Developing Self-Regulated Learners

Linda J. Dorn and Carla Soffos This is a book about problem solving--an internal tool that shapes the cognitive development of young readers and writers. At the same time, it is a book about the role of the teacher and the curriculum in structuring problem-solving opportunities. It is a book that advocates for schools to create intellectual environments that make literate thinking a top priority for children. Finally, it is a book that presents teaching and learning as collaborative processes between many people with a common goal--literacy for children.

From the Introduction: How can teachers create a literacy curriculum that builds processing links between reading, writing, and spelling knowledge? In Shaping Literate Minds, Linda J. Dorn and Carla Soffos illustrate how processing theory can be applied to the everyday practices of classroom teaching.

If instruction emphasizes the interrelationships of these three language areas, students learn how to transfer knowledge, skills, and strategies across literacy events. This is complex theory, but the authors provide clear and practical examples to support teachers as they incorporate these ideas into their classroom practices.

Grounded in authentic experiences from primary classrooms, this book provides:
Explanations of processing behaviors among reading, writing, and spelling knowledge;
Observational tools that support teachers in noticing changes over time in specific literacy behaviors;
Guidance on creating conditions for developing self-regulated learners;
Authentic reading and writing samples and teacher/student interactions;
Figures and pictures that clearly describe how teachers can use assessment to inform and guide instruction, with links to national standards;
Details for establishing a school-based literacy model that includes team meetings, assessment walls, high standards, and a curriculum for literacy;
Appendixes with reproducible assessment checklists, report cards, task cards for literacy corners, and guided reading observation forms for team meetings. With a national emphasis on accountability, high standards, and literacy achievement, Shaping Literate Minds will help teachers and administrators implement a high-quality literacy curriculum that links to national and state goals.
Contents

1. Language and Learning

2. A Curriculum for Literacy

3. Shaping a Literacy Processing System

4. Developing Orthographic and Phonological Knowledge

5. Teaching for Automaticity and Transfer

6. Developing Self-Regulated Teachers

Appendixes

References

Index

Developing Self-Regulated Learners

Linda J. Dorn and Carla Soffos

Linda J. Dorn is Associate Professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where she directs the Early Literacy Center. She has twenty years of experience in education, including eight years as an elementary classroom teacher. Her most recent work includes the development and implementation of the Arkansas Literacy Coaching Model. Linda conducts summer early literacy institutes for teachers across the United States, and she is a popular conference speaker. She is co-author of Apprenticeship in Literacy (Stenhouse 1998), Scaffolding Young Writers (Stenhouse 2001), and Literacy Task Cards (Teaching Resource Center 2001), and author of the four-part video staff development series Organizing for Literacy (Stenhouse 1999).

Carla Soffos is a literacy coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Her sixteen years in education include eight years as a first grade teacher. Carla works daily with classroom teachers in implementing the Arkansas Literacy Coaching Model, and she presents workshops to school districts across the United States. She is the co-author of Scaffolding Young Writers and Literacy Task Cards and is featured in the Organizing for Literacy video series.

2001

160 pp/paper

ISBN No. 1-57110-338-4

$17.50

Other Titles by Linda J. Dorn:

Apprenticeship in Literacy with Cathy French and Tammy Jones

Organizing for Literacy (videos)

Scaffolding Young Writers with Carla Soffos