Best Practices in Adolescent Literacy Instruction. Edited by Kathleen Hinchman & Heather Sheridan-Thomas, $42.75

Covering everything from day-to-day learning activities to school-wide goals, this engaging book reviews key topics in literacy instruction for grades 5–12 and provides research-based recommendations for practice. Leading scholars present culturally responsive strategies for motivating adolescents; using multiple texts and digital media; integrating literacy instruction with science, social studies and math; and teaching English language learners and struggling readers.

Breaking the Word Barrier: Stories of Adults Learning to Read. Marilyn Lerch & Angela Ranson, Editors, $16.95

Each success related in these stories has helped a dream come within reach — from helping a child with homework to landing a job with better pay. The stories in this collection are inspirational and demonstrate a generosity of spirit and hope for others in similar circumstances.

Building Comprehension in Adolescents: Powerful Strategies for Improving Reading and Writing in Content Areas. Linda Mason, Robert Reid & Jessica Hagaman, $38.50

Comprehension problems have become an epidemic. Start addressing the root of the problem today with this practical guidebook, designed to strengthen adolescents' reading comprehension and written expression so they can master academic content. Developed for middle and high school teachers, this book helps educators improve students' reading and writing through Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), an evidence-based instructional approach that shows students how to apply proven strategies independently to boost their school success.

Practical, photocopiable worksheets and other instructional materials make the lessons easy to implement in any classroom. Teachers will help students develop new skills with a variety of self-monitoring checklists, goal charts, self-instruction sheets, graphic organizers, and more.

With the highly effective strategies in this research-backed guide, educators will help build a stronger foundation for academic success and ensure that all of their students are reading and writing to learn.

Caught in the Middle: Reading and Writing in the Transition Years. David Booth, $24.95

CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE offers teachers a richly textured picture of the world of middle-school students. It describes who these students are, explains why fostering their voice is important, and discusses the creation of a community of literacy partners. It addresses topics related to technology, reading, writing, research, use of the arts, community, and assessment. The voices of thirty remarkable middle-school teachers focus on such important issues as recognizing the impact of social media; the effect of the internet on research; the need for critical literacy; and the potential of the school library.

Both philosophical and practical, the book features strong examples of various kinds of texts, including opinion pieces, poetry, journal entries, and writing in role. The book also addresses ways to promote reader engagement and comprehension; outlines a range of reading strategies; shows how to interact with a student's journal; provides banks of questions to prompt response, discussion, and self-assessment; and much, much more.

Fresh Takes on Teaching Literary Elements. Michael Smith & Jeffrey Wilhelm, $29.99 Grades 6-12

Got Grammar? Ready-to-Use Lessons and Activities That Make Grammar Fun! Jack Umstatter, $35.99 (Grades 6 to 12)

Each of the over 60 lessons in Got Grammar are ready-to-use and reproducible, and each begins with helpful teaching pages that define, explain, and illustrate grammar, usage, or mechanics concepts. These lessons and the many ready-to-use student activities include 15 diagnostic tests, 15 section-review activities, 18 final tests, and over 100 other creative reinforcement activities, including diagramming.

The Grammar Teacher’s Activity-a-Day, Grades 5-12. Jack Umstatter, $23.95

180 ready-to-use lessons to teach grammar and usage.

In this concise, practical book, Marilyn Reynolds shares techniques she has used and personal anecdotes that reveal much about reluctant readers and teachers who struggle daily to engage them. Among many other key topics, Reynolds discusses the importance of respect for students' attitudes, experiences, perceptions and choices regarding reading.

In addition to insightful analysis, Reynolds devotes a good portion of her book to practical, immediately usable resources, including answers to frequently asked questions, prompts for teaching, and a separate section of "Tricks of the Trade" with logs, forms, an extensive list of "hit" books, and much more.

It's Critical! Classroom Strategies for Deepening and Extending Comprehension. David Booth, $24.95

It’s Critical shows teachers how to plan literacy events that recognize and interpret the factors that readers and writers bring to the text. It offers successful strategies for becoming caring mentors who support and encourage students as they explore a variety of text forms - from poems to novels, from speeches to blogs, from art to invention. Based on extensive classroom experience, the book shows you how to engage students in brainstorming, researching, interpreting, problem-solving, discussing, presenting, composing, conducting inquiries, publishing reports, writing poems and scripts, critically examining issues and concerns, and reflecting on their learning.

Nonfiction Reading Power. Adrienne Gear, $24.95

Teaching students how to think while they read all kinds of information.

Parallel Curriculum Units for Language Arts, Grades 6-12. Jeanne Purcell & Jann Leppien, $58.95

Parallel Curriculum Units for Language Arts provides sample language arts units written by practicing teachers to demonstrate what high-quality curriculum looks like within a PCM framework. Covering a variety of topics—including narrative voice, literary criticism, and writing original pieces—these field-tested units help you to design your own units and deepen your understanding of how the PCM framework helps tailor curriculum to the abilities, interests, and learning preferences of each learner.

Prompted to Write: Building On-Demand Writing Skills, Grades 6-12. Meredith Pike-Baky & Gerald Fleming, $29.99

Prompted to Write offers help for teachers who are preparing students for "high-stakes" writing tests. Features in-depth and reproducible lesson units to help student develop proficiency in crafting essays, building vocabulary and reading comprehension skills.

Reading Success for Struggling Adolescent Learners. Edited by Susan Lenski & Jill Lewis, $36.50

Comprehensive, up to date, and highly practical, this volume discusses factors that affect struggling readers in grades 7–12 and provides research-based strategies for improving their reading and writing skills … Essential topics include assessment; building core competencies, such as fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary; and working with struggling adolescent English language learners.

Reading Unbound: Why Kids Need to Read What They Want — and Why We Should Let Them. Jeffrey Wilhelm & Michael Smith, $24.99

Never doubt that reading has the power to transform lives. This groundbreaking book provides an in-depth exploration of the secret reading lives of avid adolescent readers — and how their reading choices affect their lives and learning. Through the powerful voices of teens, you'll discover the books, authors, genres, and topics that engage students both intellectually and emotionally as they work to figure out who they are in the world and who they want to become.

Real-Life Reading Activities for Grades 6-12. James Silver, $32.99

Over 200 ready-to-use lessons and activities to help students master practical reading skills.

Teaching Adolescents Who Struggle with Reading: Practical Strategies. David Moore & Kathleen Hinchman, $35.95

Teaching Adolescents Who Struggle with Reading presents practical classroom strategies for teaching middle and high school students who struggle as readers and writers.

Teaching Adolescent Writers. Kelly Gallagher, $27.95

This thoughtful book shoes how students can be taught to write effectively with a number of classroom-tested strategies that enable teachers to:

• understand the importance of teaching and modeling writing
• understand how providing choice motivates and elevates adolescent writing
• help students recognize the importance of purpose and audience
• assess in ways the drive better writing performance

Infused with humour and illuminating anecdotes, the book offers both practical ways to incorporate writing instruction into everyday teaching, and compelling reasons to do so.

Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent Males: Closing the Achievement Gap. Alfred Tatum, $24.95

The race and gender achievement gap in literacy is one of the most difficult issues in education today. Providing a first-hand perspective, Alfred Tatum brings together his various experiences as a black male student, middle school teacher working with struggling black male readers, reading specialist in an urban elementary school, and staff developer in classrooms across the nation to offer insights on ways teachers and schools can re-conceptualize literacy instruction for those who need it most.

Tutoring Adolescent Readers. Deborah Berrill, Laura Doucette & Dirk Verhulst, $24.95

A comprehensive, hands-on manual for teachers and peer tutors working with struggling readers from ages 12 to 18. The book offers simple solutions for a variety of student needs, from students who are turned off or learning English for the first time to students who have a learning problem or a different learning style. This practical book promotes fluency and word recognition with innovative suggestions for all phases of reading — setting up a tutoring program, techniques to use while reading, and meaningful follow-up activities. Reproducible resources explain the essentials of reading instruction and investigate a variety of effective reading strategies.

Worth Writing About: Exploring Memoir with Adolescents. Jake Wizner, $27.95

This thoughtful book illustrates how memoir writing — searching for the answers to the question "Who am I?" — can lead students to reflection, to reading, and ultimately, to deeper, more meaningful writing. It addresses the most common challenges faced when teaching memoir writing: How do you help students who say they have nothing interesting to share? How do you balance what's meaningful with what's too personal to share? How do we overcome memory?

The book also delves into the craft of writing, from using mentor texts to crafting intriguing leads and memorable endings. Authentic student models illustrate the deep, important work that a memoir unit can produce. When students write about real stuff — the things that matter to them — they learn more about themselves, their relationships, the way they view the world, and how they want to move forward into the future.

"You Gotta BE the Book": Teaching Engaged and Reflective Reading with Adolescents, 2nd Edition. Jeffrey Wilhelm, $24.95

Through textured case studies of engaged and reluctant readers, the 2nd Edition of “You Gotta BE the Book” once again addresses enduring issues, such as:

• What do highly engaged, adolescent readers DO as they read?
• What is it about traditional schooling and reading instruction that deters engaged reading and serves to disenfranchise young readers?
• What types of interventions can be used in the classroom to help all students, especially reluctant ones, to become successful readers?

In this expanded edition, Wilhelm adds a new commentary to each chapter in which he reflects on the research and insights he introduced in his now classic text.

You Hear Me? Poems and Writing by Teenage Boys. Edited by Betsy Franco, $8.00

In a powerful collection of more than seventy uncensored poems and essays, more than fifty teenage boys from across the country explore their many-layered concerns: identity, love, envy, gratitude, sex, anger, competition, fear, hope. Here, unadorned and without the filter of adult sensibility, is the raw stuff of their lives, in their own words.