5Literacy improves lives--and with the right instruction and supports, all students can learn to read and write. That's the core belief behind this teacher-friendly handbook, your practical guide to providing comprehensive, high-quality literacy instruction to students with significant disabilities. Drawing on decades of classroom experience, the authors present their own innovative model for teaching students with a wide range of significant disabilities to read and write print in grades preK-12 and beyond. Foundational teaching principles blend with concrete strategies, step-by-step guidance, and specific activities, making this book a complete blueprint for helping students acquire critical literacy skills they'll use inside and outside the classroom.

An essential resource for educators, speech-language pathologist, and parents--and an ideal text for courses that cover literacy and significant disabilities--this book will help you ensure that all students have the reading and writing skills they need to unlock new opportunities and reach their potential.

READERS WILL:

• Discover 10 success factors for helping students with significant disabilities become literate


• Teach emergent readers and writers skillfully, with evidence-based strategies for shared and independent reading, early writing instruction, and alphabetic and phonological awareness


• Help students acquire conventional literacy skills, with adaptable strategies for teaching reading comprehension, vocabulary, writing, decoding, and spelling


• Organize and deliver comprehensive literacy instruction in a variety of settings, both inside and outside of school


• Use assistive technology effectively to support reading, writing, and communication


• Engage and motivate students and make literacy instruction meaningful to their everyday lives

PRACTICAL MATERIALS: Sample teaching scenarios and dialogues, how-to strategies, and downloadable resources, including sample lessons, a quick-guide to key literacy terms, lesson sequences, and flowcharts to guide instruction.