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Recently, in an introduction to literature course, I began a class by asking my students what they thought about Gregor's sister, Grete, in Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Describe her character? I [...]

On a warm spring afternoon in New Fork City, a classroom of multilingual 1st-graders erupts into roars and cheers--the teacher has just announced a spelling bee. As the children line [...]

The effectiveness of two types of adjunct questions, standard embedded questions and 'why' questions (elaborative interrogation), was investigated for readers differing in structure-building ability (Gernsbacher, 1990). Participants read a textbook chapter either with or without the adjunct questions. Learning was assessed with typical classroom testing methods (multiple choice, short answer). Also, relatedness ratings were used to assess the coherence of learners' representations. High structure builders generally outperformed low structure builders. However, embedded questions but not elaborative interrogation improved the low structure builders' test performances on information targeted by and related to the adjunct questions. Neither study method improved test performance for the high comprehenders. Embedded questions also stimulated more coherent representations. Results indicate that embedded questions are an effective study method for low comprehenders. Keywords: embedded questions, elaborative interrogation, structure building, reading comprehension, individual differences

The research addresses the role of lexical analogies in early reading by examining variation in children's self-reported strategy choices in the context of a traditional clue-word reading task. Sixty 5- to 6-year-old beginning readers were given a nonword version of a traditional clue-word reading analogy task, and changes in strategies were examined using measures of immediately retrospective verbal reports. The findings revealed that the children's performance was accompanied by their use of a wide repertoire of reading strategies, the most prominent being the use of lexical analogies and grapheme-to-phoneme correspondence rules. Distinct profiles of reading were derived from an analysis of the children's strategy choice, showing strong patterns of individual differences with regard to the extent to which children reported making analogical responses and applying grapheme-to-phoneme correspondence rules to aid their nonword reading. The benefits of using immediately retrospective verbal reports of strategies as a way of examining individual differences in children's early reading are discussed. Keywords: beginning reading, experimental reading analogy task, lexical analogy, grapheme-phoneme correspondence rules, individual differences

The authors developed a grounded theory about how a school serving relatively advantaged children produces high reading and writing achievement compared with schools serving similar populations of students. The school's faculty is reading and writing focused, and students experience many books as they receive explicit, demanding instruction (i.e., about how to read words, comprehend, write) connected to content learning. The school offers a positive, motivating environment. In sum, many elements that potentially supported achievement were identified, including explicit teaching of skills in the context of much reading, writing, and content learning, which is consistent with balanced perspectives on reading and writing development. A major hypothesis in the grounded theory is that even with relatively advantaged populations, great efforts may be required to produce high reading and writing achievement. Keywords: effective schooling, effective teaching, effective literacy instruction, balanced literacy instruction

In recent years there has been a greater willingness for schools to utilise the availability of parents, para-professionals and peer tutors to assist developing and struggling readers. As a consequence, [...]

In this article we briefly examine the meta-analysis of systematic phonics instruction published in Teaching Children to Read, the influential 2000 report by the National Reading Panel. A brief review of this study, and the ensuing reanalysis by Camlli, Vargas, and Yurecko, is given. Following this, we report new analyses that substantially alter previous interpretations of the effect of systematic phonics instruction. In the second part of the article, we examine how 'knowledge' created through meta-analysis has entered the domain of public discussion. We conclude by considering how research studies consistent with the intent of the No Child Left Behind law can be designed to engender more effective reading instruction.

Teachers recognize that individuals use literacy differently and that some students are more proficient than others. But regardless of students' individual strengths, teachers have the same goal: to help all [...]

The authors identify eight common profiles of thinking that surface when students are given higher order questions and suggest strategies to improve comprehension. ********** It would be a classic example [...]

The achievement of adolescent literacy learners has become a significant topic of research and policy. This review of literature links current literacy learning theories, research that addresses the individualized nature of adolescent readers, and the literature delineating adolescent literacy policy. Researchers using naturalistic inquiry have studied adolescent readers from a variety of perspectives; interview-based studies show adolescents having some commonalities in reading preferences. Current pedagogical models include reader response, strategic reading, and critical literacy; each model has benefits and drawbacks for marginalized readers. Adolescent literacy policy fosters the belief that we are in a crisis that calls for intervention. The article concludes with recommendations for policy and research that would better serve marginalized adolescent readers. KEYWORDS: adolescent readers, reading, reading policy, struggling readers.

Students identify classroom practices that motivate them to read. We have polls to sample opinions of the general public. We have surveys to understand how teachers gain a sense of [...]

Reading is thinking guided by print. In teaching reading, we try to bring forms of that thinking to the outside, where students can get to them. We externalize the sorts […]

The aggressive patter of Claudia's (all names are pseudonyms) little feet break the silent reverie of the classroom's Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) time. My eyes glance up from the […]

"Please can we talk for five more minutes? Our book club just needs a few more minutes to talk." Talk is an integral part of developing a working knowledge of […]

In Linda's first-grade classroom, Juan, a novice reader, decodes a short sentence below a picture in the book he is holding. (All teachers' and students' names are pseudonyms.) Just as […]

Multicultural children's literature has burgeoned in the last decade. Although there is much writing on booklists, rationale, and criteria for selecting multicultural literature, limited review is available on instructional guidelines […]

In this article, a group of students explain what really motivates them to read. As elementary school teachers, we (the authors) have frequently heard comments such as "I hate to […]

Those familiar with the saying 'Truth is stranger than fiction' can add another truth and fiction statement to their list. Fact enriches fiction, and fiction makes fact memorable. Facts enrich [...]

Before the availability of free public education in the United States, many children learned to read by following along as their parents pointed to the words and read aloud from [...]

Several years ago, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (1996) referred to professional development as the missing link in achieving educational goals in the United States. More recently, [...]

This paper lends support to the argument that reading pedagogy must be understood and practiced as much more than adherence to a particular reading 'method'. An historical account of debates about particular methods recommended for teaching reading in Australia is presented, through a case study of 'The Jones Method'--an expressly home-grown method. This account, contextualised by a larger curriculum-historical study off English teaching, teacher education and public schooling in the first half of the twentieth century, helps us to rethink current conceptions of primary English and reading pedagogy in schools--when radical socio-cultural change raises new questions about school curriculum, teacher education, and the purposes of schooling., Introduction At the present time, the International Reading Association is calling for. a scaling down of 'the reading wars' and, like Allan Luke (1998), is reminding both sides of the [...]

Byline: Robert E. Harris (1), Nancy Marchand-Martella (2), Ronald C. Martella (3) Keywords: peer instruction; direct instruction; corrective reading; at-risk Abstract: The effects of a peer-delivered Corrective Reading program (CRP) (Engelmann, Hanner, &amp Johnson, 1989) with repeated reading on the reading performance of at-risk high school students were examined. High school peer instructors and students in need of reading remediation were randomly assigned to dyads or triads. Peer instructors presented the CRP, conducted repeated reading trials, and took rate and accuracy measures. Pre to post test data were collected on vocabulary and comprehension subtests of the Gates--MacGinitie Reading Tests, oral reading fluency (words read per minute) and accuracy, number of repeated readings on initial and final lessons, and lessons completed. Results indicated that students' performance on the standardized reading assessment increased as did their oral reading fluency. In general, the number of repeated readings decreased from the initial lesson to the final lesson. Implications for further research are discussed. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Counseling, Educational, and Developmental Psychology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, Washington (2) Department of Counseling, Educational, and Developmental Psychology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, Washington (3) Department of Counseling, Educational, and Developmental Psychology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, Washington Article History: Registration Date: 06/10/2004

Byline: Holly B. Lane (1), Cecil D. Mercer (2) Abstract: Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, the report of the Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children sponsored by the National Research Council, provides a comprehensive examination of the reading process and of reading instruction in the early grades. Although lacking in several areas, such as the development of fluency, appropriate practices for students with learning disabilities, and recommendations for teacher education, the report is based on sound research and is likely to have a substantial impact on the field of reading. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Special Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (2) Department of Special Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Article History: Registration Date: 29/09/2004

As editor of the The Reading Teacher's Family Literacy department, I promised to introduce different approaches to interventions or programs that support the practice of family literacy. In this column, [...]

The longer I live, the more I see there's something about reciting rhythmical words aloud--it's almost biological--that comforts and enlivens human beings. Robert Pinsky, 1997-2000 Poet Laureate of the United [...]

In the controversy concerning high-stakes testing in reading, there is one point on which few disagree: Such tests provide little or no useful information to aid teachers in understanding the [...]

Teachers are continually asked to do more with less time and fewer resources. As U.S. schools struggle to meet the guidelines established by the No Child Left Behind Act (2002), [...]

The proliferation of interactive media has provided corporations with an unprecedented ability to collect information about individuals' media consumption habits. An analysis of legal precedents, would demonstrate that the right to read anonymously is an important corollary of freedom of speech and that the ability of corporations to share information about individuals' media consumption threatens this right.