Feelings of helplessness can impact on learning to read. This research review illustrates problems in assessing learned helplessness, including instrumentation inadequacies, lack of comprehensive causal schemes, context specificity, etc. Observations of and discussions with the child are recommended in the assessment process. Guidelines for…

In two case studies instructional conditions constrained what working class Hispanic students and their teachers accomplished. Certain instructional arrangements ensnare linguistic minority students by not capitalizing fully on their social, linguistic, and intellectual resources. Community based research sites can help to develop the appropriate…

The reading process and the history of teaching reading to Braille, print, and aural readers are reviewed. Variables in effective reading instruction programs for visually impaired children include teaching methods, assessment methods, qualities and competencies of teachers, other deficits of visually impaired students that exacerbate reading…

Presents three principles for working with poor readers in the upper elementary grades: (1) bring the class together as a literate community; (2) integrate reading and writing instruction; and (3) provide instruction on specific skills. Describes how one teacher, through application of these principles, helped a student overcome his reading…

Assesses a program for the lowest achieving children in a classroom that enables them to function and make progress with their peers near the middle or upper levels of their class. Children are given 30 minutes of individualized training daily, with text reading and writing being the central elements. (NKA)

Presents the opposing viewpoints on grammar study, phonics and whole language instruction, and the role of information in English language arts. (SRT)

Offers techniques teachers can use to incorporate questioning into reading instruction. (FL)

Discusses the problems that children who do not speak the language of their school experience, as well as the personal, social, and cultural characteristics of learners that affect their progress in a second language. (DF)

Describes the content and structure of a computer-assisted reading instruction program for intermediate level adults learning English in a business environment. The program focuses on the three reading subskills of skimming, scanning, and guessing. Suggestions for teachers on how to evaluate effective courseware are provided. (Author/SED)

Describes a study to determine whether 14 reading improvement students and their instructor shared a common view of the students' reading deficiences and whether instruction was directed toward the student- and instructor-perceived deficiencies. Reveals that instruction did not address the needs perceived by the teacher or the students. (DMM)

Describes a technique for teaching students of English as a second language to understand English passages through structural and contextual clues. Gives detailed steps of the technique using Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky" as the text. (SED)

Reports on two experiments that explore the comprehension difficulties of children with normal word recognition ability. Concludes that skilled readers engage in more constructive processing and that comprehension difficulties are not the result of a defective working memory. (SRT)

Discusses the value of using poetry to teach English as a second language to mixed ability classes. Lists the following criteria for selecting poems: (1) universal appeal; (2) surface simplicity, (3) potential depth, (4) affective potential, (5) contemporary language, (6) brevity, and (7) potential for illustration. Describes ways of using two…

This study investigated the impact of integrated learning systems, problem solving software, and simulation software on elementary students' reading performance. Results indicate students entering fourth through sixth grade profited more from instruction supplemented by problem-solving and simulation software than from skills instruction. Results…

Reports on a program for the improvement of reading skills of children whose scores were below the 50th percentile on the reading subtest of the Stanford Achievement Test. Concludes that, in general, the program helped poor readers improve their reading skills. (SRT)