This compilation presents materials related to Andover's Integrated Reading System (AIRS), which provides quality education for first through eighth grade promoting consistency of curricula throughout the system, competence in teaching skills for mastery, student enjoyment of literature, and significant growth in reading scores. The compilation…

An individualized approach to second language reading instruction in a large class is described. First, characteristics of the large class as a teaching and learning environment are examined, and the instructional advantages of individualizing assignments are noted. Two forms of reading materials used with first-year college students are then…

A study investigated how a knowledge or lack of knowledge of basic text structures, such as comparison and contrast and cause and effect, contributes to the reading process in remedial adolescent readers. By observing a group of graduate students and through the close study of a few adolescent case studies, a researcher attempted to determine if…

A practicum was developed to help preservice teachers practice reading theories learned in the college classroom during the three-week field experience portion of the class. Preservice teachers at a Christian college in a small, rural, midwestern town had few opportunities to implement theories learned during field experience. A literature review…

Information on current trends and issues informally discussed and then delineated by the directors of six National Council of Teachers of English commissions, is presented in this 12th annual report. The commissions and their directors are: (1) Commission on Curriculum (Dorothy King); (2) Commission on Composition (Christine Kline); (3) Commission…

A study of fourth- and fifth-grade students who were taught science in Spanish as a second language is reported. The primary issues studied were: (1) the role of first-language skills in learning science in a second language, and (2) whether hands-on instruction, seen as effective by many for science teaching, is appropriate for…

This study examined the attitudes and perceptions of teachers using the whole language approach to teaching reading with those of teachers using the basal approach. Specifically, attitudes were compared based on teachers' instructional selection, district mandates, and personal demographics. Data on attitudes and opinions concerning the teaching…

This publication lists 91 trade books that a group of adult literacy professionals have read and recommended for use in adult literacy programs. An introductory section explains the process used to decide upon recommended books, provides a key for the symbols that describe each book, and makes some general suggestions for the ways books from the…

Amish beliefs are exemplified in their parochial schools. Children are taught to be diligent and work hard at the task at hand. "An idle mind is a devil's workshop" is very much in evidence when Amish children study and learn that which stresses the moral and the practical. The home setting emphasizes the utilitarian with its farm work…

Literacy may be defined as a set of changing practices and techniques with the social technology of writing. The distribution of literate practices by institutions has been tied up with knowledge and power in societies. Who gets what kinds and levels of literacy from schooling is directly related to the "division of literate labor." This is…

Responding to the expressed need of classroom teachers and teacher educators for a listing of available video resources which can be used for preservice and inservice education for literacy providers, this annotated bibliography identifies video resources which most fully capitalize on the potential of the medium by portraying literacy teachers…

Based on the belief that the transition from learning to read to reading to learn can be facilitated by tailoring learning experiences to individual preferences, this book describes an affective-based 3-week summer reading program for students entering first through sixth grades. The first part of the book describes the philosophy of the program,…

A case study examined the decision-making process that impelled a teacher to change her literacy instructional practices and the change process she went through when adopting new practices. The teacher (who has taught first grade for 5 years at an elementary school in a large Caribbean island school district) volunteered to try whole language…

Since 1975, the Association for Childhood Education International has published a column called "Classroom Idea-Sparkers" in each issue of Childhood Education journal. The column provides practical help for classroom teachers, preschool through middle school, offering educators ideas and activities to help extend learning and make it more relevant…

Responsive assessment is explored in this book in terms of its ability to support people who learn. This book represents a search for assessment practices that are relevant and responsive. Part 1 introduces responsive assessment as a set of guidelines and as a theoretical foundation for assessment and instructional planning. Chapter 1 explores the…