Building on the concept of transformative learning and exploring the role of reflection in graduate professional education, this article uses student and educator reflections from the graduate course on reading practices to narrate four stories of learning. These stories, structured based on the "4Ls" model of reflection, describe what…

Long overlooked, reading volume is actually central to the development of reading proficiencies, especially in the development of fluent reading proficiency. Generally no one in schools monitors the actual volume of reading that children engage in. We know that the commonly used commercial core reading programs provide only material that requires…

Developing silent fluent reading is an important goal to be achieved in elementary literacy instruction. This article reviews characteristics of effective silent reading fluency instruction and practice. Next, the authors make the case for four components of effective silent reading fluency practice routines. Finally, the authors describe two…

There is abundant evidence that schools with strong reading programs have successful students. But building strong reading skills is a complex task, particularly by the time students reach the middle grades. A survey was conducted that involved all Indiana middle grades schools in May 2009. Two types of data analysis were utilized in preparing the…

This report summarises Year 6 pupils' attainment in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) survey of 2016 in Northern Ireland and explores the context of that attainment. PIRLS is an international comparison study of reading at ages 9-10. PIRLS has a five-yearly cycle. Northern Ireland took part in PIRLS for the second time…

Compares kinds of learning or skills required in reading and library media use in the following categories: (1) factual information; (2) visual identification; (3) principles and concepts; (4) procedures; (5) perceptual motor skills; and (6) attitude and opinion development. Cooperation between reading teachers and media specialists is advocated.…

The Communications Director of the American Library Association (ALA) offers five reasons librarians should claim literacy as their top professional mission: the "America Reads Challenge" to ensure that all 8-year-olds can read by the year 2000; the ALA's experience in literacy programs; the issue's universality; the success of past…

This report describes and evaluates an adult literacy education program, Project LEAD (Literacy Education and Development), at the Adrian Public Library (Michigan). The project's objectives were to: recruit functionally illiterate adults and provide reading instruction to improve literacy skills; recruit and train 65 additional volunteer tutors…

This is a description of the evaluation of Reading Recovery (RR). RR is an early reading intervention serving about 125,000 children every year in about 8,000 U.S. schools. Its 15,000 teachers submit data on every child to the National Data Evaluation Center, which produces a report for each school, district and university involved with RR.…

This paper examines how collaborative partnership roles are defined in an educational community. The central research question is: in situations where reading instruction is presented through a literature-based approach and library instruction is supported through a resource-based approach, how is the teacher-librarian partnership enacted in a…

Although often ignored by teachers and librarians, nonfiction books can make children want to read. Teachers can create effective assignments by moving beyond textbooks to use trade nonfiction that interests students. With fiction, nonfiction makes a total literature connection that introduces, reinforces, and reviews reading skills. (SLD)

An intergenerational literacy program designed to help adults learn to read to their children or grandchildren, called PACT (Parent and Child Together), was conducted by the Scotland County (North Carolina) Memorial Library. The project trained two tutors in the storybook method of teaching reading and also gave the essentials of the method to two…

Evaluates the report of the Commission on Reading, "Becoming a Nation of Readers," which focuses on giving attention to classroom teaching, testing, and teacher education. It gives recommendations for changes in the way reading is taught and includes the list of 17 recommmendations from the report. (MD)

The first program year evaluation of the Family Reading project addresses implementation issues at the national and local levels relating to the literacy intervention model designed for the project. The project is a collaborative effort between the National Council of La Raza and the Educational Testing Service to improve literacy levels of Latino…

Eight programs of the Des Moines (Iowa) Independent Community School District were funded by block grants: library and instructional materials; fine arts program; resource center; traditional school program; reading program; extended day kindergarten; reading/math lab program; and nonpublic schools program. Each program is described in this…