New Professional Resources from Scholastic Highlight Responsive Literacy and Fluency Instruction for K–8 Educators

Contact: Stephanie Agresti, 212-343-7819, sagresti@scholastic.com

Leading Experts Patricia L. Scharer, Timothy V. Rasinski, Melissa Cheesman Smith, and Members of The Ohio State University Literacy Collaborative® Offer Strategies for Increasing Reading Achievement


New York, NY – April 12, 2018 – Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children’s publishing, education, and media company, today announced the release of two new professional books that outline strategies for increasing reading achievement with a focus on responsive literacy and fluency: Responsive Literacy: A Comprehensive Framework edited by Patricia L. Scharer, with contributions from members of The Ohio State University Literacy Collaborative®, and The Megabook of Fluency: Strategies and Texts to Engage All Readers by Timothy V. Rasinski and Melissa Cheesman Smith.

“Hearing what has worked for fellow educators with a diverse range of backgrounds and specializations is one of the best ways for teachers to continue their professional learning and discover new strategies for igniting that passion for reading and writing,” says Dr. Lois Bridges, Vice President & Publisher, Scholastic Education. “Responsive Literacy and The Megabook of Fluency come from the minds of tremendously experienced educators and are both exceptional new additions to the robust collection of resources from Scholastic Professional that provide teachers everywhere with clear and complete guidance for helping all of their students become the fluent, independent, successful, and joyful readers and writers that they can be.”

Responsive Literacy: A Comprehensive Framework edited by Patricia L. Scharer, with contributions from members of The Ohio State University Literacy Collaborative®

Literacy expert Patricia L. Scharer and other educators of The Ohio State University Literacy Collaborative®, founded by Dr. Gay Su Pinnell, craft a comprehensive framework, informed by decades of research and practice, for fostering responsive literacy instruction. The book covers six essential parts of responsive literacy instruction for K–8 classrooms, including: professional learning; organizing for learning; reading; writing; building blocks of language; and learning communities. Each topic includes detailed strategies that are individualized according to student needs and combined with authentic text in order to increase student achievement and to promote joyful reading and writing experiences. In addition, educators will have online access to professional videos and downloadable resources. Available now: www.scholastic.com/responsiveliteracy

The Megabook of Fluency: Strategies and Texts to Engage All Readers by Timothy V. Rasinski and Melissa Cheesman Smith

Fluency expert and Reading Hall of Fame member Timothy V. Rasinski joins forces with veteran fifth-grade teacher and Arizona State University faculty associate Melissa Cheesman Smith to create an expansive resource that provides engaging and authentic strategies for fluent reading in grades K–8. The authors describe fluency as the ability to read with Expression, Automatic word recognition, Rhythm and phrasing, and Smoothness, the foundation for their EARS framework. The framework is designed to help teachers weave fluency work into their daily reading instruction with more than 50 engaging, ready-to-use skill-building strategies that are supported by text, practical lessons, an assessment scale, and tips for involving families. The authors also emphasize fluency’s important role as the bridge that connects word recognition with comprehension, contributing to overall reading achievement and moving students to more meaningful reading. Available April 16, 2018, with pre-orders open now: www.scholastic.com/themegabookoffluency

For more information about Scholastic, visit the Company’s media room at http://mediaroom.scholastic.com.

Click the image below to open a hi-res version in a new window

###