This response was constructed based on the author's experience as a language program coordinator and her expertise in second language (L2) reading development. Because "transcultural competence," as defined in the MLA Report (2007), shares much of its underlying capacities with "reading ability," in principle, reading instruction could play a…

Special education teachers working in intermediate grades and in middle school grades face many challenges as they teach both developmental reading skills and subject matter material. Not only must they deal with the increased vocabulary and domain demands of teaching informational text, they must also handle the needs of students who have not yet…

Reviews recent studies dealing with the question of whether students' dialects interfere with their ability to read. Suggests three specific actions that educators concerned with reading instruction might take in order to enhance the quality of reading instruction for students with nonstandard dialects. (FL)

Discusses methods and research related to increasing children's reading rates to improve their comprehension and self-esteem. Concludes that the improvement of reading rate should be an established component of any reading program. (MG)

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

Discusses how teachers can build and sustain students' positive self-images within the classroom. States that emphasizing effort instead of reading ability and focusing on learning goals instead of performance goals will help the "learned helpless" child immensely. Discusses the role of teacher expectations in the success attained by…

Defines the set of characteristics known as cognitive style, suggests how these traits possibly influence reading behavior, and cites some of their ramifications for classroom reading instruction. (FL)

Argues that differences in instruction influence differences in students' reading abilities as much as do variations in individual learning styles or aptitudes. Suggests ideas for enhancing instruction of poor readers. (RH)

Presents the educational rationale for differentiated reading programs for gifted students in reading. Describes gifted readers, delineates general features of differentiated programs, and presents specifically recommended models of reading programs for the gifted. (RS)

A balanced approach to reading instruction favors cultivating reading as a strategic activity that requires intentionality, interest, and motivation on the part of the learner. Includes references. (MD)

Argues that teacher-made worksheets built on basal reader stories can help students' make connections with the stories and provide them with practice of important comprehension skills. Suggests ways to make such sheets. (FL)

Elaborates the view that phonological recoding, or print-to-sound translation, is a self-teaching mechanism enabling learners to acquire the orthographic representations necessary for visual word recognition. Discusses developmental properties of phonological recoding, reviews evidence on the importance of cognitive abilities underlying the…

There are at least two kinds of phonetic knowledge: phoneme synthesis and analytic knowledge. In phoneme synthesis a person demonstrates phonetic knowledge by being able to assemble segments into larger units. With analytic knowledge one knows that syllables or words are analyzable into constituent segments. One type of knowledge enables learning…

Proposes an end to the "Great Debate" in reading instruction between the proponents of data-driven approaches and proponents of concept-driven approaches by offering two major principles of reading instruction. Explores characteristics of each approach and the danger of overemphasizing either aspect of reading. (MG)

Early reading instruction is important for all children, but especially for the disadvantaged, because the decision not to expose them to reading at an early age may result in an unrecoverable loss of intellectual potential. Reading readiness as an approach may exile children from literacy permanently because it is an abstract and alien process…