Lesley College and the public schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts collaborated in a project using the natural learning model from Don Holdaway's "The Foundations of Literacy" to improve literacy education in grades K-6. The first two phases of natural learning (desire to learn a skill and attempting the new skill with a proficient…

Two exploratory studies examined Peru's elementary reading programs. The first looked at reading curriculum, texts, and teachers; the second, at students' reading ability. In Peru performance goals are not specified for each grade by the reading curriculum nor are specific instructional materials recommended (reading is not considered a separate…

The adoption by Seattle (Washington) Public Schools of the Prescriptive Reading Inventory Reading System (PRI-RS) was a decision driven by the district's commitment to effective schooling. The PRI-RS is a criterion referenced approach to the instruction and assessment of reading skills, and it consists of five levels, A through E, coordinated with…

This paper outlines the theoretical foundations of a strategy-based approach to second language reading abilities and demonstrates how the strategies described can be related to content area texts, thereby "authenticating" the learner's knowledge. There are three major sections--approach, method, and techniques. The "approach"…

Recent technological advances in neuroanatomy and neurophysiology have unearthed structural and functional patterns in the brain that can be associated with severe reading disabilities. As a response, this paper examines several computer-driven technologies whose capabilities shed light on brain-related issues germane to reading, with the intent…

Intended to be a practical guide to prereading activities applicable in the classroom, this book emphasizes students' independence by shifting the focus of instruction to student-centered applications. Chapters of the book cover such topics as: (1) preparing students to read in the content areas; (2) asking and answering questions before reading;…

This guide provides activities for use with 15 popular children's books. Basic information is provided for each book--author, illustrator, publisher, publication date, grade level, and a list of other works by the same author. Each section includes a summary of the book, an introduction to use when presenting the book to children, key vocabulary…

Carried out as the practicum of a doctoral program in early and middle childhood education, this report describes the development of a children's literature program for a middle school in a lower middle-class neighborhood in Florida where reading scores were below district and national norms, and where a literature anthology of condensed books or…

The Exceptional Children and New Technology project sought to meet the instructional needs of physically handicapped, emotionally disturbed, learning disabled, and mentally handicapped children through the use of computer technology. The goals of the project were to test the instructional value of adaptive/assistive devices with exceptional…

This K-12 reading curriculum for exceptional child education is arranged in a format comparable to the general education curriculum, and is sequenced in the order in which most children learn. The curriculum begins with a list of 123 objectives of the reading program. The objectives cover the areas of perceptual skills, word attack, structural…

This in-depth review of the literature synthesizes articles and abstracts identified as education-oriented microcomputer research studies published since 1979. A brief, historic overview of educational computing is followed by a review of the Becker (1983) survey, which concerned the distribution of microcomputers in education in the United…

The purpose of this study was to identify effective and ineffective strategies for teaching Title I students. The data collection took the form of direct observations of teacher-student interactions and classroom activities in the classes of 79 Oklahoma City Public Schools Title I teachers. The data on achievement gains came from the California…

Intended to encourage parents to help their children acquire early reading skills at home, this paper provides a rationale and recommendations for early reading instruction. Following an introduction, the sections of the paper discuss (1) the historical background of beginning reading, (2) the benefits of early reading, (3) early reading case…

Sixty-six grade six students were subjects in a study to evaluate the effectiveness of a direct instruction paradigm for teaching children the reading comprehension skill of main idea identification. Both experimental groups (strategy and basal) and the control group received eight lessons of 30 minutes each. All instruction occurred over a…

A study compared the effectiveness of four instructional procedures designed to teach four strategies: summarizing, question generating, clarifying, and predicting. The four procedures were (1) reciprocal teaching/corrective feedback, which requires that initially the teacher do a considerable amount of instruction about and modeling of the four…