Early literacy involves daily reading aloud as well as writing or dictating activities. Preschoolers learn that reading is enjoyable, pictures provide story clues, and print goes from left to right and represents words and meaning. Listening, watching, and asking questions increase vocabulary and comprehension. Sidebars include tips, a book list,…

This article considers links between instructional group size and student engagement, caseload and academic achievement, and caseload and special educator attrition. Findings indicate larger caseload and group sizes negatively affect math and reading achievement, student engagement increases when group sizes decrease, and high teacher attrition…

A case study is presented of the language and literacy development of a girl with deafness from preschool through sixth grade. Annual evaluation of language and literacy skills was used to select educational placements, instructional methods, strategies, and materials. Grade level progress and instruction is presented and discussed. (Contains…

Discusses the claim that reading without thinking is not possible. Presents critical discourse analysis, which is considered a pedagogically useful instrument enabling the practice of thinking skills necessary for reading efficiently. Considers the teachability of reading and thinking skills, and describes a critical reading course. (Author/VWL)

Examined relationship between family literacy practices and mothers' beliefs about early reading instruction, and children's emergent literacy skills. Identified mothers with 'whole language' theories and mothers with phonics orientations. Found that mothers' implicit theories were associated with their modeling of literacy behaviors, helping…

Differs with those who respond to boys lagging behind girls in literacy by making more space in literacy curricula for reading and writing practices favored by boys. Looks at patterns of gender differentiation. Argues that, since reading gives access to other, wider ways of being, educators need curricula and assessment procedures that enable all…

Describes a course that linked first-grade students using emergent writing skills with university early-childhood majors studying the process of emergent literacy, and, in so doing provided an authentic and meaningful learning context for both groups. Suggests that the pen-pal project demonstrates the value of interactive writing exchanges.…

This descriptive study focuses on the understandings expressed by nine second graders about themselves as readers and looks at the direct experiences of the students in their reading groups. Findings suggest that these proficient and less proficient readers hold very different perceptions of themselves as readers and that these perceptions are…

In written texts the culture of colonised subjects is often depicted as immutable and homogeneous. This is evident in the context of New Zealand where representations of Maori frequently serve to reinforce these depictions. This article investigates the potential of critical literacy approaches to challenge student teachers' commonly held beliefs…

Selected video segments of eight instructional sessions were evaluated by 39 speech language pathologists (SLPs). Each involved one of four first grade female students at-risk for academic difficulties being instructed by an African American SLP. In half the videos instruction was focused on story content (whole language) and in the other half on…

There are English, math, science, and other core subjects, and there are young minds. Schools of education are supposed to prepare and furnish the guides who bring the former into the latter, but the bankrupt ideology they impart to educators obstructs that transfer. Sandra Stotsky says that if we give the job of training teachers to the…

The flexible, multi-contextual use of language is essential to integrated learning and thinking. Likewise, learning and thinking in an integrated way is essential to multi-dimensional teaching. This study examines the ways pre-service secondary teachers define their subjects. Students enrolled in a secondary reading methods course were asked to…

Noticeably absent from recent critiques of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) has been the inclusive exploration of the NCLBA and Reading First implications as they directly relate to black and Latino student populations. In addition, a number of opportunities have been missed to comprehensively probe the ways in which this legislation serves to…

Patterns of reading development were examined in native English-speaking (L1) children and children who spoke English as a second language (ESL). Participants were 978 (790 L1 speakers and 188 ESL speakers) Grade 2 children involved in a longitudinal study that began in kindergarten. In kindergarten and Grade 2, participants completed standardized…

The Simple View of Reading (P. B. Gough & W. Tunmer, 1986; W. A. Hoover & P. B. Gough, 1990) provides a 2-component model of reading. Each of these 2 components, decoding and comprehension, is necessary for normal reading to occur. The Simple View of Reading provides a relatively transparent model that can be used by professionals not only to…