"Reading Mastery" is a direct instruction program designed to provide explicit, systematic instruction in English language reading. Reading Mastery is available in two versions, "Reading Mastery Classic" levels I and II (for use in grades K-3) and "Reading Mastery Plus," an integrated reading-language program for…

Abundant, high-quality Web sites on essential topics for teacher education make it possible to teach foreign language education (FLED) courses with increased flexibility. The Faculty Development Division at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLI) has created three models for using the Web for teacher education: FLED I…

This book provides state-of-the-art teaching practices and methods, discussing the elements of good teaching in the content areas and including examples from real classrooms and library media centers. Chapters offer reflection exercises, assessment tips specific to each curriculum, and resource lists. Nine chapters examine: (1) "The Premise"…

This paper describes the IRIS (IDEA and Research for Inclusive Settings) Center, which is designed to create and implement a comprehensive national resource for faculty teaching preservice courses in general education, school administration, school counseling, and school nursing. Its intention is to develop new graduates who can meet the needs of…

This inservice professional development module, part of the Alabama Reading Initiative, presents research summaries, notes for presenters, and activities. The Phonemic Awareness and Phonics module clarifies that skilled readers are accurate and automatic decoders (i.e., they have the alphabetic principle). Phonics instruction must empower all…

A central goal of America Reads Challenge sites is to serve children who most need help in reading. This booklet provides tip sheets on finding and serving economically disadvantaged Title I children, children with disabilities, linguistically and culturally diverse children, migrant children, and preschool children so that they can benefit from…

In 2002, the Michigan State Board of Education asked the Department of Education to develop grade-by-grade "content expectations" in reading/English language arts and mathematics to provide guidance to local educators and parents and serve as the basis for annual assessments required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of…

Unsuccessful college education often turns our students into book haters who will stop reading as soon as they graduate. The idea of literature circles embraces the concept of "reading for fun" and is intended to create more independent readers and book addicts who will continuously read for the rest of their lives. Pioneers in literacy…

This unit is designed as a planning guide for a literature-based approach to teaching reading, writing, vocabulary, and reasoning. The subject of diversity is taught using Eric Carle's "Animals, Animals." Carle's illustrated anthology of poetry captures the similarities, the differences, and the wonder of animals. In this unit, the poetry…

The goal of the Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction (ECRI) is to improve elementary and secondary students' ability to use their language--to read fluently and with expression, to understand what they read and hear, and to use this understanding so they can communicate effectively. ECRI is a pre- and in-service program for teachers to learn…

Replete with lessons for educators, this book reports in a personal way on a middle school classroom study undertaken by a teacher researcher that was to last 1 year but ended up lasting 6 years. The book contains the social and cultural forces that influence adolescents' literacy development--for instance, taking a hard look at the race and…

Maryland's teacher education reform began in 1991, when the Maryland Higher Education Council (MHEC) charged a task force with recommending a comprehensive approach to educating teachers that combined a solid foundation in academic preparation with promising developments in professional practice. The task force report recommended a 4+1 model for…

This book provides a theoretical basis for summer library reading programs, and provides hands-on knowledge about what really works in summer library programs, culled from the experience of librarians across the country. The book contains an introduction--"What Are Summer Library Reading Programs"--and five chapters. Chapter 1--"The…

Suggesting that empirical work in the field of reading has advanced sufficiently to allow substantial agreed-upon results and conclusions, this literature review cuts through the detail of partially convergent, sometimes discrepant research findings to provide an integrated picture of how reading develops and how reading instruction should…

This study describes a program designed to increase student achievement in reading. The targeted population consisted of first and fourth grade elementary students in a Midwest community. Evidence for the existence of the problem included standardized tests and alternative assessments to measure reading achievement, and teacher observations with…