"Awesome collection of teaching strategies for all elementary teachers of literacy." Karen Jamison, Florida College

"In Comprehension First, Claudia Cornett has synthesized research and professional wisdom to explain why children should be respected as meaning generators. Her definition of literacy challenges educators to focus on the big picture, the human need to create meaning from and in diverse communication forms. . . . I am overjoyed that there's now a book dedicated to treating the concept of 'comprehension' in depth, at length, and in a scholarly fashion." Brian Cambourne, from the Foreword

"This volume briefly introduces and defines a comprehensive selection of word recognition skills and provides a host of strategies for reinforcing and assessing those skills. Teacher-oriented, the book is extremely well organized and allows easy access to specific materials. It also contains appendixes that should prove helpful to the practitioner, including lists of phonics generalizations, root words, prefixes, and suffixes. . . . It would serve as an excellent companion for those in need of breadth, quickness, and clarity." Choice

Teachers and future teachers searching for best practices with which to promote fluency in reading and writing will find this book invaluable. It includes step-by-step instructions to help incorporate activities such as sing-alongs, poetry reconstruction, and readers theatre into classrooms. Its readability and clear, complete coverage of topics, trends, and issues will help readers promote fluent reading and writing in their classrooms as they motivate children to want to read and write more.

"I think this is one of the best and most reader-friendly assessment books currently available. Others either do not cover the information well, or the information is too extensive, or it uses jargon that makes it hard to follow. A key strength of the book is the examples that are included, which will help preservice or inservice teachers more easily grasp how to use the assessment to inform instruction." Kimberly Kimbell-Lopez, Louisiana Tech University

"Literacy in Grades 4-8 is certainly a comprehensive text that provides educators with a complete guide to reading instruction. I found that this book provides detailed explanations of a variety of concepts, issues, activities, and assessments, all of which are connected to reading instruction. In fact, I found this book to be so thorough in explaining reading processes and skills that I have started recommending it to preservice teachers and to my fellow inservice teachers." Stephanie Grote-Garcia, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, in Education Book Reviews

This book helps future and present teachers create a balanced, comprehensive early literacy program that places direct skills instruction within the context of rich, varied reading and writing experiences. It also prepares teachers to meet the challenge of today's diverse student population. More than 35 hands-on classroom activities with step-by-step directions coupled with numerous assessment tools make this a valuable resource for teachers. Striking a Balance provides comprehensive coverage of core topics in a concise manner and yet sells for about half the price of comparable books.