Expanding Reading Comprehension in Grades 3–6
Students in grades 3–6 need to use increasingly sophisticated comprehension skills and strategies as they read and build knowledge across disciplinary content areas. Grounded in research, this book presents effective practices for integrating literacy instruction with literature, science, and social studies. Chapters address text selection, vocabulary development, strategy instruction, discussion formats, writing to express and expand comprehension, assessment, and more. Ways to meet the needs of emergent bilingual and culturally diverse students are highlighted throughout. Ideal for preservice and inservice teachers and professional staff development, the book includes classroom vignettes, text boxes with easy-to-read instructional procedures, and curriculum resources. Helpful reproducible forms can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.
See also the authors' related book on the primary grades: Developing Reading Comprehension: Effective Instruction for All Students in PreK-2.
Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl, EdD, is a literacy consultant and author who focuses on translating literacy research into practice. Formerly, she was Clinical Professor of Literacy at New York University (NYU), where she taught graduate courses and served as Director of both the Literacy Program and the NYU Literacy Clinic. Before entering academia, Dr. Stahl taught in public elementary and middle school classrooms for over 25 years. She is the coauthor or coeditor of several books, and her articles have appeared in the leading journals of research and practice. Dr. Stahl specializes in reading acquisition, comprehension instruction, reading intervention, and literacy assessment. Currently, she partners with educators as a consultant to support their efforts to improve reading achievement, especially for students with reading difficulties.
Georgia Earnest García, PhD, is Professor Emerita in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. She has held appointments at the Center for the Study of Reading, the RAND Reading Study Group on Skillful Reading, and the National Literacy Panel on Language Minority Children and Youth. Prior to obtaining her doctorate, she was a Peace Corps Volunteer, bilingual education teacher, English teacher, and ESL/EFL teacher. Dr. García has authored or coauthored several books as well as numerous book chapters and journal articles. After retiring, she served on the Educational Testing Service’s Dual Language Assessment Team and the WestED Reading Content Team, which updated the Reading Assessment Framework for the 2026 National Assessment of Educational Progress. Dr. García was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame in 2019. She continues to collaborate with bilingual teachers and schools and to conduct and publish research on the literacy development, instruction, and assessment of bilingual students.