In Sharon Taberski's book, On Solid Ground, the veteran teacher/author shares her expertise on teaching reading and writing to children in kindergarten through third grade in a clear and precise manner.  She thoroughly covers the areas of assessment, demonstration, practice and response as a series of interconnected interactions with student learners.  This book is current, offers valuable teaching advice, includes booklists, reproducibles, and the words and works of actual students.  New and veteran primary grade teachers will benefit from reading this valuable professional resource to establish a strong base or "solid ground" in teaching reading.
 
 

    Five essential beliefs the author holds about assessment:
 
 

    1.  A supportive classroom environment with structured schedules and routines must be present in order

         to assess children's reading.

    2.  Reading conferences with students one-on-one on a regular basis create a context for assessment to

         get to know students better and to plan instruction to meet their needs.

    3.  Assessment notebooks are important teaching tools that document a child's reading growth for the

         entire school year.

    4.  Oral-reading records, or running records become a tool for teaching, allowing for greater flexibility

         and many more opportunities for assessment.

    5.  Predefined scope and sequence of skills cannot replace five or ten minutes of watching a child read or

         listening to him or her talk and then deciding best how to proceed.
 
 

    Golden Lines
 
 

    1.  "The effective teacher not only imparts information, but sees the children as active learners and helps

         them find ways to learn for themselves."  (p.6)
 
 

    2.  "Over the years I've found that it's important to know for what I'm striving as it is to know from where I'm

         thinking.  In fact, having clear goals is one of the most important steps I can take to more effective

         teaching."  (p.9)
 
 

    3.  "If we want children to become strategic readers, them we create classrooms that reinforce the

         strategies we've demonstrated and allow children to practice on books that match their needs."  (p. 33)
 
 

    4.  "Reading should be a pleasurable endeavor."  (p.113)