Product Description

"With Rigorous Reading Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey have provided literacy educators who are committed to successfully raising the bar with solutions that make sense.  The book is masterfully developed with an extensive reach across many grade levels in terms of defining what it means to provide intentional instruction and teaching text complexity.  The five access points are discussed pragmatically with evidence of a solid research base deftly woven throughout the book.  This is the most practical book I have come across in terms of providing teachers with the knowledge base and assistance many are seeking to improve their instruction with regard to complex texts."
- Steven L. Layne, Ed.D., Professor of Literacy Education, Judson University, Elgin, IL

What it really means to “read closely.”

Call it close reading, call it deep reading, call it analytic reading—call it what you like. The point is, it’s a level of understanding that students of any age can achieve with the right kind of instruction. In Rigorous Reading, Nancy Frey and Doug Fisher articulate an instructional plan so clearly, and so squarely built on research, that teachers, schools, and districts need look no further: 

1. Purpose & Modeling
2. Close & Scaffolded Reading Instruction
3. Collaborative Conversations
4. An Independent Reading Staircase
5. Performance

 
Also included are illustrative classroom video and an online Facilitator’s Guide.

Nancy Frey, Ph.D., is Professor of Literacy in the Department of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University. The recipient of the 2008 Early Career Achievement Award from the National Reading Conference, she is also a teacher-leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College and a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California.
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Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is Professor of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College. He is the recipient of an IRA Celebrate Literacy Award, NCTE’s Farmer Award for Excellence in Writing, as well as a Christa McAuliffe Award for Excellence in Teacher Education.  Doug can be reached at dfisher@mail.sdsu.edu.

Editorial Reviews

Review 
"One would think that the first place to look when wanting information about the Common Core State Standards would be, well, the Common Core State Standards.  The fact is, though,  Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey are quickly becoming the go-to folks for information on teaching these standards.  They've proven this again in Rigorous Reading. This is certainly a book to be added to your collection of books that attend to the demands of the CCSS."  
(Kylene Beers, Ed.D.)

"With Rigorous Reading Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey have provided literacy educators who are committed to successfully raising the bar with solutions that make sense.  The book is masterfully developed with an extensive reach across many grade levels in terms of defining what it means to provide intentional instruction and teaching text complexity.  The five access points are discussed pragmatically with evidence of a solid research base deftly woven throughout the book.  This is the most practical book I have come across in terms of providing teachers with the knowledge base and assistance many are seeking to improve their instruction with regard to complex texts." (Steven L. Layne, Ed.D., Professor of Literacy Education)

"In Rigorous Reading: 5 Access Points for Helping Students Comprehend Complex Texts, Fisher and Frey help teachers understand how to bring vigor to rigor. They teach us how to help students understand more from their complex texts -- greater understanding that will help to bring life and energy to each student's reading. Rooted in solid research, this is book is a must-read for those grappling with how to translate the recommendations and mandates around text complexity from the Common Core into instructional practices."
(Jennifer Serravallo author of Teaching Reading in Small Groups and Conferring with Readers)

"In a time when nearly every state has adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), we need resources that show us how to support students in developing their full literacy potential.  In this very practical and insightful book, Fisher and Frey examine how CCSS conceptions of text complexity are causing us to shift some of our ideas about reading instruction. Rigorous Reading is an important resource that will help teachers align reading instruction with the CCSS in powerful ways." (Linda B. Gambrell, Professor)

“This is a bold book. . . . Its genius, and its unique contribution, is in bringing the balance and the centeredness to this new game in town—the Common Core." (P. David Pearson, Professor of the Graduate School of Education)

About the Author 

Nancy Frey, Ph.D., is Professor of Literacy in the Department of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University. The recipient of the 2008 Early Career Achievement Award from the National Reading Conference, she is also a teacher-leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College and a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California.

Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is Professor of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College. He is the recipient of an IRA Celebrate Literacy Award, NCTE’s Farmer Award for Excellence in Writing, as well as a Christa McAuliffe Award for Excellence in Teacher Education.  Doug can be reached at dfisher@mail.sdsu.edu.