Focusing on the effects of three interventions on students' reading and writing of persuasive discourse, a study investigated (1) whether the writing of persuasive discourse can be improved by instruction, and (2) the effect of reading on writing and of writing on reading within the persuasive mode. Subjects, 100 Canadian sixth graders stratified…

Intended to help teachers decide which books to start with when incorporating children's literature into the reading program and to show them how to use these books with a variety of readers, this book provides a rationale and guidance for using "real books" to teach reading. Titles and authors of the articles included are as follows: (1)…

Teachers must make sure that the right book gets to the right child at the right time in order to develop positive reading habits. However, once a book is selected, students should be encouraged to think about what they are reading and use the story to evaluate and enrich their personal knowledge. Two classroom programs that use the whole language…

A study was conducted to examine the instructional approaches to decoding and comprehension in the first grade basal reading programs published by Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich (1983); Houghton Mifflin (1979); Ginn (1976); and SRA Reading Mastery (1983). In addition, analyses were completed on the comprehensibility of matched stories from each of…

Informed opinion suggests that problems of underachievement in school relate to the lack of particular kinds of experience, discontinuity between school and home, and linguistic and cultural diversity. If a literacy program were based on up-to-date knowledge of the processes involved in reading and writing, and what is known of early literacy…

Focusing on the development of literacy, this book discusses the teaching of reading and writing through stories, songs, and poetry. It is argued that, to develop literacy, teachers must know what to teach, how to Teach efficiently, and how to assign practices through which children learn. The book is organized into three general parts. The first…

The Language Awareness Working Party is a task force of Great Britain's National Congress on Languages in Education (NCLE) concerned with individual and societal sensitivity to and conscious awareness of the nature of language and its role in human life. Its principal overall objective is the promotion of language awareness in a variety of forms…

California's demonstration programs in reading and mathematics are the State's only educational programs whose funds are used exclusively to serve low-achieving students from disadvantaged areas at the junior high-middle school level. The purpose of the programs is threefold: to establish exemplary programs in reading and mathematics instruction…

Articles in this yearbook focus on reading and technology, teaching techniques, children's literature, and the reading/writing relationship. The 11 articles discuss the following: (1) computers and reading instruction, (2) using closed-captioned television in the classroom, (3) imagery training and the reading comprehension of below average…

The "PRISE Reporter" newsletter is issued six times a school year, generally from November through May. This collection of 18 issues examines the following special education topics: "Chronological Age in the Design of Educational Programs for Severely and Profoundly Impaired Students" (L. A. Larsen and L. B. Jackson);…

Defining emergent as the process of becoming and literacy as the interrelatedness of reading and writing in young children's development, this paper reviews emergent literacy research and relates it to beginning reading and writing instruction. The first section of the paper describes the social and linguistic contexts for literacy, reviewing…

Two groups of teachers of English as a second language (ESL), a California group of 133 and a Venezuelan group of 55, were surveyed about their perceived areas of instructional need. The three top needs of the California group were ESL instruction in the content areas, program design for preliterate students, and materials development. The needs…

Fifteen lessons contain low-vocabulary, high interest reading materials on health issues to enhance the learning of the new older reader. Each lesson is preceded by tutor guidelines with specific goals and objectives and review exercises. The materials are useful in either one-to-one or small-group tutoring. Reading selections in the lessons,…

Created by the Project Literacy U.S. (PLUS) organization to combat adult illiteracy, this guide offers suggestions for enhancing local adult literacy programs or establishing new ones. Following an introduction to the problem of illiteracy and a call for a national effort to alleviate it, the guide focuses on how to begin a literacy program,…

Because independent reading builds the foundation for long-term literacy, administrators must encourage teachers to create a positive attitude toward independent reading in school. Five guidelines can help influence teachers' attitudes toward independent reading: (1) share valuable information concerning independent reading, including current…