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…

Expands on how a strategic reader uses text structure knowledge as an overarching strategy, a framework within which to incorporate other strategies to gain ideas from text. (MG)

Reports on two experiments which examined whether normal and disabled readers differed in the ability to use orthographic structure information to process printed material. Finds that disabled readers use orthographic structure information as much or more than normal readers. (MM)

Discusses how students become automatic at reading sub-skills, the indicators that can be used to determine whether a student is automatic, and the psychological mechanisms that allow students to perform complex skills automatically. Discusses implications of automaticity research for teaching reading. (RS)

In the author's experience, a significant source of reading difficulty for many beginning and struggling readers are misconceptions about print concepts so basic teachers assume their students are aware of them. Many children fail to grasp implicit principles of print such as the following: the reader cannot make up the words, the order of letters…

This paper reviews the The Durrell Analysis of Reading Difficulty test. A brief overview of the test discusses the physical format and the procedures for administering it. Norms, reliability, and validity are discussed for the subtests: Oral Reading, Silent Reading, Word Recognition and Word Analysis, Visual Memory of Word Forms, Spelling, and…

Research on the use of linguistic context (prediction of a word by using the text) in reading showed that children were better at using the preceding context and good readers used the suceeding context better. The study could not determine whether good readers used better strategies or were more skillful at using strategies. (Author/MJL)

Presents a developmental view of reading processes as they relate to teaching reading to disadvantaged children. (RB)

Identifies five phases of development to distinguish the course of word reading; notes each phase is characterized by students' working knowledge of the alphabetic system, which is central for acquiring word reading skill. Explains the usefulness of this information for teachers of problem readers. Explains the processes that students acquire in…

The authors suggest that children's knowledge that the words they use are made of discrete sounds may be as important as understanding grapheme-phoneme correspondences for the beginning reader. Evidence is cited to show that children who demonstrate this insight perform better in learning to read and that metalinguistic insight can be taught.…

Examines relations between different word categories and reading/writing performances in 20 nine-year-old children. States that for Norwegian (less regular than Finnish but more regular than English), the length and frequency of words and their interaction are factors substantially related to children's reading, writing speed, and spelling…

Responds to five questions which are frequently asked about the purpose and nature of Reading Recovery, a popular and successful program. (MG)

Argues that direct instruction can be democratic when the content comes from the pupil. Argues that minimal reading achievement levels result from using text-centered, behavioral-objective-based, criterion-referenced, and profitable commercial reading programs. Asserts that students' writing improves when they internalize the alphabet. (RS)

Suggests changes in the Guided Reading format based on recent research on the nature of reading and reading instruction. Emphasizes the dynamic process of constructing meaning from text. (MG)