Intended to help teachers, researchers, curriculum developers, and administrators develop improved policy in reading instruction and research, this book challenges several widespread assumptions about effective reading instruction and concludes with 20 policy guidelines which can be used to evaluate existing reading programs and redesign them to…

A study examined two 1989 basal reading series' (published by McGraw Hill and Holt) readiness/priming sequences in order to ascertain the theoretical bases of each and then compared the findings with those of an earlier study. All pages of the readiness/priming sequence student texts and workbooks of both basal reading series were analyzed using…

The basic assumption of this book is that reading and writing in school should be natural and enjoyable for children, and its ideas are based on the Piagetian theory that knowledge is constructed by each individual and the psycholinguistic view that learning takes place best when viewed as holistic and when instructional materials for children are…

Intended as an easy-to-use quick reference tool for finding good software packages to meet specific educational objectives in language arts, reading, and mathematics, this directory focuses on highly rated software designed to teach basic learning and thinking skills. Software listed in the directory is available from International Business…

A study examined the effects of different teacher styles on one variable related to classroom learning production. Subjects, 34 first grade middle- and lower-middle income students in a Catholic school matched by ability and randomly assigned to either an authoritarian, systematic, ordered, and controlling teacher or to a "laissez faire"…

To assess the reading achievement of American school children, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) surveyed nationally representative samples of approximately 13,000 students at grades 4, 8, and 12 attending public and private schools across the nation. Students read a variety of literary and informative passages and then…

The reading program of the future will have a form and function which is distinctive. It will have the shape and operations peculiar to the total context in which each teacher has to work. Generating meaning will be the primary focus of all language activities. Print will be introduced naturally and continuously used throughout all developmental…

The purpose of a project was to develop and test curriculum-based procedures and measures to monitor and assess the reading and writing progress of adults in a basic education program. The most efficient, reliable, and feasible measure of reading performance from beginning reading level through eighth-grade level was the repeated oral reading…

A pilot study assessed the effects of training in self-awareness and self-regulation on the reading comprehension of students in a postsecondary occupational training program. Subjects, 11 students enrolled in a community college technical training program in welding, were given training sessions that provided practice in metacognitive methods…

A father describes how the public school system made his daughter, Charlie, into a disabled reader. Charlie had experienced early reading success both at home and in kindergarten, and enjoyed reading. Placed in the low reading group in first grade, Charlie resisted the dull, structured exercises of remedial reading instruction which she received…

A graduate reading course provided students a hands-on experience in using dialog journals with elementary school children to illustrate the value of integrating writing opportunities into reading programs. Every week of the semester reading methods students read, responded, and returned the journals to the cooperating elementary classes. Only…

Schools typically place a high value on the dominant middle-class approach to becoming literate: they expect all children to arrive at school familiar with books and able to discuss stories. However, community use of printed materials varies, resulting in a large number of nonmainstream children deemed at risk for school failure at an early age.…

This evaluation summary synthesizes the results of the first year of the Wisconsin Rural Reading Improvement Project (WRRIP), a project aimed at helping small, rural schools improve reading instruction by teaching reading as thinking (also termed "strategic reading"). The means used is staff development: specifically, a leadership team…

This document consists of the four issues of the first annual volume of a quarterly magazine for new adult readers. It is aimed at adults reading at the fourth- to eighth-grade level. The magazine is designed to be self-motivating to the new reader or the learning disabled. Phonetic helps are provided for those words that do not conform to typical…

To improve reading/writing skills in a target group of 10 first-grade students, an intensive writing curriculum was implemented over a period of 10 weeks. The program included numerous strategies to improve beginning skills: using concrete objects for classification; using comic strips to illustrate sequencing; daily practice on correct posture…