Books
These are my published books you might enjoy as resources for your classroom.
If you are looking for my children’s books – please pop over to my Author Site!
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Quick & Easy Strategies for Close Reading and Writing
By Sandra K. Athans
Published by Scholastic, 2020
To respond effectively to a text – a common task in classroom lessons and in standardized tests – students have to merge their reading and writing skills. Response Writing requires a different set of strategies that involve close reading and writing. This book offers quick-and-easy lessons for teaching students how to read and analyze text carefully and combine ideas gleaned from their reading with their own original thinking to respond to the text. Lessons feature anchor texts, student-response exemplars, writing scaffolds, skill-building checklists, graphic organizers, and more! Also includes online support materials.
Close Reading for the Whole Class
By Sandra K. Athans & Denise Ashe Devine,
Published by Scholastic, 2015
“Athans and Devine approach close reading with depth, purpose, and sensible classroom know-how. The result is this comprehensive resource loaded with thoughtful ideas to ponder and practical daily routines and lessons to improve your students’ reading”
— Lori Ozckus, Literacy Coach, Author, and Speaker
“Sandra Athans and Denise Ashe Devine have taken the concept of close reading and demystified it! They give educators a conceptual understanding of it and share how to integrate it into classroom practice. They have carefully connected the CCSS throughout their book and provided a “playbook” for teachers to follow as they raise the level of rigor and dialogue in their classrooms.”
— Tony P. Cardamone, Principal/District K – 5 ELA Coordinator, Baldwinsville, NY
“Athans and Devine showcase the best of teacher-to-teacher collaborations and explorations in this comprehensive text on close reading. It deserves to be read closely by all elementary teachers and preservice teacher candidates.”
— Wen Ma, Associate Professor, Le Moyne College, Syracuse, NY
Buy from AMAZON here
The Common Core Readiness Guide to Reading
by Sandra K. Athans & Robin Parente
Published by Rosen Publishing, 2015
Common Core standards have changed the way that teachers teach and students learn. Reading standards require students to think more critically about what they’ve read than ever before. This authoritative but accessible series is a must-have for students trying to navigate the Common Core reading standards. Readers are provided with a guided reading passage and then asked questions similar to those on standardized tests. These volumes help readers develop important critical-thinking skills, boost test scores, improve performance in and out of the classroom, and comprehend and analyze the most complex texts.
Series includes Tips & Tricks for:
• Analyzing Ideas, Events, and Individuals
• Analyzing Structure and Evaluating Ideas
• Analyzing Text and Citing Evidence
• Comparing and Contrasting Texts
• Determining Point of View and Purpose
• Evaluating an Argument and its Claims
• Evaluating Multimedia Content
• Summarizing Text
Buy from AMAZON.com here
Fun-tastic Activities
by Sandra K. Athans & Denise Ashe Devine
Publsihed by the International Reading Association, 2010
The ‘Curriculum double dosing,’ where the reading and writing activities are integrated with the content, is an essential concept that offers a welcome contrast to the current focus on just moving through the curriculum. The work reflects the authors keen understanding of students, teachers, and classrooms.
Dr. Mona W. Matthews, Professor of Early Childhood Education, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
“The Literacy Bins are an intriguing way to tackle the problem of motivation. Overall, the works presents a nice balance of research, theory, and practical application.”
Leslie Bedford, First-Grade Teacher, Harding Elementary School, Kenilworth, New Jersey
Published by the International Reading Association – BEST SELLER!
IRA Book Club selection, January 2010
2010, 192 pp.
The Literacy Leadership Handbook: Best Practices for Developing Professional Literacy Communities
By Cynthia A. Lassonde and Kristine Tucker
Chapter 2: Portraying a Paradigm for Change
Critical Voices: Our Collaborative Journey of Change contributed by Sandra K. Athans
Published by Pearson Publishing
“Following the advice that is offered in this book will support your efforts to become an effective literacy leader. You can’t ask for a book to do much more.”
– Richard L. Allington, Professor of Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee and author of the What Really Matters series
“I felt the text read easily as one educator speaking to another and that the students in my classes would find the text accessible.”
– Marie A. LaJeune, Western Oregon University
Buy from AMAZON.com here
Strategic Writing Mini-Lessons for All Students – Grades 4-8
By Janet C. Richards and Cynthia A. Lassonde
Chapter 18: A Sound-Savvy Approach to Writing: The Write Aloud contributed by Sandra K. Athans
Visit the Publishers site here
Published by Corwin, A SAGE Company
256 pages
Reviews:
“Teachers often worry about how to teach writing to students at different levels, especially to students who seem to struggle as writers. With those teachers in mind, this book provides tips about how to tailor instruction.”
Jane Hanson, Director
Central Virginia Writing Project
“This book is the most useful writing resource I have encountered in all my years of teaching. It is filled with practical strategies to produce writers with high-quality work product and high interest in the craft of writing.”
Linda Sarver, Teacher
Excelsior Springs, MO
Motivating Every Student in Literacy
This book is a timeless jewel for teachers who areserious about teaching reading. It is very readable and clearly describes the endeavor of hard-working, dedicated teachers.”
Pat Michael, Assistant Superintendent
Ridgefield Public Schools, CT
“I like the different voices presented in the text.Teachers like to read “real” practitioners experiences and insights”
Marie Verhaar, Director of Instructional Alignment and Development
Federal Way Public Schools,WA
Check out Sandra in Tales From the Heart.
Quality Comprehension
“Quality Comprehension is solid research based on classroom practice.”
Lori Oczkus, Literacy Consultant & Author, Orinda, California
“This book addresses an age-old problem. Delores Durkin jolted the reading world in 1979 with her research-based claim that teachers assess comprehension rather than teach comprehension. It was true then and, too often, is still true today. This book provides practical ways to teach students the things they need to think about in order to comprehend.”
Dr. Gay Fawcett, Author & Consultant, Palm Bay, Florida.
“What a fantastic book. It is a practical, welcome addition to many of the theory books we use in our university classes. Teachers appreciate theory but value the ability to apply this theory practicability! My teachers would gobble it up!”
Enid Acosta-Tello, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education, National University, Costa Mesa, California
Quality Comprehension: A Strategic Model of Reading Instruction Using Read-Along Guides, Grades 3 – 6.
Published by the
International Reading Association
IRA Book Club selection, July 2008
2008, 280 pp.