Based on the premise that reading and writing are social acts in which teachers and children together share the books and authors they enjoy and their own composing in the various genres, this book (one of a series) focuses on using nonfiction to develop a literate classroom. The book highlights a series of "action experiments" designed for…

Intended for teachers, this book shows how to use children's magazines to enrich the school curriculum and suggests ways to develop understandings in literature, science, social studies, and math for grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. The book illustrates activities with magazines that can help develop study skills. The first section, "Choosing…

Teachers working with at-risk students must instill in their students the motivation and desire to read. At-risk readers do not value reading in the same way their teachers do. Teachers should strive to make the reading experience one that is relevant to the student both at their present reading level and when their ability to read has improved.…

To help students strengthen competencies in reading and writing direct instruction is essential. Modeling is a key component in direct instruction. The kind of materials used can help provide more cultural awareness among learners. Written materials of current interest need to be selected. Sources are varied including such periodicals as…

It is argued that if whole language teachers are to use computers in their reading and writing programs, they will need both software and strategies for using computers that are consistent with their beliefs and goals. For whole language teachers, as for other good teachers, it is the teacher's beliefs about curriculum and instruction rather than…

The resource guide identifies products which assist learning disabled and mentally retarded individuals in accessing IBM (International Business Machine) Personal Computers or the IBM Personal System/2 family of products. An introduction provides a general overview of ways computers can help learning disabled or retarded persons. The document then…

This yearbook contains selected papers presented at the twenty-third and twenty-fourth annual meetings of the North Central Reading Association, held in October of 1981 and 1982. Papers in the yearbook include: "History of Adult Reading Programs" (Clarence Anderson); "About Creativity and Study Skills" (Mark E. Thompson); "Recent Changes in…

Consisting of a selection of papers presented at the 1982 and 1983 meetings of the North Central Reading Association, this yearbook includes sections on computers, research, professional issues, and programs. Papers include: "The Computerized Broom Will Sweep Our Future Classrooms: But Not Necessarily Clean" (George E. Mason); "Beyond the…

A study measured the effect of reading materials containing positive depictions of aging and the elderly on the attitudes of primary grade children toward aging and elderly adults. Subjects, 91 students from grades one to three enrolled in a Jacksonville, Florida public school, read stories selected from "aging/elderly positive"…

Research indicates that using the manual alphabet in classes of non-deaf students is effective both for spelling and vocabulary instruction. Teachers appreciate the way signing physically involves the students, acts as a self-cueing system, is inexpensive, and helps with writing problems like "b" and "d" reversals. Other advantages are: (1) it is…

In the 1988-89 school year, a teacher introduced whole language learning to teach reading and writing in her classroom while documenting and then evaluating its effect on a 12-year-old special needs student named Debbie. According to formal testing, Debbie was functioning in the moderately handicapped range of ability, and her speech and language…

A literature review examined research on the acquisition of word identification and vocabulary understanding. One of its major themes was that children's understanding of words is best understood from the perspective of developing sensitivities to the English language. A second major theme is that acquisition of word identification skills and…

A practicum addressed the problem of reading comprehension skills in low achieving students by monitoring their progress utilizing precision teaching. Based on referrals from classroom teachers, guidance counselors, and parents, five students ranging in ability levels from kindergarten through grade 8 were accepted into the program for one or more…

A practicum was conducted to determine the effectiveness of parental reinforcement at home of the reading skills taught at school. Parents of first grade Chapter 1 students, participated for a 10-week period with the first week devoted to training parents to use the materials and the paired-reading concept. Scores on the reading assessment test…

Teaching practices and professional and personal characteristics of 49 effective first-grade teachers, and the materials they used, were studied in an effort to determine what effective teachers do to promote learning in reading and mathematics. Data indicated that effective teachers: (1) had high expectations for student learning; (2) provided…