Because reading is not a natural process like language, young learners must be taught to read. Knowledge about how the reading brain develops has critical implications for understanding which teaching methods to use and helps reconceptualize previous debates. In this excerpt from "Reader Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World",…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) place a high focus on close reading -- a form of strategic reading associated with the gradual release of responsibility model, text complexity, and text dependent questioning. However, all readers should be provided this opportunity to dig deeper. One method of presenting this opportunity in elementary…

This study investigates reading activities in Swedish primary school classrooms during the late 1960s. Sound and video recordings of 223 Swedish lessons held between 1967 and 1969 are used to analyse the activity of reading as taught and performed. The results indicate that the practice of informational reading, often based on finding…

This research investigated factors that influence the implementation levels of evidence-based comprehension strategy instruction (CSI) among K-3 teachers. An explanatory design was chosen to gather and probe the data. Quantitative data were gathered via a mailed survey distributed through a representative sample of the 40 school districts (through…

Ability to recognize and understand figurative language is crucial to successful reading. (Author)

Examines the various approaches to reading instruction, their merits and shortcomings, and advocates a blend of all approaches for literacy that is fulfilling rather than mechanical. (HTH)

Applies recent linguistic theory to the reading process and classroom practice. (DD)

US government mandates to implement intensive phonics instruction in elementary classrooms invoke an alleged scientific superiority of this approach over more meaning-centered models. But curiously absent from this scientific enterprise is a study of the phonics system itself. Advocates of intensive phonics have not demonstrated that the commonly…

Many factors influence a child's development of reading skills. Without effective instruction in reading, students fail to realize their potential. Limited English-speaking students and students in rural communities appear to lose the most. Reforms for disadvantaged students must address their needs directly, rather than assume that raising…

Outlines seven basic concepts regarding teachers' understanding of the comprehension process and proposes several instructional strategies based on the concepts, each of which actively involves children in reading. (FL)

Explores what might be established as professional knowledge about teaching reading--knowledge that even the most informed parents would not be expected to have but that teachers need to have. Classifies such knowledge under three headings: structure, support, and strategies. Concludes that reading is a complex process and requires complex…

Examines the impact of the traditional form of reading instruction on the reading attitudes and perceptions of the reading process of 467 elementary school children. Compares children taught traditionally and children who received no formal reading instruction. Finds that reading attitudes and perceptions of the reading process were affected by…

Encounters with written language through reading can be exciting if they serve a function within the child's own framework of interest. (DD)

Through reading guidance, teachers can provide a reading experience that is fun for the students. (MM)