Discusses the unique approaches, well-put notions, fine-tuned procedures, or insightful conclusions in 10 dissertations nominated for the 1989 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the International Reading Association. (RS)

Describes some of the mismatches that can occur between child knowledge and the controlled "primerese" language of texts. Finds ways in which children bring their linguistic knowledge to bear on the reading process. Indicates that the controls and distinctive features of primerese text are counterproductive. (MG)

Annotates 136 conference papers, journal articles, and doctoral dissertations from 1988 and 1989 dealing with research in the teaching of English. Includes sections on writing, language, literature, and teacher education. (RS)

Reviews reading research in Great Britain in 1987, focusing on: parental involvement; preschool literacy; oral reading; remedial reading; writing, spelling, and handwriting; word recognition; comprehension; reading and thinking; and reading schemes. Suggests that future literacy research should reflect alternative means of investigation and a…

Examines second-grade teachers' responses to students' answers in the questioning phase of reading lessons. Identifies eight response types: the null rejoinder; explicit evaluation; repetition of student's response; elaboration; and combinations of the last three types. Finds negligible differences among teachers' responses to readers of varying…

Examines the use of hypertext documents by middle school students. The study focused on gathering and analyzing information on students' use of various hypertext-based reading materials. Analysis of the data led to the identification of six hypertext reading patterns: skimming, checking, reading, responding, studying, and reviewing. (Contains 12…

This article describes a theoretical model of reading disability that integrates research findings in cognitive psychology, reading, and education. The model identifies four patterns of reading disability: (1) nonalphabetic readers, (2) compensatory readers, (3) nonautomatic readers, and (4) readers delayed in the acquisition of word recognition…

Critiques current understandings of children's motivation for literacy learning, and argues for a reconceptualization of motivation that centers on the learner as agent in the social construction of meaning. Uses vignettes and examples from studies conducted in whole-language classrooms to investigate children's perspectives of their own literacy…

Reports on the second year of a supplementary reading program. Notes the program was successful with nonreading or delayed-reading students from regular and special education classrooms in grades one through eight. Argues that labels such as at-risk, learning disabled, and dyslexic are excuses for not initially teaching children how to read. (SR)

Outlines an instructional framework for peer discussions about literature. Describes two teacher roles: "scaffolding" during peer discussion and "coaching" before and after peer discussion, roles which promote students' social and interpretative abilities to manage their own literary discussions. (SR)

Contends that, although early precursors to reading and the first phases of reading acquisition have been extensively studied, the acquisition of different components of the reading process have not been considered. Reviews research from the past 15 years to examine the relationship between decoding and comprehension skills. (CFR)

Investigates the effects of explicit story structure instruction on below-average fourth and fifth grade readers' narrative writing performance. Finds that explicit story structure instruction positively influenced the narrative writing performance in terms of both quality and quantity of their writing. (MG)

Annotates 146 conference papers, journal articles, and doctoral dissertations from 1989 and 1990 dealing with research in the teaching of English. Includes sections on writing, language, literature, and teacher education. (SR)

Presents results from 2 British studies relating preschool reading skills and reading attainment reached by age 11. Substantiates and extends earlier research that correlated early letter identification with reading ability at age seven. Also indicates no support for hypothesis that letter sounding rather than naming predicts subsequent reading…

Examines responses of fourth, sixth, and eighth grade students to realistic and fantasy novels. Finds that students responded to fantasy with more categoric evaluations and to realism with more analytic evaluation. Finds also that evaluative responses moved from mainly categoric in grade four to more analytic in the upper grades. (KEH)