Literacy Links
Reading
Building your reading skills: a guide for students
An overview of the SQ4R method of studying, and a few other useful tips from the University of Waterloo.
Building Reading Proficiency At The Secondary Level
Mostly cites research from the late 90s, but has lots of good strategies for working with secondary students in ways that don't seem too childish.
Building Reading Skills Step by Step
An article promoting FAME, which is a reading intervention program from Boys Town (a charity in the US).
Open Dyslexic
A font which is designed to be easy to read for people who struggle with contrast/blindness, letter confusion or rotation, and crowding.
Inferencing / Indirect Questions
The Art and Science of Teaching / Teaching Inference
An article describing four questions readers can ask themselves to make better inferences.
Skills and Strategies | Making Inferences
An article from the New York Times describing strategies to make inferences. It uses examples from the Times, so it's a good example for students who don't read newspapers much.
Direct Questions
Reading Strategies to Save Time
Descriptions of previewing text, skimming, scanning, and intensive reading from the University of New South Wales.
Reading Strategies: Skimming vs Close Reading
Descriptions of the steps taken when finding information quickly in a text, and when trying to read as deeply as possible.
Writing
Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively
Several strategies for teaching writing at the secondary level from the Institute of Education Sciences in the US.
Develop High School Students’ Writing Skills
A summary of a 2007 paper by Graham and Perin, who investigated current research to determine the best strategies for improving high school students’ writing skills.
14 Strategies to Support Struggling Writers: Build Confidence & Increase Success
The title is fairly self-explanatory. Gives a good structure for developing writing skills.
Interventions for Students with Writing Disabilities
Gives good examples of different ways that students can struggle with writing.