A first-grade teacher investigated the use of daily poetry readings to help students develop certain characteristics of skilled readers, including fluency and comprehension. Students in a class receiving poetry-reading instruction had higher comprehension scores and reading levels than students in a control class receiving basal-reader…

Discussion of the benefits of reading aloud focuses on reading to teens. Topics include building social relationships; teaching language skills; improving text comprehension, imaginative and creative thinking, curriculum content learning, listening and speaking skills, and motivation to read and learn; and how to include reading in school…

Describes an extraordinary experience teaching comprehension strategies to fourth-grade reluctant readers through literature study. Notes how the experience was a fusion of three critical elements: an extraordinary group experience, a text that taught itself, and an instructional model that met the students' needs. (SR)

Research indicates that engagement with text is critical to becoming a good reader and can be fostered in primary grades by using informal assessments of individual student's reading ability to guide instruction. Describes running record, miscue analysis, and cloze-procedure assessment tools and the assessment task of oral retelling. Sidebars list…

In order to meet the goals of No Child Left Behind, standardized testing is preeminent as the sole indicator determining whether states all across America demonstrate adequate yearly progress regarding the improvement of student achievement in literacy education. This book will help teachers and parents raise children's scores on standardized…

Taking into account what research says about getting all children off to a better start in becoming literate, this booklet discusses recent "cutting-edge" research in the area of reading and spelling acquisition, focusing on the practical implications. The first part of the booklet notes what happens in the homes of early readers,…

It is argued that non-academic texts should be included as instructional materials for teaching college-level reading and writing skills, and recommends dialogues such as edited transcripts of interviews. Advantages cited include: better student comprehension of contemporary modes of discourse; clear relationships between grammar and communicative…

A series of eight videoconferences was designed to help educational professionals improve schools by applying knowledge gained from research. During the videoconference programs, which are transmitted by satellite to facilities with receiving capacity, viewers can interact by telephone with the program presenters. Each program covers a specific…

A description is provided of 12 reading skills strategies that were developed as part of a Reading across the Curriculum project to help students bridge the gap between their reading levels and the reading level of their textbooks. Following introductory information on the Reading across the Curriculum project, the 12 strategies are explained and…

The efforts to develop and study the effects of a microcomputer program to enhance children's decoding and word recognition skills are described in this paper. The first section of the paper discusses theory and research in the area of cognitive psychology upon which the program, "Construct a Word," is based. The second section describes…

Many students have difficulty in science because they are passive readers, readers who receive information without understanding. Passive readers begin reading assignments without thinking about the subject. Their counterparts, known as active readers, interact with text to construct meaning. They make predictions, ask questions, generate…

Describes a prototypical adjunct reading program which was used for two summers with high-risk students about to enter a private, medium-sized university. The program, "Strategies for Learning," provides instruction in 14 specific strategies for comprehending college texts, understanding course syllabi, taking notes, and organizing…

Research on the schema theory of comprehension and cultural schemata, on background cultural knowledge, is reviewed and related to reading comprehension theory and practice. In line with the research findings, several activities for pre-reading, reading, and post-reading are described, with suggestions for teacher preparation and classroom use.…

Argues that only by reading the same piece of literature at the same time, or by rereading jointly a passage from a work read earlier and in solitude, can students learn what reading strategies other readers use. Argues that reading can be assigned without destroying the spirit and energy of the reading/writing community. (RS)

Outlines procedures for helping students develop and clarify their understanding of science terms and concepts. Explains the semantic feature analysis strategy, concept ladder, concept-relationship procedure, semantic mapping, and use of the word card as ways to teach reading in science. (RT)