Jacob's Ladder Reading Comprehension Program: Nonfiction Grade 5

The Jacob's Ladder Reading Comprehension Program: Nonfiction targets reading comprehension skills in high-ability learners by moving students through an inquiry process from basic understanding to critical analyses of texts using a field-tested method developed by the Center for Gifted Education at William & Mary. Students in grade 5 will be able to comprehend and analyze any nonfiction reading passage after completing the activities in this book.

Using skill ladders connected to individual readings related to essays, articles, comparison documents, infographics, and other nonfiction texts, students move from lower order, concrete thinking skills to higher order, critical thinking skills. All of the books, geared to increasing grade levels, include high-interest readings, ladders to increase reading skill development, and easy-to-implement instructions. The ladders include multiple skills necessary for academic success, covering language arts standards such as sequencing, cause and effect, classification, making generalizations, inference, understanding emotion, using and thinking about words, and recognizing themes and concepts.

Optional Student Workbook Packs

In addition to this teacher's guide, companion student workbooks are available for Science and Math, Social Studies, and Fiction/Nonfiction Comparisons. The student workbooks feature ample room for student responses and notes, make reviewing and providing feedback on student work easier than ever, provide students with an easy-to-use reference to use during discussions, and save time, as there is no need to reproduce student handouts.

Joyce VanTassel-Baska, Ed.D., is the Jody and Layton Smith Professor Emerita of Education and former Executive Director of the Center for Gifted Education at William & Mary in Virginia, where she developed a graduate program and a research and development center in gifted education. She also initiated and directed the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University.

Dr. Tamra Stambaugh is the Director of Programs for Talented Youth at Vanderbilt University. She is the coauthor (with Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska) of Comprehensive Curriculum for Gifted Learners, Overlooked Gems: A National Perspective on Low-Income Promising Students, and the Jacob's Ladder Reading Comprehension Program.