An urban school district was able to improve its students' reading achievement substantially by implementing a variety of literary coaching models. The six literary coaching process strategies used by schools are discussed.

Rejects phonics or any other reading method as "best" for every child. Summarizes major conclusions of reading styles research, outlines five reading style stimuli, offers tips for increasing reading achievement and enjoyment, and presents research results from five pilot school districts. Matching instruction to individual reading styles is…

Teachers need different types of communities to sustain and inspire them. They seek like-minded "outsiders" committed to learning and discussing what they learn. When the author invited "San Francisco Chronicle" readers to help convince his students about reading's importance, he received 1,000 helpful replies. (MLH)

As a young teacher, the author discovered that children's literature sparks students' imagination and inspires meaningful teaching. The daily exercise of reading prepares children for all the unstandardized tests that life will administer. Reality is not a place, but a power to "realize" or bring into being. (MLH)

Sustained silent reading programs have many names, but share similar guidelines. Students read for enjoyment for an uninterrupted time daily, choose their own books and whether to finish them, observe teachers modeling good reading habits, and are not required to take tests or write book reports on their reading. (9 references) (MLH)

Genre-specific reading or comprehension strategies can help older, striving students comprehend expository and narrative texts. Students being taught to be strategic and methodical in their approach can create a generation of readers, who will be able to apply their critical thinking skills to any piece of text they encounter.

The secondary school teachers can make a difference even if they do not have formal training in teaching reading in the content areas. Teachers can support improved reading comprehension by introducing model approaches that encourage interaction with text, which helps students gain insight into their own reading strategies and also increase their…

Although approximately half of the six million students receiving specialized services for an identified disability are learning disabled, research shows that assistive technologies are far more commonly used with students who manifest physical or sensory disabilities than they are with those with learning disabilities. Assistive technology can…

A balanced approach to reading instruction favors cultivating reading as a strategic activity that requires intentionality, interest, and motivation on the part of the learner. Includes references. (MD)

Describes several strategies mathematics and science teachers can use to improve student reading comprehension. (Contains 15 references.) (PKP)

American students don't read because they associate reading with pain. Successful reading styles programs identify students' reading styles, use reading methods and materials matching reading style strengths, demonstrate high achievement expectations and respect for learning style differences, use reading materials reflecting student's interests,…

Drawing on his "crisis of confidence" in reading academic texts as a graduate student, Vacca explains that self-efficacy--a belief in one's ability to succeed--provides the key to struggling readers' ability to comprehend texts outside their comfort zone. Self-efficacy and comprehension are interrelated. If students believe they have a good chance…

Describes seven instructional strategies to improve student reading and writing across the curriculum at Herbert Hoover High School in San Diego, California. Strategies include read alouds, "K-W-L charts," graphic organizers, vocabulary instruction, writing to learn, structured note-taking, and reciprocal teaching. (Contains 11…

An Internet correspondence program gave Nebraska secondgraders an audience for their writing and provided Iowa preservice teachers with insights into classroom teaching. The experience helped youngsters' reading, writing, and comprehension skills. The college students learned that children can communicate in a sophisticated manner, have varied…

A focus on people--whether community members, students, historical figures, or fictional characters--and their motivations brings excitement to learning. A community's experts on everything from jazz music and Chinese tapestries to building construction can help students move inside history and other subjects. (MLH)