Four studies determined when first, second, and third graders recognize that they make inferences to understand text, and the effect of this recognition on their ability to revise text and monitor its informativeness. Younger children tended to attribute inferred information to the text, while older children clearly distinguished inferred and…

Explores whether children acquire semantic structures from early book reading experiences by examining similarities between discourse structures of stories read to and written by two small children. The generative relationship of prototypic and derived stories is demonstrated by the high correspondence between both constituent structure and…

A study involving 18 children (ages 4-11) at a residential school for students with deafness found that children who participated in group storybook reading twice each week for 5 months performed more independently on an emergent reading task and were more interested in books than children in the control group. (Author/CR)

This study compared effects of two styles of storybook reading on the interpretations of two preschool children experiencing delayed language development. One used expansions and cloze procedures; the other provided questions and modeling of appropriate answers. Children produced more answers to questions, more interpretations, and more complex…

This article discusses repeated storybook reading using adult scaffolding and phonological awareness strategies to facilitate oral and written language in children with language delays. The discussion is framed around common questions asked by educators considering repeated storybook reading as an instructional method. (Contains references.)…

A study examined the reading behaviors of five mothers and their preschool children with language impairment across three storybook readings. Four of the children pointed to, answered questions about, and labeled and commented on the pictures. Three of the children increased reading behaviors and reading time across the three readings. (Contains…

Promoting moral, language and literacy development is particularly important for children in inclusive early childhood programs serving disadvantaged children. In the first section of this article, the author: (1) summarizes research about the gap between typically developing children in professional families and most disadvantaged children and…

The Follett library software system is the literary conscience of St. Francis High School. It reports on overdue books, checkout statistics, and online catalog search records. The circulation numbers tell that reading is a tough sell for today's teens. As the school's custodian of books and information, the author describes his efforts at leading…

In this article, the author contends that no book is "too hard" for first graders when they read the story by "reading" the illustrations. If illustrators do their job correctly, a reader should be able to follow the story in a picture book without using the words. She has found this lesson to be particularly successful when presented early in the…

This study was conducted over ten weeks with fifty three 5 to 6 year-old kindergarteners from economically disadvantaged homes learning French as a second language. The read-aloud strategy consisted of two teachers reading storybooks to children and explaining unfamiliar words. The teachers engaged children in meaningful discussions about the…

In this article I use a double theoretical lens of Bourdieuian (1985, 1991) and Bakhtinian (1981, 1986) perspectives on social space and the dialogism of everyday literacy events to analyze and discuss a classroom literacy event. In this event, which takes place in a diversely populated classroom with a social justice language arts curriculum,…

This study reports the results of a cross-sectional analysis of variables associated with parents' reading to young children among participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in Texas. The participants were 600 WIC mothers visiting WIC clinics in Texas. The data were collected by survey, and…

It is essential to help foster students' social awareness in addition to their academic skills. Through discussions of stories that emphasize social issues such as racism and prejudice, students have the opportunity to develop and explore their own beliefs. But what do they really learn, and how? In this article, the authors document their efforts…

This article addresses some key criteria for educators as they choose CD-ROM storybooks for young children's literacy development. The article includes: (1) A review of the pertinent literature on the quality and appropriateness of CD-ROM storybooks for literacy development; (2) An evaluation questionnaire to guide teachers in selecting CD-ROM…

Previous research has found few quantitative differences between children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and well-matched controls in the length, complexity, and structure of their narratives. Researchers have noted, however, that narratives of children with ASDs have an unusual and idiosyncratic nature. This study provides…