Every teacher of reading plays a vital role in helping to catch those readers for whom learning to read does not come easily. Through examples from both adults and children, the authors explain and describe the complex integrated network of strategies that go on in the minds of proficient readers—strategies that struggling readers have to learn in order to construct their own reading processes. This book is essential reading for all who work with struggling readers in any context and contains a wealth of resources, including a thorough explanation of all the sources of information readers use to solve words, examples and scenarios of teacher/student interactions, prompts to use with struggling readers, lessons on modeling, and assessment guidelines.

“Bringing a Vygotskian perspective to teaching and learning, Pat and Katie have done a wonderful job of meshing theory and practice to produce a book that is both important and practical. I warmly recommend it to all teachers of reading.”  -Linda Dorn

“This book is a must-read for elementary teachers—especially K-2! It is well organized and easy to read. It is based on the works of many of today’s top literacy experts, but does not overwhelm the reader with theory. Instead, the theory is put into practical terms with explicit suggestions for applying it to real classrooms. This book will provide the reader with a deeper understanding of how children learn to read and how we can help those children who struggle.”  -Connie (Amazon.com review)

Click here to listen to a podcast from Pat and Katie, to preview the book online, to view and download the free study guide and to order Catching Readers Before They Fall.