A Maryland school system developed a program called "Students Achieving Independent Learning" (SAIL) to help low-achieving students learn how to read. SAIL helps students become successful readers by showing them steps they can take throughout the reading process to increase their understanding. (13 references) (MLF)

Examines a computer-based concordance of 5,760 references from 12 elementary reading methodology textbooks with copyrights ranging from 1985 to 1989. Suggests the existence of a shared example of pedagogical knowledge, which is composed of a complex amalgam of knowledge on philosophy, principles, and practices. (RS)

Discusses the historical and social context of instructional grouping and the assumptions behind it. Offers an alternative approach--a single curriculum with flexible grouping--in which the difficulties children experience with reading are viewed not as signals to slow down, but as signals to enhance and accelerate instruction, by any of several…

Describes Make-a-Place (MAP), a creative activity for developing map literacy in which students imagine a hypothetical place and draw a map of it. (PRA)

Describes how a reading teacher capitalized on her students' interest in sports to encourage them to read and write. (PRA)

Presents annotations of 12 items from the ERIC database which demonstrate that journal writing can be an effective tool for teaching reading and writing at elementary and secondary levels. (RS)

Discusses the challenge of answering questions and suggests how teachers can help students learn how to answer questions as they learn to read. (PRA)

Offers seven reasons for using Big Books with young children. Discusses how to make and use Big Books. (PRA)

Discusses the dramatic demographic changes which have profoundly altered the reading programs in many New Zealand schools. Notes that more than a thousand schools and preschools teach bilingually or run immersion programs in a language other than English (such as Maori or Samoan). Suggests that reading is best taught in the language spoken at home…

Describes a theory of readers, reading, and text based on an interpretation of one incident involving the author and his daughter. Regards current understandings about readers, reading, and texts not as firm propositions but as fragile potentials. (RS)

Presents responses of 16 prominent people in the field of reading/language arts to a question concerning what single most important thing the profession knows in the 1990s that it did not know in the 1960s. Notes common themes of the influence of writing, use of good literature, and integration of language arts. (RS)

Attempts to show that the use of computers in the classroom should not be limited to the teaching of math but that the language classroom is an even more appropriate place for the introduction and use of computers. (CFM)

Provides a fresh look at the genre of historical fiction and its use in the classroom. (MG)

Reviews several children's biographies of Columbus and challenges the image of Columbus portrayed in these books. Calls upon educators to be more critical when having elementary school students read about Columbus. (MG)

Describes a model for staff development that encourages teachers to make decisions about their learning and professional growth. Explains how the model was developed and implemented. Shares results of the model's effectiveness along with recommendations for improvement. (PRA)