Identifies statistical relationships between teacher morale and student achievement test scores in reading. Suggests teachers' attitudes toward classroom evaluation systems, as well as their perceptions of the functional behaviors of the principal, were the strongest predictors of students' achievements in reading. (RAE)

Suggests picture books are made more difficult for kids to predict, to make sense of, and to learn from by fitting them into the didactic framework of basals. Discusses the picture book genre. Compares the original version of "Ira Sleeps Over" to the basal version. Examines in detail how picture books are made to fit into a basal…

Examines the association of reading instruction with the amount and breadth of students' reading activities, taking account of social, cognitive, and home factors. Finds that, for students aged 9, 13, and 17, amount of reading was associated with levels of social interaction surrounding reading, cognitive strategies for reading, and…

Evaluates the process and the use of self-assessment portfolios as an assessment instrument in one undergraduate literacy methods class. Discusses four major categories of results: strengths of the process, strengths of self-assessment portfolios as a form of evaluation, concerns/difficulties with the process, and concerns/difficulties with…

Using poor and normal readers, three studies evaluated semantic coding and phonological coding deficits as explanations for reading disability. It was concluded that semantic coding deficits are unlikely causes of difficulties in poor readers in early stages but accrue with prolonged reading difficulties in older readers. Phonological coding…

Responds to the common assumption among English teachers that prior knowledge of a subject enhances students' ability to comprehend materials that they read. Presents evidence from the think-aloud protocols of undergraduate students to argue that having prior experience of the subjects treated in texts does not ensure that students will make…

Evaluates the effectiveness of Reading Recovery (RR) in 10 schools in New South Wales. Finds that the RR group was superior to control students after 15 weeks, but that no differences were found after 30 weeks. Finds that 12 months after discontinuation, 35% of the students directly benefitted from the program, 35% had not been…

Examines the drive to develop a national set of standards for the English Language Arts curriculum. Addresses the issues of what standards are, what the current standards terrain looks like, what sort of standards could be set, and what the dangers are in the process. Offers suggestions for educators to begin the process of developing useful…

Reports on six case studies of interactions between less proficient readers and their teachers during oral reading and rereading. Finds that accuracy was a critical factor in achieving meaning-focused teacher-student interactions. Finds further that the nature of text material and teachers' instructional goals influenced the nature of…

Finds that state-level textbook adoption committee members reported four major unresolved reading issues: (1) assessment of students' reading progress; (2) whole language versus basal approaches; (3) ability grouping; and (4) use of tradebooks in place of basals. Suggests that the members may lack sufficient specific knowledge of the issues to…

Characterizes the spectrum of research as having considerable breadth, but little depth. Finds that research contributed little clarification on issues surrounding the role and timing of native-language reading instruction, that instruction targeting specific student knowledge was generally effective, and that teacher materials contained a paucity…

Trains 94 first graders using a structured phonological reading method emphasizing English phonology and phoneme/grapheme correspondence. Compares to a control group who received a whole-language-plus-phonics approach. Notes that children in all groups improved their phonological awareness by the same amount. Concludes that phonological awareness…

Finds that reading-disabled fifth-grade children were inferior to control groups in their ability to assign words to semantic categories, identify first phonemes in spoken words, and judge morphologic relationships between word pairs. Concludes that the developmental reading-disabilities syndrome includes a deficit in linguistic skills necessary…

Explores the usefulness of the attachment relationship between children and parents for explaining differences in parent-preschooler reading in high- and low-socioeconomic-status families. Finds that less secure dyads read less frequently. Proposes a developmental model of interactive reading. Concludes that programs must create a safe base from…

Investigates how teachers' perceptions related to the reading process by examining their early recollections of learning to read. Uses comparative analysis between reported positive and negative recollections, yielding highly significant findings related to the variables of setting, age, most significant other, and locus of control. (SR)