individual teachers or study groups.

Whether putting together a parent-teacher conference, sending material home to parents or designing a parent workshop, this book provides everything a teacher needs.

Leap Into Literacy: Teaching the Tough Stuff So It Sticks! Kathleen Gould Lundy, $24.95

This practical, engaging book offers lesson plans and suggestions for stimulating active learning and creating learning opportunities in new ways. It directs teachers to simple methods of inspiring a questioning attitude that will help students to master skills, acquire information, and become critically aware of their own possibilities as learners.

Lenses on Reading: an Introduction to Theories and Models. Diane Tracey & Lesley Mandel Morrow, $38.50

This accessible text provides an extensive survey of the major theories and models that influence reading instruction and research. Readers learn why theory matters in designing and implementing high-quality instruction; how to critically evaluate the assumptions and beliefs that guide their own work with students; and the benefits of approaching everyday teaching situations from multiple theoretical perspectives.

The Literacy Coaching Challenge: Models and Methods for Grades K-8. Michael McKenna & Sharon Walpole, $33.95

The Literacy Coaching Challenge helps literacy coaches and administrators navigate the many choices involved in developing and fine-tuning a coaching program that offers the best fit for a particular school. The authors draw on current research as well as their extensive experience in K–8 settings.

Literacy Enhancement Strategies. Thomas Daly, $29.50

Literacy Enhancement Strategies was created to enrich the oral and written communication of upper elementary, middle, and high school students who are functioning near grade level but can benefit from additional practice, consistent routines, and step-by-step progression of skill development. Easy-to-follow sample lessons cover content areas, such as talking and listening, reading and comprehending, predicting and anticipating, self-monitoring and advocating for learning style, actively engaging, and organizing written language. The enhancement strategies are closely aligned to the existing general education curriculum and are linked to students’ individual educational goals and objectives. It is the perfect book for home education settings, general education classrooms, resource rooms, autism support teacher pullout sessions, and inclusive settings. Includes a CD with printable handouts.

Literacy Libraries and Learning: Using Books and Online Resources to Promote Reading, Writing and Research. Ray Doiron & Marlene Asselin, editors, $23.95

Teachers and teacher-librarians hold the key to creating powerful learning opportunities that will help students work more effectively in the modern world. This thought provoking book discusses the literacy needs of students and the changing responsibilities of teachers and teacher-librarians in helping students to become better readers, writers, and researchers. The book offers a number of suggestions for re-inventing the school library — from promoting reading for learning and pleasure to supporting research methods that respect copyright and lead to original work and encouraging the integration of emerging technologies and traditional resources.

Literacy and the Youngest Learner: Best Practices for Educators of Children from Birth to 5. V. Susan Bennett-Armistead, Nell Duke & Annie Moses, $28.99

Research shows that literacy — the ability to listen, view, speak, read, and write — begins developing long before children enter elementary school. This book helps early childhood educators nurture that development.

Living Between the Lines. Lucy McCormick Calkins, $36.40

A book for experienced and novice teachers from K-12, Living Between the Lines invites readers to bring new life into their teaching and thinking about how students learn to read and write.

Misreading Masculinity: Boys, Literacy and Popular Culture. Thomas Newkirk, $28.25

In Misreading Masculinity, Tom Newkirk takes an up-close and personal look at elementary boys and their relationship to sports, movies, video games, and other venues of popular culture. He sees these media not as enemies of literacy, but as resources for literacy … Using a mixture of memoir, research project, cultural analysis, and critique of published findings, Newkirk encourages schools to ask questions about what counts as literacy in boys and what doesn't, to allow in their literacy programs boys' diverse tastes, values, and learning styles. In other words, if we want boys to join "the literacy club," then we have to invite them in with genres of their own choosing.

The Picture Book Experience: Choosing and Using Picture Books in the Classroom. Larry Swartz, $12.95

This handy 32-page flipchart describes how experiencing and responding to picture books can lead readers to new tools for learning. The book includes tips, charts, graphic organizers, and activities for use in the classroom or independently, all in an easy-to-read format. Extensive lists of picture books, authors, and illustrators ensure that every reader will find personal favorites to return to again and again.

Practice with Purpose: Literacy Work Stations for Grades 3-6. Debbie Diller, $28.95

Practice with Purpose offers guidance on establishing routines for independent reading and response writing, as well as step-by-step instructions on how to set up and manage a variety of hands-on literacy work stations appropriate for intermediate students. The extensive appendix includes time-saving tools such as management board icons, graphic organizers, task cards, and recommended Web sites and children's literature.

Promoting Early Reading: Research, Resources and Best Practices. Edited by Michael McKenna, Sharon Walpole & Kristin Conradi, $33.50

Promoting Early Reading describes proven ways to enhance early literacy skills in 3- and 4-year-olds, especially those from low-income families. Important topics include promoting oral language and phonemic awareness, conducting read-alouds, setting up effective classroom environments, meeting the needs of English language learners, providing effective preschool coaching, using assessment to plan instruction, and helping students transition to kindergarten. Contributors also share lessons learned about evaluating and sustaining high-quality programs.

Proust and the Squid: the Story and Science of the Reading Brain. Maryanne Wolf, $18.99

Lively, erudite, and rich with examples, Proust and the Squid asserts that the brain that examined the tiny clay tablets of the Sumerians was a very different brain from the one that is immersed in today's technology-driven literacy. The potential transformations in this changed reading brain, Wolf argues, have profound implications for every child and for the intellectual development of our species.

Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. Kelly Gallagher, $23.95

Read-i-cide n: The Systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools.

This provocative book recognizes our schools as a new and significant contributor to the decline of reading and suggests that schools are furthering this decline through standard instructional practices. This insightful book provides teachers, literacy coaches, and administrators with specific steps to reverse the downward spiral in reading — steps that will help prevent the loss of another generation of readers.

Reading Research at Work: Foundations of Effective Practice. Katherine Gougherty Stahl & Michael McKenna, editors, $50.95

This book presents state-of-the-science research on the components of successful literacy learning and how to target them in contemporary classrooms. The volume builds on and extends the work of Steven Stahl, whose pioneering contributions encompassed the key areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and assessment. Ten classic papers by Stahl are accompanied by 16 new chapters by other leading experts, who highlight Stahl's theoretical, methodological, and instructional innovations; describe how knowledge about each domain continues to evolve; and discuss implications for helping all children become better readers.

First grade is a year of important new experiences for students and teachers alike. Some students will arrive knowing how to read, others will know a few letters of the alphabet, and most will be somewhere in between. Including dozens of reproducibles, this book guides first-grade teachers in the many decisions they face about how to orchestrate effective, appropriate, and engaging instruction.

Second-grade classrooms are exciting places to visit. Children are consolidating their growing reading and writing expertise, exploring new genres, and becoming more effective communicators. This book takes the reader into several exemplary second-grade classrooms to demonstrate what teachers can do to optimize literacy learning for their students. Highlights include how to set appropriate short- and long-term goals for individual students, ways to plan instruction to meet those goals, and innovative ideas for partnering with parents. Also available: Teaching Literacy in the Third Grade. Keli Garas, $23.95 and Teaching Literacy in Fourth Grade. Denise Johnson, $23.50

Sixth grade marks the transition to middle school and, for many students, the transition to early adolescence. The sixth-grade classroom is a place where problem-solving and abstract thinking skills can flourish as teachers devise creative ways to integrate language arts with effective content-area instruction. This book walks the reader through everyday life in a successful sixth-grade language arts/social studies classroom and provides foundational knowledge and hands-on strategies for working with diverse learners. Also available: Teaching Literacy in the Fifth Grade, by Susan Mcmahon & Jacqueline Wells, $23.95

Teaching Literacy through the Arts. Nan L. McDonald & Douglas Fisher, $24.95

Accessible and hands-on yet grounded in research, Teaching Literacy through the Arts addresses integrating literacy instruction and the arts in grades K-8. Even teachers without any arts background will gain the skills they need to bring music, drama, visual arts, and dance into their classrooms. Provided are a wealth of specific resources and activities that other teachers have successfully used to build students' oral language, concepts of print, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and writing, while also promoting creativity and self-expression. Special features include reproducible worksheets and checklists for developing, evaluating, and implementing arts-related lesson plans.

Text Me a Strategy: How to Encourage Students to Develop the Skills They Need to Become Independent Learners. Kathy Paterson, $24.95

This timely book offers teachers practical tools that promote student learning and personal growth in our fast-paced information age. Building on students` love of text messaging, this book offers 100 strategies in a "crisp and snappy" form, easily taught, reviewed and reinforced by teachers. The essence of each strategy is captured in its name, which makes the strategy easy to recall, easy to apply and fun to use. The strategies are organized around seven themes that represent general teaching goals: Remembering, Communicating, Organizing, Discovering, Understanding, Creating, and Living Well. Teachers who recognize the importance of helping students cut through overwhelming content and develop life-enabling strategies will appreciate this valuable compilation of ideas and advice for lifelong learning.