Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach Fifth edition TABLE OF CONTENTS     Chapter 3: Assessing Students’ Literacy Development Vignette:  Mrs. McNeal Conducts Second-Quarter Assessment Introduction CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT TOOLS  Determining Students’ Reading Levels  Monitoring Students’ Progress  Diagnosing Students’ Strengths and Weaknesses  Documenting Students’ Learning PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT  Why Are Portfolios Worthwhile?  Collecting Work in Portfolios  Involving Students in Self-Assessment  Showcasing Students’ Portfolios HIGH-STAKES TESTING  Problems with High-Stakes Testing  Preparing for Standardized Tests  The Politics of High-Stakes Testing Review:  How Effective Teachers Assess Students’ Literacy Development Professional References Children’s Book References   Chapter 4: Working with the Youngest Readers and Writers Vignette: Ms. McCloskey’s Students Become Readers and Writers Introduction FOSTERING AN INTEREST IN LITERACY    Concepts about Print    Assessing Students’ Concepts about Print    Concepts About Words    Environmental Print    Literacy Play Centers    Concepts about the Alphabet HOW CHILDREN DEVELOP AS READERS AND WRITERS    Stage 1: Emergent Reading and Writing    Stage 2: Beginning Reading and Writing    Stage 3: Fluent Reading and Writing INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES    Shared Reading    Language Experience Approach    Interactive Writing    Manuscript Handwriting    Writing Centers Review Professioal References   Chapter 5: Cracking the Alphabetic Code Vignette:  Mrs. Firpo Teaches Phonics Using a Basal Reading Program Introduction PHONEMIC AWARENESS  Components of Phonemic Awareness  Teaching Phonemic Awareness  Assessing Children’s Phonemic Awareness  Why Is Phonemic Awareness Important? PHONICS  Phonics Concepts  Teaching Phonics  Assessing Students’ Phonics Knowledge  What’s the Role of Phonics in a Balanced Literacy Program? SPELLING  Stages of Spelling Development  Teaching Spelling  Assessing Students’ Spelling  What’s the Controversy About Spelling Instruction? Review Professional References Children’s Book References   Chapter 6: Developing Fluent Readers and Writers Vignette:  Ms. Williams’ Students Learn High-Frequency Words  Introduction LEARNING TO READ AND WRITE WORDS  Word Recognition  Word Identification WHAT IS FLUENCY?  The Components of Fluency  Promoting Reading Fluency  Developing Writing Fluency  Assessing Students’ Fluency Review Professional References Children’s Book References   Chapter 7: Expanding Students’ Knowledge of Words Vignette:  Mrs. Sanom’s Word Wizards Club Introduction HOW DO STUDENTS LEARN VOCABULARY WORDS?  Levels of Word Knowledge  Incidental Word Learning  Why Is Vocabulary Knowledge Important? TEACHING STUDENTS TO UNLOCK WORD MEANINGS  Word-Study Concepts  Words to Study  Teaching Students about Words  W

Pre-service and in-service teachers are provided authentic student examples and practical pedagogy on how to engage in balanced literacy instruction. Checklists and Accountability Reviews point out the specific roles and responsibilities for which classroom teachers must engage in to cover the components of reading and writing instruction. Also new to this edition are boxes that identify Common Core State Standards for Language Arts to show the relationship between the teaching and learning of specific reading and writing components. Assessment Snapshots present authentic examples of rubrics, checklists, and other formative assessment resources that classroom teachers use to measure literacy growth on a day-to-day basis. New Teacher Notes identify how to analyze each assessment and use it to inform instruction.Booklists, Minilessons, embedded Videos, Teach Kids to Be Strategic features, and step-by-step Instructional Procedures all provide Instructional Support and makes this text the most practical and applied text in the field.Classroom Intervention boxes provide information on how to assist struggling readers and writers including RtI strategies that illustrate how to modify and supplement instruction to ensure all readers and writers are successful.New Differentiating Instruction features highlight case studies of students with varying levels of literacy development. These features identify how classroom teachers modify literacy instruction to meet the diversity of students including for three levels of beginning readers and writers, three students with varying levels of comprehension skills, and three English language learners who represent various levels of literacy proficiency. Chapter sections called Nurturing English Language Learners align specific strategies to topical content on teaching and learning.Go Digital and New Literacies suggest ways to present 21st century literacies K-8 students are expected to develop and, demonstrate how to integrate them into reading and writing instruction.

A number of pedagogical features have been revised or added to align with needs for strategic teacher preparation and contemporary classroom teaching. Because teachers are responsible for student achievement , new features address teacher accountability. Chapter-by-chapter Checklists ask specific questions to guide teachers in ensuring they have covered sequential and critical instruction for each component essential to literacy development. Core Common State Standards boxes explain how the standards address components of reading and writing, providing readers foundational knowledge and identifying connections among standards.Teach Kids to Be Strategic features present step-by-step guidance on how to teach specific skills and strategies directly to children.Assessment Snapshots, as examples of authentic formative assessment resources, now include a Teaching Note that identifies the purpose and function of each assessment example and how to use it to inform instruction.Classroom Intervention features describe how to address the needs of struggling readers and writers.Differentiated Instruction features highlight nine different students--beginning readers and writers, students learning comprehension skills, and English Language Learners--illustrating how varied students literacy needs can be within one classroom and how scaffolding their instruction is critical to their success as readers and writers.Go Digital! features present 21st century literacy skills with integrated point-of-use discussions to show teachers how to capitalize on and engage in digital learning.