Discusses the dilemma concerning whether students should be taught specific knowledge or strategic knowledge. Focuses on E. D. Hirsch's position in his book "Dictionary of Cultural Literacy" and a synthesis position presented by David Perkins and Gavriel Salomon in several articles. Argues that students need both specific and strategic…

Describes a game using synonyms designed to build students' vocabulary by developing concepts for new words and by repeating exposure to the new words. (RS)

Discusses several new educational assessment procedures implemented in Illinois and Michigan school districts. (MM)

Describes several shared reading activities that pair up older and younger elementary level students. (MM)

Discusses research on early reading as it relates to the phonics versus "look and say" controversy. Considers the courses of action available to parents and teachers which take the findings into account. (RJC)

Describes how students can draw mural-like story maps and colorful renditions of favorite poems, creating a print-rich environment in the elementary classroom. (MM)

Argues that research conducted in the last 10 years yields impressive evidence for the effectiveness of several innovative teaching and coaching practices of interest to reading supervisors. Offers 7 tips for improving the retention of information offered during inservice education and facilitating the transfer of that information to the…

Provides suggestions to teachers planning to implement a whole language program, based on interviews with three whole language teachers. Focuses on support for the whole language program; decisions about curriculum and evaluation; development of vocabulary and comprehension; strengths and weaknesses of the whole language approach; and preparation…

Describes four comprehension materials that exemplify good use of instructional language and directions while maintaining high degrees of validity, transfer potential, and amount of reinforcement. (MG)

Discusses vocabulary development in content area reading and the use of a vocabulary matrix of related concepts and a t-bar chart of words related to new vocabulary. (MG)

Considers two characteristics of forms: uses and functions and information sources/types. (RS)

Reviews briefly the development of reading instruction from a skills emphasis to an interactive concept of reading. Notes that regardless of the method used, children's feelings toward reading have been ignored. Suggests several ways to make learning to read enjoyable for students. (MM)

Examines the whole language movement from both historical and research perspectives. Concludes that teachers should not rely on one methodology or philosophy to further children's reading, and that teachers' interactions with students supercede the importance of any particular method. (MM)

Presents an extended sequence of reading and writing assignments using John Hersey's "Hiroshima" to introduce composition students to the nature of interpretation, understanding, and composing. Stresses learning through enactment. (RAE)

Team Assisted Individualization (TAI) in mathematics and Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) are among the best researched and most effective of all cooperative learning methods. TAI was developed to apply cooperative learning techniques to solve individualized instruction problems. Relevant research on both methods is discussed.…