Reviewed by Rebecca Malone
Salem Elementary
Spotsylvania, Virginia

Description: This is an easy-read book for teachers of English Language Learners from
kindergarten through fourth grade. Sylvia Linan-Thompson and Sharon
Vaughn provide 60 fully developed and field-tested classroom lessons
that support the instructional strategies recommended to ensure English
fluency among nonnative speakers.

Personal Reaction: I really enjoyed reading this book because it provided in-depth
explanations of linguistic concepts in the context of how the students
acquired the knowledge. The authors offer excellent, relevant online
resources to add to the reader’s understanding.

The provision of well planned, effective classroom lessons that integrate
the material discussed in each chapter empower the reader.
Linan-Thompson and Vaughn spend ample time describing the specifics of
each instructional practice and how to adjust the language of
instruction for successful learning to occur for nonnative speakers.

Since the ultimate goal of reading instruction is reading for understanding,
learning and interest, the book chapters focus on these areas: Phonemic
awareness; phonics and word study; fluency; vocabulary; comprehension;
and offering guidance toward obtaining the reading goal. Teachers will
also find ideas about assessments to use for continual progress
monitoring. Overall, the authors provided researched, teacher friendly
guidance for the committed educator who seeks to increase her
professional skills in the area of ELL reading instruction.