This article examines the curricular possibilities within critical inquiry-based primary classrooms. The children in this first through third grade multi-age, multi-lingual classroom participated in a two-year critical and collaborative inquiry around issues of segregation and the Jim Crow laws. A touchstone text, Freedom Summer (Wiles, 2001) and…

"Science Briefs" summarize the findings and implications of a recent study in basic science or clinical research. This brief reports on the study "Mother-Child Bookreading in Low-Income Families: Correlates and Outcomes during the First Three Years of Life" (H. Raikes, B. A. Pan, G. Luze, C. S. Tamis-LeMonda, J. Brooks-Gunn, J. Constantine, L. B.…

Too many middle school students struggle to comprehend their textbooks in science and other content areas. Thus, many adolescent learners lag behind in developing scientific literacy, which the National Research Council has defined as sufficient understanding of the scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision making,…

This article presents results from 2 studies comparing 3 approaches to teaching vocabulary during storybook reading: (a) contextual instruction, based on connecting words to their use in books and to children's personal experience; (b) analytical instruction, which enhances contextual instruction with semantic analysis of words in contexts other…

"Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition"[R] ("CIRC") is a comprehensive reading and writing program for students in grades 2 through 8. It includes story-related activities, direct instruction in reading comprehension, and integrated reading and language arts activities. Pairs of students (grouped either by or across…

Using a lighthearted and simple approach, this 23-minute videotape in English and Spanish versions presents interactions between parents and children while reading books. The children in the videotape range in age from 0 to 5 years. The video is introduced by scenes of children enjoying books while narration discussing the impact of reading to…

Linking home and school, this book presents over 100 activities for grades K-3 that utilize things at parents' fingertips which will enhance their children's learning. Each low-maintenance, high-interest activity in the book teaches a specific skill and integrates math, science, social studies, and language arts so that learning is purposeful and…

A study determined if regular listening to oral reading by the teacher affected fourth-grade students' level of comprehension. Subjects were 47 students from an elementary school in central New Jersey. Twenty-five students were read to for 30 minutes daily for 8 weeks in addition to their regular classroom reading instruction. The remaining 22…

This annotated bibliography of material from the ERIC database presents 44 annotations on the topic of family literacy and involving parents in the reading process. The annotated bibliography contains listings for a wide range of materials, including journal articles, books, reports, practica, conference papers, and dissertations. (RS)

This concise report presents excerpts from the two full reports of the 1992 Integrated Reading Performance Record (IRPR), which examined the reading habits and oral reading of a subgroup of fourth graders who participated in the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) study. The report presents major findings of the two full…

A study of teachers' perceptions concerning intellectual freedom and book selection and use in the elementary school is described in this paper. A questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 452 public elementary school classroom teachers in Minnesota. Surveys were completed by teachers for a response rate of 83%. Results indicated that: (1) 20%…

Based on Louise Rosenblatt's transactional theory of reader response, the studies collected in this book present findings and recommendations that contribute to the understanding of how children create meaning from stories, how they acquire literacy skills to express that meaning, and what role educators play in these literary processes. The book…

A study examined factors that may foster advanced knowledge of literacy among impoverished preschoolers who are generally found to be academically at-risk in learning to read. Six preschoolers enrolled in a Head Start program were identified by teacher recommendation as showing profound interest in written language (looking at books, writing…

This paper describes the REAP (Reading, Enjoying, And Presenting) project, in which seventh-grade students enhance their reading ability and self-concept by preparing and presenting a reading performance at various child care and adult care facilities. The paper presents an illustration of what the research says about reading aloud; the completed…

A study examined the ways teachers and children in a preschool classroom enacted informal book-reading and other informal book-related events. Four key patterns in children's activities and teachers' curricular responses were identified: (1) children naturally selected their own "themes" for reading at the book center, and often these themes were…