Target Audience:
Anyone, at any point in their career, who teaches reading and writing to younger students (K, 1^st and 2^nd) and slightly older struggling students.

About this Book:

Voices on Word Matters is a collection of articles written by various teachers, professors, and other reading/writing professionals all designed to help students in the early phases of learning to read and write. The articles all support the concept of "Word Solving", the act of taking words apart for reading and constructing them for writing. Word solving incorporates three key components; reading, writing, and word study. The articles are a mix of theory, research, and activities (both for students, and professional development ideas for teachers) surrounding these three components. It is an instructive book with a lot of useful, helpful information.

Essential beliefs about assessment expressed by the authors and editors are:

• Learning to read and write is a very difficult, complex, time consuming task and we must support our students as individuals by finding out: What do they know, what do they need to know, and how should we teach that?

• Observation of reading and writing behavior is critical for understanding what the students know about word solving and for guiding instruction.

• It is important to assess the studentís self-concept as a reader and writer. This provides valuable information that can be used to help further the studentís skills.

• Having students work in authentic situations and on meaningful tasks will allow you to find out more about their skills.

• "The power of the ëteachable momentí is that children are working at the ëcutting edgeí of their abilities." (p. 30)

• "The significant question at any stage of progress is not ëHow much does he know?í but rather ëWhat kind of operations does he carry out and what kinds of operations has he neglected to use?í" (p. 150)

• "A balanced approach to literacy instruction offers an opportunity to transcend the endless debates and return a measure of common sense to teaching and learning." (p. 196)