Teaching the Brain to Read: Strategies for Improving Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension

Neurologist and middle school teacher Judy Willis connects what you do in the classroom to what happens in the brain when students learn how to read, including:

• Why a classroom has to be safe and supportive in order to overcome barriers to reading fluency
• How to jump-start students who are not well prepared for reading with activities that build phonemic awareness
• Why helping students identify and use patterns is vital to effective reading instruction
• How to enhance students' vocabulary processing by relating to their learning styles and prior knowledge, and engaging them in multi sensory learning
• Why strategies for teaching reading comprehension need to change with each step of the comprehension process

With each revelation about the neurology of reading instruction, Willis provides whole-class and individualised activities, lessons, and units that you can use in every grade and subject to help all students become better readers.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1. From Syllable to Synapse: Prereading Through Decoding

Chapter 2. Patterning Strategies

Chapter 3. Fluency Building from the Brain to the Book

Chapter 4. Eliminating Barriers on the Road to Fluency

Chapter 5. Vocabulary Building and Keeping

Chapter 6. Successful Reading Comprehension

Conclusion

Glossary

References