The literacy-themed poems in this anthology--reprinted from the premier journal for literacy educators, "The Reading Teacher"--give teachers, literacy coaches, and parents a new way to enhance literacy learning. Use this book to: (1) Integrate poetry into classroom lessons to develop students' lifelong love of reading and writing; (2) Motivate…

The "Book Buddies" manual and "Emergent Reader" training videos provide comprehensive and easy-to-implement guidelines for setting up and running a successful tutorial program in the early grades. Portraying the "Book Buddies" model in practice, this 51-minute videotape entitled "Emergent Reader--Day One"…

McGee and Richgels have set the standard in this new edition by clearly and simply explaining the issues addressed in Reading First and Early Reading First legislation that affect the reading instruction of young children. Aligned with the findings of the National Reading Panel, this edition focuses on child-centered instruction in phonemic…

This report addresses the relationship between state content standards and assessments and the essential components of effective reading instruction. The extent to which the essential components are addressed in the standards and assessments indicates the extent to which states have integrated the essential components into their reading…

This document contains news and information about school improvement in the United States. This biweekly newsletter is designed expressly for parents and families. This issue highlights the National Center for Reading First Technical Assistance, a new initiative that will offer free training and support to states and districts that have received…

During the middle school years, young adolescent students can use reading to help answer profound questions about themselves and the world. It is during the middle school years that most students refine their reading preferences; become sophisticated readers of informational text; and lay the groundwork for the lifelong reading habits they will…

This report states that in 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 in Maine the number of Reading Recovery programs provided increased by 5% and 11% respectively, and that more than half of all Reading Recovery[R] students successfully completed the program. The report also states that students who successfully completed Reading Recovery[R] continued to improve…

This position paper on teaching children to read explains with several examples exactly what "quagmires" are and how they hamper children as they learn the elements of reading basics. The paper takes a multidisciplinary approach to attacking stumbling blocks to learning most often experienced by child learners. To explain the concept of quagmire,…

The writer reminds readers that the polemics of reform frequently portray the realm of teaching and learning in more extreme terms than is really necessary. Likening calls for educational reform to scientific revolutions sparked by Kuhn, Darwin and Copernicus, that jettison completely the assumptions and premises of the theories they replace, Bond…

Based on meetings of educators representing the diversity of literacy organizations in Texas, this pamphlet addresses the need for a balanced and comprehensive approach to reading instruction--an approach that recognizes the importance of phonemic awareness, explicit letter-sound instruction, and word recognition practice as well as focused…

With so many different approaches to teaching reading, how can a teacher make sense of the best paths available? This book, by describing its author/educator's day-to-day schedule and giving an overview of how the workshop operates over time, provides a flexible framework a teacher can adapt and implement to suit his or her needs. And by bringing…

This report addresses the teaching of early reading in Wisconsin, focusing on the Direct Instruction approach and the methods or lack thereof for informing teachers of the approach and of the possibilities and applications for their classrooms. A sample of new Wisconsin teachers were surveyed and six Wisconsin schools were visited to observe…

In Reading Recovery, training participants sit in a circle to discuss lessons that have been communally observed. The rationale for sitting in a circle without a table for discussion can be better understood by considering these two ideas: (1) the role of language in learning; and (2) the way conversation is affected by the physical positioning of…

This paper lists and dates important historical happenings related to reading instruction. John Locke (1632-1704) was an early advocate that school should be a pleasant place to learn. He believed in the "tabula rasa" theory whereby a student had a mind like a blank sheet with nothing printed initially. Starting from the conception that…

This newsletter of the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL)contains a collection of articles which discuss various aspects of early literacy. Articles in the newsletter are: "Introduction: Reading Instruction, a Key to the Future"; "Ensuring Early Literacy through Coherent Instruction" (Leslie Blair);…