In this interview, children's author and illustrator Tomie de Paola discusses children's books and reading instruction. (SJL)

While many basal readers do portray characters reading, others could do more to provide children with role models. (DD)

Explores the possibilities for adapting the basal reader to the particular needs of the student or classroom as opposed to strict page by page study. (HTH)

A method for introducing hearing impaired preschoolers to a core basal reading series is described. Steps begin with having students react to pictures of their own experiences and express the plots of stories in language. (CL)

Reviews Patrick Shannon's "Broken Promises: Reading Instruction in Twentieth Century America," which presents arguments to demonstrate that basal readers have led to a reversal of the roles of teacher and textbook in reading instruction. Relates the author's experiences in trying to help teachers turn away from basal readers. (RS)

Examines whether the use of basal reading programs results in the deskilling of teachers. Provides background information and states the deskilling argument. Scrutinizes the argument by posing four questions. Concludes that the simple cause/effect relationship suggested by the deskilling argument fails to credit teachers with the intelligence and…

Reviews the assessment systems which accompany three of the most recently published and widely used basal reading programs. Examines the materials designed for the second half of second grade and for fifth grade. (PRA)

Outlines the history of teaching manuals regarding lesson plans, vocabulary, teacher directions, primers, preprimers, prereaders, selections, supplementary materials, and multiethnic concerns. States that, although no manual can take the place of a well-prepared teacher, most provide suggestions and supplementary materials which can be valuable to…

Explores how teachers of differing philosophical orientations toward reading react to the implementation of a literature-based basal series. Finds evidence for a relationship between a teacher's theoretical orientation toward reading and the implementation of a new basal series. States that despite differences between the old and new basal sets,…

In this study, two groups of second graders participated in Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction (FORI) but their repeated reading experiences used different kinds of texts. One group--the Literature group--read texts from the district's literature-based, basal reading program. The second group--the Content group--read from a set of science and…

Teaching students how to read is one of the most important tasks in elementary schools. The majority of schools use published basal programs to teach students to read. Several published reviews have indicated that past editions of basal readers did not align with appropriate instruction for beginning level readers. In this study I reviewed five of…

A brief history and futuristic projection of children's readers. (Author)

This study examined whether post-reading comprehension would be affected by the inclusion of pictorial material with a story and a prereading prediction questionnaire. Subjects, 75 heterogeneously grouped fourth grade students randomly assigned to one of three groups, either (1) read a basal reader passage with pictorial material; or (2) read the…

An examination of basal readers shows that the world portrayed in them is unrealistic, boring, and one that misrepresents and underrepresents women and minorities. (IRT)

A method for teaching sight words to elementary level learning disabled children is proposed which relies on input organization, a strategy in which teachers reorganize information into small, related units for instruction. Also included are sample word categories, results of the method's use, and recommendations for use. (DB)