Ken Goodman and Frank Smith met for the first time in 1970, though they had each been studying and writing, separately, about the reading process for several years prior to that. They commemorated the occasion by collaborating on an article, On the Psycholinguistic Method of Teaching Reading which appeared soon after in The Elementary School…

Literacy centers are widely used by teachers seen as being effective in promoting literacy (Pressley, Rankin, & Yokoi, 2000); yet little research has been completed on how or why they are effective. Based on the social cultural constructivist theory posited by Vygotsky (1978), and research theories of Dyson (1993), the peer dialogue at the…

This article reports on a study that investigated how teachers from the same urban elementary school serving a low- to medium-income student population interpreted, negotiated, and resisted a district-wide mandate requiring them to implement the Open Court Reading program. Interviews and informal observations revealed that there were profound…

During the 2004-05 school year, Parkview Elementary School experienced a dramatic shift from a focus on authentic assessment and responsive, individualized teaching to a one-size-fits-all approach to literacy assessment and instruction. In an effort to boost test scores, the district mandated the use of Open Court Reading, a scripted language arts…

This article describes an original way to integrate the visual arts with classroom literacy practices. Artists have a well developed repertoire of ways to observe the world around them through fresh eyes, and classroom teachers can use many of these same techniques to help young readers focus on subtle clues to meaning in stories. We describe…

This qualitative work analyzes what parents, teachers, and children say about reading when Accelerated Reader and Reading Renaissance are used for reading instruction. Critical discourse analysis offered a glimpse at beliefs about reading and how power relations were embedded in what teachers, parents, and children said about AR and reading.…

Suggests ways to use poems to enliven reading instruction. (DD)

Presents the 1987 Teachers' Choice list of outstanding books. The books (primary, intermediate, and advanced), chosen annually in a regional-national process, have high literary quality, contain teachable concepts, elicit thoughtful responses from children, provide pleasure, and lead children to discoveries about literature. (SR)

Recently, transactional reader response theory has been criticized for providing an inadequate theoretical guide for the study of multicultural literature. Some scholars argue that Rosenblatt assumes the reader and her response to literature are ideologically innocent and the continuum of aesthetic and efferent stance does not encompass critical…

Examines the benefits of allowing children ample and regular time periods to read on their own and in their own area of interest in relation to the need for children to understand reading as more than a series of unrelated workbook exercises. (HTH)

Analyzes two important characteristics of a traditional reading environment: the amount of time the student focuses on written text during the school day, and the degree of continuity or consistency in the reading instruction the student receives. (DD)

Comments on the value of literature in a literature-based Chapter 1 classroom, and suggests types of literature that have been successful in this type of reading program. Reviews 26 trade books which would be useful in Chapter 1 literature-based instruction. (MG)

Suggests a variety of ways to diagnose and practice word recognition skills. (DD)