Reflects on some of the issues that have been raised in this column over the past six years, including readability formulae, reading assessment, and the use of basal readers. (MM)

Describes children's use of social conversation to not only understand a story's character, point of view, time, and setting, but to make connections between the stories and real life. Recommends a variety of specific literature-based "conversational" activities that effectively reduce problems of differential discourse styles and…

Presents a fairly detailed analysis, from both psychological and linguistic standpoints, of the behavior called "reading." Considers some ways in which the teaching of this behavior may profit from psychological theory and experimentation. Weaves this latter discussion around a point of view concerning the nature of instruction and its…

Many schools are beginning to use Response to Intervention (RTI) in the classroom, and educators have found that it has made a difference for many students. The purpose of RTI is to identify those children who are struggling in school and to ensure that each of those children receive just the right instruction or intervention to be successful.…

If a principal's goal is to improve the overall quality of reading instruction in his school, this guide can help him identify the most critical changes that must be made. It describes the types of instruction and leadership activities necessary to help all children become proficient readers in elementary school. It does not contain all the…

Cites needs of reading and language arts professionals that can be met with the help of a computer and describes "The Storage and Retrieval of Bibliographic References." (FL)

The paper reviews research efforts directed at identifying perceptual and cognitive components in reading and their dysfunction in disabled readers. Disruption in the processing sequence is identified, and a compensatory training technique for the reading disabled is described. (Author)

Notes that federal officials stress that educators should not overlook key elements in reading instruction (phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension), even with the No Child Left Behind Act's emphasis on phonics. Discusses how families play a critical role in reading instruction. (SG)

Considers how the RTEACHER electronic mailing list thrust professional discussions of literacy education into an electronic dimension with global connections and instantaneous exchanges. Notes that the RTEACHER listserv gave reading teachers an electronic platform for voicing their perspectives on political maneuvers that aimed the National…

Discusses a document structure called "nested lists" which allows an increased amount of information to be presented in a fixed amount of space while also maintaining its usability. (RS)

Discusses four topics and themes--integrated language activities, individualism, literature, and writing--that appeared most frequently this year in the documents and articles indexed by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills. (MM)

Summarizes the history of Newspaper in Education (NIE) Week. Notes that NIE curriculum ideas for the 1988-89 school year focus on critical thinking skills, and are available through local reading councils or newspapers. (MM)

Probes into some issues arising from the use of transactional theory as a guide for literacy and literature education. Formulates these issues in terms of theoretical distinctions between five pairs of concepts: basic and enhanced literacy; literal comprehension and literary understanding; literary texts and informational texts; aesthetic and…

This article suggests using songs and chants as a source of predictable text in developing students' reading skills. It offers new songs to familiar tunes to aid in content specific instruction. Benefits of using songs and chants in classroom instruction include repeated exposure to words, the versatility songs provide, and the pleasure of…

Volunteer participation in adult literacy programs can be encouraged by (1) stressing the goals of helping individuals and long-term social value, (2) gearing expectations to students' abilities and progress, (3) emphasizing pragmatic methods to achieve students' goals, (4) stressing teaching methods adapted from daily interaction, and (5)…