Metacognition resides at the center of successful reading. Without it, students do not know when their reading is going well or getting off track. They cannot determine if they are moving toward their goals for reading, and they may be unable to comprehend text. Metacognition operates in all successful reading—it guides students’ use of metacognitive strategies, coordinates learning, and contributes to motivated reading. Given metacognition’s pivotal role in students’ reading, it is essential that we understand how it works and how best to teach it. In this book, we consider the research and theory that describe and support the critical nature of metacognition. We explore different approaches to effective metacognition instruction. We investigate the classroom environments that stimulate students’ metacognition, as well as specific metacognitive teaching tools, including checklists and rubrics.

Highlights include:

• Key research on fostering metacognitive readers. 
• Classroom-based descriptions of teachers creating effective metacognitive teaching tools. 
• Meaningful instructional practices to build up metacognitive readers. 
• Self-assessment strategies to support reading independence. 
• Example checklists and rubrics and steps available to create own checklists and rubrics