Presents a poetry across-the-curriculum activity designed to help primary school students build word-recognition skills and an appreciation for the natural world. Students read a poem about polliwogs aloud, discuss the sounds, examine spelling patterns, and investigate scientific details about polliwogs. The poem, "Polliwogs" is included. (SM)

Describes the experience of one developmental reading class instructor in using articles from current event publications to foster problem solving, synthesis and analysis, and perspective-taking. Discusses the assignments given to the students and the process used for evaluating student work. Includes a six-step demonstration of study strategies.…

This article discusses ways to implement an effective first- or second-language reading program that provides children with access to reading materials that are relevant to their needs and interests, encourages them to participate in carefully structured activities, and gives them incentives that promote reading. (Author/VWL)

Discusses what the term "High-Stakes Testing" means; concerns about high-stakes testing; whether testing is an important part of good educational design; why using tests for high-stakes decisions causes problems; whether test scores improve when high-stakes assessment is mandated; and ways to help states monitor student success in the curriculum.…

Discusses what the term "High-Stakes Testing" means; concerns about high-stakes testing; whether testing is an important part of good educational design; why using tests for high-stakes decisions causes problems; whether test scores improve when high-stakes assessment is mandated; and ways to help states monitor student success in the curriculum.…

This article describes the first year of a 3-year professional development program designed to train two rural elementary schools to implement a model for preventing reading failure. The model provides a continuum of instruction from the general reading curriculum to intensive reading instruction for students with diverse learning needs.…

This article presents the techniques of a special education teacher who practiced effective scaffolded instruction. A case study illustrates use of scaffolded instruction to break the failure cycle and such techniques as establishing a shared goal, actively diagnosing the learner's understandings and needs, providing tailored assistance, giving…

A study examined the effectiveness of the Kindergarten Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (K-PALS) in increasing the beginning reading skills of six kindergartners identified as having emotional or behavioral disorders. The peer tutoring phase of K-PALS led to increases in student scores on letter-sound correspondence and blending probes. (Contains…

Investigated effects of observational learning on preschoolers' attention to print, use of a questioning technique, and knowledge of the alphabet. Found that young children are able to extract a concept or rule through a brief exposure to observational learning. (SD)

Highlights the benefits of a multisensory, hands-on, learning center approach to teaching phonics. Presents specific aspects of the teaching method, accompanied by a parent component, which details steps parents can take to participate in their child's education and reinforce their children's classroom experience. (SD)

A study that examined perceptions and knowledge of 252 preservice educators and 286 inservice educators about early reading instruction found inservice educators had more positive attitudes about explicit code instruction and preservice educators were more positive about implicit code instruction. However, both groups demonstrated limited…

In individual telephone interviews, 234 low-income African-American, Caucasian, and Latino parents rated the importance of helping their second- and third-grade children in reading, math, and homework and of knowing what their children are learning. Parents reported whether they had taught their child in math and reading and read with their child…

Reading specialists, as well as members of the general public, have long sought to understand why so many children in the United States read below grade level and why so many of its adult citizens are illiterate. While problems associated with reading are not unique to the United States, it is noteworthy that some nations do not experience major…

In this personal narrative, the author describes "READ 180," a framework designed to teach struggling readers. The READ 180 program is premised on surface-level skills. Students answer comprehension questions and spell words with a keyboard and a computer screen rather than a booklet, pencil, and paper. Describing her experience with one…

In the early 1980s, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) revised its policies on reading instruction. A new transactional definition of reading shifted the emphasis from discrete reading skills to comprehension and set out objectives consistent with that new definition. Policymakers also revised the state?s reading-evaluation instruments,…