Reading Beyond the Basics: Key Routines for Engaging, Research-Informed Instruction in Grades 2-6 (Practical Methods for Effective Reading Instruction

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