A balanced approach to reading instruction favors cultivating reading as a strategic activity that requires intentionality, interest, and motivation on the part of the learner. Includes references. (MD)

Research has found similarities between specific reading disability and reading difficulty in children of low intelligence, especially in short-term memory deficits. Studies indicate that ability to acquire and use a knowledge of spelling patterns is a major problem, and efforts to teach more efficient decoding skills have met with limited…

This study reviewed the literature on phonological processes and decoding in beginning reading, and sought to determine the effect of functional articulation defects on decoding abilities in 18 first-grade students. Results indicated that students without speech impediments did not score significantly higher on a decoding test than students with…

Recommends that drama be included in early childhood education, emphasizing preschool education. Cites research linking drama with enhanced language acquisition in children, ages 3-8. Emphasizes drama's effectiveness as a multisensory learning medium. Notes programs offering drama training for teachers. Suggests changes in teacher education and…

Current middle-school standards require students to operate at levels of literacy never before expected of 10- to 14-year-olds. This monograph, written for teachers, addresses literacy development in middle-school students, stressing the crucial role of teachers. It suggests that teachers must change the core of educational practice and examine…

The contemporary women's movement, communicating largely through the written word, mistakenly ignored or failed to notice the following: (1) almost one quarter of American women (23%) had severely limited literacy skills; (2) for female heads of households, 75% of those with less than a high school diploma lived in poverty; (3) nearly 40% of…