This resource will help K–2 teachers revitalize and restructure their classroom literacy instruction based on Marie Clay's groundbreaking and transformative literacy processing theory. Clay's theories have created literacy success for more than 2 million struggling first-grade readers in the United States and internationally through the Reading Recovery program. This practical volume gives primary grade teachers specific suggestions for using these principles and includes rich, robust instructional examples to ensure that all children meet new and rigorous standards in all facets of literacy learning. Replete with explicit depictions of classroom practice, the book addresses the following critical aspects of K–2 literacy instruction:

• Teaching foundational skills in brief skills lessons and as children learn strategic activity to read and write text.
• Teaching for children's fast progress in increasingly complex literacy tasks.
• Understanding the role of complex, frustration, instructional, familiar, and easy texts in reading instruction.
• Teaching for knowledge building, comprehension, and writing for narrative and informational text.

Reader friendly chapters include:

• Focus questions to target readers' anticipation of topics discussed.
• Illustrative examples of powerful teacher-student interaction.
• Connections between Clay's comprehensive theory of children's literacy development, literacy standards, and children's fast progress to literacy proficiency.

"The combination of Marie Clay's research and theory with the authors' understanding of these principles in today's classroom is what sets this book apart."

—Lisa Lenhart, director, Center for Literacy Curricular & Instructional Studies, The University of Akron

"Gibson and Moss provide a resource for classroom teachers to support the continued learning of all their students, especially those who need an aware and skilled teacher to keep them on track across the primary grades."

—Robert M. Schwartz, professor, Oakland University, and trainer of teacher leaders, Reading Recovery Center for Michigan

"This comprehensive and well-designed book will be an excellent professional development resource for classroom teachers, Reading Recovery teachers, literacy coaches/specialists, and site administrators."

—Kathleen Brown, Reading Recovery teacher leader, Long Beach Unified School District, CA

"I am eager to use this book with my colleagues as we work to transform early literacy learning in our primary classrooms."

—Terry MacIntyre, Reading Recovery teacher leader, Boulder Valley School District, CO