This book is a hands-on activity resource for kindergarten and first grade that makes phonics instruction easy and fun for teachers and children in the classroom. The book offers methods for practice, reinforcement, and assessment of phonetic skills using a poem as a foundation for teaching short vowels. The poem is duplicated so children can work…

Intended for teachers of kindergarten and first grade, this book offers hands-on activities that make phonics instruction easy and fun for teachers and children in the classroom. The book provides methods for practice, reinforcement, and assessment of phonics skills. A poem is used to introduce the phonics element of this book, rhyming words. The…

Assessing literacy strategies through collected works, reading logs, journal writings, other language activities, and informal testing, this book provides preservice teachers a firm grounding in the theory of literacy portfolios as part of authentic assessment strategies and provides guidelines of creating and using literacy portfolios…

This report highlights key studies, salient findings, and the significance of research supported by the National Reading Research Center (NRRC), which was charged to conduct research on reading instruction appropriate for prekindergarten through 12th-grade learning environments. The first chapter of the report elaborates on a foundation principle…

Although traditional indigenous stories are widely recognized for their artistic merits and their role in the linguistic and cultural continuity of indigenous peoples, they are seldom used in schools. This paper discusses the instructional uses of traditional coyote stories, with particular reference to bilingual revitalization programs involving…

Based on the belief that language should be the central focus for study in the reading and language arts classroom, this collection presents 10 diverse viewpoints on language study in the middle school and secondary school. The collection is divided into the following areas: studying language through literature and the arts, using writing and…

A study examined the experiences of students, teachers, and principals involved in the day-to-day teaching of early elementary reading in four of the 12 Texas "Spotlight Schools" (schools that emphasize early elementary reading and are useful in helping all children to read). Data were collected during four-day site visits to each…

This booklet presents many examples of instructional activities that occur on a daily basis on the campuses of Spotlight Schools, schools identified by the Texas Education Agency as having student populations that reflect a diversity of ethnicity and socioeconomic backgrounds, and demonstrate that essentially all children can become readers. It is…

This report describes a program that will improve reading comprehension. The targeted population consists of second grade students at a rural northwestern Illinois school. Evidence for the existence of reading problems included daily teacher observations, student reading surveys, and assessments that indicated the level of student reading…

This publication presents proceedings from the Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) fall 2000 conference. The first general session presentation was "Through the Eyes of Children... Creating a Shared Vision of Education" (Don Suskind), and the second session was "Teachers and Administrators: Responsible for…

This paper provides an overview of the Four Blocks framework, a teaching framework developed by professional educators, that aims to teach all children to read by providing daily exposure to a variety of instructional approaches. Four Blocks is intended for use in regular, heterogeneously constructed K-3 classrooms. It supports individual learning…

Preservice teachers had the opportunity to make use of computers while tutoring elementary and middle school children in reading, mathematics, and integrated reading and mathematics. These tutors (n=128) responded to a survey that was designed to elicit responses about the value of computer use for tutoring and the motivational and learning…

All parents want the best school experience for their children. This booklet, presented in both English and Spanish, offers parents specific strategies to provide their children a good foundation for beginning reading. The guide first answers the question, "How Can I Help My Child Be Ready To Read and Ready To Learn?" with emergent literacy…

This study investigated the suitability of Open Court for teaching English language learners (ELLs). Open Court is a scripted curriculum that emphasizes basic skills broken down into discrete parts and subparts. Its teacher's manual specifies amount of time per activity and teacher language required. Teachers are overseen by coaches who ensure…

The ability to read is critical for a child's future learning, and it opens the doors to social and economic advancement. Unfortunately, 17% to 20% of children in the United States encounter significant difficulties in learning to read. Although not all reading disabilities can be traced to obvious risk factors, such difficulties occur in…