Reading professional literature may be undertaken without a large investment of time or money, yet it still provides a way to increase one's professional knowledge and maintain competencies. To be successful in one's reading, the adult education practitioner needs to consider three aspects of a professional reading program: finding the time,…

This paper provides an annotated bibliography of sets of multicultural, family-related literature and suggests ways that teachers may build a sense of personal and global community in their classrooms as cultural differences are read about, discussed, and celebrated. The paper first gives a rationale for studying nontraditional, multicultural…

The Language Arts Supervisor of the Des Moines, Iowa Independent Community School District is responsible for supervising and coordinating all aspects of the middle and high school language arts program. Aspects of the program include curriculum development, instructional material selection and implementation, staff development, evaluation, and…

Predicated on the idea that a multicultural and multisensory classroom program based on literature can attract children's interest, this paper provides guidelines for choosing representative classics from children's literature. The paper advances two primary goals for selection and experiences for children: (1) stimulation of the creativity of…

To explore the issue of educational content in basal readers, a study analyzed 34 basal reading textbooks, representing eight of the most commonly used series in American elementary education. Educational content was defined and categorized along three dimensions: subject matter, function, and ethos. The subject matter component covered theories,…

In merging social studies education with language arts, classroom teachers are utilizing selections of historical fiction to teach critical literacy skills while also meeting social studies standards. While most of the selections used for teaching history and social studies themes are strong in terms of literary merit, they may be deficient in…

A survey was made of 112 readers earmarked for students ranging from the beginning level in the secondary school to the intermediate level in college. The readers intended to be read by beginning and intermediate students are described, following a brief discussion of what reading involves. (Author/RM)

The process of evaluating and selecting basal readers has long been a primary concern for educators. Educators directly involved with textbook adoptions have expressed several concerns, including: time pressures on evaluators; lack of training for evaluators; concerns related to publishers; and correlations with state or district curriculum.…

This educator's guide to the California Assessment Program's English-Language Arts test describes what California's new reading and editing tests do and do not measure. The guide states that each test form consists of one reading passage from literature, science, or history-social science followed by a variety of questions on word meaning and…

This advisory list includes annotations for 77 children's books, books for teachers, reference books, workbooks, and supplementary texts dealing with communication skills. The list also includes annotations for four color filmstrips; kits; study prints; and six videocassettes. Included with the list are a directory of publishers mentioned.…

Reading social studies content presents situations in which selected pupils have not been as successful in learning as they might have been. Fast learners may find the content exceptionally easy to read, thus learning does not become the challenge it should be. Slow learners may find the content too difficult to comprehend. There are a variety of…

The articles in this journal issue explore inventive ways of teaching literature, including the use of works written by Wisconsin residents. The titles of the articles and their authors are as follows: (1) "From Wau-Bun to Door Way" (Richard Boudreau); (2) "The Reading Tree" (Richard Behm); (3) "Manipulating Language: A…

The purpose of the computerized Reading Program Management System is to assist reading specialists of the District Heights Elementary School (Maryland) to perform four specific reading program tasks: placement, grouping, monitoring, and materials supply. The system uses a general purpose, commercial data management software package called DB…

Approximately 500 books for teens and preteens (between the ages of 10 and 20) are listed and briefly annotated in this book designed to offer parents advice on adolescents and on books for adolescents. The first three chapters discuss the stages of adolescent development, and the fourth chapter talks about the adolescent as a reader. The fifth…

The reading content offered in Hong Kong to advanced learners of English as a second language underestimates their intellectual capabilities. Material presented to second language learners is found to be linguistically correct but containing trivial, dull, and unchallenging cultural and intellectual content. This situation is closely related to…