Presents 13 works of nonfiction (published between 1993 and 2001) with strong appeal to middle level students. Notes that the books range in form from the essay to expository text to memoir and biography and cover everything from politics to slavery, from athletes to art. (SG)

Presents affective and cognitive factors impacting student reading attitudes for teachers and principals. Delineates specific elements affecting reading attitudes and consequent reading performance. Presents 10 specific suggestions to promote positive reading attitudes. (SG)

Describes some dramatic changes in the author's reading instruction, an example of how reflection leads to action in a reflective learning community. Uses her observations to reflect on the reading processes of her young readers and the materials being used to support them as developing readers. (SG)

Traces the rationale for removing Sustained Silent Reading from reading instruction as implied by the Reading First initiative. Suggests that no one is accepting responsibility. Notes the authors are apparently out of step with their teaching because they recommend and use many practices that have not been validated by studies conducted by the…

Notes the author was a member of the Arizona Reading Achievement Task Force, established by state law to report on how to implement the "phonics law" passed the year before. Presents the minority report, which outlines some principles of achieving reading excellence and which was not included in the Task Force's report. Suggests keeping…

Former member of the National Reading Panel criticizes the composition, deliberations, and decisions of the panel, authorized by Congress in 1997, leading to its April 2000 report supporting the hierarchy-of-skills reading model. (PKP)

Compares reading disabled children with two matched reading-level normal control groups on indicators of phonological processing. Finds that a nonword reading deficit was not in itself diagnostic of developmental reading disability. Discusses processes involving two sources of knowledge for phonological recoding as explanations of results on…

Presents two episodes from the reading experience of children in a Year 3 classroom: (1) a guided reading lesson conducted by the teacher; and (2) a group of reading sessions conducted by the researcher. Suggests that where children are given the power to make meaning for themselves, they are more likely to learn to read critically than those who…

Describes professional development program in Ontario school district to improve student reading and writing skills. Program used food-pyramid concepts to help teacher learn to provide a balanced and flexible approach to literacy instruction based on student needs. (PKP)

Offers advice on how to identify, select, and implement the technology-based reading instruction program best suited to a school district's needs. Lists organizations that screen instructional technology products. (PKP)

Studied the efficacy of Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies for First-Grade Readers (PALS-1) with children of varying reading ability and the impact of adding 8 to 10 hours of phonological awareness instruction by computer to the PALS-1 curriculum for low-achieving students. Results for 183 first graders show that PALS-1 enhanced reading ability,…

Examines the genre of "Myth" in children's books. Discusses 38 titles focusing on mythology in children's books. Considers myths in Africa and Ancient Egypt, Asia and the Pacific, Canada and the United States, and Spanish-speaking America. Discusses story collections from around the world, original creation stories, and Genesis, the Biblical…

Discusses the author's literacy experiences, negative and positive, from elementary through high school. Explains that now he is a secondary education major with a concentration in English. Concludes that he wants his students to know that even if reading instruction does not make sense to them, it is not too late to learn to enjoy reading. (SG)

This article explores how children with deafness learn to read. It discusses findings that indicate children with deafness read by using a code that is not based on sound, the importance of understanding the language that is mapped by the print system, and what types of interventions are needed. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Describes how four teachers used a pilot program of incorporating art into a writing workshop, as described in several related articles in this issue. Notes the experiences with its development, the integration of teaching and learning, the challenges faced, and a presentation to the National Council of Teachers of English convention. (SG)