Discusses aversions toward the disabled that still prevail and reasons why they exist, surveys literature showing negative stereotypes of the disabled, and literature in which such characters are realistically portrayed, and presents criteria for selecting reading materials in which nonstereotyped characters are depicted. (FL)

Concludes that teachers pick and choose when it comes to using activities suggested by teachers' manuals. Reviews what they do and do not use. (FL)

Educators and politicians in Texas have played significant roles in pushing early reading instruction from one extreme position to another through shifts in textbook adoption requirements. These policy actions are shaping a national curriculum for reading. The current study looks at changes in texts for beginning reading instruction that resulted…

A study was conducted to determine if second grade teachers use gender biased literature and if these teachers are unintentionally sending biased messages to their students. Sixty-two second grade students and their three teachers were included in this study. The study was conducted in an upper-middle-class suburban elementary school. Several…

This report describes a program for enhancing the phonemic awareness and phonetic ability needed when decoding print and spelling. The targeted population consists of first grade students in a growing suburban community located in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. Evidence for the existence of this problem are documented through a letter…

The controlled vocabulary method of reading instruction (popular in the 1950's and 60's in the Dick and Jane basic reading series) had many inherent and numerous strong points. As with all beginning reading instruction methods, including the Big Book, heterogeneous reading group, holism, phonics, library book, and constructivist methods,…

Although the vocabulary, content, and format of the English and Spanish versions of the California Test of Basic Skills were largely equivalent, content analysis revealed three possible sources of test bias: (1) problems inherent in translation; (2) the match between tests and instructional materials; and (3) intervening cultural variables. (SB)

Examines six basal series commonly in use in British schools and reveals that they give only brief attention to developing children's awareness of reading and its purpose. Provides a checklist for evaluating materials for their effectiveness in conveying the value of reading. (FL)

This study assesses the validity of the Ginn Reading Management System, (GRMS) criterion-referenced and mastery level tests to predict student reading performance. GRMS is an effective predictor of reading performance at grade one level; it is not so effective at grade two and even less effective at grade three. (Author/PN)

Content analysis of two reading series intended for remedial students indicates that (1) neither provides a balance of types of literature; (2) both claim to be interested in the attitudes and interests of readers, but that's not evident in text selections; and (3) both portrayed the usefulness of reading most often as a reading-related theme. (FL)

A national survey of teachers' needs with respect to children with learning difficulties being taught in Welsh indicated that teachers gave first priority to the development of a reading program, using graded reading books. Values of reality and stability were preferred in language materials, and a Welsh comprehension test was the instrument of…

Reveals that only three structures--confrontation, episodic, and plotless--accounted for 87 percent of the story selections in six basal reader series. (FL)

Reports that reading instruction in Taiwan resembles the approach taken in North America and involves basal readers and integrated language arts activities. (FL)