Irene Fountas
Professional Title: Professor, Director of Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative
Areas of Academic Focus and Expertise:
Literacy coaching; early intervention; struggling readers; characteristics of texts; assessment of reading; school improvement
Area of Work and Concentration at Lesley: Literacy, literacy coaching
Representative List of Recent Courses Taught:
What Every School Leader Needs to Know About Good Literacy Teaching and Effective Literacy Coaching
The Effective Literacy Coach
Education: B.S. Boston University; M.Ed. Boston University; Ed.D. Boston University; C.A.G.S., Boston University
Representative List of Recent Publications / Exhibitions:
- Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2012). Leveled Literacy Intervention: Red System. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
- Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2012). Genre Prompting Guide for Fiction. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
- Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2012). Genre Prompting Guide for Nonfiction. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
- Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2012). Genre Quick Guide. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
- Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2012). Genre Study: Teaching with Fiction and Nonfiction Books. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
- Fountas, I. & Pinnell, G. S. (2010). The Continuum of Literacy Learning, Second Edition. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
- Fountas, I. & Pinnell, G. S. (2010). The Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System, Second Edition. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
- Fountas, I. & Pinnell, G. S. (2009). The Fountas and Pinnell Prompting Guide 1: A Tool for Literacy Teachers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
- Fountas, I. & Pinnell, G. S. (2009). When Readers Struggle: Teaching That Works. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
- Fountas, I. & Pinnell, G. S. (2009). Keys to Effective Coaching: Cultivating Self-Extending Teachers in a Professional Learning Community. Journal of Reading Recovery, 8 (2).
Irene directs the Center's comprehensive school reform project in the School of Education at Lesley University. She has been a classroom teacher, language arts specialist, and consultant in school districts across the nation and abroad. Irene and co-author Gay Su Pinnell have published several books with Heinemann. She has received numerous awards for her contributions to literacy.
Recent presentations include:
- With G. Pinnell: When Readers Struggle in the Intermediate Grades: Teaching That Works [Teaching edge speaker series]. 57th Annual International Reading Association conference, Chicago, 2012
- With G. Pinnell: Text Complexity: Its critical Role in Reading Development. 57th Annual International Reading Association conference, Chicago, 2012.
- With G. Pinnell: Coaching for Expert Teaching in Guided Reading Lessons, 22nd Annual Literacy for All Conference, Providence, R.I., 2011
- with G. Pinnell, Genre Study in a Reader's Workshop (Grades 1-8). Pre-conference all-day workshop presented at the 22nd Annual Literacy for All Conference, Providence, R.I., 2011
- Fountas, I.C., Teacher Expertise: Key to Student Achievement. Keystone State Reading Association 44th Annual Conference, Lancaster, Pa., 2011
- Effective Literacy Interventions: What Will it Take? Minority School Achievement Network Conference, Cambridge, Mass., 2010
- Teacher Expertise: Key to Improving Literacy Achievement. 38th Annual Conference, State of Maryland International Reading Association Council, Baltimore, 2010
- With G. Pinnell: Expert Teaching in Literacy Lessons: Teaching, Prompting, and Reinforcing Problem-solving Behaviors. Presented at the 55th Annual Convention, International Reading Association, Chicago, 2010.
- With G. Pinnell: When Readers Struggle: Teaching that Works (K-3). Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools, Cairo, Egypt. 2009