This document consists of all four 1989 issues of "Notes on Literacy", an occasional paper series published by the Summer Institute of Linguistics, Inc. as a means of "sharing information of a practical and theoretical nature with the literacy workers of each branch." Articles and authors in Number 57 are: "Orthography…

The role that reading achievement tests play in the education of limited-English-proficient children makes it important to understand the relationship between these children's reading test performance and their literacy development. A study employed both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to identify factors that influenced the English…

Educators are now stressing that teaching students to be independent learners who learn to plan, structure and regulate their own learning activities, should be central to instruction. Studying word parts and origins has the potential for metacognitive instruction. Learning about the importance of context clues is also potentially metacognitive,…

A study outlined the processes through which two beginning elementary teachers in the San Francisco Bay area learned to overcome institutional constraints which tended to standardize ethnically diverse students' responses to literature. The study focused specifically on the changes in one teacher's instruction which freed her third/fourth grade…

An intergenerational literacy program designed to help adults learn to read to their children or grandchildren, called PACT (Parent and Child Together), was conducted by the Scotland County (North Carolina) Memorial Library. The project trained two tutors in the storybook method of teaching reading and also gave the essentials of the method to two…

The Language and Literacy Block is an attempt to improve the preparation of elementary teachers to teach literacy. It is a component of a year-long preservice teacher education program that is a collaborative enterprise between the University of Illinois and a local school district. Some key features of the Language and Literacy Block include: (1)…

Over 150 resources used in a California junior high school individualized reading program are provided as an aid to teachers interested in developing a similar program. Emphasis is on remedial, corrective, English as a second language (ESL), and motivational materials. For each resource cited, information is provided on reading level, purpose,…

Designed for teachers of students in grades K-6, the guide presents a reading and literature continuum which covers the basic reading skills, as well as the essential elements of oral and written expression. Arranged by grade level, a major description and rationale are provided for each identified skill area. Following the introduction is a brief…

A 3-month unit on folktales with two sixth-grade classes proved to be a highly motivating means of developing critical reading skills. Lessons, which generally occupied from four to six class periods each, involved four steps: (1) the teacher stated the skills to be learned and told students what was planned for the reading period each day; (2)…

A reprint of a classic review of research and research tends on reading that originally appeared in 1941 as the article "Reading" in the "Encyclopedia of Educational Research," this monograph sets forth the views of William S. Gray, an eminent reading educator and theorist. The 11 sections of the review discuss the following topics: (1) the…

The story comprehension patterns of 21 good and poor sixth grade readers were examined across four modality combinations for input and output: (1) listening and oral recall, (2) reading and recall, (3) listening and written recall, and (4) reading and written recall. The subjects were asked to summarize important information in a different short…

Five social studies programs at the fourth and sixth grade levels were examined to determine how much and what kind of reading comprehension instruction was provided in both the students' and teachers' editions of the texts. Programs studied were those published by Follett; Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich; Laidlaw; Macmillan; and Scott, Foresman.…

To determine if subject matter taught or years of teaching experience after taking methods courses influenced teacher attitudes toward teaching reading in the content areas, questionnaires were completed by 105 middle, junior, and senior high school teachers who had completed methods classes in content area reading. Results of four subscales on…

A teacher-training project was conducted in Northern Nevada to identify the needs of recent immigrants, to create materials that will meet those needs while keeping on a basic, survival level of English proficiency, and to develop techniques to retain the individuals in class once they have been attracted into the educational program. The project…

The Follow Through Project at New York City's P.S. 137 has demonstrated that even students from highly disadvantaged areas can match the academic accomplishments of their middle class peers. Begun in 1968, the project involved 12 classrooms at the kindergarten through grade 3 levels and used a direct instruction model featuring (1) a consistent…