Through a participatory approach to adult basic education, a project was conducted to break the debilitating cycle of illiteracy that passes from low-income parents to their children. The approach included a family literacy book club designed to encourage parents and children to read together and to improve parents' literacy skills, interests, and…

A study examined the hypothesis that learning strategy coupled with efficacy-building teaching interactions would lead to greater strategic learning than learning strategy instruction alone. A reading comprehension strategy was taught to 184 students from 4 Los Angeles County (California) public and independent schools. Included were 65…

Noting that an important trend in middle school reading instruction has been the increased use of literature and trade books, this paper suggests that using Caldecott Medal and Honor books in the middle school classroom is an effective way to expose students to high quality literature. The paper notes that promoting the use of such books also aids…

The National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS) database was used as a data source to examine school and nonschool factors related to the educational attainment of African American students. The 1,868 African American students who participated in the NELS First Follow-up were the focus of the study. Five predictors of mathematics and reading…

A program was designed and implemented to improve student vocabulary and comprehension. The target population consisted of 59 students in grades 1, 2, and 3 in a low-income area of a large city in central Illinois. The problems of lack of prior knowledge, poor vocabulary, and insufficient comprehension were documented through data collected from…

Designed to offer a balanced instructional approach for language arts, this book combines a systematic phonics program with whole language. It teaches reading skills by using the children's own language, basal readers, poems, and songs, and by emphasizing writing, spelling, listening, and speaking skills. The book includes daily lesson plans,…

A national survey of programs (N=798) for deaf students examined: (1) the organizational frameworks (theoretical or methodological) that programs use for reading instruction; (2) the extent to which "Reading Milestones," a basal series developed for deaf/hard-of-hearing (d/hh) students is used; (3) respondents' satisfaction with "Reading…

A workplace literacy project was conducted cooperatively through the Minnesota Teamsters Service Bureau and Northeast Metro Technical College. Project objectives, which were met, included the following: (1) establishing a project steering committee; (2) developing workplace literacy curriculum materials and resources specific to commercial vehicle…

This revision of the "Basic/Essential Skills Taxonomy" exhibits changes based on use of the original taxonomy in the field. It features more precise definitions of the levels of key words and phrases, the deletion of some science items that ranged above basic skills, the combination of the language arts sections from the original two parts, and…

Reflecting an integrated, constructivist approach to teaching, this book presents the content of the language arts curriculum and effective teaching strategies for teaching this content so that elementary and middle-school teachers can help students develop communicative competence. This third edition emphasizes the multicultural classroom,…

This book shows elementary school teachers how to help students become confident readers and writers who can use skills they acquire throughout their lives, from a constructivist orientation. It is intended as a main text for an introductory course on elementary-school reading instruction, typically taken by undergraduates in their second or third…

A study investigated the effects of strategy instruction on the reading and writing abilities of sixth-grade middle-school students with delayed literacy. An experimental group of 10 sixth-grade, English-speaking inner-city students in the midwestern United States was matched on race, gender, and reading comprehension test scores with 10…

Ways that both cultural differences and learning styles affect a child's ability to learn and use language are discussed and applied to the situation faced by Native American students. Cultural differences are cited as holding the answer to questions about the Native American student's lack of success on standardized tests and in the American…

This issue of a journal on suggestive learning-teaching-therapy counseling within the procedural confines of Suggestology or Suggestopedia includes the following articles: "Suggestopedia in an American High School Setting" (Carl W. Pullen), a description of the use of Suggestopedia in a German class; "Optimizing the Presentation of…

A 1-year naturalistic study examined the differences and similarities in the literacy experiences of second grade at-risk children in 2 different types of classrooms: 1 traditional and 1 whole language classroom. The purpose was to develop models of the 2 contrasted classrooms. The study sought to shed light on the probable causes accounting for…