About the Author

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Rich and Jo Anne Vacca are professors emeriti in the College of Education at Kent State University. Jo Anne taught language arts in middle schools in New York and Illinois and received her doctorate from Boston University. Rich taught high school English in New York and earned his doctorate at Syracuse University. He is a past president of the International Reading Association. The Vaccas have written numerous books and scholarly articles including Reading and Learning to Read, 8th Edition; Whole Language in Middle and Secondary Classrooms; and Case Studies in Whole Language. Rich also has served as a co-author of Elements of Literature and Elements of Language, both widely used in middle and secondary school English/language arts classrooms. Maryann Mraz, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Reading and Elementary Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She earned her Ph.D. from Kent State University under the guidance of Jo Anne and Rich Vacca. Maryann is a former board member of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) and the author of over 60 books, chapters, articles, and instructional materials on literacy education including co-authored books The Literacy Coach's Companion and Independent Reading. She teaches literacy courses across masters and doctoral programs in the College of Education at UNC Charlotte.