Two studies carried out by James Squire and Jesse Stuart explored processes used in reading the short story, ways of exploring student's processes, possibilities within the short story as a literary genre, and methods teachers can use. Squire's study showed that introspection and retrospection are useful in studying students' reading processes. In…

This article presents summaries of research on 13 core understandings about learning to read, from "Building a Knowledge Base in Reading" (Jane Braunger and Jan Patricia Lewis). In the article, each core understanding is followed by activity ideas and strategies useful for tutors--these activities were created with one-on-one tutoring in…

Suggests teaching a compare/contrast method of word identification rather than teaching syllabication rules to decode words and describes research investigating this technique. (MKM)

Suggesting that the process of reading, however complex, is knowable, and that the scientific study of reading is both necessary and possible, this book brings together what has been learned through the scientific study of reading by carefully observing readers in the act of reading. The book looks at reading in the real world, at how readers and…

Discusses experiments that provide information about the reading processes involved in mapping phonemes onto alphabetic symbols; suggests several techniques for helping children both to differentiate among the short vowel sounds and to associate sound and symbol. Focuses on the needs of beginning readers who are experiencing reading difficulties.…

In recent years, there has been increasing emphasis on the idea of reading as a "socio-cultural" phenomenon, derived from the idea that reading is not an isolated skill but is necessarily related to the purposes reading will be put to in particular social and cultural contexts. This collection of essays acknowledges the undoubted…

Provides a brief review of research concerning the relationship between reading and writing, and of instructional strategies suggested by that research. (AEA)

Noting the persistent tendency to polarize questions of reading instruction into diametrically opposed or simplified positions, this book (developed in the United Kingdom) is a teacher's guide to learning to read. The first part of the book surveys what is known about reading, in chapters corresponding to the four major partners in the reading…

Designed to describe which strategies subjects use while making inferences, this instrument identifies 10 of these strategies: (1) rebinding, (2) questioning a default interpretation or a direct or indirect conflict, (3) shifting of focus, (4) analyzing alternatives, (5) assigning an alternate case, (6) confirming an immediate prior…

A study examined primary grade children's comprehension processes while reading a particular story in which specific areas likely to pose reading difficulty had been identified. Based on the children's readings and on their answers to questions concerning the text, five problem areas were identified: (1) poor decoding or word attack skills (2)…

There is an explosion of new research describing writing stages and how young children learn about reading by learning to write first. Teachers can develop environments in which students can freely explore writing in no-fail situations. By being guided by childrens' spontaneous learning efforts many inapropriate teaching techniques can be avoided.…

This report presents the results of 18 months of work of the Maryland State Task Force on Reading, which investigated cutting edge research, best practices, and assessment data in order to formulate recommendations to guide programs in reading across the state. The report's center piece is a set of Design Principles for Improving Reading in…

Although reading has been studied extensively over the past few decades, its measurement and amelioration continues to be problematic. This paper explores the reasons for this within a psycho-educational perspective and offers several new alternative theoretical positions from which to view prose processing and enhancement. Implications for…

Readers as well as writers compose meaning. Using the same characteristics essential to effective writing--planning, drafting, aligning, revising, and monitoring--readers react creatively with the text. In response to the author's intention and their own knowledge base, they decide what they want to get from their reading. Constantly renegotiating…