14.99 - Meadowbrook Press

“The secret to the phenomenal success of Buswell and Lansky’s reading program is: They make reading fun.”
—Danny Brassell, PhD, Teacher Education Department, California State University
Many struggling readers are embarrassed to read aloud. They often feel intimidated
or bored by texts that conventional programs require them to practice. So, instead
of catching up, they fall further behind. Currently 67 percent of American fourth
graders can’t read grade-level text. Reading specialist Amy Buswell has spent eight
years looking for remediation methods that work. “What is needed,” Buswell
explains, “is a program that improves the motivation of struggling readers,
because motivation accounts for 90 percent of the problem.”
Four years ago, Buswell had a brainstorm. She knew her best readers enjoyed
reading Bruce Lansky’s poetry books for pleasure. So why not use Lansky’s
kid-tested poems as texts struggling readers could practice on to improve their
reading—using six research-based strategies?
This book is the result of that brainstorm and the resulting collaboration between
Buswell and Lansky. It gives teachers and parents everything they need to help
children improve their reading:
• 35 kid-tested poems by Bruce Lansky
• 35 off-the-wall illustrations by Stephen Carpenter
• 35 customized reading lessons by Amy Buswell
• 35 sets of zany performance tips by Bruce Lansky
…all of which are designed to make the process of reading
improvement more like fun than work.
“The reading gains in fluency made by Amy Buswell’s students
are remarkable—well above what researchers would expect.”
“It’s not surprising that the most entertaining remedial reading program
would be so successful at motivating students to read better.”
—Tim Rasinski, PhD, Professor of Literacy Education, Kent State University
—Chase Young, PhD, Assistant Professor, Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Amy Buswell and Bruce Lansky have created a fluency intervention that’s fun. That’s why it is so successful at overcoming negative attitudes
to improve reading skills and scores. Ninety-five percent of participating students made significant improvement in their fluency (reading rate).
In 2010, reading scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) for Buswell’s school raised her school’s rating to an A for the first
time. In 2011, Buswell’s school achieved one of the highest-percentage reading gains in the county. In 2013, Buswell’s second grade students increased
the number of correct words they could read per minute by almost four times the expected amount.
Parents will enjoy Lansky’s funny poems and Stephen Carpenter’s delightful illustrations as much as their children will. By reading the poems with their children
and encouraging their children to try some of Lansky’s entertaining performance tips, parents can dramatically speed up their children’s reading progress.
Teachers who used this fluency program say:
“I was amazed by how quickly
my students’ reading improved.”
—Loraine Sansbury, K–5 Reading Resource Teacher
“This reading program is fun for students.
That’s why they are so motivated
to practice and improve.”
—Kathy Ryan, K-5 Exceptional Student
Education (ESE) Teacher
“Within a week of starting this intervention,
one of my most challenging students went from
saying, ‘I hate reading’ to saying, ‘Can I read this
poem to you?’ I coudn’t believe my ears!”
—Kim Fawcett, Grades 4–5 Literacy Teacher
(Turn over for more information about Giggle Poetry Reading Lessons.)
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On-Sale: August 5, 2014
978-1-476-74294-6
Softcover
96 pages 81/2" x 11"
Educational & Children’s Poetry
14.99
$
Author’s Results
2013 Pre- and Post-program Oral Reading Fluency Rates
of Two Classes of Second Grade Students Who
Participated in the Giggle Poetry Reading Lessons Program
How does the oral-reading growth rate experienced by students
who participated in Giggle Poetry Reading Lessons program
compare with typical student oral-reading growth? According to
Hasbrouck and Tindal (2006), the average fall reading rate for
second-grade students is 51 words correct per minute (WCPM),
with an average weekly improvement rate of 1.2 words per
minute. At the beginning of the 2013 school year, and prior to
implementation of this program, only 42% of the second-grade
students had an oral reading rate at or above 51 WCPM. After 8
weeks of Giggle Poetry Reading Lessons, 87% were reading at or
above 51 WCPM. Their average weekly improvement rate was
4.6 words per week, which far surpassed the expected average
improvement rate of 1.2 words per week. Additionally, almost
60% met or exceeded the end-of-year expected rate of 89 WCPM.
On average, students improved their scores by 81%. Many
students doubled their score with 100% or more improvement.
The four students who did not meet the 51 WCPM goal were
all ESL (English as a second language) learners who had also been
identified as having learning disabilities. Nonetheless, they made
substantial improvement.
Alignment to
the Common Core
State Standards
Buswell’s customized
reading lessons are
aligned with the Fluency
Standards in the Reading
Foundational Skills
for Grades 2–5 in the
Common Core State
Standards (Common
Core State Standards
Initiative, 2010).
Reading Strategies
Included in This
Program
Amy Buswell is a reading specialist
who teaches in West Palm Beach, FL.
Her entertaining “reading lessons”
have dramatically raised the reading
skills and scores at schools where she
has taught.
Bruce Lansky has written and edited 18
books of humorous poetry for children,
which have sold more than 3.5 million
copies. Lansky has visited more than
600 schools, and has also created the
popular Giggle Poetry website.
Stephen Carpenter is the illustrator
who has helped 16 “Giggle Poetry”
books come alive with hilarious
illustrations. He lives just outside
Kansas City with his wife, Becki,
and their sheepdog, Lulu.
(Turn over for more information about Giggle Poetry Reading Lessons.)
Repeated Reading
Sustained Silent Reading
Modeled Reading
Shared Reading
Echo Reading
Choral Reading
Buddy/Paired Reading
“Say It Like the Character”