Fifty-five 3rd-grade students, 27 of them with learning disabilities, were interviewed to determine their perceptions of grouping formats in reading instruction, with emphasis on small, mixed-ability groups. Students perceived that there are definite benefits and drawbacks to working in this format, including pacing, embarrassment, and working…

These tips from the classroom showcase a variety of oral communication and performance activities that invite both teachers and students to explore the power and pleasure of using creative, kinesthetic strategies. (Author/VWL)

Discusses strategies that can be used in the classroom for developing critical awareness while reading. Describes strategies that can be used at the pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading stages, with a focus on both language and content. (Author/VWL)

Describes an innovative program at the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School which integrates literacy skill development with auditory and speech services for students who are deaf. The program uses visual phonics; connects sign language, spoken English, and printed English; has listening/literacy centers and an assistive devices center; and…

Discusses the different learning styles of poor readers and presents strategies for students with attention-deficit disorders in inclusive settings, including small-group work, structured daily schedules and consistent instructional methods, prereading strategies, after-reading strategies, and allowing students to move around to confer with peers.…

Suggests that John Dewey's 1938 text can take teachers into the 21st century and provides valid advice on teaching decisions including philosophy of education, learning, and schooling. Describes Dewey's five tenets of a framework that can provide language arts teachers with guidance for conceiving of student-centered, whole-language schooling and…

Examines the relationship between level of schooling and literacy attainment in four rural communities in Guatemala. The authors first identify the grade at which most children become literate and then estimate the net contribution of schooling to literacy. They found that most children became literate with between three and four years of…

Targeted to a wide audience, this book is a highly readable, nontechnical work without sacrificing the informative value offered by the relevant empirical research. The book is organized into three sections that discuss why it's difficult to learn to read; existing scientific evidence in reading research; and practical solutions, based on the…

Studied four high-poverty school districts as they changed to a literature-based literacy curriculum in line with state manifestos. Data from classroom observations, teacher and administrator interviews, and documents from schools, the media, and the State Department of Education revealed obstacles to change and highlighted substantial differences…

Addresses past, present, and future issues and trends in beginning reading instruction, tracing the development of a related issue in the context of early-childhood education: developmentally appropriate practice (DAP). Addresses historical changes in reading education and in DAP guidelines, suggesting that reading education and early-childhood…

Reading Recovery is a highly structured, early-intervention program for children with reading difficulties. It targets first graders with the lowest reading and writing scores. This article describes Reading Recovery, discusses teacher training, and notes important program aspects (assessment must drive instruction; teachers must choose books…

Reading researchers are under attack by policy makers and others outside the field who want a quick, easy method for teaching students to read. Although common ground exists, nothing points to any single best way to teach reading. What matters most is the teacher, flexible approaches, and student interests. Contains 17 references. (MLH)

This longitudinal, multiple case study describes and compares the early development, instructional history, repeated administrations of a test battery, and response to phonologically driven reading instruction in a science/reading workshop for seven boys (grades 3-5) with dyslexia. Following instruction, phonological skills improved. Early…

Investigates elementary school teachers' beliefs and classroom practices about reading. Describes how three of the teachers experimented with new language, beliefs, and/or practices, juxtaposing them with current beliefs and practices. Considers how, at the end of two years, two teachers had altered their beliefs and transformed their practices,…

Offers a classroom vignette that describes how the author invites students to collect pearls of wisdom (memorable quotations in books) as a source of inspiration. Offers an example of such a quote that stimulated rich discussion in a sixth-grade classroom. (SR)