Teaching the Brain to Read: Strategies for Improving Fluency, Vocabulary and Comprehension

I am a college professor; part of my job is professional development and to help fellow instructors assess students' skills and address gaps in those skills. Fluency in reading is one of the biggest challenges that students on our campus face; most are what are known as Generation 1.5, which means they speak two languages fluently, but don't read or write either language fluently.Willis' book, I think, is designed for K-12 (maybe K-6) teachers; however, it was tremendously helpful in an era when 80% of students are placing into developmental reading and writing. I love Willis' style; she is very good at explaining complex neurological concepts for a layperson. She also has "gray matter" sections that go into greater detail of the actual 'neurology' of the subject.Even though many of her techniques were clearly designed for younger students, I was able to modify them and use them successfully with my college students. I also have a much better idea now of how people learn to read and the potential problems that can occur, which was valuable insight since I didn't have time to take a class on it.This is a relatively slim book, but each chapter is purposeful - almost a grab-n-go guide for busy teachers on the run. The perfect approach.

Great read for helping struggling readers to learn.

Anything by Dr. Willis is wonderfully educational. Fellow teachers also love her books: They're filled with practical ideas, backed by complete wisdom and practice! She's great!

EXCELLENT!

This is a very practical book with creative ideas. Every classroom teacher and Administrator should have this book.

Comprehensive and clear. Highly recommended.

I found the book to be very helpful. I have a child struggling with reading & was tired of the "professionals" at the school not helping. I now have an understanding of what the processes are and what to do to help him. This book was written for teachers in the classroom but it can be adapted for home use. The authors other book How Your Child Learns Best is even better than this one for parents.

While the book had some good ideas but most of it's findings seemed to be things good teacher already know.