Oral language and word reading skills have important effects on reading comprehension. The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition (WIAT-III) measures both skill sets, but little is known about their specific effects on reading comprehension within this battery. Path analysis was used to evaluate the collective effects of reading and…

Storytelling, a creative art form with a long history and considerable instructional potential, is increasingly regarded in schools and communities as literature. Recent papers and articles in the ERIC database discuss the use of storytelling in the classroom to develop language abilities, literature appreciation, critical thinking and…

Differences and similarities between oral and written communication as applied to writing instruction are discussed with examples of divergent oral and written styles among speakers of nonstandard dialects, code switching between speech and writing, convergence and divergence in the development of writing skills, and the role of talking in writing…

Discusses how speech-language pathologists can use photography to encourage more active language expression in children with language and learning disabilities, and describes seven categories for photography use in language learning environments. Each photo project includes suggested language objectives, applications, and advantages. (Author/CR)

This article on oral narratives in school-age children focuses on the changing demands from home to school use of narratives, developmental changes expected in school-age children, differences between narratives of children with and without language disorders, difficulties inherent in current assessment methods, and alternative assessment and…

Provides a rationale for using an oral mode of production as a means of composing for individuals with learning disabilities. Supporting research on the use of dictation and studies of both simulated and existing speech-recognition systems with this population are reported. Recommendations are offered for teachers who plan to use dictation or…

The article presents a framework for understanding the pragmatic, semantic, syntactic, text, and phonological aspects of language that underlie both oral and written communication. It gives suggestions for ways speech-language pathologists can assess children's language skills that are essential for success in a whole language program. (Author/JDD)

This second of three manuals providing a functional curriculum for students with disabilities focuses on the development of nonverbal and oral communication skills. An introductory chapter provides an overview of the curriculum and offers guidelines for developing instructional plans for the following two units of study. Unit 1 considers the…