Compares attitudes of elementary school principals, teachers, and parents toward promoting voluntary reading with their attitudes toward instruction in comprehension, word recognition skills, and study skills and concludes that promotion of voluntary reading is considered lowest in priority by all groups. (DF)

Summarizes award-winning research produced by Andrew M.Hess, Sirkka-Liisa Rauramo, Richard L. Allington, Donna E. Alvermann and David A. Hayes, Lesley M. Morrow and Carol S. Weinstein, Taffy E. Raphael and Bonnie B. Armbruster, Nancy Nelson Spivey, and Courtney B. Cazden. (FL)

Examines the nature of scientific discussion and places the problem of scientific literacy within the broad context of critical analytic reading skills. (FL)

Investigates the effectiveness of a hierarchical summary procedure used after reading social studies material. Concludes that the procedure enhanced students' recall for relatively unfamiliar, but not relatively familiar, social studies text and had a positive effect on the quality of their expository writing. (FL)

In fall 2003, the Head Start Bureau began implementing the Head Start National Reporting System (NRS) to systematically assess the early literacy, language and numeracy skills of all 4- and 5-year-olds enrolled in Head Start. In addition to child progression on a designated set of outcomes during the year preceding kindergarten, the data will…

This framework articulates the knowledge and skills adult English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) learners need in order to communicate effectively and confidently in English so that they can meet their needs, advocate for themselves, their families and their communities, and participate more fully in U.S. society. The content outlined in…

Iranian Journal of Language Studies (IJLS) is a quarterly journal devoted to all areas of language and linguistics. Its aim is to present work of current interest in all areas of language study. No particular linguistic theories or scientific trends are favored: scientific quality and scholarly standing are the only criteria applied in the…

A challenge facing educators is to find ways to arrest and reverse the cumulative deficit in reading experienced by many students with learning disabilities. In this study, we evaluated the effect of a strategy intervention to increase the reading comprehension of eighth grade students with reading disabilities in intact junior high school classes…

Understanding a text requires more than the ability to read individual words: it depends greatly on vocabulary knowledge. This important book brings together leading literacy scholars to synthesize cutting-edge research on vocabulary development and its connections to reading comprehension. The volume also reviews an array of approaches to…

A study examined the effects of prior knowledge on the reading comprehension of disadvantaged first-grade students from an inner-city school in northern Utah. A thematic approach using trade books, field experiences, Language Experience Activities, and student journals was used to increase background knowledge of the at-risk first graders who were…

This study investigated the nature of preservice teachers' instructional actions during Directed Reading-Teaching Activities (DR-TA) to involve students in reading and enhance their understanding of text, noting scaffolding processes used to engage children in making sense of text. Twenty-eight preservice teachers who were first-semester K-8…

Intended for teachers of grades 6-10, this book was designed to motivate young people to read, build their comprehension skills, and extend their learning across the curriculum. The book's participatory mealtime programs incorporate learning with activities such as writing and art projects, role-playing, storytelling, games, interviewing, and…

This paper presents the results of a research study carried out with Mexican college students to analyze the relationship between readers' cognitive styles (field dependent/independent) and their performance at different levels of written discourse processing in Spanish (L1) and English (L2). The sample for the study included 452 undergraduate…

Reading is a complex activity that involves both perception and thought. Reading consists of two related processes, word recognition and comprehension. Learning to read is an important educational goal. Research has shown that there is a great deal of transfer from learning to read in one language to learning to read in a second language. This…

This digest describes a research and development program being carried out in transitional bilingual education programs at five elementary schools in the Los Angeles area. Researchers have been collaborating with teachers and project advisors to develop, implement, and describe instructional strategies that improve the chances of students in these…