Reports results of a short survey of teachers regarding their use in class of books by author Judy Blume, and whether they had experienced controversy surrounding Blume's books. (SR)

Looks at overall trends in reading research topics and what research designs and data-analysis methodologies were used by researchers who published in the annual National Reading Conference Yearbooks between 1975 and 1995. Finds that postsecondary reading instruction continued to be an area of research interest. (SR)

Examines the semantic effect on retrieval of radicals of Japanese kanji script. Highlights a critical role that meaning plays in the activation of orthographic forms of kanji. Discusses some characteristic features of writing in kanji. (SG)

Explores the ways in which 11- and 12-year-old students used intertextuality within diverse literacy events in a classroom context. Reveals different patterns of intertextual connections depending on discourse mode (oral or written) and the functional context of discourse (literary or informational) in terms of the types of sources to which…

Shows that a combined reading and phonological awareness training group made greater progress in learning to read than the Reading alone and Phonological Awareness alone groups in addition to that of the unseen control group. Affirms, contrary to earlier criticism, the stability of the treatment effect, the Sound Linkage hypothesis and the…

Argues that literacy inquiry has often been less effective than it should be. Recommends pragmatism as a restorative tonic for the field. Offers 3 dimensions for researchers to use in reexamining with whom they do research; to reflect on selecting problems for inquiry; and to reconsider how research traditions and methodologies are defined and…

Critical analysis of recent National Reading Panel report on teaching children to read based on meta-analysis of research on reading instruction. Asserts that because of problems with meta-analysis and interpretation, report's findings should not form sole basis for reading-instruction policy and legislation. Proposes four reading propositions.…

Self-modifying feelings during literary reading were studied in relation to the personality trait, absorption. Participants read a short story, described their experience of 3 striking or evocative passages in the story, and completed the Tellegen Absorption Scale (Tellegen, 1982). Compared to readers with either low or moderate absorption scores,…

The aim of this experiment was to investigate the use of orthographic analogies in conditions that involved making sense of print (picture-word matching) and pronouncing print (reading aloud) for readers with dyslexia. An adapted version of the classic clue-word paradigm developed by Goswami was used. Participants were 40 readers with dyslexia and…

Broadly, the current study contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting the positive effects of PA (phonological awareness) interventions for preschoolers, demonstrating that PA instruction need not be postponed until kindergarten. Specifically, the current study addresses the paucity of research on PA training in preschool by testing…

The purpose of this article is to document the legacy and continuing influence of Michael Pressley's work in the field of reading research and instruction. Descriptions are provided to demonstrate how he translated his data from the cognitive sciences into highly effective pedagogy. A second component of this article discusses how Michael…

After several years of planning and a series of false starts, a new federal venture to review reading research has hit another bureaucratic hurdle--one that could keep it from ever getting off the ground. A planned announcement last week of the membership of the Commission on Reading Research was put on hold by the National Institute for Literacy…

This paper provides an explanation for the nonspecificity of emotion inferences found in previous research [e.g., Language and Cognitive Processes, 19(5), 613-638, 2004]. We first demonstrate that behavioral components of emotions, as opposed to emotions per se, are better markers of readers' mental representations of the main character's…

The author calls into question whether learning to read and write is an exclusively logical and systematic process in which the child moves step-by-step from part to whole, as it is frequently presented in "scientific" reading research. She examines research on different types of intuitive behavior and suggests parallels in the development of…

Described here is a study on the efficacy of a media-rich curriculum based on the idea that children can learn best from "media synergy," that is, when children have opportunities to learn a focused set of skills by engaging in repeated practice with them in many different formats and media. Participants in this study were low-income…