Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Here's a list of the most common questions that teachers had about the Reader's Handbook. How did you define what a reading strategy is, and how did you choose which ones to use in the handbook? In the Reader's Handbook, a strategy is defined as having a broad application across different genres. A strategy can serve a number of purposes. For example, you can outline or find cause and effect with fiction or nonfiction, a textbook, or a test. But some skills, such as drawing conclusions or comparing and contrasting, are so fundamental that they underlie almost everything. That's why these skills are called reading know-how. The handbook also refers to reading tools, which are more specialized and have a specific use or purpose. The Almanac lists 30 key reading tools used throughout the handbook. A K-W-L Chart, for example, is used with nonfiction texts; Story Strings work specifically with fiction; Two Per Line is most appropriate for poetry. These distinctions between strategies, know-how, and tools are an attempt to use terms consistently in the absence of any consensus and an attempt to create a set of terms teachers can use within a school to create a shared, common language. How did you decide on these specific steps of the reading process, and why are they in the order they are? Reading is almost infinitely complex. It—like writing—hardly follows any single process or, for that matter, works in any single direction. But students need specifics on what to do. They need a good model, and they need to develop good habits. So, rather than presenting reading in all its complex splendor, the handbook organizes reading around an easy-to-remember process, explaining what students need to do Before, During, and After Reading. It breaks down the process into brief, easy steps. As with the writing process, students may sometimes skip a step, go backward occasionally, or spend a long time on one of the steps. That's OK. The reading process will help students make the decisions they need in order to be effective readers. What kind of students is the handbook for? The Reader's Handbook is for all students. Different students will take away different things from the handbook. Good readers will refine the strategies they use and learn some new reading tools, and perhaps they will learn even more about how different kinds of texts are organized. Average readers will add to the reading strategies and tools they use, and they'll develop a stronger understanding of the reading process. In addition, students who struggle will acquire some good strategies, tools, and understanding of the reading process. Where should I begin as a teacher? For help in teaching the handbook, start with the Teacher's Guide and Overhead Transparencies. To develop a curriculum or daily lesson plans, start with the Lesson Plan Book for your grade. To see if students can apply the strategies, use the Student Applications Book for your grade. What is the difference between the Lesson Plan Book and Teacher's Guide? The Teacher's Guide guides teachers through the chapters and lessons in the handbook in the order that they are presented. It points out what to emphasize in each chapter or lesson and provides more background. The Lesson Plan Book breaks the handbook into "class-period-size" chunks of 30 minutes, helping teachers see, for example, how to divide an 18-page lesson on the short story over one or two weeks. You do not need to juggle both books at the same time. Use the Teacher's Guide if you are using the handbook as a resource. Use the Lesson Plan Book if you are using the handbook to teach a reading curriculum. The Lesson Plan Book lays out a complete reading curriculum for each year, and it shows ways to design a reading curriculum of your own. Consult, too, the Lesson Plan Library at the website for additional lesson plans. How can I adapt the Reader's Handbook program to meet the individual needs of my students? To succeed as readers, students need to work with appropriate-level materials. Materials that are too hard, albeit on grade level, will only frustrate struggling readers and deepen their aversion to trying again. To avoid this problem, the Reader's Handbook program has been organized so that teachers can accommodate students' varying reading levels. The basic idea is simple. If the handbook seems too hard for your students, focus on one strategy and one or two reading tools,  and apply them to material that students are able to read easily. If the handbook seems too easy for your students, ask them to apply the reading strategies and tools to more sophisticated texts. See pages 16–17 of this book to learn how to individualize the Reader's Handbook to meet your students' needs. For more information, contact us!