Authentic learning experiences are those in which students engage with texts as well as the behaviors of reading and writing within contexts of real-world use beyond traditional academic use. This study provides quantitative analysis of how students (n = 200) engaged with an adult pen pal in a shared literacy experience. Findings indicate that…

In this article, the authors propose a revised way of thinking about reading levels, one that promotes a wider and more flexible view of teacher decision making about the use of leveled texts in classrooms. They share five key principles to consider when looking at the use of instruction that involves matching leveled materials with readers.…

Reading is an extremely active, complex, mental and personal process that concerns both the reader and the text. It is now generally believed that a range of reader with text factors affect the reading process to a considerable extent. So, teachers of EFL need to be aware of the important role of teaching materials. Thus, this study investigated…

Proposes that many times, English language art teachers fail to "mind the gaps" that exist between students' interest, reading abilities, levels of life experience, and the worlds of the texts they are asked to read as part of the curriculum. Suggests that each piece of difficult text needs a specific bridge tailored to its particular difficulties…

Compares skilled and unskilled adult readers' approaches to finding the main idea in text. Describes and tests Author's Intended Message (AIM), a holistic main idea strategy suitable for independent use by college study skills students. Investigates the effectiveness of this strategy. (RS)

This article reviews literature supporting the relationship of emotional factors and success in reading and writing activities, outlines physical and language behaviors that indicate emotional involvement with success or lack of success in comprehension, and presents strategies that help children understand what they need to do to read and write…

Children are faced with an increased potential for academic failure due to less stable family lives and career-oriented parents. Cross-cultural reading instruction practices and programs can provide insights that could prevent such failure for children at-risk. One such program is the reading maintenance program used in Denmark, wherein groups of…

A study investigated the effect of instruction about conventional expository text structure on fifth-graders' ability to learn from similarly structured social studies material. Subjects, 82 fifth graders from four heterogeneous classrooms in two schools in a small midwestern city, were assigned to either a structure training group which received…