This paper examines a case of educational innovation--the introduction of new methods for teaching reading in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa--as a reality check on the appealing but sweeping theory of John Meyer and his colleagues about the diffusion of educational ideals. The paper focuses on Guinea's official adoption of the…

This document describes a balanced and comprehensive approach to improve the reading and mathematics performance of Louisiana students in kindergarten through third grade. Sections of the paper address the focus on prevention, intervention, and remediation; the need in Louisiana for a K-3 reading and mathematics initiative; determining the…

This monograph is a synthesis of research findings of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development research program concerning how children learn to read, why some children and adults have difficulties learning to read, and effective ways to help children learn to read. The review covered studies performed over the last 33 years at…

This book seeks to set the record straight about today's "reading wars," and analyzes the three major "battle cries" of whole language critics. In a step-by-step dissection, the book reiterates the three arguments, then explores the most salient studies that support or refute them. According to the book, the three claims are:…

This digest summarizes research on methods of student grouping in reading instruction other than whole-class instruction and ability grouping. Peer tutoring and reciprocal-role tutoring have been demonstrated to be effective for students with learning disabilities because they are allowed to be either tutors or tutees. Cross-age tutoring has been…

The purpose of this article is to explain each of the three phases of reading textbooks and to provide strategies for aiding students to better understand and connect to their textbooks in each of these phases. Each of the three phases is named for its writing counterpart: planning, drafting, and evaluating. This article also states that three…

This report analyzes computer usage in the classrooms of teachers who are at least moderately well-prepared in the use of computers for reading instruction. Data from the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) database were used to analyze the influence of computers on academic achievement. The NAEP, which is administered in 4th,…

This report stresses the need to incorporate various methods of teaching as a means of developing an integrated curriculum to address the lack of phonetic skills amongst second grade and kindergarten students. The target population of Site A consisted of a kindergarten classroom in a medium-sized district of a growing middle class community…

This research described strategies used to improve the reading fluency of students. The targeted populations consisted of first, second, and third grade classes from middle class communities located in the Midwest. Evidence for the existence of this problem included teacher observation, parent surveys, and lack of progress shown on reading…

Reading Recovery is an early intervention program that helps low-achieving first-grade children to become independent readers who need no further remediation. Reading Recovery was introduced by Marie M. Clay who, in the mid 1970s, developed procedures with teachers and tested the program in New Zealand. In 1984, the success of the program in New…

In this essay collection, scholars in the area of early literacy provide concrete strategies for achieving excellence in literacy instruction. The collection presents current, research-based information on the advances and refinements in the area of emerging literacy and the early stages of formal instruction in reading and writing. Following a…

This report outlines a program for improving reading fluency. The targeted population consisted of second and third grade students from three separate communities located in suburbs of a major metropolitan area. The need for fluency improvement is documented through teacher observations, reading fluency assessments, standardized reading test…

Noting that the questions of when and how to teach beginning reading are among the most controversial in early childhood education, this chapter examines how young children develop as readers. The chapter begins with a focus on the emergent literacy perspective for the insights it provides into young children's reading and writing development. The…

Two articles are presented on the implementation of Reading Recovery in Maine. The first article, "Collaborative Efforts Can Make a Difference: The Development of Reading Recovery in Maine" articulates and shares the process which took place in Maine in the hope that it will assist interested stakeholders in other states in the…

This paper examines the original design of the Reading Recovery teacher training program as it relates to sociocultural theory. It also discusses how two constructs implicit in the sociocultural theory (community of learners and the role of inquiry) relate to Reading Recovery training. The paper notes that sociocultural theory predicts that human…