This Issue Brief describes the qualifications of public school elementary-level reading teachers relative to general elementary teachers, in terms of their educational attainment, their educational preparation and certification in reading, and their educational preparation and certification in elementary education. Data are drawn from the…

With the rise of the engagement perspective on reading, the concept of engagement has been increasingly applied in reading instruction and research without seriously questioning its underlying assumptions. By probing into the intellectual roots of the engagement perspective including Dewey's notion of reflective thinking, and Freire's critical…

This paper analyzes each of three different plans of reading instruction and raises questions regarding these individual plans of teaching reading. The paper first discusses state standards and the reading curriculum and whether state-mandated testing improves the reading curriculum. In contrast to state-mandated testing, it then considers…

Noting that students who learn strategies to make and complete analogies benefit in many ways, the introduction to this workbook for grades three through five defines analogies as comparisons between seemingly unrelated items. It notes that comparing an unfamiliar item to an item that is more familiar increases understanding. In addition, the…

Noting that students who learn strategies to make and complete analogies benefit in many ways, the introduction to this workbook for grades six through eight defines analogies as comparisons between seemingly unrelated items. It notes that comparing an unfamiliar item to an item that is more familiar increases understanding. In addition, the…

Walker and Shaw link the teaching of ten commonly taught reading strategies such as sequencing, compare and contrast, and prediction to newly published picture book titles. Each chapter of the book provides a strategy, a graphic organizer to teach it with, and an in- depth modeled discussion of how to use the strategy with two or three books.…

This article discusses the continuing controversy of whole language versus phonics. It discusses both systems--how to plug the holes in them, and how to combine the two approaches, making for stronger instructional tools. The article also explains the analytic model of teaching reading. The article offers a series of recommendations for teachers,…

As a direct result of the passage of the America Reads Challenge Act in 1997, Mt. Mercy College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has developed a reading tutor program. The program includes a college credit course and on-site visits by college faculty supervising student tutors. This article includes the rationale for development of a credit course for reading…

This study examines the growing trend of reading movements in Japan and their origins. There are three main movements: Animacion a la Lectura; Ten-Minutes Reading in the Morning; and Reading Aloud by Parents in schools. This paper reports on the three movements from a review of the literature, personal observations, and practice. The paper…

Many different ingredients are inherent in a quality program of reading instruction. These include word attack skills training and improving comprehension. One important facet of comprehension pertains to elements in the literary selection read by students. These elements include characterization, the story's setting, the theme of the story, and…

This paper develops and tests a new logical model for assessing the impact of early reading interventions. The analyses use a survey of Indiana's elementary schools, including schools funded for Reading Recovery and classwide interventions, as well as a group of control schools. The findings indicate that state-funded Reading Recovery was…

The Reading First initiative is a central part of the federal "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2001. Reading First's primary goal is to improve reading instruction and student performance in kindergarten through grade 3. By March 2003 only half of the 50 state plans had been approved for funding. Approved states included seven Southern…

This slide presentation takes the educator through the step-by-step implementation of a reading program, RISE (Reading Initiative for Student Excellence), in a real school. The RISE program aims for balanced literacy for students, in response to the Reading Excellence Act (REA) of 1998. The presentation outlines the steps to balanced literacy,…

Noting that professional development activities are a key component in the continuous process of improving instruction, this guide assists schools that are considering a visit to a Leadership and Learning Best Practice site (Illinois schools that have demonstrated a commitment to the reading best practices as identified by the Best Practices and…

This textbook is a fifth-year reader. The lessons in this volume have been prepared and arranged with a view towards several ends: to interest the young reader; to cultivate a taste for the best style of literature as regards both thought and expression; to point the way to an acquaintance with good books; to appeal to the pupil's sense of duty,…