Students are often provided with background information before reading an assigned selection. This background information functions differently in the following reading variations: individualized reading; basal reading; big book approaches; programmed reading, the language experience approach; and predictable books. Students often pick subjects…

The zone of proximal development provides guidance to the teacher in taking care of selected prerequisites, prior to pupils doing the actual reading. Three models are presented and elaborated upon to indicate what can be done to fulfill requirements of the zone of proximal reading. The zone may be applied in relation to reading from basal texts…

The experience chart, perceived as a reading instruction method for early primary grade students only, can actually be used on any grade level. There are a plethora of reasons for using experience charts in reading instruction for low achievers among middle school readers, including the following: content is based on background experiences of…

Reading teachers and specialists have a difficult task in determining which components need to be emphasized in a quality reading program. Vital goals need to be achieved, experiences and activities must capture learner interest, and sequence in learning and organization of subject matter must guide student integration of knowledge. The scope of…

Reflecting a concern for a broad base of knowledge in reading, this collection contains the following essays: (1) "Reading and the Language Arts"; (2) "The Integrated Reading Curriculum"; (3) "Oral Communication and the Curriculum"; (4) "Spelling in the Curriculum"; (5) "Motivation and the Learner in Reading"; and (6) "Reform in the Reading…

Young learners need a quality program for developing reading skills which is both sequential and holistic--sequential because there is an appropriate order to some skills, holistic because skills need to be incorporated in context. Word recognition techniques are thus integrated with ideas gleaned from reading. The learner should use acquired…

Numerous concepts in the teaching of reading have been emphasized since the middle of the 20th century. Four such concepts are the Initial Teaching Alphabet (ITA), traditional linguistic procedures, rebus, and programmed reading. Each has advantages and serious disadvantages. ITA stressed a rather consistent sound/symbol relationship, but pupils…