Presents three prediction strategies to ensure that prior knowledge activated about a topic is pertinent to a lesson's objective: (1) questions for prediction; (2) anticipation guides; and (3) key word strategies. (RAE)

Muses on the meaning of last month's column, chides instructional materials that include instructions on how and what to think about their contents, and lists a large number of books that the author recently enjoyed reading. (SR)

Discusses Janice A. Radway's "Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy and Popular Literature." Argues that reading educators should consider a more general premise embodied in the book: in order to understand the appeal (or lack of it) of certain books, then educators first need to understand what the books are for the students who read them. (RS)

Presents materials in the ERIC database on concrete poetry--poetry that juxtaposes the words with the physical dimensions of the text on the page. (SRT)

Provides suggestions for using transactional theory, which stresses the importance of interacting with text, in teaching literature at the secondary level. Lists seven principles for teaching that are inherent in transactional theory. (SKC)

Argues that reading specialists' lack of success in persuading content area teachers to help their students read and study texts in social studies, science, and mathematics is a result of reading specialists' lack of careful thought about text structures. Discusses the text structures of textbooks in these content areas. (RS)

Describes an interactive approach to reading instruction in which, by manipulating text on a computer screen, learners literally write "between" and within the lines, integrating their own thoughts with the text. (SR)

Investigates how 10 proficient Taiwanese English-as-a-foreign-language college readers employ intertextuality as a constructive strategy to comprehend and interpret literary texts. Finds four intertextual patterns: storying, integrating, evaluating, and associating. Argues that the more students can link their previous literacy experiences, the…

Discusses a textbook annotation strategy. Examines the effectiveness and efficiency of the strategy. Finds that training students to annotate text enables them to perform effectively over time. Presents practical teaching suggestions for working with different types of students. (RS)

Develops an Information Text Reading Activity (ITRA), a conceptual framework for presenting reading lessons that will engage students in reading informational text actively. Notes that the framework provides a basis for selecting and evaluating instructional activities and assists the teacher in moving students toward independence in learning. (RS)

Argues that the field of education has produced and absorbed a steady barrage of information about the threats and causes of illiteracy. Contends that the field has managed to demystify the wondrous and profound acts of reading and writing. Concludes that research on reader response has much to offer in the rehumanization of literacy. (RS)

Provides a basis for understanding reading comprehension through the interactive components of metacognition (person, goal, task, and strategies). Suggests specific classroom techniques to encourage students to become self directed readers. (RS)

States that comprehension of expository text and the ability to summarize are factors in students' success with such material. Describes a model that induces students to use existing schemata to create new and necessary expectations while providing a technique for explicitly teaching the components of effective summaries. (JK)

Argues that the focus of content area instruction needs to include an emphasis on factors that motivate students to read their textbooks. Presents five strategies to link reader and text: using analogies; relating personal anecdotes; disrupting readers' expectations; challenging readers to resolve a paradox; and introducing novel and conflicting…

Tells the story of the interaction with text of a teenage reluctant reader, in an attempt to show the value of a case study methodology when exploring the reading patterns of reluctant readers. (SR)