This collection of brief reports on educational matters of interest to parents contains the most popular titles in the Report to Parents series issued by the National Association of Elementary School Principals as a service to its members. Reports cover the following topics: (1) buying books for children; (2) dealing with child abuse; (3) helping…

Using student dictated stories to create class books is an exciting way to teach young children about books and writing. Children can thus use their own material as they learn to read, the books provide a class library, and writing through dictation allows young children to learn about reading and writing before they can read or write--even with…

The first in a series reporting on strategies to improve children's readiness for school and to help schools be better prepared to meet the needs of all children, this report traces Arkansas' efforts to improve reading instruction. This issue discusses the following topics: (1) Reading in the First Grade: Now or Never? (2) Limitations and…

Activities and teaching methods for involving children (especially young children) in literature are presented in order to establish positive attitudes towards reading. Ideas are provided for use with wordless books, patterned or repetitive books, books organized around a theme, and picture books. The activities, each related to specific…

Over 80 short activity ideas covering many areas of the curriculum are compiled for teachers of preschool, kindergarten, and the early grades. Six "readiness roundup" sections, which feature ideas for use in classroom learning centers, give activities for teaching: (1) likenesses and differences; (2) direction; (3) letter and sound…

Volume 8, No. 2 of Investigations in Science Education contains critiques of articles dealing with science education research about various aspects of instruction. Also included are five responses from authors of articles to critiques of their work as it has been reported in professional journals. In total, this volume contains 10 critiques and…

Successive studies conducted in Sweden have shown that linguistic awareness is an important prerequisite of learning to read. In one survey that measured the various aspects of the linguistic awareness of 6-year-old children, a very close connection was found between preschool linguistic awareness and reading proficiency in school. Another study…

The seven articles in this journal issue deal with various aspects of reading instruction. The articles discuss the following topics: (1) results of a study conducted to gain information helpful to reading specialists and school administrators in implementing new Wisconsin state reading requirements; (2) the use of creative, reading-based language…

A group of elementary teachers enrolled in a graduate class in language arts at the University of North Dakota explored how children construct their own meanings as they interact with texts. One teacher regularly read to her 20-month-old grandson, and excerpts from the journal she kept reveal that his understanding of a specific text evolved to…

This theme issue focuses on literacy education and prereading activities for very young children who may be at risk for reading failure. It contains several papers, with the following titles and authors: "The Beginnings of Literacy" (Joan Brooks McLane and Gillian Dowley McNamee); "A Book Is a Child's Companion" (Jeree H. Pawl); "What's It Mean To…

Articles in this journal issue focus on reading acquisition and instruction. The titles and authors are as follows: (1) "10 Good Ways to Involve Parents in the Reading Program," by Nickolas Criscuolo; (2) "A Parent Guide for Helping the Child with A Reading Disability," by Frederick Duffelmeyer and Dale Baum; (3)…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 28 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) cognitive style and the reading of children in second grade; (2) the effect of increased review in teaching sight words to average and poor readers; (3)…

This theme issue includes four articles that focus on teaching and learning strategies to benefit all students, including limited-English-proficient, minority, economically disadvantaged, and at-risk students. "Would You Read Me a Story?: In Search of Reading Strategies That Work for the Early Childhood Classroom" (Hilaria Bauer)…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 22 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) black English and reading; (2) academic achievement, self-concept, and attitudes toward reading of students in bilingual and traditional programs; (3) cultural…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 40 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effects of oral reading of literature by teachers on reading attitudes of fourth grade students; (2) two instructional programs for teaching first grade…