Whether you’re a literacy leader, educator, or passionate advocate for equitable reading instruction, this curated list of our top recommended books highlights some of the most influential research and practical strategies shaping literacy today. From equity frameworks to multisensory approaches and writing integration, these titles offer valuable guidance to help all students thrive as readers and writers.
First and foremost, we love this list from The Reading League. Their Science of Reading Defining Guide is the ideal starting point! They also have a list of additional resources for adolescent literacy in particular.
AdLit focuses specifically on adolescent literacy. They have an excellent guide on adolescent literacy interventions that is informed by many of the resources listed below.
We also recommend the following two practice guides from the Institute for Education Sciences:
- Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices
- Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School
Visible Learning for Literacy: Implementing the Practices That Work Best to Accelerate Student Learning*
Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, & John Hattie
Grounded in John Hattie's influential research, this book outlines which literacy practices have the greatest impact on student achievement. It breaks down strategies into three phases—surface, deep, and transfer learning—and offers guidance on how and when to apply each to maximize effectiveness. Ideal for literacy leaders!
Disrupting Thinking: Why How We Read Matters
Kylene Beers & Robert E. Probst
Beers and Probst advocate for a shift from traditional reading instruction toward a more engaged, responsive approach. They introduce the "Book, Head, Heart" framework, encouraging students to connect emotionally with texts to foster more authentic comprehension regardless of reading ability.
Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy*
Gholdy Muhammad
Muhammad focused on the Historically Responsive Literacy framework, which promotes equity and excellence in literacy instruction. The model supports identity development, skill-building, intellectualism, and criticality, helping educators honor students' cultural backgrounds while fostering literacy growth.
When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do*
Kylene Beers
This one has lots of practical strategies for helping struggling readers in grades 6–12. Beers covers everything from comprehension and vocabulary to fluency and motivation, drawing on classroom experience and student case studies to provide actionable solutions.
The Structured Literacy Planner: Designing Instruction for Diverse Learners*
Kristen L. McMaster & Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl
This resource for implementing structured literacy approaches is recommended by The Reading League and by the IDA and provides tools and frameworks to design effective instruction for students with diverse learning needs. It emphasizes explicit, systematic teaching of foundational literacy skills within a responsive instructional model.
Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills
Judith R. Birsh & Suzanne Carreker
This foundational text for educators and specialists presents an overview of multisensory instruction rooted in the Orton-Gillingham approach. It offers strategies for teaching reading, spelling, and writing through visual, auditory, and kinesthetic modalities, especially for students with dyslexia and related learning differences.
The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades
Judith C. Hochman & Natalie Wexler
This method for teaching writing integrates into content instruction, emphasizing sentence-level writing with strategies that help students clarify and organize their thoughts, which in turn improves both writing and critical thinking across subjects. Striving readers are often also striving writers and this book addresses those gaps.
*Top recommendations!
At Storyshares, we’re committed to providing resources that empower educators and readers alike. If you’re interested in learning how we can transform literacy outcomes for your older striving readers, don’t hesitate to reach out at info@storyshares.org or explore our Educator Toolkit.