What Really Matters for Struggling Readers: Designing Research-Based Programs

Allington does a great job of synthesizing the research, which honestly is sometimes written dry and dull. This book is not written that way. His writing is clear, chapters are well organized, and his recommendations are full of research citations so you can check it. If you are looking to revamp or improve reading instruction at your school/classroom or ready to give up on struggling readers...DONT! Instead, read this book!! There are so many practical suggestions that one could apply right away. I had to read this for my graduate course, and I'm so glad that I did. This one's a keeper that I know I'll keep coming back to reference over and over again!

I really like what Allington offers as far as changing the way we teach literacy. Providing children with plenty of opportunities to read a large variety of texts, books, etc. I'm definitely all for that! I also like his idea of turning reading/language arts into discussions about books, as opposed to quizzing and testing kids on what they read. This book has inspired me to make a conscious effort to change the way I teach reading.Less exciting (for me) is how he talks about how policies have had an impact on what we teach. And the importance of research. Yes, these are important parts of the teaching field and cannot be ignored.Overall, a good read for teachers looking to better their practice in teaching reading. (Particularly Ch. 4-6!)

Allington has several books that are all written in this same format; the covers even look very similar. For a new teacher of literacy, this is a great book to get you started with how to help your struggling readers. I used this for my reading specialist program, unfortunately I already knew a lot of what was in this book because I've been teaching for a while. It's really easy to read and you can skip around and read out of order - whatever you have time for.

This book has changed my classroom. Books are everywhere. Talk about books is ongoing and vital. I had no idea how little time my students spent in reading until I read this book. Now my kids are reading a lot more and enjoying it more too. My instruction is literature focused and students are reading for homework every night. I get buy in from parents and kids and results on assessments because I use what really matters. The research is there, all we have to do is use it and everything changes.

I had to purchase this for a college class. Allington, does use a lot of research to back up his opinions, but you can't help feeling "preached" to from this reading expert. It read like one long opinion. Good if you have time, but nothing in here was terribly ground-breaking for experienced educators. Most of what he wrote, we could relate to or have heard before, I felt.

Very accessible. Very relevant. We need to change school. That is what will really make a difference.

This book is a wonderful tool that I will be sure to keep in my collection. It is written on a level that is easy to understand, yet sophisticated enough that I feel is appropriate for a Graduate level.

If you want to make the argument for just right books and independent reading this is where to go. You want to argue for dollars to build classroom libraries, this is where to go. Kids need time on text with books they can and want to read independently. This is the book that compiles the research that proves it.