"Little" words often carry complex meanings. Pronoun resolution is an essential component of comprehension. Skilled readers work to maintain text cohesion (i.e., they resolve the pronouns as needed.) Less proficient readers often are not as proficient in resolving pronouns. Limited pronoun resolution limits comprehension. This article…

Although much is known about supporting preschoolers' alphabet knowledge, less is known about instructional moves that support preschoolers' narrative comprehension or how preschoolers' developing cognitive skills may support their narrative comprehension development. This school-university partnership project examined relations of preschoolers'…

Looks at research and practice in the area of idioms and offers suggestions for teaching them effectively. (FL)

Shares the literacy development of the author's son. Shows how the child used language for the following functions: instrumental, regulatory, interactional, personal, heuristic, imaginative, and representational. (MG)

Points out that children must master a great deal of information about form classes, written conventions, and word referent relationships in order to understand what teachers mean when they use the term "word." (FL)

Summarizes key insights from the author's studies of literacy. Makes three recommendations which are designed to explore curriculum as a potential for language learning. (MG)

Dyslexia is a disorder of the language-processing systems in the brain. It is a specific learning disability in reading that often affects spelling as well. This article describes: (1) Common characteristics experienced by people with dyslexia or reading disabilities; (2) Common misconceptions about dyslexia; (3) What brain research tell us about…

Notes the limitations of the traditional conceptualization of reading in terms of a conduit metaphor, consisting of three parts: (l) an input, (2) an output, and (3) a model that describes the relationship. Argues the merits of looking at reading in light of the tool metaphor, viewing readers and writers as users of information. (NH)

Discusses recent brain research as it pertains to reading instruction. (DD)

Explores the concept of emergent literacy, discussing what children know about reading and writing, how they come to know it, and what this information means for classroom practices and school policy. (MM)

Presents examples of syntactic structures that may confuse children when reading. Suggests ways in which teachers can help overcome problems presented by these structures. (FL)

Notes the problem in reading instruction of teaching children both one-to-one representational meaning of words and world-meaning of words, a distinction that can alter their perception of truth as found in written works. (JC)