Differentiated Literacy Instruction in Grades 6-8

Strategies and Resources

Sharon Walpole, Sara E. Merkle, and Aleta Thompson

HardcoverPaperbacke-bookprint + e-book
Hardcover
January 30, 2026
ISBN 9781462559664
Price: $63.00
275 Pages
Size: 8" x 10.5"
pre-order
Paperback
January 30, 2026
ISBN 9781462559657
Price: $42.00
275 Pages
Size: 8" x 10.5"
pre-order
e-book
January 30, 2026
PDF and Accessible ePub ?
Price: $42.00
275 Pages
pre-order
print + e-book
Paperback + e-Book (PDF and Accessible ePub) ?
Price: $84.00 $50.40
275 Pages
pre-order
professor copy Digital professor copy available on VitalSource once published ?

Read a Q&A with featured author, Sharon Walpole!
1. Introduction

- A Design Opportunity

- The Need for Evidence-Based Knowledge Building

- The Role of Text Sets

- Deciding to Center Students

2. Middle School Students and Their Teachers

- What Do We Want Middle School Students to Know and Be Able to Do?

- Demographics and Achievement

- Defining Adolescent Readers

- Serving Middle School Teachers

- Positioning Curriculum

3. Feasible Differentiation in Middle School

- Early Leaders in Differentiation

- Persistent Questions

- So, Is Differentiation Feasible and Effective?

- The Need for a Change

- Curriculum in the Mix

4. Choosing Anchor Texts and Building Text Sets

- Reading Comprehension and Text Representation

- Building Background Knowledge through Quad Text Sets

- Selecting Anchor Texts

- Text Complexity

- Quantitative Complexity

- Qualitative Complexity

- Readers and Tasks

- Quad Texts in Action

- Try It Yourself!

5. Planning for Equity

- Achievement Gap

- Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Pedagogy

- Culturally Responsive–Sustaining Education Framework

- CRSE Guidance for ELA Instructional Solutions

- Culturally Responsive Curriculum Scorecard

- Using Outside Readers

- Beyond a Single Story

- Try It Yourself!

6. Routines for Knowledge Building

- Starting with Evidence

- Addressing Standards

- Identifying Affordances for Teaching with Text

- Instructional Routines for Building Topic and Vocabulary Knowledge

- Opportunities for Differentiation

- Try It Yourself!

7. Routines for Reading

- Starting with Evidence

- Addressing Standards

- Identifying Affordances for Teaching with Text

- Creating a Robust Sequence of Steps in a Lesson

- Instructional Routines for Reading the Anchor Text

- Instructional Routines for Reading Text Sets

- Building Challenge over Time

- Opportunities for Differentiation

- Try It Yourself!

8. Routines for Discussion

- Starting with Evidence

- Addressing Standards

- Identifying Affordances for Teaching with Text

- Creating a Robust Sequence of Steps in a Lesson

- Instructional Routines for Targeted Discussions

- Building Challenge over Time

- Opportunities for Differentiation

- Try It Yourself!

9. Routines for Grammar and Language

- Starting with Evidence

- Addressing Standards

- Identifying Affordances for Teaching with Text

- Creating a Robust Sequence of Steps in a Lesson

- Instructional Routines for Grammar and Language

- Building Challenge over Time

- Opportunities for Differentiation

- Try It Yourself!

10. Routines for Writing

- Starting with Evidence

- Addressing Standards

- Creating a Robust Sequence of Steps in a Lesson

- Instructional Routines for Teaching Writing

- Modeling the Writing Process

- Guiding Students to Revise

- Modeling the Revision

- Feedback

- Building Challenge over Time

- Opportunities for Differentiation

- Try It Yourself!

- 11. Routines for Research

- Starting with Evidence

- Addressing Standards

- Creating a Robust Sequence of Steps in a Lesson

- Instructional Routines for Research

- Instructional Routines for Presenting Information

- Building Challenge over Time

- Opportunities for Differentiation

- Try It Yourself!

12. Routines for Assessment

- Starting with Evidence

- Addressing Standards

- Model–Practice–Assess Assessment Series

- Try It Yourself!

- Comprehension Assessment

- Try It Yourself!

- Culminating Tasks

- Try It Yourself!

13. Changing the Status Quo in Middle School

- Try It Yourself!

References

Index