Product Description
What do we see when young children interact with books before they can read the words?
Kathy Collins and Matt Glover see real reading, characterized by purposeful meaning-making and opportunities for reading growth and language development.
“One of our biggest hopes,” write Kathy and Matt, “is to help you see and value all of the powerful work young children do as readers.” With I Am Reading you’ll see that fostering what little ones do before they can read the words is important early instruction.
Kathy and Matt show how to nurture, nudge, and instruct young readers to make meaning in any text, whether or not they are reading the words. They share:
- observation guides for children reading any kind of book
- specific descriptions of language and independence development
- sample reading conferences and whole-class minilessons
- suggestions for creating reading opportunities in preschool and reading workshops in K–1
- action plans to get you going
- 25 online video clips of children making meaning and teachers supporting them.
I Am Reading pairs two important voices in early literacy to remind us that we’re teaching children, not reading levels. “In the rush toward ever higher reading levels in the early years,” write Kathy and Matt, “we may fail to value the strategy use and high-level thinking children do before they are reading conventionally.” Join Kathy and Matt and look anew at your young readers so you can provide the kind of support that gets them off to a great start.
Table of Contents:
1. Reading or Not—Here We Come!
2. I Know This One! Reading Familiar Picture Books
3. Instructional Implications When Children Read Familiar Books
4. Reading Unfamiliar Books
5. Instructional Implications When Children Read Unfamiliar Books
6. Reading Informational Texts Before They’re Reading Conventionally
7. Growing Independence with Text
8. Supporting Preschool Readers Before They’re Reading Conventionally
9. Supporting Emergent Kindergarten and First-Grade Readers
10. Yearlong Planning
11. Making the Move from Thinking About It to Acting on It
Appendix A. Note-Taking Sheets for Conferences
Appendix B. Library Considerations
Appendix C. Key Descriptors Tip Sheet
Appendix D. Language and Independence Level Grids
