The author, a former early grades teacher, recounts how she overcome erratic curriculum implementation to find her own way to effective reading instruction. What worked for her was an emphasis on explicit phonics in the context of providing engaging and relevant reading material for her students. "As a matter of educating the whole…

Reading workshop is a way for students to find what kinds of books they love, practice reading independently, and move up to higher levels of reading with teacher guidance. This type of workshop can develop a lifelong love of reading in children. But several conditions need to be met to make it successful. The authors discuss those conditions,…

The author, a district chief academic officer, discusses his immersion into the research on the science reading and how it informed his views on how reading instruction needed to change in his district. He emphasizes the importance of adopting a cohesive curriculum aligned to the research on early reading, particularly in the areas of phonics and…

Learning to read is a complex process that requires multiple areas of the brain to operate together through intricate networks of neurons. The author of this article, a neurologist and middle school teacher, takes exception to interpretations of neuroimaging research that treat reading as an isolated, independent cognitive process. She…

The National Reading Panel's report on reading instruction placed too much emphasis on systematic phonics. The effectiveness of systematic phonics is presented with a comprehensive framework so that there is a clear implication for institutional practice.

Critiques Freyd and Lytle's evaluation of the IBM Writing to Read program in the same "Educational Leadership" issue. Claims that WTR helps kindergarten and first grade students produce stories they otherwise would not have written and that research results were misinterpreted. IBM should be allowed to compete in the language education…

Rejects phonics or any other reading method as "best" for every child. Summarizes major conclusions of reading styles research, outlines five reading style stimuli, offers tips for increasing reading achievement and enjoyment, and presents research results from five pilot school districts. Matching instruction to individual reading styles is…

Examines IBM's Writing to Read (WTR) program for kindergartners and first graders from four perspectives: its language learning paradigm, the computer program design, the research conducted on its effectiveness, and implementation considerations. Since costs outweigh learning benefits, educators should reconsider purchasing this program. Includes…

A first-grade teacher explains how she uses the whole-part-whole reading model with 15 youngsters. Rereading allows students to practice recently learned skills and strategies, while developing fluency and comprehension. Other exercises include reading aloud in pairs, deciphering the daily schedule, discussions of syllable and sound similarities,…

In 1998, passage of Proposition 227 virtually eliminated bilingual education programs and called for instruction overwhelmingly in English. However, diverse student populations require diverse instructional approaches. Standards-based reform aids only students who can fully understand and assimilate high academic content. Constructivists value…

In this column, the author relates her experience as a teacher in a K-12 school in Point Hope, Alaska, where most of the students spoke "village English," a form of nonstandard English mixed with the village's native language of Inupiaq. She relates how the students' reading test scores, which had been below the 25th percentile, were…