Reading

Reading, and how best to teach it, is an important and controversial issue, especially in this era of high-stakes testing and accountability.

NCTE recognizes reading as a complex act of constructing meaning. Becoming a reader is a gradual process--we grow in our ability to comprehend and interpret a wide range of reading materials by making appropriate choices from among the extensive range of skills and strategies that we develop over time. These strategies include predicting, comprehension monitoring, phonemic awareness, critical thinking, decoding, using context, and making connections to what we already know.

To ensure that all students become successful readers and enjoy the benefits of full literacy, NCTE advocates providing students with a full range of literacy experiences and resources to support its development, including:

• access to a wide range of texts that mirror the range of students' abilities and interest;
• ample time to read a wide range of materials, from the very simple to the very challenging; and
• teachers who help them develop a repertoire of skills and strategies.

NCTE also believes that all teachers need to develop an extensive knowledge of language development, a thorough knowledge of all the language arts--including reading, and a storehouse of teaching strategies deep and broad enough to meet the needs of every student.

NCTE affirms the importance of teacher decision making in relation to relevant literacy experiences and resources and is committed to helping teachers further their knowledge about reading.

NCTE further believes that all educational stakeholders--educators, policy makers, and the general public--need to understand that they can best support beginning and advanced readers by participating actively in public conversation about the broad goals of literacy learning while acknowledging that decisions about reading instruction are primarily the responsibility of professional educators.

NCTE Resolutions and Position Statements

• On Literature Based Reading Instruction
• On the Importance of a Print-Rich Classroom Environment
• On Phonics as a Part of Reading Instruction
• Position Statement on Reading

NCTE Programs

• NCTE Reading Initiative

A long-term professional development program that brings teachers, administrators, and trained literacy leaders together to engage in a study of the theory, knowledge base, and best practices of teaching reading.

• CoLEARN

Centers of Literacy Education Achievement, Research, and Networking--a year-long school-based professional development program devoted to raising student achievement in reading, writing, and the English language arts.

NCTE Articles (members only)

• "Teachers Take Charge: NCTE's Reading Initiative--a Growing Professional Development Network"
• What Is Effective Professional Development?
• What Can I Read? Encouraging Adolescents in--and beyond--the Classroom

Teaching Ideas Center

This link offers additional resources on the topic of reading, especially in regard to booklists.