A defining moment -- Creating independent readers -- Assessing dependent readers' needs -- Explicit instruction in comprehension -- Learning to make inference -- Frontloading meaning: pre-reading strategies -- Constructing meaning: during reading strategies -- Extending meaning: after-reading strategies -- Vocabulary: figuring out what words mean something -- Fluency and automaticity: the rhythm of reading -- Word recognition: what's after "sound it out?" -- Spelling: from word lists to how words work -- Creating the confidence to respond -- Finding the right book -- A final letter to George.