Reading is a skill--learning how the alphabet works by using it. Learning how to do it involves practice in building letters into words. As the decoding process is practiced, phonics moves into long-term storage. Building the skill of reading has the same 4 aspects as developing other skills: (1) the beginner uses the motion of his vocal organs to…

The first of two articles addressing the issue of user documentation for computer software discusses the need to teach users how to read documentation. The second presents a guide for writing documentation that is based on the instructional systems design model, and makes suggestions for the desktop publishing of user manuals. (CLB)

Points out that reading has to be made something that those learning to read want to do, now, and in the future, and argues that people who can read should help those who cannot. (EL)

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

Reviews research findings that suggest that literacy is nearly universal and that interest in reading is at an all-time high in the United States. (FL)

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

Discusses the definition of readability, the history of readability formulas, writing adult materials to a desired readability level, matching readability levels of material to the reader's skill level, and uses of these concepts in adult education. (CT)

Techniques are given for helping students learn to read for meaning and to relieve their anxieties about reading. A selected bibliography is appended. (LH)

Examines ten important reading skills that are often lacking in college freshmen and that should be taught consistently. (TJ)

Argues that the standards by which literacy is judged have gone up, which produces the impression that schools are doing worse than they have in the past when in fact they are doing well. Examines a cross section of studies and data. (TB)

This essay describes one man's experiences learning to read in the 1940s. He notes that at that time, parents were not expected to teach their children to read prior to entering school. That was viewed as the teacher's job. However, his parents filled his house and his life with literacy-based experiences. Once he learned to read, his community…

Examines the lack of good listening skills among children today, and discusses the advantages of book/audio cassette packages (read-alongs) for developing listening and reading skills. (MES)

Argues that the literature classroom is a forum for negotiating and renegotiating the culture and is not merely a means of transmitting knowledge and values to students. Argues that the consumerist attitude of Bloom and Hirsch towards education must be replaced by an adaptation of Barthes' strategy of rereading literature. (RS)

This article discusses the distinctions between literal and critical reading and explains the role that word recognition ability plays in critical reading behavior. It concludes that correct word recognition provides the raw material on which higher order critical reading is based. (DB)

Instructional reforms are essentially worthwhile as they help students improve their reading from 13th percentile to the 25th or 34th percentile. Only with an expansion of expert tutoring, the goal of all students reading on grade level can be achieved.