Semantic mapping is effective with expository prose but not as effective with narrative prose. To achieve a better understanding of narrative prose, yet still keep the benefits of semantic mapping, the traditional approach can be modified into a technique called "episodic mapping." Episodic mapping is based on the idea that most stories…

A Maryland school system developed a program called "Students Achieving Independent Learning" (SAIL) to help low-achieving students learn how to read. SAIL helps students become successful readers by showing them steps they can take throughout the reading process to increase their understanding. (13 references) (MLF)

Provides examples to show how various pre-reading skills can be taught using the student's familiar environment. These skills include form perception, motor control, visual copying, visual recall, completion and closure, visual rhythm, visual sequencing, temporal sequencing, and visual/auditory discrimination. (JN)

This article presents strategies for creating elementary-level guided reading groups that are both flexible (based on individual students' needs) and purposeful (offering strategies for making them more effective readers). The article also explains how to set up a guided reading group, choose appropriate books, and run the group. (SM)

Notes that children often fail to interpret metaphors correctly and that instruction in basal readers is not always helpful. Offers a strategy that shows students how to figure out metaphors on their own. (FL)

Background knowledge is a critical relationship in reading comprehension. Includes a discussion on the classroom application of background knowledge in reading instruction. (MD)

Basically, the concept of guided reading means that teachers guide students through materials that are used for instruction. A critical foundation in guided reading is that students read materials at their instructional levels. During a typical lesson, students discuss both the content and the strategies they used to make sense of what is being…

This handbook was developed in response to the "America Reads Challenge," a national effort to ensure that all children can read independently and well by the end of third grade. It is designed to provide volunteer tutors with specific, hands-on information about the tutoring process. It explains to tutors how to motivate students to get…

The premise of this booklet is that reading should be taught from the beginning to all students with the techniques and materials and orders of presentation that have been found to be effective in remediation, such as the concept of controlled lists. It is "common sense" to teach words in such lists in phonic context, rather than the…

Developed for elementary classroom teachers and reading specialists, this book is designed to enliven, enrich, and reinforce all areas of reading instruction. The book provides hundreds of reproducible activities, games, and practical ideas to teach and reinforce basic reading skills. The book is organized into 10 monthly sections to fit the…

Explains the use and benefits of silent, uninterrupted, sustained reading periods in elementary and middle grades. Indicates that the method not only improves reading and concentration skills, but allows the teacher to observe diagnostically the readers in his/her class. (DMM)

Explains five strategies for teaching reading comprehension: (1) imaging or visualizing; (2) paraphrasing; (3) questioning and inference; (4) prereading; and (5) metacognitive strategies. (SRT)

Responding to the America Reads Challenge and the increasing emphasis on using volunteer tutors to help all children learn to read, the activities and suggestions in this easy-to-use book are from the journal "The Reading Teacher" and are classroom tested. It provides instructional tips for teachers and tutors who are collaboratively…

An instructional strategy for teaching fiction to students with learning disabilities (LD) is presented and applied to the teaching of a short story. The three-step strategy involves students in assessing what they already know about the story, what they think they are likely to read about, and then what they know after reading the story. (SW)

Teachers and their students can benefit from examining the role of professional editors and their response to writing. The editor's role lies primarily in giving service to the writer, the reader, the publishing house, and the power of the written word. Editors like Harold Ross and Max Perkins have evoked the trust of many writers by making sure…