Reading Upside Down offers a paradigm shift from achievement gaps to opportunity gaps in literacy instruction. Drawing on the author’s rich experiences working one-on-one with challenged readers, this book presents case studies illustrating the complexities of student learning experiences and the unique circumstances that shaped their acquisition of literacy. Wolter explores eight key factors that contribute to reading challenges in developing readers, including school readiness, the use of prescribed phonics-based programs, physical hurdles, unfamiliarity with English, and special education labeling. With a focus on the differences that educators can make for individual students, the text suggests ways to identify and address early opportunity gaps that can impact students throughout their entire educational career.
Deborah L. Wolter is an elementary teacher consultant in Ann Arbor Michigan public schools. Visit her website at readingupsidedown.wordpress.com.
The tendency to focus on what is wrong with students who do not meet grade expectations in literacy is amajor flaw in the current educational system and one that must be stopped. Deborah Wolter elegantly argues this point in her book Reading Upside Down: Identifying and Addressing Opportunity Gaps in Literacy Instruction."—Teachers College Record
