Describes the Scaffolding Reading Experience, a technique that helps students deal with challenging expository texts and supports social science inquiry methods. This technique relies on various supporting activities during the prereading, during-reading, and postreading phases. Outlines a series of these activities used during a U.S. history…

Paper considers the strategy of using aligned policies to encourage more ambitious instruction for all students from the perspective of elementary classroom teachers charged with implementing such instruction. Nine elementary teachers' responses to their local school district's efforts to press more ambitious ideas about literacy instruction are…

Provides five fully developed library media activities that are designed for use with specific curriculum units in dramatics, reading, language arts, science, and social studies. Library media skills, curriculum objectives, grade levels, resources, instructional roles, activities and procedures, evaluation, and follow-up are describes for each…

Case study of a poor, rural Pennsylvania school district's experience with the Reading First initiative illustrates how the No Child Left Behind Act confines districts to a few federally prescribed, "scientifically proven" curricula that ignore local conditions. Sanctioned schools are negatively labeled but receive inadequate funding,…

Reports findings of a survey, asking 1000 secondary social studies teachers to rate 36 specialist-designed reading practices. Shows teachers value and employ these techniques: (1) provide suitable materials; (2) offer instruction and guidance; (3) develop readiness through prereading; (4) encourage recitation, discussion, and comparative reading.…

Comments on the future of whole language, predicting that the movement will continue to expand with an increased understanding of the role that language plays in learning, a growing respect for alternate ways of knowing, and a renewed interest in curriculum. (BB)

Discusses four critical areas of instruction (decoding skills, language development/competence, concept/context building, and critical thinking skills/strategies) which can help limited English proficient (LEP) students improve their reading competence. (MM)

Describes a program in a first grade classroom in a rural school district which integrates holistic and direct instructional ideas by using the basal reader as one part of an otherwise holistic literacy program. Presents the major benefits of and some concerns about the program. (RS)

Discusses how interactive, whole class techniques (using a student-generated Big Book adaptation of "Corduroy") improved the reading skills of high risk first grade readers. Describes several activities, including sight word strategies, decoding techniques, and word processing, and suggests 27 Big Books for use with these activities. (MM)

Presents six curriculum guides for mathematics, reading/language arts, social studies, and science. Each guide highlights library media skills objectives, subject area objectives, grade levels, resources, instructional roles, sample activities, evaluation, and follow-up activities. (AEF)

Hawaiian fifth graders learned to teach reading and peacemaking to kindergartners. After receiving instruction on peacemaking, leadership, and storytelling, the students taught the kindergartners about peace, chose books to read to them, practiced reading aloud, then read to their selected partners, using the strategies they had learned in class.…

Argues that nonmainstream (nonwhite and nonmiddle class) students do not perform as well in school as do mainstream students because they are not equitably served by the educational system. Equity issues in the literacy education of minorities are explored, examining student characteristics, sociocultural factors, language issues, and…

Examines ways in which language practices in the classroom, particularly those involved with reading and writing stories, are gendered literary practices. Argues that the gendered nature of classroom literacy practices requires more critical scrutiny and that texts cannot be treated as separate from their cultural production. (SLD)

This article reviews six models of literacy strategy instruction in special and remedial education and reports on a study which manipulated teacher and student control of activity, as well as the instructional context, in examining the implementation and outcomes of three models: direct instruction; reciprocal teaching; and collaborative problem…

To determine whether disabled readers can benefit from letter-sound instruction if attention to individual regular words is increased, 38 male and 16 female disabled readers aged 7 to 13 years participated in whole word, letter-sound, or control training programs. Implications of improvement by both experimental groups are discussed. (SLD)