Doug Fischer--50 Content Area Strategies

If you've ever read any of Doug(las) Fisher's books, you know he's an innovative, dedicated teacher-researcher. I've been lucky enough to work with him on-site at my school, and he's just as amazing in person. I've had 50 Content Strategies on my bookshelf for awhile, and I've even used a few of the strategies, but this summer I decided to really sit down and "slot in" a number of them deliberately.
This book is very well-organized. One of the "best" parts is the easy to use index on the inside of the front cover--it describes each of the strategies as a "before," "during," or "after" strategy--always nice for teacher-planning. Each of the strategies is clearly described and examples are given. There are not full-sized reproducibles, but it would be easy to enlarge the examples or make your own from the examples. The strategies range from "anticipation guides" (which sound like fun!) to RAFTS and read-alouds. Many teachers will recognize the "KWL" method, "reader's theatre," and "echo or choral reading."
Not all of the strategies require a worksheet, or even any "product" on the part of the student, instead, they are all designed to help improve student literacy and understanding. In fact, I have had this book come in handy at parent conferences when a parent wants his or her child to "do" more. I pull out this book and "suggest" several strategies and show that not ALL roads to reading require a book-report or vocabulary test.
This book is very useful; for a more in-depth "taste" of Doug Fischer's thoughts and background try Improving Adolescent Literacy--it's already in its second edition and is well worth the read.