Points out some recurring ideas about the use of children's literature in the elementary reading program based on a review of 25 years of "The Reading Teacher." (FL)

Replies to an article in this issue that responded to an earlier article ("On Balanced Reading") by this author. Argues that Welna's unbalanced coverage of research and critique is the very fuel that continues the Reading Wars. Argues that a study of past and present research can lead the profession to common ground. (SR)

Suggests a conceptual basis for asserting a relationship between sentence combining and reading improvement. (RL)

Reviews the literature concerning the role of play therapy (particularly sandplay and nondirected play therapy) in the improvement of reading. Suggests that the role of play therapy is to support the child, encourage the child, and build self-esteem thus creating the optimal learning environment for reading improvement. (RS)

Intended for use by those interested in promoting books and reading in the world, this report examines book production and reading characteristics in Bulgaria. Major sections of the report deal with intellectual production, publishing activities, physical production, distribution, reading habits, professional training, and legal and institutional…

Concludes that poor readers benefit from a cooperative strategy that gives them practice toward fluency in a supportive situation. Explains how repeated reading works and offers a strategy for using it. (FL)

Discusses briefly the process of comprehension. Argues that graphic organizers can be used as a practical tool while using basal readers, tapping into prior knowledge, cultivating active participation, and fostering an understanding of conceptual relationships, thus leading to a facilitation of comprehension. (SR)

The acquisition of reading fluency crucially involves the beginning reader's tacit recognition that he or she must learn to compensate for the absence of graphic signals corresponding to certain prosodic cues by making better use of the morphological and syntactic cues that are preserved. The success of the method of repeated readings and similar…

The traditional college required remedial reading course has many shortcomings: students are stigmatized by forced placement and resent the course; dropout rates are higher; and high-risk students who take the course take longer to complete degrees and take longer to shed the high-risk label. The skills taught tend to be speed, vocabulary, and…

Proposes using the cloze procedure as an instructional technique as well as for testing. Offers cloze exercises designed to teach vocabulary, relationships, and personal involvement. (FL)

Phonological awareness has little, if anything, to do with reading or the acquisition of literacy. Learned opinion has been divided as to the relationship of phonological awareness and reading. Some scholars hold that the ability to analyze speech into discrete phonic segments is a precursor to, even a cause of, successful reading acquisition,…

Proper application of the alphabetic principle rests on an awareness of the internal phonological (and morphophonological) structure of words that the alphabet represents. Unfortunately for the would-be reader-writer, such awareness is not an automatic consequence of speaking a language, because the biological specialization for speech manages the…

The primary purpose for reading is to derive the meaning of an author's message, which has been transmitted through print, as it relates to the reader's personal need to go from a point of lesser to greater information. Within the college reading improvement program, the many purposes surrounding reading should intersect to form the basis for…

Notes that recent research shows the significance of ownership of the writing process and explains how teachers can help students own the reading experience as well. (FL)

Reviews the major theoretical statements regarding the contribution of literature to reading development, noting that they fall into two interwoven strands: the notion of learning to read through literature, and learning to read literature. Evaluates the empirical evidence supporting the claim that literature plays an important role in learning to…