Recommended Reading

Check out this list of recommended reads to further support your work.

Building Oral Language, Vocabulary, and Knowledge

• Biemiller, A. (2003). Oral comprehension sets the ceiling on reading comprehension. American Educator, Spring.

• Cabell, S. & Hwang, H. (2020). Building content knowledge to boost comprehension in the primary grades. Reading research quarterly. 55. 10.1002/rrq.338.

• González, N., Moll, L. C., & Amanti, C. (Eds.). (2005). Funds of knowledge: Theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

• Lesaux, N. & Russ Harris, J. (2015). Cultivating knowledge, building language. Heinemann.

• Neuman, S. & Wright, T. (2014). The magic of words: Teaching vocabulary in the early childhood classroom. American Educator, Summer.

• Willingham, D.T. (2006). How knowledge helps: It speeds and strengthens reading comprehension, learning, and thinking. American Educator, Spring.

Comprehension

• Adams, M. J. (2010-2011). Advancing our students' language and literacy: The challenge of complex texts. American Educator, Winter.

• Oakhill, J., Cain, K., & Elbro, C. (2014). Understanding and teaching reading comprehension: a handbook. Routledge.

Equity in Early Literacy

• Gersten, R., Baker, S.K., Shanahan, T., Linan-Thompson, S., Collins, P., & Scarcella, R. (2007). Effective literacy and English language instruction for English learners in the elementary grades: A practice guide. National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

• Hammond, Z. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Corwin / Sage.

• Ladson-Billings, G. (2021). Culturally relevant pedagogy: Asking a different question. Teachers College Press.

• Lesaux, N. K., Galloway, E. P., & Marietta, S. H. (2016). Teaching advanced literacy skills: A guide for leaders in linguistically diverse schools. Guilford Press.

• Muhammad, G. (2020). Cultivating genius: An equity framework for culturally and historically responsive literacy. Scholastic.

How We Learn to Read and How to Support Reading Instruction

• Buckingham, D. J., & Castles, A. (2019). Learning to read and explicit teaching. Teacher Magazine.

• Cardenas-Hagan, E. & Vaughn, S. (2020). Literacy foundations for English learners: A comprehensive guide to evidence-based instruction. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

• Castles, A., Rastle, K., & Nation, K. (2018). Ending the reading wars: Reading acquisition from novice to expert. Psychological science in the public interest, 19, 5–51.

• Minnesota Public Radio. (2020). Reading: APM Reports. Interactive stories on APM Reports.

• Moats, L. C. (2020). Teaching reading is rocket science: What expert teachers of reading should know and be able to do. American Federation of Teachers.

• Seidenberg, M. (2017). Language at the speed of sight. Basic Books.

• Washington, J.A. & Seidenberg, M. (2021). Teaching reading to African American children: When home and school language differ. American Educator, Summer.

Multi-tiered System of Support for Early Literacy

• Denton, C. A. (2012). Response to intervention for reading difficulties in the primary grades: some answers and lingering questions. Journal of learning disabilities. 45(3), 232–243.

• Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L. S., & Compton, D. L. (2012). Smart RTI: A next-generation approach to multilevel prevention. Exceptional children, 78(3), 263–279.

• Gersten, R., Compton, D., Connor, C.M., Dimino, J., Santoro, L., Linan-Thompson, S., & Tilly, W.D. (2008). Assisting students struggling with reading: Response to intervention and multi-tier intervention for reading in the primary grades. A practice guide. National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

• Kilpatrick, D. (2015). Essentials of assessing, preventing, and overcoming reading difficulties (Essentials of psychological assessment). John Wiley and Sons.

Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

• Foorman, B., Beyler, N., Borradaile, K., Coyne, M., Denton, C. A., Dimino, J., Furgeson, J., Hayes, L., Henke, J., Justice, L., Keating, B., Lewis, W., Sattar, S., Streke, A., Wagner, R., & Wissel, S. (2016). Foundational skills to support reading for understanding in kindergarten through 3rd grade. National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE), Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

• Kilpatrick, D. (2016). Equipped for reading success: A comprehensive, step by step program for developing phonemic awareness and fluent word recognition. Casey & Kirsch.

• Moats, L. C. (2020). Speech to print: Language essentials for teachers. Paul H. Brookes.

Simple View of Reading

• Duke, N.K. & Cartwright, K.B. (2021). The science of reading progresses: Communicating advances beyond the simple view of reading. Reading research quarterly, 56: (S1), 25–44.

• Nation, K. (2019). Children's reading difficulties, language, and reflections on the simple view of reading. Australian journal of learning difficulties, 24:1, 47–73.

Last Updated: September 16, 2022