This brief describes how literacy in the first language (L1) can affect the acquisition of reading skills in English, examining ways that instruction should be developed. It explains that learning to read is especially difficult for adults learning to read in a second language. According to the research, all English language learners (ELLs),…

This book, one of a series, shows how to help motivate children to learn. The message of the series urges parents and children to spend time together, talk about stories, and learn together. The first part of each book presents stories appropriate for varying grade levels, both younger children and those in grades three and four, and each book…

States that the concept of nongraded classrooms has flourished in educational circles since the days of the one-room schoolhouse, and that researchers have found that students in multiage classrooms form peer relationships that show more advanced socialization skills. Offers an annotated bibliography of 12 articles from the ERIC database on the…

Discusses the concept of emergent literacy, summarizing several theories and studies on children's early experiences with reading and writing. Examines the implications of this research for beginning reading and writing instruction. (MM)

Presents an annotated bibliography of 12 research articles, all related to reader response theory and its applications to the English classroom. (HB)

This book presents a debate between "reasonable" educators who either claim that there is evidence for the effectiveness of whole language, or who challenge the claim that whole language works across the broad spectrum of learners. The book presents the debate in the form of formal debate resolutions, opening "statements,"…

Recognizing that classrooms are complex settings in which effective teaching cannot be the end result of merely following a list of rules and regulations, this monograph provides practicing reading teachers with appropriate information based on current teacher-effectiveness research so that they can be informed by the best of current thinking to…

This digest offers guidelines in providing challenging reading opportunities for gifted students. Research findings concerning the characteristics of the gifted child as reader (e.g., they read earlier, better and more) are noted. Specific needs of gifted learners can be met by: using literature as a supplement to the readings in basal texts;…

Intended for administrators and policymakers as well as teachers, this digest explores the nature of students' metacomprehension, or their awareness of their own understanding, and the implications of this awareness for reading instruction. After defining metacomprehension, the digest discusses why this awareness is important to the learning…

This 24-item annotated bibliography of journal articles and monographs from the ERIC database is designed to assist two-year college faculty and administrators by answering questions and providing new ideas for the successful conduct of their reading instruction program. The items date from 1983 to 1988 and are arranged in the following…

This annotated bibliography contains 30 references and provides resources to understand the theoretical foundations of reader response--a literary theory that is currently gaining increasing attention in literature instruction. The bibliography ranges from 1982 to 1989 and is divided into four sections. The first section, "Teaching of…

This guide takes an eclectic approach to literacy training, that is, it allows the instructor to select those materials and methods that best fit the needs of individual learners. It includes a definition of the target population which will include adults who are nonliterate, preliterate, semiliterate, and those who are literate in a non-Roman…

Examines some recent ERIC materials on comprehension processes and on how teachers can improve students' awareness of comprehension or metacomprehension. (HOD)

This digest summarizes what is known about teaching the processes of phonological awareness and word recognition. It finds unequivocal research evidence that students who enter first grade with phonological awareness skills are more successful readers and urges explicit instruction in these skills. Examples of phonological awareness activities and…

Direct Instruction (DI) is a pedagogical method that has come to be seen as the principal alternative to whole language reading instruction. Its development is attributed to Siegfried Engelmann, from the University of Illinois, in the mid-1960s. DI was originally developed as an instructional method in both mathematics and reading. This topical…