Examines several points supporting the argument for increased emphasis on vocabulary, including: the consequences of an increased emphasis on phonics; limited school promotion of vocabulary development; the sequential nature of vocabulary acquisition; and defining an essential vocabulary for high school graduates. Emphasizes the need for a more…

Considers positive reasons for using drama in a classroom as part of reading instruction. Discusses the benefits and encounters with using drama in the classroom. Describes how to incorporate drama into reading instruction. (SC)

Reviews some basic knowledge of phonics all teachers should know. Provides instructional activities to incorporate phonics within a balanced literacy program. Recognizes different approaches to teaching phonics and the importance of phonics. Discusses the use of consonants, blends and digraphs, short vowels, long vowels, and other strange vowel…

Shows why aesthetic reading is a crucial pedagogic component in lessons using historical fiction and non-fiction. Provides criteria for selecting high quality books dealing with historical subjects for use in aesthetic reading activities. Discusses specific teaching strategies for promoting aesthetic reading. (SG)

Explores early stages of reading acquisition, specifically the relation of phoneme blending and letter recoding to individual differences in word decoding. Examines the ability to recode letters, blend phonemes and decode words in Dutch children. Indicates that results are consistent with the self teaching hypothesis and other theories that imply…

Considers how to develop students' passion for language and how to get them to stop and look at word choice. Defines a "gem" as a word, phrase, or sentence that is particularly remarkable or moving. Describes working with students to notice the gems, design gem journals, write their own gems, and to create future gems. (SC)

Examines the correlates of spelling impairment in children with histories of early speech sound disorders. Reveals that children with preschool speech sound and language problems become poorer spellers at school age than did children with preschool speech sound disorders only. Concludes that familial aggregation of spelling disorders suggests a…

Conducted a quantitative meta-analysis evaluating the effects of systematic phonics instruction compared to unsystematic or no phonics instruction on learning to read using 66 treatment-control comparisons derived from 38 experiments. Results show that systematic phonics instruction is effective and should be implemented as part of literacy…

Describes direct instruction reading programs adopted by Texas' Fort Worth Independent School District, examining the programs selected, selection process, and roles of district personnel and external advisors in motivating, legitimizing, and attracting funding. The article then reviews the evaluation of the implementation process, examining…

Considers how there is no orthographic analogy effect for words with common end patterns (e.g. beak-peak). Assesses a group of beginning readers' phonological awareness and vocabulary. Indicates that while rime-based analogies seem to be phonological rather than orthographic in nature, beginning readers are able to use an orthographic analogy…

Notes that a modest linear relation was found between visual contrast sensitivity across the broad range of word-reading skill in a population of children with higher word-reading tended to have higher contrast sensitivity. Suggests that the modest shared variance between word reading and contrast sensitivity may be due primarily to environmental…

Presents the idea of "contemplative reading" and suggests that certain nonfiction works evoke an experience of contemplative response that is familiar to innumerable teachers and other readers. Notes that by looking at the big picture, good contemplative writing can balance the tendency toward overemphasis on negative, problem-based…

Discusses briefly 6 professional books that discuss and illustrate skill instruction within a balanced approach to reading. Intends to help teachers think through and justify the professional decisions they make to support every student's development toward becoming a lifelong reader. (SR)

Follows one student through his first year of the Postgraduate Certificate in Education Course. Claims a teacher of reading can only introduce children to experiences and ways of reading that he/she knows. Argues that teachers need to extend the boundaries of their own reading to appreciate the wide range of ways in which meaning is constructed…

Suggests that literature can serve as "spectacles" for readers by inviting them to encounter real and imagined characters, events, and circumstances from long ago. Presents annotations of 32 books on the topics of living in the past, journeying across time, creating a legacy, transforming literature from old and new, and anticipating the…