Examinations are conventionally used to measure candidates' achievement in a limited time period. However, the influence of text layout on performance may compromise the construct validity of the examination. An experimental study looked at the effects of the text layout on the speed and accuracy of a reading task in an examination-type situation.…

This article examines the curricular possibilities within critical inquiry-based primary classrooms. The children in this first through third grade multi-age, multi-lingual classroom participated in a two-year critical and collaborative inquiry around issues of segregation and the Jim Crow laws. A touchstone text, Freedom Summer (Wiles, 2001) and…

Presents research findings about the development of metalinguistic awareness (MLA) in young children. Discusses MLA and reading readiness, and the implications for beginning reading instruction. Suggests various reading methods which allow children with both high and low levels of MLA to develop literacy. (MM)

Notes that children's views of themselves as readers and the reading strategies they develop are rarely considered in reading assessment. Emphasizes that, through observations, interviews, and instructional techniques, teachers can broaden evaluations to include student perceptions, thereby gaining a greater understanding of students, and giving…

Criticizes Marie Carbo's article, "Debunking the Great Phonics Myth" (in Kappan's November 1988 issue), for waging a relentless debate against phonics and falsely attributing low U.S. reading achievement scores to a phonics emphasis. Clears up confusions and inaccuracies in Carbo's article concerning first and second editions of the…

A person does not need to be culturally literate (as defined by E.D. Hirsch) to read American contemporary fiction. This article explores alternative definitions, barriers to cultural literacy, and suggestions for change: building on students' interests, providing out-of-classroom learning experiences, sharing anecdotal material, and emphasizing…

Discusses insights highlighted by a reading strategy training study conducted in a second-language setting. The study cautions against uncritical adoption of strategy training as a panacea for learning difficulties and stresses the importance of recognizing factors in the second-language learning context that suggest modification to procedures…

It is time to stop blaming children's nonreading on innate intelligence, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, TV-watching, or other factors beyond teachers' control. Too many schools are boring kids with dull texts and basal readers. Kids read about topics that interest them and particularly enjoy mystery, adventure, humor stories. Matching…

Examines the effectiveness of strategy training for younger readers. Discusses strategies for development of comprehension, including making predictions (both before and during reading), question generating, and summarization. Offers examples of how these strategies can be embedded through literature-circle discussions and gives a suggested…

Examines adolescents who faced many comprehension challenges when studying diverse history content. Focuses on the challenges that an innovative history chapter with embedded texts presents to middle-grade students and the strategies and stances that student readers use in relation to these challenges. Examines the nature of students' historical…

Scaffolding--supporting learners' efforts to bridge the gap between their present knowledge and the intended goal--is an effective instructional technique. The Scaffolding Reading Experience helps students get the most out of every literacy experience. The teacher considers the students, their purposes for reading, and the intended text, and…

Incorporates recent conceptualizations of the reading process and implements an alternative assessment with hearing-impaired students. Presents the authors' work as educational evaluators in examining the use of techniques with Deaf students and reports the adaptations required for this population. Concludes that educators of the Deaf can benefit…

This article is a reflective account of a teacher implementing the comprehension strategy of questioning to encourage genuine conversations with text, instead of the inquisition technique of testing comprehension practiced in many classrooms. Through the structure of a "gradual release of responsibilities," students practice questioning in…

The development of reading depends on phonological awareness across all languages so far studied. Languages vary in the consistency with which phonology is represented in orthography. This results in developmental differences in the grain size of lexical representations and accompanying differences in developmental reading strategies and the…

Developmental stages in reading English words were examined among 118 Chinese children in Grades 2, 4, and 6 from a working-class elementary school in Tianjin, China. Proficiency in Chinese and English, ability to make orthographic analogies in both languages, and strategies in reading English words were assessed. Results suggest that Chinese…