Into the Book: Behind the Lesson
Teaching Reading Strategies
The Into the Book: Behind the Lesson video series is divided into nine episodes. The first eight episodes each focus primarily on an individual reading strategy that can help readers become better readers.
In these nine professional development videos, teachers demonstrate how they are using specific strategies effectively to improve reading comprehension with their students. Programs combine actual classroom footage modeling good practice with dialogue and personal reflection on instructional practices. Dr. Michael P. Ford, professor of reading education at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, interviews the master teachers featured in each episode to reveal the pedagogical underpinnings of the teacher's practice. These resources provide both insight and the practical applications of each strategy so that teachers can instantly put the information provided into their own practice, helping students build their reading proficiency.
View the series online
View Segment 1: Prior Knowledge
Fourth grade bilingual teacher Linda Diaz and her students practice using prior knowledge - drawing upon their own experiences, the world around them, and other things they've read to help them understand a new story. After the lesson, Dr. Michael P. Ford, professor of reading education at the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, asks Linda to explain the pedagogical strategies behind her practice.
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(runs 9 minutes, 41 seconds, 100K)
View Segment 2: Making Connections
Teacher Gale Chartier works with her students on using connection strategies to understand texts. After the lesson, Dr. Ford interviews Gale about her teaching practices and her beliefs on the importance of teaching strategies to primary students.
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(runs 9 minutes, 31 seconds, 100K)
View Segment 3: Questioning
Marni Pingel (the teacher featured in the Into the Book series) and her colleagues demonstrate the difference between "thin" or "right there" questions and "thick" questions, which are deeper and provoke reflection and greater consideration.-provoking. Dr. Michael Ford, interviews Marni about her teaching practices and her beliefs on the importance of teaching students to ask "thick" questions.
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(runs 9 minutes, 15 seconds, 100K)
View Segment 4: Visualizing
Teacher Kristin Leglar and district special education teacher Jennifer Ingebritsen pair up to work with students to practice creating mental images from text. In Dr. Michael P. Ford's interview, Kris and Jen reveal how important their own professional development is to improving their practice.
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(runs 9 minutes, 40 seconds, 100K)
View Segment 5: Inferring
Dr. Michael P. Ford, professor of reading education at the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, guides a class to discover types of clues to help them make inferences while they read. Dr. Ford explains his philosophy about instruction, including using the Think-Pair-Share strategy and the Gradual Release Model to give students responsibility for their own learning.
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(runs 9 minutes, 100K)
View Segment 6: Summarizing
Teacher Judy Felsenthal, works with her students on strategies for summarizing a fiction story. She emphasizes the differences between a summary of a fiction story and one for nonfiction. In an interview with Dr. Michael Ford in Judy explains how her students use metacognition - thinking about how they are processing information and learning .
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(runs 9 minutes, 25 seconds, 100K)
View Segment 7: Evaluating
Teacher Heather Peria works with her students on selecting criteria to evaluate texts. After the lesson, Dr. Michael P. Ford, professor of reading education at the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, interviews Heather about how she uses alternative texts - in this case a magazine for kids - to engage students.
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(runs 9 minutes, 34 seconds, 100K)
View Segment 8: Synthesizing
Reading specialist Cheri Polster uses a newspaper article to model for her students how we think about different things while we read, and what new knowledge we take away with us after we've read. She talks about successful students getting "ah-ha" moments as their understanding evolves or they learn something new, and about using Anticipation Guides as organizers of student thinking. Dr. Ford interviews Cheri about the value of bringing in real-life texts for context and interest.
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(runs 9 minutes, 34 seconds, 100K)
View Segment 9: Strategies Together
Teacher Maria-Christina Jackson works with her students on developing mental files called schema to help them organize different strategies they can use to understand what they read. Dr. Ford interviews Maria about how various reading comprehension strategies can be used together and how the Into the Book series can be used as a catalyst for improving comprehension instruction.
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(runs 9 minutes, 23 seconds, 100K)
Download series episodes
Download Segment 1: Prior Knowlege
Download Segment 2: Making Connections
Download Segment 3: Questioning
Download Segment 4: Visualizing
Download Segment 5: Inferring
Download Segment 6: Summarizing
Download Segment 7: Evaluating
Download Segment 8: Synthesizing
Download Segment 9: Strategies Together