Great Habits, Great Readers: A Practical Guide for K - 4 Reading in the Light of Common Core

North Star Academy's literacy program is among the most rigorous, highest quality programs in our nation. Certainly, the ability to elevate student academic performance from the lowest quartile to the 99th percentile on national assessments year after year emphasizes this fact; however, the power of their program is best exemplified by the enduring habits developed by their young scholars. It is a powerful experience to witness these habits in action - students maximizing instructional time by transitioning to literacy groups in less than 30 seconds, engaging in peer discussions drawing on evidence from their leveled text, and posing a prompt to support a peer's understanding.As a rising school leader, I had the opportunity to visit North Star Academy on a few different occasions, and after each visit, I couldn't help but to wish that I had an internal guide for how to execute this model in the school I would lead. And lo and behold, Great Habits, Great Readers has been my wish come true. This text has broken the complexity of a rigorous literacy program into clear and digestible components that can be successfully replicated by schools across the nation. Aligned to Common Core, this instructional manual outlines specific instructional strategies and action steps that, when implemented, drive strong reading habits and success among budding elementary readers. Additionally, the resources included in the text, specifically narrative and informational guided reading prompting guides, sample lesson plans, and workshop preparation sheets provide a solid foundation from which to build high quality literacy tools. Further, a CD accompanies this text, providing targeted, authentic video segments of effective literacy instructional practices and strategies implemented by teachers and students in real time.Indeed, Great Habits, Great Readers equips leaders and teachers to make effective instructional decisions within the literacy program that instill skillful reading habits in students. This book provides schools across the nation with the opportunity to get the complex art of literacy instruction, one of the most critical elements of a child's learning process, right! My school opens this July with an inaugural class of Kindergarteners, and our literacy framework is heavily based on Great Habits, Great Readers. Our founding instructional team is thrilled to have such a treasured, proven resource to support the success of our scholars!Lagra NewmanFounder and Head of SchoolPurpose Preparatory AcademyNashville, TN

University Prep is now entering its 3rd year, preparing to serve 230 students in grades K - 3. We have had the absolute privilege to work directly with Aja Settles and Juliana Worrell, two of the book's authors, from our schools' inception and simply can't thank them enough for the support/guidance they've provided us since the beginning. What makes Aja, Juliana and Paul's work so helpful is that they have found a way to remove the "magic" from teaching a child how to become a great reader. There is a genuine science behind building the habits necessary for all children to not only read fluently, swiftly and accurately, but to deeply comprehend the words on the page.This book provides a clear path for teachers and school leaders alike to take reading planning and instruction to the next level. Whether it's providing a breakdown for a highly effective Guided Reading lesson, a planning template for an engaging/meaningful Read Aloud, or materials that will directly support a professional development session on Habits of Discussion for the staff you're leading, this text is incredibly "practical."While we've been using the practices within this text over the last 2 years we can't wait to take them even further as we enter the 2013-14 school year, and are excited to continue working with the authors to ensure our success within each classroom in the building. A big thank you to everyone involved in making the book happen as tools like this one are invaluable for producing a school that places 100% of its children on the path to and through a four year college degree.If you want to "crack the code" on reading instruction and give your teachers a user-friendly tool to become great at teaching the most important content area there is, buy this book.

Great Habits, Great Readers is every educator's dream. In this incredible text, North Star's leaders explain the habits, strategies and steps that have led them to their proven track record of success year after year. Aligned to the Common Core, Great Habits, Great Readers takes complex material and presents it in clear, bite-sized pieces that can be implemented by any school.Great Habits, Great Readers explains all aspects of successful reading instruction. It begins by teaching how to create an efficient classroom with seamless systems to promote a rigorous learning environment ("Habits of the Classroom"). It then outlines the steps to create college-level (and student-guided) conversations at any grade level, known as "Habits of Discussion." There is a section devoted to each aspect of reading instruction including a deep dive into Guided Reading -- planning, executing, prompting, and more.This instructional manual's content is practical and easily implemented in any classroom immediately. Perhaps what makes Great Habits, Great Readers more valuable than any other book about reading are the resources included to support the text. To name a few -- guided reading prompting guides (explicitly linked to the CCSS), sample lesson plans, workshop materials, AND a DVD that provides countless materials and video clips of excellent reading instruction in action.As a colleague, fan and friend of Uncommon Schools, they have truly outdone themselves with Great Habits, Great Readers. Whether you are a teacher, a coach, a school leader, a superintendent, or just eager to learn how to teach reading, you must buy this book --it is unquestionable that you (and your students) will be changed forever!