Describes the Reader's Workshop and the Focused Study Reading Workshop. Offers them as a way to accommodate the characteristics of individuals, to respect the knowledge of readers who are at earlier stages of reading development, to establish a system which teaches problem solving, and to provide for active child involvement and ownership in the…

Suggests that many educators are finding common ground and common sense under the banner of "Balanced Literacy." Discusses the term, the search for balance, and the difficulty in maintaining a balanced literacy program. (RS)

Describes a summer reading enrichment program that used whole language methodology and represented a collaboration between the Learning Institute of the Jewish Community Center on Staten Island, New York, and the Staten Island Children's Museum. Discusses getting started at the exhibit, program format, program evaluation, and recommendations for…

Examines IBM's Writing to Read (WTR) program for kindergartners and first graders from four perspectives: its language learning paradigm, the computer program design, the research conducted on its effectiveness, and implementation considerations. Since costs outweigh learning benefits, educators should reconsider purchasing this program. Includes…

Describes the development and implementation of meaning-based reading instruction for a group of sixth-grade students with special learning needs. Provides details as to program design and describes a sample session. (SR)

Investigates the utility of oral reading rate as a metric in monitoring students' progress over time within a literature-based curriculum. Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) probes were administered to 2nd- and 5th-grade students to monitor their progress in reading. Results suggest that the CBM oral reading rate is an effective metric for use…

Some children learn to read easily with phonics, and some do better with a whole-language approach. Principals should understand both systems and use the best of both, together with other effective reading programs. Teachers should balance their reading programs by providing structure for analytic students, reading to students, and relying on…

Describes a study of the availability of books in low-income schools with literature-based curriculums. Focuses on two scenarios or snapshots of elementary schools in the study. Discusses seven recommendations for creating a supportive literacy environment. (TB)

Offers a point-by-point comparison of the whole language approach and the Accelerated Reader program. Offers classroom stories of how Accelerated Reader affects students. Notes that students are taught that reading is an isolated and competitive activity, and that reading means correctly answering questions generated by a computer and earning…

There seems to be a pendulum in the field of education that sways from one extreme to another when a teaching method is introduced. The whole language concept caught on, and phonics instruction was then considered defunct. The pendulum now in the process of swinging back is being intercepted, before it goes to the extreme of "all…

Much is written and spoken about in terms of whole language versus phonics in early reading instruction in the public schools, but the issue between whole language versus phonics probably pertains to what is needed by individual pupils. There are advantages as well as disadvantages for whole language approaches in reading instruction. Needs differ…

Presents alternatives to three misconceptions about bilingual learners to promote the revaluing of these students. Describes traditional views of literacy instruction for second-language learners and suggests a whole-language literature program as an alternative. Lays out differences between inauthentic, controlled literature-based reading…

Principals can successfully implement whole language reading programs if they educate staff and parents; engage in effective, inclusive long-range planning; encourage sharing among teachers; incorporate flexibility and experimentation in program development; and create an appropriate program evaluation system. Staff involvement is the key to…

This paper reviews the literature and research on literature-based reading programs (as an alternative to basal reading instruction) that have proven successful and identifies key elements of such programs. The first part of the paper contains an introduction, a statement of the problem, the significance of the problem, a description of the…

Since 1987, the school district of West Allis-West Milwaukee (Wisconsin) has reviewed and revised its elementary reading program based on the philosophy that spoken, read, and written language must flow naturally from the child, be used in meaningful ways to communicate real needs, and involve tradebooks. Numerous inservice presentations and…