Recent school reform efforts have emphasized the need for highter literacy standards in schools across the country. Offering practical guidance for literacy educators, curriculum development specialists, and other education professionals and policy makers, this volume considers how we can most effectively improve quality and content of reading and writing instruction. Leading researchers and practitioners address eight principles of best practice, providing the most current information on how to enhance students' ability to construct meaning from text independently, draw upon texts to build conceptual understanding , effectively communicate ideas orally and in writing, and develop an intrinsic desire to read and write.