Used questionnaire to investigate third-, fourth-, and fifth- grade urban, mostly minority, students' perceptions of reading groups. Found that whole-class instruction and working alone were used more frequently than group or pair instruction. Students at all levels of reading ability liked mixed-ability groups and mixed ability pairs the most,…

Explains President Clinton's "America Reads Challenge," a promising initiative that brings together volunteer literacy and reading tutors from the community, working to supplement and support the primary work of classroom teachers. At the heart of the new initiative is the understanding that a good start to a strong education requires…

Focuses on the connections between music reading and text reading to explore the influences of music education on children's reading skills. Addresses topics, such as phonological and phonemic awareness, sight identification, orthographic awareness, and fluency. Discusses research that addresses the influence of music on reading. (CMK)

Examines the benefits of the Accelerated Reader program on English-as-a-second-language fourth and fifth grade students in a school in rural West North Carolina. Notes that anecdotal records provided evidence of improvement in students' reading behaviors and attitudes toward reading. Shows that while there was only a moderate overall increase in…

Explains results when graduate students studying to become reading specialists tutored struggling readers in one-on-one sessions in which the clinicians were required to make significant use of technology in their instruction. Concludes that clinicians often did not have clear reading or literacy objectives when using computer-based instruction.…

Explains that extensive reading (ER) programs involve students in silently reading large quantities of materials. Discusses the possible benefits of adding a group element to second language ER. Presents cooperative learning principles that can facilitate effective group interaction to accompany ER. Provides examples of activities that blend…

This study evaluated the relative effectiveness of three approaches to supplemental reading instruction with 96 second graders with low reading achievement. It found that the approach combining explicit word recognition and reflective reading comprehension increased phonological decoding and had the highest effect size compared to the treated…

This article recounts observations of the use of texts in the preschool, to document the interaction between the child, the teacher, and the environment, and the emergent literacy in the daily practices. Presentation of the findings is a description of two different textual environments: the narrative and the passive. (Author)

Contends that literature is a means by which people are constructed as social beings. Proposes accomplishing this by teaching students to read critically and interrogatively. Concludes that English teachers need to nurture skills, attitudes, and habits of critical reading in students. (PM)

Assesses 291 first graders on reading, intelligence, and phonological processing at the beginning and end of the academic year to determine the accuracy of three different approaches to identification. Determines the best procedure for identifying children at risk for reading difficulties before they received formal reading instruction. Concludes…

A study involving 195 Hispanic and non-Hispanic students (grades K-2) with reading difficulties found that children who received supplemental reading instruction that taught basic decoding and comprehension skills for two years performed better on measures of word attack, word identification, oral reading fluency, vocabulary, and reading…

Review of scientifically based reading research as it applies to students with hearing impairments stresses the importance of (1) early intervention, (2) active learning opportunities, (3) teaching strategies for reading fluency, and (4) applying teacher interventions such as miscue analysis. The importance of identifying and implementing…

The reading comprehension performance of 30 third-graders with hearing impairments from the United Arab Emirates was examined under three teaching conditions, the key word strategy, modified reciprocal teaching, and the basic reading approach. Key word strategy and modified reciprocal teaching significantly enhanced performance in reading…

Examined the effects of readers' gender and passage content on second language (L2) reading comprehension. Participants--who were intermediate Spanish learners--read two different authentic passages. Two measures were used to assess comprehension: A written recall and multiple-choice questions. Findings reveal significant interactions between…

Describes the oral, written, and visual arts responses of a group of Grade 1 children. Discusses first grade children's understandings of and responses to several Radical Change characteristics and metafictive techniques found in David Wiesner's "The Three Pigs" (2001), the 2002 Randolph Caldecott Medal winner. Explores the nature of the…