A practical, research-based guide, Teaching Reading to English Language Learners gives ESL teachers and grade-level teachers the information and strategies they need to support second language literacy development with their Culturally Linguistically Diverse (CLD) learners, in addition to the program the school already has in place. Throughout, the authors guide teachers to modify literacy instruction to address both the assets and the needs of their English learners. Included are strategies for converting research into practical application; illustrative student samples from multiple grade levels and language backgrounds; teacher insights; a look at the sociocultural, academic, cognitive, and linguistic dimensions of the CLD student biography; and a number of helpful pedagogical aids.

Dr. Socorro G. Herrera

Dr. Herrera serves as a professor of elementary education at Kansas State University and directs the Center for Intercultural and Multilingual Advocacy (CIMA) in the College of Education. Her K–12 teaching experience includes an emphasis on literacy development. Her research focuses on literacy opportunities with culturally and linguistically diverse students, reading strategies, and teacher preparation for diversity in the classroom. Dr. Herrera has recently published two books with Allyn and Bacon: Mastering ESL and Bilingual Methods: Differentiated Instruction for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students (2005) and Assessment Accommodations for Classroom Teachers of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students (2007). Dr. Herrera has authored articles for numerous nationally known journals, such as the Bilingual Research Journal, Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, Journal of Research in Education, and the Journal of Latinos and Education.

Dr. Della R. Perez

Dr. Perez serves as an assistant professor of elementary education at Kansas State University and is the Associate Director of Undergraduate Programming at the Center for Intercultural and Multilingual Advocacy (CIMA) in the College of Education. Her research has focused on literacy development and instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse students and parental involvement. Dr. Perez has published The Five Components of Reading Development: A Classroom Teacher’s Guide to Scaffolding Reading Instruction for ELL Students (2006) and ELL Literacy Interventions: Accommodations and Acceleration for Reading Success (2005). Dr. Perez also has co-authored a book chapter for Culturally Responsive Teacher Education: Language, Curriculum, and Community (2008).

Dr. Kathy Escamilla

Dr. Escamilla is a professor of education at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She has been a bilingual teacher, program administrator, and professor for over 37 years. She helped to develop the Spanish reconstruction of Reading Recovery (Descubriendo la Lectura), which was published in the book Instrumento de observación de los logros de la leco-escritura inicial (Heinemann). She has done extensive research in the area of literacy for Spanish-speaking children in the United States and has authored over 40 journal articles in this area. She served two terms as the President of the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) and works as a technical assistant and consultant for bilingual/ESL programs nationwide.

1.   Literacy and the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Student

2.   Contextualizing Literacy Development for the CLD Student in the Grade-Level Classroom

3.   Rethinking Phonemic Awareness: A Cross-Linguistic Transfer Perspective   

4.   Phonics: More Than the A, B, Cs of Reading           

5.   Vocabulary Development: A Framework for Differentiated and Explicit Instruction     

6.   Strategies-Based Comprehension Instruction: Linking the Known to the Unknown      

7.   Fluency in Practice: More Than Reading the Text      

8.   Implications of Culture and Language in Writing       

9.   Assessment beyond the Politics of High-Stakes Tests         

10.  Inclusive Literacy Instruction for CLD Students