"This book is a `must read' for teachers looking for a strong professional development resource. It is also a great foundational text for undergraduate reading methods courses. At a time when teacher education is flooded with outmoded reading methods textbooks, McIntyre and her colleagues offer us a fresh resource that promises to rise quickly to the top of the field." ---Robert B. Cooter, Jr., EdD, Bellarmine University<BR><BR>"If we do the work this book challenges us to do, we will move closer to leveling the playing field for children of color in our nation's classrooms. It will surely become a seminal book on culturally responsve teaching." ---Patricia A. Edwards, PhD, Michigan State University<BR><BR>"Reader friendly, informative, and practical...Chapters build on research in specific areas of assessment and instruction, drawing explicit, realistic connections to culturally responsive teaching. Teachers gain an understanding of how to take children's richly diverse backgrounds and experiences into account in implementing an effective literacy program." ---Julie K. Kidd, EdD, George Mason University<BR><BR>"This excellent book is needed now more than ever as we embrace rapidly changing demographics in our classrooms. The authors offer best practices that are grounded in research and theory and that reach beyond the National Reading Panel's five literacy pillars. Classroom teachers, literacy coaches, and students in teacher training programs need to read this book and keep it handy for reference during the school year." ---Deborah A. Wooten, PhD, University of Tennessee<BR><BR>This practical, teacher-friendly book provides indispensable guidance for implementing research-based reading instruction that is responsive to students' diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Structured around the "big five" core topics of an effective reading program---phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension---the book explains tried-and-true teaching strategies for fostering all students' achievement. Key topics include engaging diverse students in classroom discussion, involving families in learning, and assessing and teaching new literacies. Numerous classroom examples demonstrate a wide range of easy-to-implement lesson ideas and activities for students at different grade levels, including struggling learners. Issues specific to English language learners are woven throughout the chapters.