Describes selected plans of teaching reading--individualized reading, basal reader, initial teaching alphabet, language experience and color coding--and suggests each plan's inherent philosophy. (MM)

The article examines reading programs in use in Birmingham (United Kingdom) schools to evaluate their appropriateness in instructing partially sighted students in integrated settings. Suggestions are made for general appearance, contrast, paper type, type size and style, spacing, line length, readability, and vocabulary. (DB)

This paper examines reading research and fosters awareness of limitations in such studies. It begins by discussing the historical aspects of the basal reading program and the language experience and individualized reading approaches. It continues by reporting early studies conducted in these areas, and investigating problems with such studies. The…

Reviews elementary school teachers' reliance on commercial reading materials and suggests, as an objective factor for their teacher behavior, their belief that greater managerial control over classroom instruction will solve the problems of reading programs. Traces the evolution of this assumption and discusses its ramifications. (FL)

Literature can: (1) humanize children; (2) educate the heart as well as the mind; (3) introduce children to new ideas; (4) develop their imagination; and (5) give them a sense of the just, the beautiful, and the true. Arguments in favor of basing school reading programs on good children's literature are given. (PP)

A guide for teachers selecting reading textbooks, this report brings together information about basal programs on the market and clarification of important issues in reading instruction. A general analysis of 20 basal programs includes a prose explication and a table comparing contents (skills), reading selections, methodology, assessment tests,…

Intended to provide a publication outlet for systematic and substantive reviews and syntheses, both empirical and theoretical, and for integrative reports of programatic research, this volume focuses on what children learn when learning to read, and how this learning can be facilitated. The first chapter of the volume offers an analysis of writing…

Observational studies of elementary school classrooms have indicated that basal reading programs (BRPs) influence strongly both how children are taught to read and what they read. BRPs are developed by authors working in varying degrees of involvement with the editors of educational publishing companies. Classroom observation literature and…