Reading with the Troubled Reader

This is a handbook for use in identifying troubled readers and planning their recovery work. Using Holdaway's model in classifying reader types by their processing procedures, Phinney views troubled readers from the perspective of how they approach meaning making rather than how they apply word-attack skills.

To make the book truly practical, she provides annotated transcripts as examples of each category so that teachers can match their troubled readers with those in the book; she also includes personality styles to further aid identification. Most importantly, she gives details of specific strategies and techniques for aiding recovery from each type of processing weakness. A chapter on Universal Reading Principles outlines the seven elements that should be included in reading programs for all learners and offers a foundation for the category-specific recovery suggestions. The Glossary of Terms includes definitions of whole language terminology as applied in the book for those new to this philosophy.