Discusses the dramatic demographic changes which have profoundly altered the reading programs in many New Zealand schools. Notes that more than a thousand schools and preschools teach bilingually or run immersion programs in a language other than English (such as Maori or Samoan). Suggests that reading is best taught in the language spoken at home…

Presents reading strategies which use "flag words" (enumerative, superlative, transitional, and other flags) to help students identify, extract, and organize important information from text. (SR)

Argues that saying that students have "thinking problems" is hardly a useful diagnostic statement or even a sensible description of flawed cognitive development. Maintains that what is needed to encourage students to think are some sensible models and attractive opportunities to do it in contexts that matter to them. (RS)

Presents a four-stage instructional sequence of modeling, practicing, evaluating, and reinforcing activities for developing student-directed notetaking strategies. Notes that an emphasis on evaluating and reinforcing allows the introduction of the Notetaking Observation Training, and Evaluation Scales (NOTES), a system for fostering students'…

Notes that many of the tests used in a major statewide merit system had reading levels appropriate for high school, whereas the positions for which they were used to evaluate job applicants had reading requirements much lower. (RS)

Muses over how many books bought are actually read. Reflects on factors involved in the decision not merely to buy books but to read them. Notes that some people maintain that most of what is actually read is pap. Wonders whether reading teachers should pay more attention to what people read, as well as how people read. (SR)

Discusses teaching strategies to present the two most basic ways of organizing information about a steady state phenomenon: pictorial knowledge models and diagrammatic knowledge models. Presents ways of organizing these types of information according to known points of reference and observation. (SR)

Offers suggestions for making students more aware of their own study styles and for helping them select appropriate strategies for various study tasks. (SR)

Offers a language-centered approach to the teaching of Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" which can help students read the dialects in the novel and develop an appreciation for the varieties of language. (RS)

Presents a teaching strategy which uses points of reference (or basic underlying concepts) to help students understand definitions, descriptions, and comparisons/contrasts, and models its use. Notes that understanding the importance of points of reference is one of the first steps in the technique called "knowledge modeling." (SR)

Argues that student-to-student discussions are effective in clarifying thinking, reviewing concepts, and developing meaning from text. Discusses ways that cooperative learning principles and techniques can provide a framework to encourage true discussions in classrooms. (SR)

Discusses what a reading and study skills teacher learned from revisiting the classroom herself as a student, and how she used the experience in her teaching. (SR)

Argues that techniques for improving the reading and writing skills of vocational students at the secondary level should become a part of the daily instructional plan of teachers. (RB)