McGraw-Hill's Glencoe Literature: Texas Treasures Builds Students' Reading Comprehension Through Purposeful Highlighting

Text feature is a proven method for developing reading skills and understanding

PRNewswire
NEW YORK
Nov 4, 2009

McGraw-Hill School Education Group, the leading provider of print and digital educational materials for students in Grades PreK-12, has developed a new program for Texas students that enables them to become active readers.

Glencoe Literature: Texas Treasures utilizes the research-based text feature of purposeful highlighting to alert students to pause, reread, and interact with the text. This purposeful in-text highlighting, doesn't provide students the answers, but rather serves as a model for them to interact with the textbook, to annotate, to find textual evidence, and to become more successful critical thinkers.

Glencoe's subtle and strategic highlighting acts as a built-in literature tutor that scaffolds and stresses deep literary analysis.

"Any instructional materials worth their weight must provide text features including highlighting that support student learning," said program consultant Doug Fisher, Ph.D., a professor of language and literacy education at San Diego State University. "Students must be taught to use these text features and then apply what they have learned during independent reading."

Purposeful highlighting is used exclusively in Glencoe Literature: Texas Treasures, a comprehensive collection of exceptional literature and engaging nonfiction with integrated skill development and targeted differentiated instruction for Grades 6-12.

This proven strategy helps students with reading comprehension because it signals something of importance and then triggers students to ask themselves, "Am I understanding this?" instead of passing over critical content. Highlighting helps condition students to recognize key concepts when reading.

Highlighting is a supportive tool for Glencoe Literature: Texas Treasures, which is anchored in Inquiry-based learning. Inquiry organizes instruction around Big Ideas and Big Questions that engage, motivate, and challenge students to build and utilize their literacy skills while grappling with real-life issues and concepts.

Each unit in Glencoe Literature: Texas Treasures begins with a Big Question or Big Idea that is relevant to real-life for adolescents. Reading assignments throughout the unit map back to the Big Question or Big Idea. Highlighting helps students understand the goal of the intended reading and pinpoint key information in the lesson that will help them answer the Big Question or understand the Big Idea.

ConnectED, an online portal that houses Glencoe Literature: Texas Treasures' technology and print resources, provides Texas students with an interactive version of the program's text, where they can practice highlighting text on their own, further building comprehension and study skills.

Glencoe Literature: Texas Treasures has been specifically designed to help teachers teach and students master the new TEKS, ELPS, and College and Career Readiness Standards with ongoing preparation for success on the TAKS, ACT, and SAT. The program connects all Language Arts skills, including writing in a variety of modes, to provide students with the foundation necessary to be successful in the classroom, in college, and in the workforce.

For more information about Glencoe Literature: Texas Treasures, please visit connected.mcgraw-hill.com.

About McGraw-Hill Education

McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is a leading global provider of print and digital instructional, assessment and reference solutions that empower professionals and students of all ages. McGraw-Hill Education has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than 65 languages. Additional information is available at http://www.mheducation.com/.

  Contact:  Tom Stanton                       Caroline Golon
            McGraw-Hill Education             Paul Werth Associates
            (212) 904-3214                    (614) 580-2445
            tom_stanton@mcgraw-hill.com       cgolon@paulwerth.com

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SOURCE: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill

CONTACT: Tom Stanton of McGraw-Hill Education, +1-212-904-3214,
tom_stanton@mcgraw-hill.com; or Caroline Golon of Paul Werth Associates,
+1-614-580-2445, cgolon@paulwerth.com

Web Site: http://www.mheducation.com/