Nisakorn Charumanee believes that a reading teacher has an active role in cultivating reading culture or reading habit and in activating students to "want" to read. One way to do this is to integrate extensive reading into the classroom (Day and Bamford, 1998; Bamford and Day, 2004) where extensive reading can be enhanced if the teacher…

This study explored the effects of a portable technology intervention, the Nook Simple Touch eReader, on student performance in Reading and English/Language Arts when included as an integral part of the teaching and learning process in an elementary third-grade classroom. This study used the participating students' end-of-year second-grade scores…

The number of native Arabic-speaking students coming to America to study English in university programs has grown over the past few years, and continues to be substantial. It has also been noticed by the English Language Institute (ELI) at Sam Houston State University (SHSU) that these students often struggle more with reading activities in class,…

Investigates the Spanish-English code switching of 60 elementary Mexican-American students in a story retelling activity. Suggests there is a positive relationship between code-switched story retelling, oral language usage, and enhanced narrative skills. Suggests that teachers explore the use of code switching in a story retelling activity as a…

The language of drama (movement, sound, and energy) is as old as drama itself. Its place within a multiliteracies framework needs to be articulated because drama is another medium that can be used to help students interpret and communicate the meanings of themes in narrative texts (Pascoe, 1999; Wagner, 1998). The process of enactment enables…

Discusses the attributes of daily comic strips that make them an ideal media for use in reading and English courses. Presents information and readability analyses of various comic strips readily available to students and teachers. Argues that comic strips can be used effectively to build reading skills and processes. (HB)

Describes a year long literacy improvement project in two third-grade classrooms that focused on struggling readers. Describes small-group reading instruction in the classrooms that focused on 3 components: rereading familiar texts; shared and guided reading, incorporating strategy use in decoding unfamiliar words; and shared and guided writing.…

Discusses a project and study that focused on literacy acquisition among middle school students from the Dominican Republic attending a school on Manhattan's lower East Side. Describes how a book writing project focusing on "stories from home" engaged students, taught them ways to discuss and ways to think, and fostered their literacy acquisition…

A practicum attempted to improve the low reading achievement of Chapter 1 students in a low socioeconomic fifth-grade class by implementing a self-esteem building program. Activities were designed in a workbook format to complement class instruction in self-esteem building exercises. An emphasis on critical thinking skills was incorporated into…

A two-week writing workshop has been designed and conducted for gifted students in grades three through five. Specific activities have been planned to enable learners to write for a variety of purposes, to learn about many categories of writing, and to come into contact with different kinds of information through listening, discussion, and reading…

To improve the reading skills of students with low academic achievement, the Children's Art Carnival (CAC) Reading Program provided 321 children in grades 2-5 with art and reading activities and assistance with behavioral and emotional problems. Analyses of pretests and posttests focused on students' academic achievement and attendance and staff…

Describes a project in which 16 classroom teachers from seven different schools collaborated with researchers in an extensive investigation of book access and rereading. Discusses enhancing book access in school and at home, and enhanced book access at home with books and audiotapes. Shows how these school/home programs helped young…

Part of an investigation of the effectiveness of Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) Chapter 1 reading programs, this document reports on a study of 699 second and fourth grade students in Chapter 1 programs in Iowa. An introduction notes that the study was conducted to discover instructional characteristics that affect student…

Noting that elementary school teachers in a large school near a major U.S. city often had difficulty motivating non-native students and increasing their language arts abilities due to lack of information concerning the students' home environments and cultural values, this practicum examined the need to address differences in cultures and values…