This semiotically informed article problematizes the concept of literacy as an aesthetic activity rather than reading skills and offers strategies for assessing young readers' understanding of fictional texts. Although not based on empirical research, the essay refers to and theorizes from extensive field studies of children's responses to…

Intended as a response to recent developments in reading research and a demand by primary-grade teachers for a comprehension-based instructional framework, this book adapts the Guided Comprehension Model introduced in the author/educator's book "Guided Comprehension: A Teaching Model for Grades 3-8." According to the book, the Guided…

This article presents summaries of research on 13 core understandings about learning to read, from "Building a Knowledge Base in Reading" (Jane Braunger and Jan Patricia Lewis). In the article, each core understanding is followed by activity ideas and strategies useful for tutors--these activities were created with one-on-one tutoring in…

Rejects phonics or any other reading method as "best" for every child. Summarizes major conclusions of reading styles research, outlines five reading style stimuli, offers tips for increasing reading achievement and enjoyment, and presents research results from five pilot school districts. Matching instruction to individual reading styles is…

After asking what the best strategies are to teach a child to read, this booklet recommends, as a first step, finding out why the student is experiencing difficulty, and as the next step, elaborating a program for correcting the reading problem. The pamphlet discusses phonological awareness (the knowledge of letter sounds), and then suggests…

This booklet provides a sampling of strategies that will help students with content literacy. It is based on the idea that reading is about understanding such that the words are transformed into meaningful thoughts within the reader's cognitive frame of reference. The booklet contains various learning theories, and the strategies suggested…

This paper seeks to provide teachers with a sampling of before, during, and after reading strategies that are appropriate for use in K-12 classrooms. The paper first discusses diagnostic assessment methods in the classroom and presents activities which provide samples of informal diagnostic assessment. It then outlines some "before…

Regardless of a child's experience with or exposure to books when he or she enters elementary school, teachers can greatly extend a child's literacy development through interactive classroom read-alouds. Reading a story aloud presents endless opportunities for related activities such as classroom discussions, role plays, shared readings, group…

Designed to help teachers develop instructional practices that enable students to become more active learners of content, this handbook provides elementary, middle school, and secondary teachers with strategies for integrating reading and writing as tools for learning in the content areas. The handbook describes literacy strategies that have the…

This collection reflects the stance that a truly balanced approach to reading instruction will focus not only on reading but on literacy; integrate language and literacy across disciplines; attend to reading, writing, and other skills and strategies in context; and reflect a coherent integration of as broad a research base as possible. Following a…

Noting that the role of phonics in learning to read is hotly debated, this book speaks to educators who seek to establish sound instructional practice that values phonics as an important tool for understanding and using written language within a balanced, comprehensive program for reading and writing. It explains what phonics is and the…

The gains in knowledge about the nature of reading and how to most effectively teach it come from cognitive research. This booklet (in the form of a flipchart) synthesizes and summarizes much of the current research on effective instruction for improved literacy and greater student achievement. The booklet, a revised edition of "New…

This book provides an efficient framework for introducing pre-kindergartners and kindergartners to letter-sounds while concurrently promoting reading and writing. The classroom-friendly framework takes letter-sound instruction to a new level by: promoting learning for kindergarten of all ability levels--from the student just learning what sound…

Many middle school and high school students have difficulty reading and understanding academic texts, which limits their ability to meet today's high learning standards. This guidebook addresses this quiet but growing crisis. Aimed at content area teachers in secondary schools, the guidebook describes a successful approach to helping students…

This book is a story for and by real teachers. In the book, two seasoned veterans recount their 23-year collaboration to find ways to help students improve learning in their content area subjects. Over the years, the book explains, the two educators have developed a host of practical activities and strategies to infuse the processes of learning…