Examines a fourth-grade teacher's interactions with a child, showing that actually allowing students to use their point of view when discussing literature is a real challenge that requires most classroom teachers to rethink their roles as readers and listeners. (RS)

Explains new research findings about how children learn letter-sound correspondences, relates the findings to whole-language reading instruction, and outlines a theory for how children acquire the letter-sound system without direct instruction in phonics. Describes recent findings on phonological processes involved in learning letter-sound…

Discusses how two questionnaires helped a middle school teacher find out what strategies her students used to choose books and whether they were making successful choices. Presents teaching suggestions based on the results of the questionnaires. (SR)

Investigates the effectiveness of a program that provides diagnostic and remedial services for individuals with severe reading difficulties and professional growth for reading and resource specialists at all levels. Finds that students who made substantial progress in a special remediation program did not continue to progress at the same rate in…

Describes the rationale and structure of a research project that focused on the role of reading in second-language acquisition. Special focus is placed on the initial stages of the project as well as characteristics of the backgrounds of the students involved. (seven references) (JL)

Presents five experiments examining the use of illustrations in the comprehension of technical material by students of good to very good reading ability. Concludes that technical content which lends itself to presentation as an illustration will be comprehended better as an illustration than as text and will be comprehended best of all if…

Reviews research concerning the preteaching of content area vocabulary. Questions the value of solely preteaching content terms and suggests teaching both general and content vocabulary in ways that aid students in becoming independent word learners. (MG)

Compares the characteristics of children's books that received critical acclaim from adults and were "Children's Choices" to books that received critical acclaim only. Finds that the stylistic and structural differences between the two groups of books are more apparent than variations in themes. (RS)

Compares results of a modified whole language approach (incorporating daily 15-minute total class phonics instruction) with those obtained from a popular basal approach. Finds that students in the whole language classes made greater gains in phonics, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and total reading achievement than students in the basal…

Examines the approaches students use when reading for literary and informational purposes. Finds four recursive stances readers take in relation to the text: (1) being out and stepping into an envisionment; (2) being in and moving through an envisionment; (3) stepping back and rethinking what one knows; and (4) stepping out and objectifying the…

Presents three patterns of literature-based reading instruction and illustrates their role in the moving from a traditional reading program toward a whole language, literature-based reading program. (MG)

Reports results of students' perceptions of Reciprocal Teaching to monitor and check their reading comprehension; a procedure which has been used with junior high school students and has been extended to underprepared college freshmen. (MG)

Presents current research about how children learn to read and addresses the implications of this body of research for instruction. Aids educators in reflecting upon their present instructional practices to ascertain whether they coincide with findings from existing research. (MG)

Reports on the findings of a survey of over 450 children (ages 7 through 9) in southwest England exploring aspects of their views about and experience of reading. Provides insight into what children read and what influences their choice of reading and response to reading. (HB)

Attempts to enhance classroom teachers' awareness of potential problems that can result when discrepancies exist between children's entry schema and the schema which undergirds the school's instructional program. Discuses a case study of a child who became at risk for reading failure when a mismatch developed between the child's internalized…