Some effective literacy practices are:

Plan how you will gain students' interest in a topic before giving a reading assignment.

Give students a clear purpose for reading. What is most important for them to "get"?

Offer students choices about what to read when possible, varied according to interest or reading level.

Use various kinds of reading materials, and use the textbook as a reference.

Give students time in class to do some of the reading under your supervision. Cruise the room and talk to students about how the reading is going.

Show students how to grapple with difficult text. Explicitly teach some comprehension strategies such as asking questions and summarizing. Show students ways to take notes that incorporate their thinking. show them graphic organizers that work well for certain kinds of information.

Follow reading assignments with activities that allow students to talk. Reading is a social activity.

Follow reading assignments with activities that allow students to extend meaning. Comprehension does not have to stop when the student reads the last word in the text.

Help students discover how the information applies to real life. Help them see how they could apply the knowledge they have acquired.

Show enthusiasm for reading. Read aloud short pieces that capture your interest. Every time you share interesting text-and let students just listen and enjoy-you send a message to students' brains: Reading is good.