Based on the idea that the best literacy teacher is the informed literacy teacher, this new book provides an accessible presentation of research and the teaching methods that stem from it. By emphasizing assessment and evaluation along with literacy skills and strategies as the basis for effective literacy teaching, chapters explain more than what to do in a literacy classroom--they help you understand why to do it. The book gives readers an understanding of the nature of reading and writing, equips them with the materials to teach, and develops in them the vital ability to select from this knowledge the "best practices" for meeting children's individual needs. For parents, teachers, and child care specialists of elementary school reading students.