Reading Next recommended several elements necessary for an effective adolescent literacy program. Passport Reading Journeys incorporates each of these recommendations.

Direct, explicit comprehension instruction: Includes teacher modeling such as think-alouds, demonstrating to students strategies to use during reading.

Integration of content-area texts: Learning to read in a content area requires skills that differ from those necessary for reading and analyzing literature.

Motivation: As students progress from elementary school to middle and high school, motivation to read often diminishes (Guthrie & Davis, 2003). Passport Reading Journeys uses DVDs, high-interest reading passages, and online technology to gain student interest.

Text-based collaborative learning: Collaborative learning activities in groups and pairs to recognize text structures and features, make predictions, generate questions, and discuss text. (Klingner, Vaughn, & Schumm, 1998; Klingner & Vaughn, 2000; Klingner, Vaughn, Arguelles, Hughes, & Leftwich, 2004).

Strategic tutoring: Small-group instruction allows teachers to target specific needs of struggling readers.

Diverse texts: Varied topics and readability ranges as determined by the Lexile Framework for Reading allows students a considerable degree of choice—important to ongoing engagement and motivation. (Guthrie & Davis, 2003).

Writing: Many of the skills involved in writing, such as grammar and spelling, reinforce reading skills.

Technology: Computer-assisted instruction offers struggling readers self-paced, individualized instruction that includes immediate feedback and multiple opportunities for practice. (Hall, Hughes, & Filbert, 2000; Lewis, 2000; MacArthur & Haynes, 1995; Rieth & Semmel, 1991; Woodward et al., 1986)

Assessment: Effective instruction for struggling readers must be responsive to students' ongoing needs and provide varied, continuous assessment to guide additional instruction. (Deshler, Shumaker, & Woodruff, 2004)

Professional development: The training model for Passport Reading Journeys builds capacity and facilitates a successful implementation. (International Reading Association, 2001)

Sharon Vaught, Ph.D., is the H. E. Hartfelder/Southland Corporation Regents Chair at the University of Texas. She directed the Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts at the University of Texas, and is the Co-Principal Investigator at the National Research and Development Center on English Language Learners.

Donald D. Deshler, Ph.D., is a professor in the School of Education and director of the Center for Research on Learning (CRL) at the University of Kansas. Dr. Deshler served as an adviser for Reading Next: Vision for action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy, a recent report from the Carnegie Foundation.

Janette Klingner, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Learning Disabilities, and on the editorial boards for eight additional journals. In 2004, she was honored with AERA's Early Career Award for outstanding research.

Susan De La Paz, Ph.D., is a tenured professor in Santa Clara University's School of Education, teaching courses in both Teacher Education and Special Education. Her research focuses on the area of writing for students with and without learning disabilities, and many of her interventions have focused on students at the secondary level.

Diane August, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Applied Linguistics located in Washington, D.C. She serves as the Principal and Co-Principal Investigator for two federally funded studies investigating the development of literacy in in English language learners.