Teaching Reading Pre-K to Grade 3 w/CD-ROM

Laurie Elish-Piper

Laurie Elish-Piper is a Professor of Reading in the Department of Literacy Education at Northern Illinois University. She directs the NIU Literacy Clinic and teaches reading courses for undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students, including practicums in reading assessment and instruction. Prior to her current position, Dr. Elish-Piper worked as an elementary and middle school teacher and an educational therapist in a clinical setting. She has also developed, implemented, and evaluated family literacy programs for inner-city families and their young children.

Dr. Elish-Piper is active in many professional organizations. She is the vice-president of the College Reading Association, an area co-chair for the National Reading Conference, and a member of the Early Literacy Committee of the International Reading Association. She is co-editor of Exploring Adult Literacy and serves on the Editorial Board of The Reading Teacher and several other publications.

Dr. Elish-Piper consults with schools and family literacy programs across the Midwest. She also regularly presents at international, national, state, and local professional conferences. Her research, publications, and presentations focus on literacy coaching, family literacy, parent involvement, reading strategy instruction, and literacy teacher education. She has authored or co-authored more than 40 publications including books, chapters, articles, videos, and instructional materials.
 

Jerry Johns

Jerry L. Johns, Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus at Northern Illinois University, served as president of International Reading Association during 2002-2003. He has been recognized as a distinguished professor, writer, and outstanding teacher educator. He taught students from kindergarten through college and now serves as a consultant and speaker to schools and professional organizations.

Jerry is a past president of Illinois Reading Council, College Reading Association, and Northern Illinois Reading Council. He has received recognition for outstanding service to each of these professional organizations and is a member of the Illinois Reading Council Hall of Fame. Jerry has served on numerous committees of the International Reading Association and was a member of the Board of Directors. He has also received the Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading award from the International Reading Association, the Champion of Children Award from the HOSTS corporation, and the Laureate Award from the College Reading Association (CRA) for significant contributions to CRA and the field of reading and reading instruction.

Jerry has been invited to consult, conduct workshops, and make presentations for teachers and professional groups throughout the United States and in seven countries. He has also prepared over twenty books and related resources that have been useful to a diverse group of educators. His Basic Reading Inventory is widely used in undergraduate and graduate classes, as well as by practicing teachers. Jerry recently coauthored the fourth edition of Improving Reading: Strategies and Resources. Other recent titles include the third edition of Fluency: Strategies & Assessments, Comprehension and Vocabulary Strategies for the Elementary Grades, Reading and Learning Strategies: Middle Grades through High School, and Strategies for Content Area Learning, and Visualization: Using Mental Images to Strengthen Comprehension.

Susan Lenski

Susan Davis Lenski is a Professor at Portland State University (PSU) in Oregon.  Before joining the faculty at PSU, Dr. Lenski taught in public schools for 20 years and at Illinois State University for 11 years. Her teaching experiences include working with children from kindergarten through high school. Dr. Lenski currently teaches graduate reading and language arts courses.

Dr. Lenski has been recognized by several organizations for her commitment to education. Among her numerous awards, are the Nila Banton Smith Award from the International Reading Association; she was instrumental in her school receiving an Exemplary Reading program Award from the International Reading Association; and she was inducted into the Illinois Reading Hall of Fame. She is currently on the International Reading Association's Board of Directors.

Dr. Lenski's research interests focus on strategic reading and writing and adolescent literacy. She also conducts research on preparing teacher candidates. Dr. Lenski has conducted numerous inservice presentations in the United States, Canada, Guatemala, the Philippines, and Panama and has presented at many state and national conferences. Dr. Lenski has published more than 60 articles and twelve books.