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…

A classic is a book that gives the exhilarating feeling that a part of life finally has been uncovered. It is a book that has stood the test of time, that people keep reaching for throughout the ages for its special enlightenment. Here are some suggestions to help open up the world of the classics: (1) know if what is being read is a novel, a…

Four categories of questions (requests, recall, discrimination, relating concepts, problem solving) and five categories of feedback (evaluate positive, evaluate negative, prompt, expand, refocus) are described. Planning considerations for exceptional students are discussed. (JW)

Semantic mapping is effective with expository prose but not as effective with narrative prose. To achieve a better understanding of narrative prose, yet still keep the benefits of semantic mapping, the traditional approach can be modified into a technique called "episodic mapping." Episodic mapping is based on the idea that most stories…

Based on the idea that word identification is a group of strategies that children develop as they learn to read, not a single letter-sound by letter-sound pathway to pronunciation, this book invites teachers to support readers as they develop and use many different world identification strategies. Chapters in the book are: (1) Using the Alphabetic…

Six mistaken beliefs about reading comprehension are detailed, their manifestations illustrated, and preventative/corrective strategies recommended in this article. A list of 22 references is provided. (DCS)

A Maryland school system developed a program called "Students Achieving Independent Learning" (SAIL) to help low-achieving students learn how to read. SAIL helps students become successful readers by showing them steps they can take throughout the reading process to increase their understanding. (13 references) (MLF)

Think-alouds during reading allow teachers to model their thinking by voicing all the things they are noticing, doing, seeing, feeling, and asking as they process the text. Inferencing is essential for students to comprehend a wide variety of texts successfully. This article describes how teachers can use think-alouds to lend their language and…

Provides examples to show how various pre-reading skills can be taught using the student's familiar environment. These skills include form perception, motor control, visual copying, visual recall, completion and closure, visual rhythm, visual sequencing, temporal sequencing, and visual/auditory discrimination. (JN)

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…

In this Inquiry Study, participants will explore the process of reading expository texts--the strategies participant/teachers use to make sense of them, and how expository texts are similar to and different from narrative and other types of texts. Participants will then examine aspects of expository texts, such as text structures, vocabulary, and…

This article presents strategies for creating elementary-level guided reading groups that are both flexible (based on individual students' needs) and purposeful (offering strategies for making them more effective readers). The article also explains how to set up a guided reading group, choose appropriate books, and run the group. (SM)

Presents primary and intermediate level activities that use predictions to help students think deeply about books. The primary activity uses a prediction chart to encourage thinking and enthusiasm about reading. The intermediate activity uses prediction book reports to change writing about books from merely retelling, to higher-level thinking. A…

Based on the philosophy that children learn best in functional, natural settings when a desire for learning persists, this book provides classroom-tested strategies for teaching children how to monitor and improve their own comprehension as they read a variety of texts. The goal of the book is to empower students to become successful, independent…

Notes that children often fail to interpret metaphors correctly and that instruction in basal readers is not always helpful. Offers a strategy that shows students how to figure out metaphors on their own. (FL)