Implementation of Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts across most of the United States has yielded the rapid creation of new, interconnected literacy assessments, curriculum guidelines, instructional materials, teacher preparation programs, teacher evaluation systems, and professional development. This essay explores two…

In this Research Connections column, Editor David Moore interviews Cynthia Greenleaf, Gayle Cribb, and Heather Howlett. Greenleaf codirects the Strategic Literacy Initiative and leads professional development projects in its Reading Apprenticeship instructional framework. Her approach to disciplinary literacy instruction is based on her findings…

Constructs themes of interaction between subjects and books. States books can be considered as both artifact and index; their existence signals manifold meanings beyond the text contained within. Discusses how the creative process from conception, design, and reproduction creates an object capable of triggering recollection, inspiration, and…

Describes the process of reading the hypertext read-only file "WOE" (included on a disk with this journal) in which voices, memories, influences, and the process of text production all converge, rejecting the objective model of reality as the great "either/or" and embracing, instead, the "and/and/and." (SR)

Responds to "A Symposium on the Usefulness of Literacy Research" in the same issue of this journal. Maintains that Alan Purves totally misreads the author's theory of reading approaches. Explains that "efferent reading" and "aesthetic reading" are not discrete categories but terms on a continuum. (TB)

Argues that the accidents of reading a hypertext (changing your destination, forgetting your point of departure, or getting lost along the way) are not the effects of inappropriate cues, misinterpreted reference or poor design, but the general condition of the hypertext as text, amplified by the narrative turns of the link. (SR)

This brief article uses a weaving metaphor to address the relationship between braille and reading, with prior knowledge (the warp threads) interacting with reading content (the weft threads) by means of braille (the shuttle). Reading is seen to be an interactive process between reader, text, and the context of the reading situation. (DB)

This paper presents a model delineating attributes which enable a literate reader to successfully participate in a pluralistic society. The paper outlines the model as building upon and defining the traditional skills and schema views of reading comprehension which include maturity, attitudes, dispositions, intellectual abilities, knowledge, and…

Written in the tradition of Studs Terkel, this book presents oral histories of 77 diverse readers (from avid to infrequent readers) about how reading affects their lives. Sprinkled throughout the book are narratives of nationally recognized personalities, such as Maxine Hong-Kingston, Robert MacNeil, Gloria Steinem, Linus Pauling, Julie Harris,…

Reviews studies that have explicitly investigated the "seductive detail" effect (in which a reader's attention is diverted toward the interesting but unimportant seductive details and away from the uninteresting but important main ideas). Concludes that these studies do not provide convincing evidence for the existence of the effect.…

Argues that an article by E. Goetz and M. Sadoski in the same issue of this journal is not only inaccurate in its criticisms but is inconsistent in its claims relevant to the research on the memorability of highly interesting but unimportant textual content, also known as "seductive details." (RS)

Replies to another article in the same issue of this journal concerning research on "seductive details" (in which a reader's attention is diverted toward the interesting but unimportant seductive details and away from the uninteresting but important main ideas). Reasserts that there is insufficient evidence to convict seductive details…

The idea of experience needs to be examined before the experiential aspect of literary reading can be understood, and before literary reading as an ethical practice can properly be defined. Open-mindedness is necessary when fostering student interpretations of a literary text, just as it is necessary for accepting the varying life experiences of…

Discusses potential dangers in the current move toward literature-based instruction across the curriculum. Calls for educators to help students understand that there are different stances one can take in reading a text and not to mislead them by treating literary works as if they were intended to be read "efferently." (MG)

Describes a condition called "reader's block" whereby the mind fails to comprehend the meaning of the text because of digressing thoughts. Suggests that "freereading," like freewriting, can help to clarify thoughts. Argues that it is not necessary to read things correctly the first time through. (PRA)