About J.Richard Gentry

J. Richard Gentry, Ph.D., earned his Elementary Education degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and a Ph.D. in Reading Education from the University of Virginia in 1977. For sixteen years he taught Reading Education at Western Carolina University where he directed the Reading Center. He is well known for his research and writing in literacy education and is currently an independent researcher, author, and educational consultant. A frequent keynoter and featured speaker at conferences for teachers both nationally and internationally, J. Richard Gentry continues to write and speak widely on literacy development and spelling. His depth of knowledge and breakthrough thinking about the importance of teaching spelling for reading and writing development has resulted in a number of books including Spel... Is a Four-Letter Word, The Literacy Map: Guiding Children to Where They Need to Be, and My Kid Can't Spell as well as numerous articles in academic journals and textbooks for school-age children.

J. Richard Gentry's ground breaking book, Breaking the Code: The New Science of Beginning Reading and Writing (Heinemann) was released in February of 2006. Writing with the same clarity and teacher-friendly approach as in his best-selling The Science of Spelling (Heinemann, 2004), Richard Gentry shows you how scientific thinking and student-centered teaching can work together to create powerful literacy instructional practices. His staff development sessions open a window for teachers and parents into the minds of young readers, so that they can open a window for them into a world of literate possibilities.

His latest books Breakthrough in Beginning Reading and Writing, released by Scholastic in late in 2007 and Step-by-Step Assessment Guide to Code Breaking released in 2009 are already popular for teachers of beginning reading and writing and along with his other books have established Richard as one of the foremost national experts on teaching beginning reading and writing. Richard is the author of Zaner-Bloser's new Spelling Connections: Words into Language, one of the nation's top selling spelling programs for grades K-8. He resides in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Snapshots of Richard Gentry’s Career:

• Writer, Researcher, Educational Consultant, Speaker
       1994-Present
• Professor
       Department of Elementary Education and Reading
       Western Carolina University, July 1, 1989-1994
• Director of the Reading Center
       Western Carolina University, 1982-1989
• Associate Professor
       Department of Elementary Education and Reading
       Western Carolina University, 1983-1989
• Clinic Director
       Summer Reading Clinics--Campus and Oteen Clinics (UNC-Asheville)
       Western Carolina University, 1978-1984
• Psychometrician
       McGuffey Reading Center
       University of Virginia, 1976-1977
• Instructor
       Continuing Education
       University of Virginia, 1977
• Clinic Director
       Teenage Reading Clinic, McGuffey Reading Center
       University of Virginia, 1974-1975
• Public School Teacher
       Grades 3, 4, and 5, Jackson Via Elementary School
       Charlottesville Public Schools, Charlottesville, Virginia
       1971-73; 1972-93; 1974-75

Books by J. Richard Gentry:

• Gentry, J. R. (2008). Step-by-Step Assessment Guide to Code Breaking. New York: Scholastic.
• Gentry, J. R. (2007). Breakthrough in Beginning Reading and Writing: The Evidence-Based Approach to Pinpointing Students' Needs and Delivering Targeted Instruction. New York: Scholastic.
• Gentry, J. R. (2007). Assessing Early Literacy with Richard Gentry: Five Phases, One Simple Test. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Gentry, J.R. (2007). Spelling Connections: Words Into Language. Columbus, OH: Zaner-Bloser.
• Gentry, J. R. (2006). Breaking the code: The new science of beginning reading and writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Gentry, J. R. 2004. The Science of Spelling: The Explicit Specifics That Make Great Readers and Writers (and Spellers!). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Gentry, J. R. 2002. The Literacy Map: Guiding Children to Where They Need to Be (Grades 4-6). New York: Mondo.
• Gentry, J. R. 2000. The Literacy Map: Guiding Children to Where They Need to Be (K-3). New York: Mondo.
• Gentry, J. R. 1997. My Kid Can't Spell. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Gentry, J. R. 1987. Spel... Is a Four-Letter Word. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Gentry, J. R. 1977. A Study of the Orthographic Strategies of Beginning Readers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Virginia, Charlottesville.