Firsthand classroom observations on the use of computers in instruction reveal some excellent uses of the computer, particularly with reading and writing instruction. Yet there are many schools in which most children are denied access to computers. The children most likely to be using computers are those who attend suburban or small city schools…

Intended for elementary and secondary school teachers, this handbook provides practical instruction for the development of students' study strategies. Each of the four chapters begins with a study guide and closes with a reaction guide, thus illustrating for the reader an excellent study strategy that teachers may use with text materials in their…

A study was conducted to examine whether improved and more intensive teaching of conceptualization and abstract reasoning skills could be a factor in the improvement of reading comprehension. Subjects were 48 high school sophomores reading at or below grade level, evenly divided in experimental and control groups, from four intact classes. A…

Research suggests that reading is a written language process that is learned naturally in much the same way as oral language. To test this hypothesis, a descriptive, longitudinal study was conducted of the reading development of eight kindergarten and first grade students who showed environmental print awareness but were not considered readers.…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 18 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effect of illustrations on third grade students' attitudes toward the elderly; (2) visual and phonological coding in word processing by fourth, sixth, and…

More than 1,000 studies of reading research published between July 1, 1982, and June 30, 1983 are summarized in this report. The studies are arranged into six categories: (1) Summaries of Reading Research, (2) Teacher Preparation and Practice, (3) The Sociolgy of Reading, (4) Physiology and Psychology of Reading, (5) The Teaching of Reading, and…

This research review on basic reading skills begins with an historical perspective on reading methods, followed by an overview of reading instruction methods for the general population. Research findings are presented on several instructional methods, including phonetic, linguistic, artificial orthography, basal reading, and language experience…

A study investigated the role of phonemic information in young readers' silent reading comprehension. Subjects, 56 children in grades 2 and 4, from Seattle parochial schools, were blocked into groups based on their grade and skill level (skilled and less skilled). Each subject saw 48 sentences presented in a random order on an Apple II…

A study focused on teachers' developing knowledge about their work, particularly the thinking of eight elementary school teachers from a racially mixed San Francisco Bay Area school district about the use of literature contracts in the classroom. The study examined ways in which teachers' prior beliefs influence their use of a new teaching…

This collection of papers, from a conference on reading and writing connections held at the University of Illinois in October 1986, reflects the value of demonstrating connections between reading instruction and writing. The book shows practitioners how writing can be blended with reading instruction and how writing activities can be used not just…

The Virginia Reading to Learn Project is a state-wide project designed to help content area teachers at the middle school and secondary school levels teach their students how to comprehend their content area textbooks. Teachers learn instructional strategies and techniques within the framework of the total reading process incorporating reading,…

Focusing on how textbooks and ideology influence and reflect literacy instruction, this book examines literacy as defined in the public elementary schools of British Columbia, Canada. Chapters include: (1) "Approaches to the Study of Literacy and Curriculum"; (2) "The Text in Historical Context: The Debate over Schooling and…

A descriptive study investigated the ability of student teachers to translate and apply textbook knowledge in the daily reading instruction of public elementary school students. Subjects, 24 teachers, were surveyed regarding their student teachers' use of 36 reading and management strategies covered in college courses. The participating teachers…

The first of seven related guides, this curriculum guide for seventh grade English outlines opportunities for students to use the skills they have acquired previously, to be involved in well-planned educational experiences in critical thinking and in oral and written expression, and to develop an understanding of others. The first half of the…

The second of seven related guides, this curriculum guide for eighth grade English outlines opportunities for students to use the skills they have acquired previously, to be involved in well-planned educational experiences in critical thinking and in oral and written expression, and to develop an understanding of others. The first half of the…