It is hard to believe, but prior to the mid-1970s or thereabouts, teachers were not encouraged to teach comprehension strategies to their students. Rather, we were told to concern ourselves with decoding skills. We now realize, of course, that reading the words on the page is not the same as understanding the meaning of those words.

To say that we have come a long way in the past quarter century is probably an understatement. There now exists a multitude of books, websites, college courses, online courses, and videos all concerned with comprehension instruction. With the plethora of material available where does one begin? I can think of no better place than Comprehension Instruction: Research-Based Best Practices. Here you will find a compilation of essays from forty of the best researchers in the reading-comprehension community. The book will provide with you many "ah-ha" moments. I suggest reading with pen or highlighter in hand.

The editors divide the book into four parts. Part I concerns "Theoretical Foundations: New Directions for the Future." In his enlightening essay, "Comprehension Strategies Instruction," Michael Pressley encourages teachers to look beyond simply teaching comprehension strategies. He notes that although "a good case can be made for teaching comprehension strategies to elementary students, it is most defensible to do so in the context of a reading program that includes teaching to promote word recognition skills, vocabulary knowledge, and extensive reading of books filled with the world knowledge that young readers need to acquire."

Gerald G. Duffy's essay, "The Case for Direct Explanation of Strategies," was a proverbial eye-opener for me. This essay not only changed the way I taught comprehension instruction, but the way I thought about it as well. Explicit teaching, writes Duffy, differs from other approaches to comprehension instruction. "[E]xplicit teaching uses 'strategy' to mean a technique that readers learn to control as a means to better comprehend. . . ; other approaches, on the other hand, use 'strategy' to mean a technique the teacher controls to guide student reading (such as K-W-L).

When I read those words, it suddenly dawned on me why I had been frustrated so often with certain strategies that I had been using with my students. The strategy (such as K-W-L or reciprocal teaching) worked well with that piece of text. The students did remember and understand more of the text than had not used the strategies. However, the strategies felt "artificial." And, the students did not apply their knowledge of the strategy to other situations. Duffy explains why: "The teacher, not the student is in control of the strategy; the goal is student comprehension of the text, not student control of how a strategy works."

Of course! I had been using the right strategy but in the wrong way. Duffy notes that "when a teacher wants students to comprehend text content . . . K-W-L and reciprocal teaching are unbeatable. However, when a teacher wants students to assume 'inner control' . . . of a strategy so that they can use it independently of the teacher, these approaches often leave something to be desired." He goes on, though, to write, "This is not to imply that K-W-L, reciprocal teaching, and other similar techniques can not be taught in ways that put struggling readers in control of the strategy the teacher is using." The key: taught in ways that put readers in control. I was using (and teaching) the strategy in a way that helped the student understand the content of the text, not the strategy's use.

The six essays in Part II, "Branching Out and Expanding Our Horizons in the 21 st Century," center around how research is helping us understand the following "four bodies of knowledge": the comprehension processes; student variables that affect comprehension; components that can be manipulated during instruction; the identification of better methods of teaching comprehension. Don't let the topic scare you away from reading this section. All six essays are "teacher-friendly" and highly readable.

Part III, "Comprehension Instruction in Preschool, Primary, and Intermediate Grades," contains eight essays which will give the elementary school teacher an excellent grounding in comprehension instruction.

Here you will find Donna Ogle and Camille L. Z. Blachowicz discussing ways to help students understand informational texts in "Beyond Literature Circles." In "Imagery: A Strategy for Enhancing Comprehension," Linda B. Gambrell and Patricia S. Koskinen present an extremely lucid and lively discussion of why the proverb, "A picture is worth a thousand words," is true.

The last section, "Intensification of Comprehension Instruction throughout Middle School, High School, and College" makes for thoughtful, engaging reading. The essay, "Improving the Reading Comprehension of At-Risk Adolescents," is a "must-read" for anyone who works with students with high-incidence disabilities.

It is difficult in an ordinary review to provide even a snapshot of all this extraordinary book has to offer. Here you will find research, insights, inspiration, questions, answers, critical examinations, suggestions, advice, and more. Comprehension Instruction should be on the top of your reading list. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by the Education Oasis Staff.