A study used 1999-2000 data from Accelerated Reader and STAR Reading to assess students' reading practice, growth in reading performance, and effects of Reading Renaissance training on students' reading development. The study included 10 schools that participated in the 1998-99 study and 27 additional schools. Data from 7876 students enrolled in…

In 1998, as part of a major 3-year Reading Initiative, the Albertson Foundation provided $24.5 million to improve the reading performance of all Idaho elementary, middle, and junior high students. The reading components of School Renaissance (SR), a comprehensive school improvement program, include Accelerated Reader (AR) learning information…

A child's ability to read is at the very foundation of his or her learning in school and plays a significant role in scholastic success. Although no one literacy model can ever represent the range of diverse learners in our schools, Cunningham, Hall, and Defee's literacy model known as Four-Block attempts to meet the needs of as many learners as…

The focus of this study was on the use of drama supplements to increase the reading fluency of first grade students in a suburban school. The subjects of this study were first grade students. They were between six and eight years old and attended a suburban school in Knoxville, Tennessee. The class contained eight girls and twelve boys. Students…

This reprint of the January/February/March 2000 issue of the scholarly journal "Reading Research Quarterly" features researchers' responses to questions about what the new millennium will hold for literacy research and instruction. the authors are given an opportunity to imagine, speculate, and predict the future of literacy research, teacher…

This catalog deals with an exhibition of historical reading materials used in the United States--old primers, spellers, and readers--which contained mostly items from privately owned collections. The catalog is divided into the following chronological sections: (1) Following in the Footsteps of Our English Forebears: The Alphabet Method Reigns…

Only recently has there been much discussion of reading beyond the third grade, the years when students will increasingly "read to learn" as part of their continuing development as readers. All too often what has been lost is a depiction of reading as a complex set of skills--over, above, and just as essential as the ability to decode.…

This report documents the methodology and findings of a study of the characteristics of Illinois public school district 31's reading programs in kindergarten through grade 8. For the study's purposes, the term "reading program" includes integrated language arts and humanities instruction. The study was conducted in response to a request…

A study compared and contrasted various early intervention reading programs, examining 12 early intervention programs in 10 school districts within 60 miles of the Denver metropolitan area. Programs selected were considered to be district-wide, had been in place for at least a year, had coordinators who agreed to be interviewed, were designed for…

This paper examines reading research and fosters awareness of limitations in such studies. It begins by discussing the historical aspects of the basal reading program and the language experience and individualized reading approaches. It continues by reporting early studies conducted in these areas, and investigating problems with such studies. The…

A study focused on the relationship between emotions and literacy achievements. It begins with a mention of the theoretical contributions which backed up the study. In the Dudelange project survey (4th graders), the following literacy variables are available: word recognition, two different measures for reading comprehension, spelling, vocabulary…

The developing relation between children's knowledge about the goals and processes of reading, their skills to apply metacognitive strategies, and reading comprehension was examined. Participants were children in third-, fifth-, and eighth-grades in two primary schools in Rijeka, Croatia. All students were Croatian-speaking. A questionnaire of…

A study assessed the extent to which a generative prereading activity known as Story Impressions (SI), which entails composing a guess from clues, influenced passage recall relative to a more passive prereading activity of reading a content preview (CP). Using 8th grade students, the results indicated the CP groups equaled the reading only control…

Literacy in the military has seen drastic changes since the World War II era and even the Vietnam era. Qualification tests are stricter and literacy programs are more available than before. Literacy in the military is crucial in a technological world. In today's armed forces, many soldiers concentrate on the technical aspect of combat through…

Twenty-seven third-grade children in a northern Louisiana public school participated in a study which examined whether a minimum amount of direct instruction in sight word recognition, combined with drill of sight words, could result in significantly better performance for the targeted at-risk children on the story and unit reading tests. The…