In this article, the authors propose a revised way of thinking about reading levels, one that promotes a wider and more flexible view of teacher decision making about the use of leveled texts in classrooms. They share five key principles to consider when looking at the use of instruction that involves matching leveled materials with readers.…

NCLB and Reading First are negotiated in implementing beginning reading instruction. The article describes and analyzes how two critical conditions for creating opportunity--access to qualified teachers and rigorous academic curriculum--are met by examining the enactment and adaptation of a prescriptive core reading program disproportionately…

Considerable research indicates that high-stakes accountability policies have the capacity to influence language arts instruction, particularly in urban, high-needs schools where pressure to increase test scores tends to be most acute. This article utilizes Cultural Historical Activity Theory to critically examine the constraints and affordances…

This article considers three emergent themes from informal discussions with fourth and fifth graders about their book selections from the Vermont Children's Choice program. Twelve students were interviewed about how they selected books from the list. Student responses showed that they held the DCF nominee list in high regard, that they relied…

This qualitative work analyzes what parents, teachers, and children say about reading when Accelerated Reader and Reading Renaissance are used for reading instruction. Critical discourse analysis offered a glimpse at beliefs about reading and how power relations were embedded in what teachers, parents, and children said about AR and reading.…

This article reports on a study that investigated how teachers from the same urban elementary school serving a low- to medium-income student population interpreted, negotiated, and resisted a district-wide mandate requiring them to implement the Open Court Reading program. Interviews and informal observations revealed that there were profound…

Souto-Manning shares her journey as a second-grade teacher-researcher, offering insights into the relationship between a reading program that is (over)determined by scores, multiple-choice questions, and book levels, and the ways children, parents, and teachers worked together to maintain their commitment to a more equitable community of learners.…

The round robin reading circle is perhaps one of the most abused aspects of the total reading program. (JH)

A "Personalized Contract Book Program," modeled on the way that competent readers learn to read at home, provided a nonpressured environment that fostered students' reading development. (DD)

Describes several programs initiated by the New Haven public school system to improve student reading. (DD)

Draws from 15 documents indexed in the ERIC system in order to demonstrate ways to build positive attitudes toward classroom reading tasks. (DD)

Comments on the value of literature in a literature-based Chapter 1 classroom, and suggests types of literature that have been successful in this type of reading program. Reviews 26 trade books which would be useful in Chapter 1 literature-based instruction. (MG)

Describes the chief characteristics of the Success for All program and reports some results of its effects on beginning readers and writers. Concludes that reading failure is fundamentally preventable for nearly all children, regardless of home background. (MG)

Reading instruction, centered around the oral reading of literature, allows children to enjoy stories and forget that they are engaged in an academic exercise.