Reading Beyond the Basics

Teacher and literacy coach Catlin Goodrow offers research-informed strategies and personal reflections to help older elementary school students engage with complex, vocabulary-rich texts. Grounded in effective tools and routines, her approach focuses on the teacher-supported reading of worthy texts. Teachers will find practical resources, templates, and examples of lessons to foster student engagement, accelerate reading skills, and support ongoing literacy development.

Grades 2–6 classroom teachers, reading specialists, and literacy coaches will:

• Shape literacy instruction around flexible principles versus prescribed programs of practice
• Analyze and select texts that both foster literacy skills and encourage personal reflection
• Develop literacy lesson structures that support students before, during, and after reading
• Implement simple, reproducible exercises as grounding routines for reading engagement
• Create safe learning environments where students can engage and explore their reading

Contents:
Introduction
Part I: Preparing and Planning
Chapter 1: Five Guiding Principles
Chapter 2: Selecting and Evaluating Texts Worth Reading
Chapter 3: Analyzing Texts With Readers in Mind
Part II: Structuring Reading Lessons
Chapter 4: Before Reading
Chapter 5: During Reading
Chapter 6: After Reading
Part III: Conditions for Learning
Chapter 7: Classroom Culture for Growing Readers
Conclusion
References and Resources
Index