The acquisition of Literacy Project's basic goal is to determine the processes by which children learn to read, and to identify reasons many fail to learn. One part of the process is the formation of correspondences between letter patterns and the sounds for which they stand. To determine the extent of such correspondences, tests of pronunciation…

Discusses how hard it is to define the gifted child and the difficulty of enriching and extending gifted children in the areas of reading and writing. Recommends starting the gifted sooner or accelerating them more quickly through a program, among other strategies. (NKA)

Discusses early experiences of children with literature, and the development of and growth in their response to literature. Argues for a response-centered, rather than criticism-centered, curriculum. (SRT)

This collection of papers is divided into three parts. After "Introduction" (James F. Lee and Albert Valdman), Part 1, "Theoretical Aspects of Focus on Form," includes "What Form to Focus On? Linguistics, Language Awareness, and the Education of L2 Teachers" (Cristina Sanz); "Five Types of Input and the Various…

Explores the relationship between drawing pictures and the development of reading skills in preschool and primary grades. Maintains that a definite link exists between the two and briefly notes some of the relevant research. Concludes that further investigation is warranted. Includes an 11-item related bibliography. (MJP)

Examines social influences on the reading processes of four adolescent readers, as well as the relationship between social-cognition and these readers' responses to short stories. Suggests that competence, pragmatics, and volition are intricately related to the likelihood that readers will bring social-cognitive processes to bear on reading. (SR)

Analyzes above and below average readers' informational reports, which synthesize both source texts and writer-generated materials. Concludes that general reading ability and success at synthesizing overlap, and that success at synthesis may be related to cognitive factors associated with comprehension, such as sensitivity to text structure. (RS)

Defines the notion of literacy scaffold and explains why literacy scaffolding applies to both first- and second-language learners. Offers criteria for teachers to apply in developing scaffolds. Illustrates the model with scaffolding activities used with elementary children, emphasizing the kinds of social contexts that optimize learning. (MG)

"Dimension" is the annual volume containing the selected, refereed, edited Proceedings of each year's conference. The theme chosen for the joint conference of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) and the Florida Foreign Language Association (FFLA) in Orlando, Florida, February 16-18, 2006, was "Languages for Today's…

This paper examines variables such as linguistic ability in the target language, schemata, and psychological factors affecting the English language reading success or failure of a 31-year-old Thai graduate student in the information system program at a U.S. university. The subject's self-assessment of reading, speaking, and listening in Thai was…

This guide briefly discusses reading and writing, and then presents 43 strategies for becoming better readers and writers. The guide discusses writing and reading as processes, and lists questions that writers ask and that readers ask. Some of the 43 ways to help students listed in the brochure are: read aloud to students; practice journal…

Serving as a source of questions for researchers to investigate and a resource for professors and their students, this book presents 51 essays that discuss where the reading field has been, is now, and might be going. More than 80% of the essays are new or revised from the third edition. Essays in the book include "Professional Connections:…

Integrating the current "state of the art" in content area reading with some new ideas, this book presents preservice and inservice teachers with theory and related teaching strategies to aid students in reading and learning from their textbooks. The book provides teachers with a comprehensive examination of content area reading to make…

This practicum was designed to allow first graders the opportunity to read and write in a more natural and authentic manner than that permitted by using the basal reading series as the basis for reading instruction. The first grade reading program was transformed from a basal-oriented approach to a whole language approach. Through the use of…

Home economics and social studies teachers' perceptions of their ability and use of the reading process were compared. Data were gathered through a reading survey instrument given to 82 home economics teachers who later participated in workshops on integrating the reading process into the curriculum. The same instrument was mailed to 100 randomly…