An Introduction to Dr. Anita Archer

I am fortunate enough to be attending CORE's (Consortium on Reading Excellence) Leadership Summit this week. After sitting through three meaningful sessions today, I'm motivated and encouraged to become a more effective teacher of reading.

The two sessions spent with Dr. Anita Archer (this is the first time I had heard of her) were particularly riveting. She has a lot of energy, was definitely quirky, and reminded me of best teaching practices (that I sometimes neglect to follow through on!). I'm excited to share with you what I learned about how to best teach reading. Anita focused primarily on explicit instruction, the subject of her new book. The book's website (below), has loads of videos showing Anita demonstrating many of the strategies she talked to us about today. These videos would be very helpful for the new or seasoned teacher, or any coach or school administrator. 

Check out these links about Dr. Anita Archer:
Dr. Anita Archer‘s Strategic Literacy Instruction Video Series
Details about Anita's new book: Explicit Instruction

I gathered sufficient fodder to fuel intriguing blog posts for months to come. I will try to post about all of the teaching strategies that I learn at this conference. In the meantime, I look forward to Day 2 of the Core conference tomorrow- I'm signed up for the RtI (Response to Intervention) track and hope to learn a lot!

From Amazon.com about Anita's book, Explicit Instruction:

Explicit instruction is systematic, direct, engaging, and success oriented--and has been shown to promote achievement for all students. This highly practical and accessible resource gives special and general education teachers the tools to implement explicit instruction in any grade level or content area. The authors are leading experts who provide clear guidelines for identifying key concepts, skills, and routines to teach; designing and delivering effective lessons; and giving students opportunities to practice and master new material. Sample lesson plans, lively examples, and reproducible checklists and teacher worksheets enhance the utility of the volume. Downloadable video clips demonstrating the approach in real classrooms are available at the authors' website: www.explicitinstruction.org.

Read on!