The South African 2006 and 2011 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) findings continue to highlight major concerns about the quality of reading literacy teaching in primary schools. Of specific concern is the lack of representation of the sampled South African learners at the PIRLS international benchmarks, revealing a distinct…

An enhanced replication of an original quasi-experiment (Tom Bellomo, 2009b) was conducted to quantify the extent of long term retention of word parts and vocabulary. Such were introduced as part of a vocabulary acquisition strategy in a developmental reading course at one southeast four-year college. Aside from incorporating changes to the test…

The present study focused on investigating (a) what authentic texts were used and (b) how they were used for instruction in three elementary schools, where learners' L1/D1 was a Caribbean Creole. Three findings emerged: First, teachers focused considerable attention on developing students' vocabularies and knowledge of English grammar. Second,…

In this study, we used a randomized design to investigate the effects of an enriched reading program on 226 urban elementary students' (third through sixth grade) reading comprehension, oral reading fluency, and attitude toward reading in 2 elementary schools. The Schoolwide Enrichment Model in Reading Framework (SEM-R) provides enriched reading…

Suggests that by modifying the manner in which workbook pages are presented to students, teachers can increase their effectiveness as teaching tools. (FL)

Describes concerns over the quality and use of workbooks, especially in elementary reading classes. Provides criteria for evaluating workbooks, focusing on: the relationship of workbook tasks to the rest of the program; content; task design; sufficient practice, review, and extra practice; instructional language; art; and combining fun with…

A humorous account of errors in existing basal readers and workbooks. (DD)

Results of a study that compared three instructional methods in teaching critical reading skills indicate that students performed better after direct instruction than after either using a workbook with corrective feedback or having no teacher intervention. (AEA)

Cites studies in which the reading level of workbooks designed to accompany basal readers has been found to be several years higher than the reading level of the basal text. (MKM)

Asserts that reading and writing skill instruction should not be taught as a set of discrete steps with phonics workbooks, but instead should be based on examples taken from texts which children write and read. (MM)

Intended primarily for teachers and administrators, this paper presents 20 guidelines as the basis for an evaluation procedure for workbook, skillbook, and ditto master components of basal reading programs. The paper begins with a discussion of how and why workbooks are used in the classroom, a description of the original study from which the…

Examines workbooks designed to accompany primary grade basal readers to determine the incidence of new vocabulary words they contain. Found that, with one exception, the workbooks all contained at least 30 percent new words--words not introduced in previous levels or at the levels for which the workbooks were designed. (FL)

Results of research reports can be interpreted to suit personal prejudices, say the authors, since many research studies are not carefully reported. (Authors/MB)

This paper deals with the use of reading workbooks in elementary school classrooms. Sections of the paper discuss the purposes of workbooks, the function of workbooks (how workbooks serve both teachers and students), the implications of these observations about workbooks where developers of basal programs are concerned, and the sufficiency,…

This is the third and last unit in a series designed to provide the Spanish-speaking child with a complete language arts and reading program for grades 1-3. It focuses on the development of decoding, encoding, comprehension, and interpretation skills. This third grade workbook, one component of the language arts unit, contains 22 chapters with…