Thinking Reading: What every secondary teacher needs to know about reading: What every secondary teacher needs to know about reading

by Dianne Murphy, Dianne Murphy

A thorough, easy-to-use walk-through of the extensive research on reading and its effects on student achievement.

Genres: Nonfiction, Education, Teaching, Science, Research

144 pages, Paperback

Published September 3, 2019

Reviews

[Rhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. If you are a teacher who believes in research-led practice, and a teacher who believes we have a moral obligation to ensure all our pupils leave school functionally literate- this is the book for you. Radical in its suggestion that it is poor teaching that has led to 20% of young people struggling to read, it pinpoints, through thorough and detailed research, exactly what needs to happen to rectify that.

[KateP · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to the importance of teaching reading and building importance of this across all subjects in secondary school. A good intro and summary to running effective reading interventions too. At one point there wasn’t much out there on teaching reading to secondary students but the topic has grown in urgency and importance in recent years. Secondaries will find themselves in different places on this journey. I’m at a school where we have a good base already and felt the book is more useful for schools at the start of the path, however the book still provides an excellent t summary on all the research on teaching reading alongside plenty of signposts for how to take things forward.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very interesting to read. From a librarian's point of view it showed clearly how to successfully run and create reading interventions showing students making the most progress. It is a book I would refer to often. I also found the recommendations to other reading material on the same subject very helpful.

[Colin Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're new to structured literacy or the science of reading, this book will be an excellent introduction, particularly if you're a secondary teacher facing dozens of students who are struggling to read. On the other hand, if these are familiar topics, as they are to me, then there may not be enough specific advice to be very helpful. That said, Thinking Reading does recommend practices like spelling and vocabulary development, background knowledge, and the study of morphology. Unfortunately, if your school or district can't or won't sponsor widescale secondary-level testing and intervention, there may not be (according to the authors) much you can do as a solitary classroom teacher.

[Maryann Hilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a teacher, you should read this book! It provides incredible insight into the challenges that students face with reading and how the education systems have failed them. Through no fault of our own, teachers have not been provided with the proper training to ensure all students can be successful readers. I feel that times are changing and it may be slow, but I’d like to think progress will be study. I have taught grades two through 12, and I can see the value in this book! It should be required reading for all educators.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

What this book has effectively made me realise is that I need in depth training in this area- but I don't think my school will pay for me to undertake it. As an NQT I could see that this was more geared towards middle and senior leaders, and there was little in the way of practical ideas I could easily implement. I suppose this comes from the training programme- there are no short cuts! I WISH they would teach us this in teacher training.

[Isobel Ramsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enlightening book about how we learn to read and how to ensure that every child leaves secondary school able to read. Its key message is that all children can learn to read and that it is one of the key skills they will need later in life. Teaching reading is a difficult skill (e.g. word study involves teaching syntax, morphology and etymology) and interventions should be based on sound academic research. We should beware of using diagnoses such as dyslexia to explain poor progress.

[Gitanjali · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book to understand the importance of literacy in children and how it is our duty to give them those entitlements.
The passion and experience came through, however, I feel like there was a lack of pedagogy to back the theory. And a lack of reference about what to read next or where to go with the theory.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent - would be even better if there were more examples or exemplar resources in the appendices or weaved throughout the text. Very insightful, however, and I learnt a lot about the myths I have allowed myself to believe and perpetuated to the detrimental of my students.

[Jon Margetts · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely essential book for exploring the cornerstone skill of reading; a must for all teachers of and in English.

[Heather Stringham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Concepts

This book gave me guidance on enhancing my teaching of reading. I wish there were clearer strategies to.help.me and other teachers of English.

[Christal Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely excellent book that I'm using for a thesis on how to encourage reading for pleasure in secondary students. Would highly recommend.

[Lavena Kuku · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read for any teacher that is genuinely committed to improving the life chances of every student and the importance of reading to do this.

[Karen Mc’gee · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is the absolute worst book I’ve ever read, it doesn’t make any sense and it’s the most contradictory piece of writing ever. Please stop writing until you learn how to do it properly.

[Katharine Bull · Rating 4 out of 5]

🧠 🎉 Lots of ideas to explore! It would have been brilliant to have had an example lesson or intervention plan in there to model from, however.

[Claire Reagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully helpful. I appreciated the secondary education lens as that what I taught for 14 years.

[Kara Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful read with practical suggestions of how to approach reading at the secondary level.

[Chelsea Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ - and excellent starting point in your learning journey in regards to how to support secondary students to improve their reading with explicit and systematic structured literacy resources.