A study examined a program for implementing a reader's workshop to improve low reading skills. Subjects were first-, second-, and third-grade students in a suburb of a large midwestern city. The problem of low reading skills was observed and documented in grade 1 through a sight word assessment and a 3-part writing assessment which included a…

A study examined whether reading aloud to young children would have an effect on their reading success in first grade. Subjects, 45 first-grade students in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, were given a questionnaire to be completed by their parents. The three first-grade teachers provided students reading aptitude scores, based on teacher observation and…

Drawing on the professional literature of many fields, this book provides an interpretation of the available research on motivation and describes instructional approaches in classroom contexts. The book aims to help teacher educators, researchers, and graduate students understand the research literature in motivation and use in their efforts to…

A study explored student teachers' adherence, rejection, or modification of their course work-generated (but untested or "idealized") model of reading when faced with the demands of the classroom. Fifty senior education majors enrolled in an integrated elementary and special education program at an urban university wrote reflective essays,…

An overview is provided of the limited body of research on the transfer of learning between reading and writing in mature adults. First, the paper traces the development of models portraying generalization between reading and writing, beginning with a discussion of audio-lingual theory, which hypothesizes that language is learned through a…

One way that teachers can assist students to learn from their textbooks is through the use of verbal-spatial representations of text structure. This report offers teachers and teacher educators information about learning to make idea maps for instructional use with elementary science texts. Idea maps, which are verbal-spatial representations of…

A qualitative study investigated the viewpoints and beliefs of five non-traditional secondary mathematics student teachers regarding using content literacy strategies. The five student teachers were military officers preparing for a second career as secondary mathematics teachers. Data included interviews, observations, and written materials from…

A study explored the question of how bilingualism and biliteracy affect metacognition. The strategic reading processes of eight bilingual Latina/o grade six and seven students who were identified as proficient English readers were examined. For comparative purposes, smaller samples of monolingual Anglo students who were proficient English readers…

In a 5-year longitudinal study, the home literacy environments of 60 preschool children in Canada were assessed. Over the preschool and early school experiences of these children, they were administered various measures of meta-literate awareness and later, standarized reading measures, to determine the nature of the home environment's influence…

A study compared the oral and written language concepts of preschoolers from low- and middle-income homes. Subjects, 33 4-year-olds from 3 separate Head Start programs and 31 4-year-olds from three different private schools, were administered 9 informal language assessments in the fall and again in the spring. Parents of the subjects were…

A year long study used data collected from 3 teachers and 15 students (in the first, third, and sixth grades of a rural midwestern school) to illustrate the relationships between students' understandings, strategic actions, metacognitive awareness, motivation in reading, and teachers who embrace instructional complexities. The complexities…

This book presents results of a longitudinal study of the effects of whole language instruction on six first- and second-grade African-American students at risk of failure. The book has three levels of meaning: how teachers engage children in genuine literacy, how the process of engaging in a literate community increases learning, and how truly…

A diagnostic evaluation was conducted on Thomas, a fifth-grade student, to identify levels of reading and major word identification strategies. Initial testing conducted at Thomas' home revealed that he appeared to have an unusually positive attitude toward reading, considering the difficulties it had presented him since kindergarten. Learning…

A teacher-researcher observed the behaviors and discourse of second graders in a student-led literature discussion group. A group of five students who represented the predominantly white, rural/suburban middle class community in which they lived was studied. All 22 students participated in a unit on folk and fairy tales. The case study group,…

An action research project stresses the need to incorporate various methods of teaching to develop a firm reading foundation. Self-esteem also plays a crucial role in developing enthusiasm to learn. The targeted population consisted of first and second grade students in clustered classrooms in a growing, middle class community located in central…