Examines the relationships between social and emotional variables, and oral and silent reading comprehension. Finds significant correlations between reading effectiveness and various personality characteristics. Finds also that anxiety and a low sociometric score impair oral reading more than silent reading. Argues that social and emotional…

Finds that children in a whole-class reading program significantly exceeded students' reading in a basal reader control group taught in ability groups. Shows that whole-class instruction effectively accommodated both at-risk and high ability students. (SR)

Assesses the effectiveness of whole language instruction over the course of a school year. Finds that middle and low progressing experimental subjects and experimental males at each of three ability levels attained significantly higher mean scores on a cloze test than did their counterparts in the control group (who used basals). (RS)

Identifies elementary classroom teachers' awareness of whole language and basal reading terms. Finds that teachers were more aware of basal reading terms. Finds that university/college course was the highest reported source of awareness with each of 30 survey terms. (RS)

In February 1992 "Kappan," Frank Smith advocated formal reading instruction be abolished and teachers merely read to students and turn them over to authors. This article argues that the scientific study of learning is essential. This country can ill afford to rear generation of illiterates who have learned lazy, inefficient work habits from being…

Describes a teacher's first efforts to implement Reading Workshop in her classroom. Reports the study she conducted that convinced her that Reading Workshop successfully improves reading comprehension and counters students' negative attitudes toward reading. (RS)

This study compared the effectiveness of reading instruction at the onset-rime level, phoneme level, and whole word level with 48 first graders. Both phoneme and onset-rime groups were significantly more accurate than whole word groups, and there was a tendency for the onset-rime group to outperform all other groups. (Author/DB)

Examines how various reading and writing activities interacted over time as college students composed from multiple sources. Discusses the linear and nonlinear nature of the restructuring and composing process. Finds that individual reading and writing activities served unique yet partially overlapping functions over the course of the task.…

Finds that (1) Tennessee elementary school principals are significantly more involved in the management and evaluation of the reading program than in its operation or planning; (2) female principals are more involved than male principals; and (3) principals' involvement in the total reading program is positively related to increased training in…

Explores the relationship between participation in a Canadian urban adult literacy programs and employment status over three years. Finds that most participants returned to the same sort of low-paying jobs. Suggests that agencies and groups providing financial support for such programs reconsider the strong focus on employment that permeates these…

Discusses flaws that undermine the validity and generalizability of S. Neuman and P. Koskinen's "Captioned Television as Comprehensible Input: Effects of Incidental Word Learning from Context for Language Minority Students," published in an earlier issue of this journal. (RS)

Responds to criticisms raised in another article in this issue concerning a study of incidental word learning among second-language learners viewing captioned television. Suggests that the criticisms fail to "see the forest for the trees." Responds to specific methodological criticisms. (RS)

Presents an annotated bibliography of 12 research articles, all related to reader response theory and its applications to the English classroom. (HB)

Finds that rural middle-secondary classroom teachers expect a reading program that is highly compact and content focused and which will replace remediation. Suggests that trained content/reading specialists are needed to promote critical thinking and workplace literacy skills. Offers recommendations for establishing a pragmatic reading agenda for…

Examines developmental stages of reading from preschool to secondary school. Discusses cognitive requirements of various stages of reading and identifies possible sources of difficulty. Presents several case vignettes to illustrate common patterns of reading disabilities and their behavioral manifestations. Offers specific suggestions for…