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4.5
North Star Academy's literacy program is among the most rigorous, highest quality programs in our nation. Certainly, the ability to elevate student academic performance from the lowest quartile to the 99th percentile on national assessments year after year emphasizes this fact; however, the power of their program is best exemplified by the enduring habits developed by their young scholars. It is a powerful experience to witness these habits in action - students maximizing instructional time by transitioning to literacy groups in less than 30 seconds, engaging in peer discussions drawing on evidence from their leveled text, and posing a prompt to support a peer's understanding.As a rising school leader, I had the opportunity to visit North Star Academy on a few different occasions, and after each visit, I couldn't help but to wish that I had an internal guide for how to execute this model in the school I would lead. And lo and behold, Great Habits, Great Readers has been my wish come true. This text has broken the complexity of a rigorous literacy program into clear and digestible components that can be successfully replicated by schools across the nation. Aligned to Common Core, this instructional manual outlines specific instructional strategies and action steps that, when implemented, drive strong reading habits and success among budding elementary readers. Additionally, the resources included in the text, specifically narrative and informational guided reading prompting guides, sample lesson plans, and workshop preparation sheets provide a solid foundation from which to build high quality literacy tools. Further, a CD accompanies this text, providing targeted, authentic video segments of effective literacy instructional practices and strategies implemented by teachers and students in real time.Indeed, Great Habits, Great Readers equips leaders and teachers to make effective instructional decisions within the literacy program that instill skillful reading habits in students. This book provides schools across the nation with the opportunity to get the complex art of literacy instruction, one of the most critical elements of a child's learning process, right! My school opens this July with an inaugural class of Kindergarteners, and our literacy framework is heavily based on Great Habits, Great Readers. Our founding instructional team is thrilled to have such a treasured, proven resource to support the success of our scholars!Lagra NewmanFounder and Head of SchoolPurpose Preparatory AcademyNashville, TN
