L. S. Vygotsky, the psychologist and teacher from Byelorussia who became a central figure in Soviet psychological and educational circles in the 1920s and 1930s, has become a frequent citation in 21st-century scholarship. He is most-often invoked to support some form of instructional scaffolding, based on his idea of the zone of proximal…

Comprehension has often been conceptualized in ways that privilege either the "right" understanding of a text (comprehension-as-outcome), or getting to that "right" understanding (comprehension-as-procedure). This article makes a case that we should, instead, teach with an eye toward fostering comprehension-as-sense-making--a socially purposeful…

Literacy centers are widely used by teachers seen as being effective in promoting literacy (Pressley, Rankin, & Yokoi, 2000); yet little research has been completed on how or why they are effective. Based on the social cultural constructivist theory posited by Vygotsky (1978), and research theories of Dyson (1993), the peer dialogue at the…

To determine student readiness in any academic subject, teachers must determine individual levels of cognitive competencies children possess.

Distinguishes "aesthetic reading," in which readers are absorbed in the experience of making meaning from verbal signs, from "efferent reading" (reading for information); indicates how recent findings about language acquisition support this model of the reading process; and suggests implications for reading instruction, with emphasis on the…

Many specific implications for classroom reading instruction can be derived from work in linguistics or psycholinguistics. (JH)

Argues that composing and comprehending are process-oriented thinking skills that are basically interrelated, and suggests ways that these skills can be taught. (JL)

Examines the value of literature response groups by gathering information about the dialogue occurring within them. Studies the content of talk, the functions of language in use, and evidence of reading comprehension. Finds that literature response groups are a good resource for helping children communicate through talk in the classroom. (MS)

The cloze technique is very flexible and can reinforce reading skills and encourage writing. (JH)

Reading is a process in which interactions between the surface and deep structures of the language bring about understanding.

Reviews several syntactic studies of children's reading comprehension and suggests teaching methods for promoting sentence comprehension in context. (DD)

Discusses four aspects of listening comprehension citing supportive research: (1) what is involved in listening comprehension, (2) whether it be taught, (3) how it is related to reading comprehension, and (4) what other factors affect listening comprehension. Provides recommendations for teaching. (HTH)

Discusses the effect of previous knowledge on reading comprehension. Suggests reading instruction methods that evoke the readers' experiences, or schemata, relevant to the material. (HTH)

Takes readers to a second grade classroom to see how children's meanings of a story grow as they engage in a variety of related activities. Discusses how the meaning of a story grows to become multifaceted as children use the story for different personal and social purposes in the classroom. (MG)

This study involved fourth grade children as co-researchers of their engaged, aesthetic reading experience. As members of the "Readers as Researchers Club," they documented their engagement with text--how they create, enter, and sustain the story world. The children, who self-identified as avid readers, explored the activities central to their…