Close Reading of Informational Sources

“What an awesome book for teachers and reading specialists! Teachers often struggle with how to teach students to actively read, interact with, and synthesize multiple informational sources. I love the three-phase plan for learning in the second edition, as well as the suggestions for follow-up instruction. Teachers can use the Stages of Development rubric to determine where their students are on the continuum and how to move students further along. This is an essential tool for my teaching—it is filled with great resources, anchor charts, student work, and student-friendly explanations for the strategies taught.”

—Beth Herrig, MA, reading specialist, Indian Prairie School District #204, Aurora, Illinois


“Like the prior edition, the second edition demonstrates Cummins's ongoing research and her passion for working with teachers and students. Her firm belief in explicit instruction and the gradual release of responsibility is evident in her clear and concise lesson plans. Dr. Cummins's goal is to develop strategic readers, viewers, and listeners. This is accomplished by her three-phase plan for learning and matching template for lesson planning. This text is an excellent resource for professional learning communities and grade meetings for inservice teachers, as well as literacy classes for preservice teachers.”

—Harriet Y. Pitts, EdD, Department of Teaching and Learning (Emeritus), New York University


“In today's multi-informational world, students are challenged with a wide variety of sources that they must learn to read and understand beyond a superficial level. Cummins's second edition builds on the first by providing an expanded instructional roadmap, replete with close reading strategies for a variety of learning contexts. Each chapter has the feel of a workshop as Cummins guides teachers through a rich three-phase plan for learning with informational sources.”

—Richard T. Vacca, PhD, College of Education (Emeritus), Kent State University