This research investigated reading support and book preferences of fourth grade English language learners (ELLs) who were struggling readers. This qualitative research focused on three case studies. Interviews were conducted to explore ELLs' perceptions on reading motivation, reading programs, and types of support they received. Descriptions of…

Decision-making is essential for the work of teaching. Preservice teachers must learn to leverage knowledge about young readers' strengths, needs, and interests in order to plan and teach guided reading lessons skillfully. However, limited research examines preservice teachers' decision-making based on what they know about individual children. In…

This study examined the impact of independent practice of multiple-criteria text that targeted high-frequency words, decodability, and meaningfulness. Second-grade students, including at-risk students, were randomly assigned within classroom to a treatment group that read multiple-criteria text ("n" = 34), or contrast group that read…

Just 10 years ago the Academy of American Poets initiated the observance of National Poetry Month to celebrate poetry and its place in American culture. Since then, the movement has continued to gain momentum with the emergence of Young People's Poetry Week in 1999, a focus on poetry slams as the centerpiece for Teen Read Week in 2003, and the…

Recently the author was working with a group of elementary bilingual teachers along a remote section of the Texas/Mexico border. She had been asked to facilitate the development of their social studies curriculum for their new dual-language program. She realized that although these teachers had experience working with culturally and linguistically…

Presents: (1) the 1997-1998 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List of 20 children's books; (2) the Texas Lonestar Reading List 1997-1998 of 20 children's books; and (3) essays by three Texas authors (Sherry Garland, G. Clifton Wisler, and Ida Luttrell) about why and what they write. (SR)

This study examined the opinions of more than 300 primary teachers. The first purpose of the study was to investigate the reported frequency with which teachers used various beginning reading materials (e.g., literature, basals, workbooks, predictable text, leveled text, decodable text, and vocabulary-controlled text). The second purpose of the…

Examines the first-grade materials in five new basal programs submitted for the 1993 Texas state adoption, comparing them with program materials currently in use in the state. Finds substantial changes in the more recent series. Interprets findings in terms of historical trends as well as recent developments in the literature-based and…

The study was designed to determine whether inner-city children of various ethnic groups prefer suburban or inner-city story settings. Subjects (Ss) participating were first-grade pupils from two large urban school districts in California and Texas. The student population in one school in each district was almost exclusively Negro; the population…

A study focused on 41 eighth-grade students from a south Texas middle school who read self-selected books for 30-minute periods 5 times weekly from October 1996 to May 1997 to determine if increased reading time and book self-selection would improve their reading achievement. The study also sought to determine the students' attitudes towards…

Two separate research projects were undertaken in Georgia and Texas to examine the current and future needs of older adults for functional literacy and to analyze the involvement of adult basic education (ABE) programs to better serve those needs. The projects involved literature reviews; mail-out surveys; and one-on-one interviews with senior…

Designed to assist in the selection of appropriate literacy media for students with visual impairments, this guide outlines the essential elements of learning media assessments. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the learning media assessment (LMA) process. Included is a discussion of Texas law and regulations that govern LMA. Chapter 2 documents…