Summer Training and Education Program (STEP) is a summer employment, academic remediation, and life skills program intended to lower school dropout rates by reducing summer learning loss and preventing teen parenthood. The program is integrated into the federal summer jobs program and is offered during six-to-eight-week sessions in two consecutive…

Clausen-Grace and Kelley believe that when it comes to independent reading, the question is not whether to use it, but rather how we can implement it to get the most benefit for our students. Here, they discuss the supporting research, defuse potential problems, identify characteristics of effective SSR programs, and outline their own action…

Examines the benefits of allowing children ample and regular time periods to read on their own and in their own area of interest in relation to the need for children to understand reading as more than a series of unrelated workbook exercises. (HTH)

Describes a study in which some graduate and undergraduate students failed to distinguish a spoof from serious reports of research. (MKM)

Teaching reading skills can easily be integrated into classroom activities and will result in improved reading and increased learning of subject matter. Reading is essential to the preparation of students for the work of the family at home and on the job. (JOW)

Elementary teachers lead students on prereading picture walks, engage them in prediction activities, and model previewing processes, secondary teachers often fail to do much more than distribute the textbook. To help middle and high school students learn to use their content area textbooks more effectively, teachers can engage them in previewing…

Describes a method for teaching reluctant students to develop the skills necessary to read a play. (RB)

Sixth grade students with reading ability beyond their age group are offered the opportunity for an extended reading opportunity program directed by teachers, consultants, and specialists. (JD)

Presents four question-asking strategies that can help improve students' reading comprehension: ReQuest, Radio Reading, Directed Reading-Thinking Activity, and Question-Answer-Relationships. Also discusses taxonomies useful for classifying questions. (ARH)

The author discusses why old classics are not as popular with children today and lists the popular childrens books of now. This change suggests a revamping of required educational reading. Also, a correlation between what is on television and what children read leads the author to conclude that television can function as reinforcement to reading…

Offers Request, the Directed Reading-Thinking Activity, the Expectation Outline, the Prereading Guided Reading Procedure, Word Wonder, and Semantic Webbing as techniques that use many of the basic principles of the directed reading activity while adjusting to the needs of specific materials and students. (FL)

Discusses the authors' research regarding the traditional prereading element designated by beginning reading programs as "setting a purpose for reading." (Author/DB)

A Maryland school system developed a program called "Students Achieving Independent Learning" (SAIL) to help low-achieving students learn how to read. SAIL helps students become successful readers by showing them steps they can take throughout the reading process to increase their understanding. (13 references) (MLF)

Notes the plethora of guides to trade books for classroom use. Suggests what a good guide should do, and presents a guide to help teachers write and edit their own. (MS)

Offers suggestions for effective use of the Directed Reading-Thinking Activity developed by R. Stauffer. (FL)