Description
Teaching IS rocket science—and you are the pilot!
The authors reinforce what teachers already know—test preparation worksheets and drill-and-kill activities do not make children into lifelong readers. This book’s conscientious approach to reading instruction combines an insider perspective on the development of high-stakes tests with classroom experience in achieving successful reading outcomes at the elementary and secondary levels. Their research-based methodology is based on five key components:
- Aligning instruction to the state or national core standards
- Using formative assessment
- Connecting units to real-world contexts
- Motivating students effectively
- Holding on to best practice in literacy instruction
Table of Contents
Foreword by W. James Popham
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Introduction
1. Conducting an Alignment Study
Conducting an Alignment Study
What Is Alignment?
Teaching to the Test: Just Say No
Key Points to Remember
End-of-Chapter Quiz
2. Using Formative Assessments
What Does Formative Mean?
How Are the Scores of Test Takers Analyzed?
Differentiated Instruction
Tests as a Snap Shot: The Jacuzzi Metaphor
DIBELS
Test Quality and District Assessments
End-of-Chapter Quiz
3. Struggling Readers
Accommodations Versus Modifications
Modifications and High-Stakes Tests: Alternative Assessments
Accommodations and High-Stakes Tests
Assistive Technology (AT)
Response to Intervention (RTI)
Differentiated Instruction (DI)
English Language Learners (ELLs)
End-of-Chapter Quiz
4. Attitude and Motivation
Motivation Research
Incentives
Goal Setting
What to Do If Your Principal Wants to Use Pizza Parties to Bribe Students
The Use of Practice Tests: Preparation or Motivation?
Test Preparation: Analyzing Tests as a Reading Genre
Communicaton With Stakeholders
End-of-Chapter Quiz
5. Engaged Independent Reading
Connect Your Reading Units to Real-World Contexts
Teaching Students to Read for Pleasure
Reading at Home: W.E.I.R.D.
What's the Deal With Boys?
Literature Circles and Book Clubs: What Is Normal in the Real World?
Best Practice for Book Clubs
Summary
End-of-Chapter Quiz
6. Best Practice
What Do Quality Inservices Look Like?
Theory and Practice at the Elementary Level: Best Practices Primer
Know What Works for You
End-of-Chapter Quiz
7. Implications for Your Teaching and Beyond
Holding Your Ground
Test Misuse in the Early Days of Testing
The Need for a Supportive Principal
No More Teaching to the Test
Next Steps
Final Thoughts
Resource A: Answers to Quizzes
Resource B: Five Ways to Teach Vocabulary
General Glossary of Assessment Terms
References
Index
