Evaluates the effects of training in phonemic segmentation and of instruction in letter names and letter sounds on kindergarten children's reading and spelling skills. Finds that phoneme awareness instruction, combined with instruction connecting the phonemic segments to alphabet letters, significantly improves the early reading and spelling…

Trains 94 first graders using a structured phonological reading method emphasizing English phonology and phoneme/grapheme correspondence. Compares to a control group who received a whole-language-plus-phonics approach. Notes that children in all groups improved their phonological awareness by the same amount. Concludes that phonological awareness…

Examines television's impact on reading and school achievement in terms of the displacement hypothesis (watching television displaces developmental reading activities). Indicates small differences in reading scores for children watching two to four hours a day, but beyond four hours effects are negative and increasingly deleterious. (SR)

Reports on an intervention study that trained teachers to be explicit when teaching low reading groups to use reading skills strategically. Concludes that use of the training techniques produced significantly greater student awareness of what was taught but no significant gains in achievement. Copies of the teacher and student rating scales used…

Examines how much and what kind of reading comprehension instruction is provided in the student textbooks and teachers' editions of five social studies programs at the fourth- and sixth-grade levels. Concludes, among other findings, that direct instruction in skills is rare. (HOD)

Responds to David Bloome's critique of Sarah J. McCarthey's article in the same issue. Suggests that researchers must risk reporting difficult cases and continue to negotiate their relationships with teachers in the quest for understanding of the social context of classrooms. (HB)

This article contains summaries of reports from international research correspondents (IRCs) as part of the continued effort to make the International Reports on Literacy Research, a regular feature of "Reading Research Quarterly," more representative of the field of literacy education. With an eye toward encouraging the IRCs to report…

There is little debate among researchers, policymakers, and educational stakeholders that reading achievement among African American students is an important issue (Strickland, 1994). While several scholars have contributed greatly to the research literature on matters pertaining to African American students and reading, additional research is…

Defines the specialty of content area reading instruction and identifies the gaps in the knowledge base underlying this specialty. (AEA)

Characterizes middle school teachers' discussions of assigned readings from a variety of content area materials. Finds that the teachers' purpose appeared to influence the type of discussion they conducted and that their actual discussions seldom resembled their articulated abstract definitions of a good discussion. (KEH)

Investigates what students internalize from the dialogues elaborated in process writing classrooms. Focuses on four culturally diverse students in a fifth-sixth-grade class in New York City. Suggests that material students internalize is related to the quality of interactions with their teacher. (HB)

Investigates the effect of two repeated reading procedures on second grade transitional readers' oral reading performance with practiced and unpracticed passages. Found that reading rate, accuracy, comprehension and prosodic reading were significantly improved by repeated reading practice, regardless of training procedure employed. (SKC)

Compares two groups of primary-grade classrooms differing in their instructional approach to beginning reading to assess the relationship between learning activities, cognitive ability, and reading skill. (HOD)

This study investigated the trajectories of preschool and first-grade childrens development of reading skills, as well as the cognitive and social antecedents of that development. One-hundred and ninety-six 5- to 6-year-old children were tested in October and April of their preschool year and again in the first grade. Data included measures of…

Three hundred and sixty-nine reports of reading research published between July 1, 1972, and June 30, 1973, are summarized for educators and researchers. The research studies are categorized into six main areas, four of which have been further subcategorized. The majority of studies reported were classified into two of the six major categories,…