Examines (in a pilot study and the first two phases of a longitudinal study) preventing the emergence of written language difficulties by addressing the ability of preschoolers to make phonological judgments. Notes that children identified as having poor rhyme awareness were given one-to-one training, and that students were given training in…

Presents results from an informal survey of 50 individuals of all ages about the Harry Potter phenomenon. Offers four suggestions for the English language arts classroom about a place "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" might have in a school's curriculum, dealing with transforming text, understanding genre, responding to texts with personal…

Finds that grade two students' comprehension scores did not differ significantly between oral reading and silent reading, while grade three and four students' comprehension scores were significantly higher after oral reading. Argues that these findings are consistent with a Vygotskian model of the transition from oral to silent reading. (SR)

Finds that children in a culturally diverse first-grade classroom sorted 15 picture books into piles of books having similar characteristics, classifying books by topic, genre, author, culture, emotional response, and physical property of the book. Discusses how some aspects of children's classification systems were similar to the teacher's way of…

Examines 156 books of children's fiction about Asian Pacific Americans published in the 1990s. Notes continuing problems of stereotyping and culturally inauthentic representations, and a consistently small number of publications. Investigates the books' perspectives (social conscience, melting pot, and culturally conscious books). (SR)

Determines what elementary teachers' believe are the most effective assessment practices for gathering data about the reading performance of their students. Finds that teachers perceived all reading assessment as having some degree of merit. Examines the views of beginning and experienced teachers, as well as primary and intermediate teachers. (SG)

To determine whether research results in second language acquisition (SLA) is having an actual affect on students, reviews developments in the treatment of second language (L2) reading, revisits recommendations stemming from these developments, evaluates evidence of these recommendations, and evaluates evidence of recommendations in recently…

Notes that the prevalence of reading difficulty was 8.2% and it was associated with younger age, males, poverty, less-educated parents, psychiatric disturbance, school failure, poor school attendance, physical ill-health, poor motor co-ordination and impaired vocabulary and visuospatial reasoning. Supports a multifactorial causal model of reading…

Reflects that the term "whole language" involves instilling a love of literature, problem-solving and critical thinking, collaboration, authenticity, personalized learning, and much more. Examines some recent research dealing with two fundamental points of contention between the two sides of the phonics and whole language debate. Finds evidence…

Identifies subgroups of children with reading disabilities using the regression method--children who were poor in phonological, compared to orthographic, word decoding were identified as phonological-type participants, and children who were poor in orthographic, compared to phonological, decoding were identified as surface-type participants.…

Examines the effects of students' access to print via a community library. Compares knowledge of authors, words, books, and magazines between the students who accessed the community library and students who used the school library. Indicates that the students who visited community libraries outperformed students who did not. (SG)

Analyzes think-aloud protocols generated during reading to locate sources referred to when students made links reaching beyond what they read. Finds proportion of links to sources located within the text decreased and proportion of links outside the context increased over time. Notes students who increased use of sources located outside the task…

Describes a teacher-research study of the reading acquisition of a second-grade student. Observes the social and instructional context of Amy's reading and her use of visual and non-visual information. Discusses patterns in Amy's text choice over 4 phases, patterns in strategy use, and teacher roles. Discusses this reader's self-extending system…

Presents a "reading choice study"--a study of print materials selected and read from a collection. Analyzes literary elements of 23 Young Adult novels that young adults have chosen to read. Finds that popular Young Adult novels are primarily character driven, and agrees with most previous studies investigating literary elements of Young Adult…

Examines how dimensions of reading motivation related to students' reading activity and achievement. Finds that the strength of the relations between reading motivation and reading achievement was greater for girls and for white students. Demonstrates that reading motivation is multidimensional and should be regarded as such in research and in…