Examines how alphabetic readers learn to read Chinese. Explores the effect of the frequency of the characters in their curriculum on performance of a lexical decision and naming task. Finds that the beginning learners were sensitive to the structural complexity and composition of characters. Suggests that perceptual learning plays an important…

Notes that a computer equipped with a talking word processor was added to a first grade classroom. Finds that first grade students could successfully use computer technology for literacy support. Notes that this technology enables students to independently read words beyond their normal reading ability and to stay engaged in the literacy task at…

Describes the look/listen approach and the look/talk approach of the language experience method of early reading instruction. Suggests guidelines for early literacy development that integrate these approaches through the use of trained classroom volunteers. Identifies resources for implementing the integrated literacy approach. (KB)

Identifies inaccuracies and distortions in the research supporting the No Child Left Behind legislation, as well as in government documents and the National Reading Panel "Summary Booklet." Offers alternatives to the limitations of the Reading First initiative through five major sections. Presents 12 recommendations regarding Reading…

Describes how a teacher educator uses an apprentice reading project to teach new teachers about the ways they read in the content areas. Hopes that asking preservice teachers to read across the curriculum will allow them to pay more attention not only to what, but also to how and why they read in their discipline. (SG)

Considers how critical texts confront difficult topics. Argues that students need to read, write, and talk about these relevant issues. Suggests that reading literature can be an ethical as well as an intellectual process, and as such it can assist adolescents in coping with their tumultuous lives. Focuses on Laurie Halse Anderson's novel "Speak."…

Notes that incorporating sign language in a diverse curriculum enhances the rate of children's learning, leads to greater motivation for reading, and reaches a broad spectrum of children--some of whom may have had difficulties learning with only visual and auditory approaches. Describes how the author incorporates signing in a kindergarten class.…

Discusses key features of their professional community that supported teacher learning including: valuing teachers as individual learners; embedding teacher learning within the framework of the local district, building, and classroom context; ongoing teacher inquiry into student learning and instructional practice; and linking new instructional…

Addresses legitimate concerns about significant problems related to the need for reading instruction in today's secondary schools. Suggests ways to use literature that appeals to students' interests while emphasizing the development of critical reading skills. Considers how to match literary interests with reading skills instruction. (SG)

Offers alternatives for facilitating background schemata development, pre-reading "bridges," and active identification with text, drawing from the work of certain scholars in composition studies who have documented the value of uniting reading and writing. Targets those strategies that the author has found to be most useful and offers practical…

Argues that the absence of the arts in testing programs contributes to their marginalization. Considers the role of imaginative potential in determining what is important in schools. Considers what the arts have to do with literacy, that is, with the standard conceptions of reading and writing. Discusses transforming brains to minds, the arts as…

Describes an effective but new twist on the use of young adult books as bridges to the classics. Considers how "Frankenstein" is a novel written for today. Aims for his students to see that literature can be a way to discuss important issues. Discusses how to bridge Walter Dean Myers' novel "Monster" to…

Describes how through a multifaceted heritage project, the author's eighth-grade students discover the magic of traveling with authors into the nooks and crannies of their seminal experiences, write their own budding memoirs, consider their values and beliefs, and compare family members' stories and values to their own. Outlines several elements…

Uses reading-guide pyramid based on U.S. Department of Agriculture's food-guide pyramid to develop argument that new federal guidelines for scientific-based research will result in an unbalanced, phonics-rich approach to reading instruction. Argues for a balanced approach that includes comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, and phonics. (PKP)

Recognizes the importance of rethinking how the author's students read particular texts rather than which texts they read. Explores the concept of reading for multiple meanings rather than attempting to nail down "the meaning." Describes how she selected specific ideologies represented in "The Scarlet Letter" to use as various…