Reviews some of the benefits of the whole-language philosophy. Discusses the importance of systematic direct instruction, defining it and presenting arguments for including it in the classroom. Urges building bridges between whole-language and more traditional approaches. (PRA)

Investigates the effectiveness of explicit instruction in think aloud as a means to promote elementary students' comprehension monitoring abilities. Concludes that both think-aloud (TA) and a directed reading-thinking activity (DRTA) strategies are effective but that additional research is needed to determine their relative effectiveness. (SR)

Maintains that low achieving readers receive poorer quality instruction than their higher achieving peers. Suggests changes based on reading as an active process of constructing meaning from text. Provides examples of ways to foster collaboration and give students choices in reading and writing materials--activities that can result in improved…

Describes numerous ways cooperative or collaborative grouping can be implemented in classroom literacy instruction. Explains how the transition may be made to cooperative grouping. Shows how the process can be adopted to reading and writing instruction. (SR)

Describes the concept of phonemic awareness and offers suggestions to classroom teachers on how to enhance phonemic awareness in their students. (PRA)

Reviews picture books on the family-of-many-cultures theme, which can be used in primary and intermediate grades. Reviews books about the explorations of Christopher Columbus (appropriate for intermediate- and upper-level students) and books of poetry. (PRA)

Briefly examines some of the explanations of low reading achievement among deaf children and suggests that, instead of the traditional explanations that focus on the characteristics of the deaf, environmental factors and the quality and quantity of reading instruction may significantly contribute to reported low achievement levels. (CB)

Describes a 10-lesson instructional program for teaching students to think aloud during reading as a means to help them monitor reading comprehension and to address comprehension breakdowns. Presents a sample lesson, and offers suggestions for how teachers might adapt, modify, or extend think alouds in a classroom reading program or in content…

This article describes the Early Literacy Program, an integrated literacy curriculum for special education students designed collaboratively among university and school-based researchers to promote classroom discourse for negotiating and constructing meanings in reading and writing. The program emphasizes holistic and contextualized activities,…

Instructional implications of recent reading research are reviewed along with the issue of text readability and the intermediate/advanced language student. A generic approach to the teaching of literary works in a third-year transitional course is then proposed. A student worksheet and recall protocol exercise are appended. (Contains 19…

Describes how a group oral final exam was designed and administered in a block of two teacher education courses taught within the social constructivist perspective. Advocates such group oral exam practices as consistent with valid assessment guidelines. Discusses limitations. (HB)

Shows that both middle school and high school students improved in reading and writing as a result of a 55-day program which used newspapers and newspaper-based instruction as classroom supplements to traditional reading materials. (SR)

This study of 213 high school and 211 postsecondary students with deafness found that limited syntactic competence may limit a reader's ability to apply vocabulary skills for reading comprehension. Repeated Reading is described as a promising strategy for developing syntactic competence. (JDD)

Discusses a startlingly current 1953 article called "Recent Trends in the Teaching of Reading" by Virgil Herrick, and a 1992 book by James Moffett called "Harmonic Learning: Keynoting School Reform." (SR)

Responds to Sarah J. McCarthey's article in the same issue. Considers particularly the limitations of McCarthey's research design. (HB)