In this article, Vicki Jacobs argues that as the nation strives to improve the literacy achievement of U.S. adolescents, educators must reframe the current "crisis" as a critical point on a continuum of historical efforts to address the particular challenges of postprimary-grade reading. Specifically, Jacobs examines the definition of adolescent…

A theory of how children progress through different phases of reading should be an asset both to reading researchers and teachers alike. The present paper provides a brief review of Ehri's influential four phases of reading development: pre-alphabetic, partial alphabetic, full alphabetic and consolidated alphabetic. The model is flexible enough to…

In the author's experience, a significant source of reading difficulty for many beginning and struggling readers are misconceptions about print concepts so basic teachers assume their students are aware of them. Many children fail to grasp implicit principles of print such as the following: the reader cannot make up the words, the order of letters…

Outlines the story of one first-grade student's successful struggle with learning to read. (MD)

Irreverently examines Rudolph Flesch's theories for teaching a child to read "properly." Alternatives to Flesch's method are also given. (HTH)

Challenges three basic claims about the scientific "database" concerning rhyme and analogy in reading made in another article in this journal: (1) the relationship between rhyme and reading remains controversial; (2) there is doubt about the relevance of children's ability to make orthographic analogies for classroom reading instruction; and (3)…

Examines two independent data sets to support argument that although onset-rime sensitivity typically predicts school entrants' later word reading skills, phoneme sensitivity predicts more variation. Maintains that multiple regression analyses do not reveal level of phonological sensitivity needed to understand alphabetic reading instruction and…

Mediated and "live" picture books engender different patterns of interaction between reader and child. The reading of a TV picture book is a text, not an interaction centered on a text. Exposure to mediated picture books alone appears to be an inadequate replacement for "live" book reading in the acquisition of literacy. (18 references) (CP)

Considers the prospects and need for a psychologically plausible connectionist model of the development of word recognition skills. Emphasizes the importance of phonological skills as precursors and facilitators of learning to read. Argues that it may be possible to develop a connectionist model which will be more consistent with evidence from…

Proposes a theory to explain why writing and reading contribute to growth in each other--both are compositional in nature or require the reader/writer to arrange responses to form a coherent whole. (AEA)

Contends that the "basics" in reading are not skills but concepts the learner must acquire, and that the learner's role is central to this teaching philosophy. (FL)

The dimensions that interact during reading acquisition include properties of texts, the acquisition of reading skills and strategies, the development of cognitive and language skills, the influence of instruction, and the effects of motivational, cultural, and language variables. Discusses how these interactions may occur and describes three…

Notes that preceding commentaries raise several issues, including which variables need to be controlled to demonstrate a specific relationship between phoneme-level skills and reading ability and whether prereaders can perform phonemic awareness tasks. Maintains that none of the commentaries casts doubt on the basic conclusion that phonemic-level…

Discusses research that supports the view that early phonological awareness affects children's ability to exploit the alphabetic system, and so to develop a sublexical route from print to sound to meaning. Discusses implications for teachers. (RS)

Discusses what it would take to end reading failure in the U.S., examining what is already known, looking at the problem of early reading, and presenting a comprehensive strategy for reading by age 9 that involves dissemination of existing best practices, basic and applied research on beginning reading, and development and evaluation of new…