The aim of this book is to provide a thorough account of what is known about the acquisition of reading abilities in a second language and to foster a more principled research and instruction in second language literacy. Discussion is set forth from a variety of perspectives: first, through examinations of theoretical models of the reading process…

A study examined literature-based stories found in first-grade student anthologies (basals), the adaptations made to those stories, and any award-winning stories found in that literature. Four current reading series were examined: Houghton Mifflin, Scott Foresman, Macmillan/McGraw Hill, and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. The difference in the…

A study determined what variables in the home literary environments of ninth-grade students influenced their attitudes toward reading. Subjects, 316 students from 2 ninth-grade classes at 2 metropolitan high schools, were given the Estes Reading Attitude Scale and a researcher-developed, 30-question inventory of their home literary environment.…

Traditional reading methods have not focused on the language of students in the classroom as an important component of teaching reading. Language researchers have discovered that expressive oral language is an important component of reading instruction. There are several suggestions for the promotion of good language development that have been…

Interweaving sociological/interpretive and cognitive/linguistic perspectives, this book explores the ways in which children first encounter the written word in formal schooling. The book examines the "culture" of literacy as it is introduced and practiced in a corpus of 163 basal and supplementary readers used in a representative…

Creating meaningful links between home and school is a particular concern of teachers and families. As classroom teachers, Betty Shockley and Barbara Michalove heard their students talk often about home literacy events. They wanted to find a way to learn what families valued and practiced, and they wanted to communicate to families how their…

The aims of concept-oriented reading instruction (CORI) are to increase motivation, strategies, and conceptual learning. To attain these aims, CORI classrooms are: conceptually oriented, observational, collaborative, and personalized, emphasizing strategies of searching, comprehending, integrating, and composing for audiences of peers. Two…

A study examined what children learn in their transition from home life to the world of school and how they learn it. Subjects were students enrolled in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes at 10 public schools in Baltimore, Maryland, their teachers, and their families. A total of 42 families, each with a 4-year-old child enrolled in…

This study describes and evaluates a project designed to increase the low reading ability which interferes with the academic growth of the targeted kindergarten, second-, and fifth-grade classes in a suburban Chicago (Illinois) community. The problem of low reading ability is documented through data revealing the number of students who received…

A study examined self-reported studying and quiz performance in a college course. Subjects, 22 female and 5 male students in an educational psychology class, were quizzed on 4 supplementary reading assignments across the semester. Quizzes were scored for three types of learning: definitions, recall of factual information, and transfer of…

A study compared two groups of children in an urban elementary school who were unready for second grade at the conclusion of first grade. A group of 15 students was retained in first grade while another group of 45 students was promoted to second grade. The California Achievement Test was used to measure the reading ability of both groups at the…

Children have much to teach educators about the kinds of group work that enhance their social, emotional, and cognitive development. Using children's own words, this playlet juxtaposes third-grade and fifth/sixth grade views of how group work helps and hinders their school experiences in literacy learning. Students in both age groups experienced…

This report describes a study that examined the question of whether or not a child's chronological age at school entry or gender affects his/her academic achievement. It posits 2 hypotheses: (1) that there is a low or negligible correlation between the chronological age at which a child enters kindergarten and a sample of the child's overall…

This report describes a study that examined changes in literacy engagement during one year of Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI), a new approach to teaching reading, writing, and science. Literacy engagement was defined as the integration of intrinsic motivations, cognitive strategies, and conceptual learning from text. To promote…

A study examined the effect of direct instruction on increasing students' reading competency. The study followed several studies done between 1977 and 1995 on the Direct Instruction Model for reading instruction, developed and implemented in the 1960s. The population of the 2-year study included 105 southwest Chicago area third-grade students from…