Coteaching reading comprehension strategies in elementary school libraries

CHICAGO — Time-strapped educators may wonder whether partnering with school librarians can realistically improve students’ scores, but studies show that collaboration improves overall effectiveness in increasing students’ reading comprehension. As part of the U.S.-wide drive to improve test scores and build a nation of readers, “Coteaching Reading Comprehension Strategies in Elementary School Libraries: Maximizing Your Impact,” published by ALA Editions, offers proven teamwork tools to accomplish both goals. Judi Moreillon, a veteran teacher-librarian, updates “Collaborative Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension” to draw on cutting-edge research in instructional strategies, offering a clear, rigorous roadmap to teaching reading comprehension in a proven collaborative process. Incorporating the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, Moreillon presents:

• Strategies for improving reading comprehension, complete with updated graphic organizers, sample lesson plans and technology-centered examples;
• Practical steps for streamlining the coteaching lesson-planning process, boiling it down to three levels of literacy development;
• Techniques for strengthening collaborative partnerships through flexible design and delivery ;
• Guidance for incorporating library programs into research-driven teaching practices.

Moreillon is a literacies and libraries consultant and assistant professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman’s University, and author of the companion book “Coteaching Reading Comprehension Strategies in Secondary School Libraries: Maximizing Your Impact.” She teaches courses in librarians as instructional partners, school library administration, multimedia resources, storytelling and children’s and young adult literature. She earned her master’s degree in library science from the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Arizona and a doctorate in education at the same university in the Department of Language, Reading, and Culture. During her 13-year tenure as a school librarian, she has collaborated with classroom teachers, specialists and principals at the elementary, middle and high school levels to integrate literature and information literacy into the classroom curriculum. She has also served as a district-level school librarian mentor, a literacy coach, a classroom teacher and a preservice classroom teacher educator. She chaired the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) School Librarian’s Role in Reading Task Force and served on the AASL Guidelines and Standards Implementation Task Force. She is currently researching the leadership and instructional partnership roles of school librarians and factors that influence preservice classroom teachers’ understanding and practice of classroom-library collaboration.

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Related Links

"Coteaching Reading Comprehension Strategies in Elementary School Libraries: Maximizing Your Impact"

"Coteaching Reading Comprehension Strategies in Secondary School Libraries: Maximizing Your Impact"

"Information Literacy Instruction that Works: A Guide to Teaching by Discipline and Student Population, Second Edition"