One Child at a Time: Making the Most of Your Time with Struggling Readers, K-6

by Pat Johnson

Every elementary teacher deals with students who struggle as readers on a daily basis. Each struggling child is complex and each has a unique history as a learner. In One Child at a Time , experienced literacy specialist and consultant Pat Johnson provides a framework she has used in numerous K-6 classrooms to help teachers understand and assist individual children. The four-step process outlined in the book enables teachers to focus carefully on specific strategies and behaviors; analyze them with theoretical and practical lenses; design targeted instruction in keeping with current research on reading process; and then assess and refine the teaching in conferences with the child. The framework is by no means an easy answer to a difficult problem, but through its use teachers learn how the reading process works for proficient readers and how to support struggling readers as they construct their own reading process. The text is packed with examples of actual conferences with students, detailing how and when Pat and her colleagues intervene to instruct and assess. The examples of follow-up assessment and analysis of struggling readers over days and weeks provide an indispensable model for teachers. Pat shows how to use this framework successfully with a range of learners, including young children, English language learners, and students in the upper elementary grades who are stalled in their literacy progress. She builds upon her decades of work as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, and consultant in schools with high poverty and diversity, to demonstrate how this framework can be useful in any setting.

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Meredith]

Ch. 6 self-monitoring bits is what I'd go back to
also a very helpful chapter on running records, if I ever needed something about this
181-182 Listening to a child read is a great scaffolded running record form!!!

[Lena Allen]

I liked the book, but it did not fill the needs I had in reading this book- helping my son through his struggles with reading. And for that reason I must give it a low score, but not because it lacked information. Just information that did not pertain to my particular problem.

[Karen]

An excellent resource for anyone who works with struggling readers. There are so many wonderful insights into how to support learners.

[Marie]

Great read, my current professional read. Some interesting ideas are stated, especially about second language learners.

[Kellie Wagner]

This was a great companion to our class lessons and discussions. Actual examples and classroom connections.

[Elisa]

This is a wonderful book about working with individual students.

[Anna]

Thought this was a great book to remind me of best practice and to always remember.......if a child isn't learning then I MUST look at my instruction or intervention!