Pam's books...

Every Child a Super Reader

On shelves now! Literacy experts Pam Allyn and Ernest Morrell maintain that when we build on children’s key strengths and immerse them in an intellectually invigorating, emotionally nurturing, literature-rich community, we grow “super readers” – avid readers who consume texts with passion, understanding, and a critical eye. Organized around the 7 Strengths inherent in super readers (belonging, curiosity, friendship, kindness, confidence, courage, and hope), this powerful resource helps children:

– Develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills

– Learn comprehension strategies

– Build a robust vocabulary

– Deepen analytical prowess and an ability to talk and write about text

– Develop empathy, a strong identity as a reader, and an expanded understanding of the world

Featuring stirring reading and writing robust assessment tools, ready-to-share Family Guides, and embedded videos that illuminate the 7 strengths and more, Every Child a Super Reader shows teachers, parents, caregivers, and out-of-school providers why reading is the ultimate super power, opening a world of possible for every student.

The Core Ready Series

The Core Ready Series is a dynamic series of books providing educators with critical tools for navigating the Common Core Standards effectively and successfully. In the pages of these books, readers see how to take large complex concepts of the standards and turn them into practical, specific everyday instruction. The series is organized around the author’s Four Doors to Core Ready:

The Journey to Meaning: Comprehension and Critique, The Shape of Story: Yesterday and Today, The Road to Knowledge: Information and Research, andThe Power to Persuade: Opinion and Argument. The Core Ready Series provides educators with invaluable help for preparing for the Common Core Standards, empowering literacy instruction, and creating a systematic vision for school or district literacy that everyone can understand. It helps teachers fill the implementation gap as it relates to articulation and prior learning, support diverse and struggling learners, teach reading and writing skills across content areas, move from literature rich instruction to a different balance of fiction and nonfiction, and integrate new learning standards in time to be measured by new state assessments.

Be Core Ready: Powerful, Effective Steps to Implementing and Achieving the Common Core State Standards

Be Core Ready: Powerful, Effective Steps to Implementing and Achieving the Common Core State Standards is a transformational book for teachers, administrative leaders, literacy coaches, ELL specialists, special educators, media specialists, reading teachers, content area teachers, and families. In a teacher-friendly, conversational style, this book provides a clear understanding of the most compelling topics emerging from the Common Core State Standards and introduces the groundbreaking 4 Doors to Core Ready approach to solving the questions of what to teach and how to teach it in this new era. The book addresses curriculum, close reading, text complexity, care for English learners and special needs students, meaningful assessment, and the active and meaningful use of technology and literature to help all students meet and exceed the standards.

Your Child’s Writing Life: How to Inspire Confidence, Creativity, and Skill at Every Age

An illuminating, first-of-its-kind resource to help parents foster a love of writing in their child’s life. New educational research reveals that writing is as fundamental to a child’s development as reading. But though there are books that promote literacy, no book guides parents in helping their child cultivate a love of writing. In this book, Pam Allyn, a nationally recognized educator and literacy expert, reminds us that writing is not only a key skill but also an essential part of self-discovery and critical to success later in life. Allyn offers the “five keys” to help kids W.R.I.T.E. – Word Power, Ritual, Independence, Time, and Environment – along with fun, imaginative prompts to inspire and empower children to put their thoughts on the page. A groundbreaking blueprint for developing every child’s abilities, Your Child’s Writing Life teaches parents how to give a gift that will last a lifetime.

Pam Allyn’s Best Books for Boys

Get all boys reading with this extraordinary guide, chock-full of a wide range of must-read titles organized by interest, age, and development. With this resource in hand, you’ll never again struggle to find the right book for even your most reluctant readers. The carefully chosen book selections are accompanied by brief explanations of each book, and a recurring feature, “Talk About It,” will help you extend the book through conversation, supporting and enhancing the reading experience. In addition, ready-to-use lessons align with themes and topics of special interest to boys that will motivate and inspire them to read more. Finally, Pam answers your most pressing questions about the challenges for boys as readers and shows you how you can maximize environments, routines, and structures to ensure that boys are reading widely and passionately.

What to Read When: The Books and Stories to Read with Your Child—And All the Best Times to Read Them

There is a book for every moment: the first day of school or the day your family moves, an eagerly awaited holiday or a rainy afternoon when it seems there’s nothing to do. In What to Read When, Pam reveals wonderful, field-tested books for every age and every moment. With years of experience in education, Pam argues a compelling case for reading aloud. She advises parents and caregivers on how to harness the elemental power of storytelling. Reading aloud can do so many things for a child: it can ease big transitions, nurture budding talents and passions, make chores more bearable, bring laughs after a hard day, inspire family rituals, and, of course, soothe a tired newborn to sleep. The book is full of practical advice you’ll be excited to apply as soon as possible. Along with book titles and descriptions, What to Read When answers parents’ questions about reading. Allyn equips parents and caregivers with tools to tackle issues such as ideal level of difficulty, attention span concerns, lack of interest, and gender differences. Developmental insight gleaned from Allyn’s years of education experience will reassure and guide parents. What to Read When shows how to best invite your child into the wonderful world of literature. Check out What to Read When‘s bibliography.

The Complete 4 for Literacy: How to Teach Reading and Writing Through Daily Lessons, Monthly Units, and Year long Calendars

The Complete 4 categorizes the teaching of reading and writing into the four areas of process, genre, strategy and conventions. Using these four key areas, The Complete 4creates a concrete, applicable model for an enjoyable and effective year of teaching. Allyn weaves a yearlong structure she calls a “flexible framework”: The Complete 4 provides a structure for your teaching, while also freeing you to fill that structure with the teaching that feels most right and most natural to you. The Complete 4 for Literacy helps you create grade-specific curriculum, including daily lessons, monthly units, and yearlong study. Pam offers practical support, examples from real world teaching scenarios, and planning templates. A 32-page full-color insert demonstrates the continuum of learning in reading and writing with a year’s calendar of month-by-month topics at each grade level K through 5.