“'Must' reading for all primary grade classroom teachers, reading specialists, and interventionists. The book presents common-sense ideas that will enable teachers to develop effective differentiated instruction for their students. It's clear that the authors have worked closely with schools and understand their topic well; they share workable solutions to challenges and issues in RTI implementation. Instructors will find this book a useful tool for helping future teachers understand how to teach foundational skills in the early grades.”

—Rita M. Bean, PhD, Department of Instruction and Learning (Emerita), University of Pittsburgh


“An excellent resource for schools that are building a culture of RTI. Teachers, administrators, and school leaders will find many tools and insights, plus answers to questions they didn't know they had. The discussions of goal setting and intervention lesson planning are especially helpful. This book will greatly support my conversations with the schools I serve.”

—Kristen Jones, MS, REACH Instructional Coach for Oklahoma


“This book is about developing for all students what the Common Core State Standards call the foundations of reading. It offers workable and effective approaches for helping primary grade learners master critical skills. The authors have certainly done their homework in translating theory and research into productive practice. Written in a readable, conversational style, the book enables practitioners to design instruction that is based on state-of-the-art knowledge and that will make a difference in students’ reading lives.”

—Timothy Rasinski, PhD, Professor of Literacy Education, and Rebecca Tolle and Burton W. Gorman Chair in Educational Leadership, Kent State University


“Classroom teachers, reading specialists, and school psychologists will find this book useful because it is grounded in evidence-based theories of how children learn to read and best practices for teaching them. Rather than adopting a prescriptive, deficit-based, programmatic approach to RTI, the authors advocate meeting children’s literacy needs through high-quality instruction and collaboration across tiers of instructional support. How refreshing to have such a practical resource for the general education classroom.”

—Marcia Invernizzi, PhD, Edmund H. Henderson Professor Emerita, School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia


“This highly practical book provides research-based strategies and resources for all steps of the RTI problem-solving framework. The authors' years of experience in classrooms are evident in their attention to the details that matter. They supply lesson plans, checklists, and explicit instructional strategies. This is the book you will reach for again and again when you are working with struggling readers (or their teachers) in the real world!”

—Brooke Blanks, PhD, Special Education Program, Radford University