Description
Book SynopsisThis book offers middle and high school teachers useful suggestions and strategies for cultivating literacy in their classrooms, focusing primarily on the key skills of reading and writing. It discusses the nature of standards-based education and emphasizes the power and importance of good literature in the ELA curriculum. Included are detailed approaches to reading and writing with simple strategies for teaching close reading of complex text, as well as textual evidence and elaboration. A variety of sample performance tasks are included for commonly taught works of American and world literature as well as a variety of strategies to strengthen students reading and writing skills needed for success in college and the workplace. This book is a practical handbook for teachers, who can easily find appropriate strategies to use in their classrooms and begin implementing them right away. It is a useful collection of tips with suggestions and instructions for implementing effective and engagi
Trade ReviewFor teachers who are confused about what to believe about the Common Core State Standards, Greg Berry has written a common-sense approach that will answer many of their question. Cultivating Adolescent Literacy: Standards, Strategies, and Performance Tasks for Improving Reading and Writing is an important book that discusses the pros and cons of the CCSS and also provides a much-needed explanation of the CCSS's various components. Berry also includes practical strategies that help teachers implement the Standards. This book would be a great suggestion for teacher study groups as well as for individual teachers. -- Susan J. Lenski, EdD, professor, Portland State University
Cultivating Adolescent Literacy is a book that bridges the gap between the Common Core Standards and strategies for the classroom while also demonstrating that creativity can embrace rigor. This book delivers wisdom on so many levels and should be mandatory reading for new teachers entering the profession. It is also invigorating for veteran teachers who crave strategies to meet the needs of our changing populations, and it has a plethora of ideas for curriculum connoisseurs. Dr. Berry’s writing style makes us feel as if we are sitting down in an intimate coffee shop discussing his class. He is a phenomenal teacher who empowers students to reach their potential through differentiated assignments and strategies. He shares those assignments along with student models in this book. This book will not sit on a shelf gathering dust; rather, it will sit prominently on your desk, dog-eared and filled with numerous post-it notes due to use. If Dr. Berry’s first book, Literacy for Learning, was the appetizer for useful teaching strategies to empower student learning, then this book is the savory main dish to devour. -- Karri Gordon, English teacher, North Salem High School, Salem, Oregon
Dozens if not hundreds of books have been published in the past decade exploring the educational implications of teaching academic literacy in the era of the Common Core. Yet, through this synthesis of key contributions from renowned colleagues, Berry offers a volume of resources, providing a concise set of invaluable practices for educators. Cultivating Adolescent Literacy presents a collection of diverse and practical tools that any educator can use daily to grow the thinking of students, aiding them with the most rigorous of texts. -- Barbara Dehm Bamford, PhD, Educational Consultant & AVID District Director, Salem-Keizer Public Schools
A timely book providing a great review of the literature supporting reading and writing, with instructional strategies for the novice teacher as well as for the experienced educator. In this book, Dr. Berry showcases with clarity and passion his years of experience teaching English to adolescents. A book for all to reflect on best practices to support learning. -- J. A. Morales, PhD, High School Administrator
Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter One: English Language Arts, Educational Reform, and the Common Core State Standards Movement A. Cycles of Change B.The Common Core State Standards: Promise and Controversy C.Holding on To Literature in the English Curriculum Chapter Two: Cultivating Literacy Learning through Close Reading A. The Importance of Integrating Reading and Writing B.Close Reading Strategies for Literary and Informational Text 1. Close Reading: What it Is and Why It’s Important 2.Close Reading Controversy C.What is Complex Text D.Suggested Close Reading Strategies 1.Strategy One: Four Basic Questions 2.Strategy Two: Think-Aloud 3.Strategy Three: Vocabulary: Structural Analysis and Context Clues 4.Strategy Four: Reading Like a Writer 5.Strategy Five: Text Marking 6.Strategy Six: Charting the Text 7.Strategy Seven: Interactive Shared Reading 8.Strategy Eight: Monitoring Comprehension 9.Strategy Nine: Multiple Readings 10.Strategy Ten: Using Evidence from Text 11.Strategy Eleven: Student-Determined Text-Dependent Questions 12.Strategy Twelve: Teaching Text Structure 13.Strategy Thirteen: Color Coding of Text 14.Strategy Fourteen: Commentary 15.Strategy Fifteen: Analyzing a Source 16.Strategy Sixteen: Paraphrasing 17.Strategy Seventeen: KNOWS 18.Strategy Eighteen: Apps for Promoting Reading Skill 19.Strategy Nineteen: The One Pager Chapter Three: Textual Evidence and Elaboration A.Textual Evidence: What it is and Why it’s Important B.Simple Ways to Teach Textual Evidence C.Sample Strategies 1. Color Coding Strategy 2.Poetry Explication: Supporting Your Reading by Citing Textual Evidence 3.Using Transitions 4.A Time to Dig Deeper: Answering Text-Based Question Chapter Four: Performance Tasks for Specific Literary Texts A. What are Performance Tasks? B.Performance Tasks for Specific Texts 1. Huckleberry Finn and 19th Century Literature Performance Task 2. Cyrano De Bergerac Performance Task 3.The Great Gatsby Performance Task 4.Our Town Performance Task 5.Of Mice and Men Performance Task 6.The Crucible Performance Task 7.Ricochet River Performance Task 8.The Bean Trees 9.House on Mango Street Performance Task 10.Poetry Performance Tasks i.Part One: Literary Analysis of Theme ii.Part Two: Layered Curriculum 11.Poverty Performance Task Afterword: Letting Our Garden Grow
