The current wave of school reform, with its emphasis on assessment of basic reading, writing, and math skills, has resulted in a diminished role for other core subjects. In the United States, the No Child Left Behind Act calls for the addition of assessments in science, but it seems that social studies will be a core discipline that is left…

Repeated interactive read-alouds, a systematic method of reading aloud, allow teachers to scaffold children's understanding of the book being read, model strategies for making inferences and explanations, and teach vocabulary and concepts. A storybook is read three times in slightly different ways in order to increase the amount and quality of…

Story innovation is a form of scaffold writing in which the sentence and text patterns remain intact but the content is altered through the substitution of vocabulary to change the setting, characters, or action in a story. Story innovation is presented as a way to develop vocabulary knowledge through deep processing and to provide fluency…

Presents examples of classroom activities designed to improve reading through improved vocabulary. (RB)

Argues that bibliotherapy can be used to help children develop reading comprehension skill and to use that skill to understand their own personal and social development in a better way. Provides a list of books suitable for bibliotherapy. (FL)

Discusses the importance of vocabulary development in literacy programs. Uses six criteria to describe the ideal vocabulary development resource with the awareness that most commercially available resources will need to be supplemented by the teacher. Reviews five instructional resources available for the intermediate and middle school grades. (MG)

The authors of this article state that, as literacy coaches negotiate complex tasks in their work with teachers, they assume dual roles. The authors review the evolution of International Reading Association (IRA) standards, paying particular attention to the roles of literacy coach and literacy coordinator. The authors then present data on the…

Talk is the foundation for thought and understanding and the key to literacy learning. Research demonstrates that powerful metacognitive strategies can be taught to help students self-monitor their comprehension when reading print and digital texts. This article provides a repertoire of speaking and listening strategies to develop the…

This article explores one context in which language arts instruction can be enhanced through digital technologies. It describes how preservice elementary education teachers first investigated aspects of visual literacy and then engaged in digital and traditional multimodal forms of response to historical nonfiction literature. They read,…

Suggests categorization of words as an alternative to traditional word study. (MKM)

Notes the importance of developing listening skills through direct instruction. Identifies specific listening skills and suggests how to teach them. Describes how both teachers and students can develop a listening skills curriculum. (MM)

Suggests ways to increase students' vocabulary in a developmental reading program. (TO)

Under the auspices of the International Reading Association, an evaluation was conducted of Rural Education and Development (READ) program of creating community libraries in Nepal. READ set out to address the high rates of illiteracy and poverty in Nepal through the development of these libraries. To examine READ's approach, a team of…

Teacher knowledge is important because it is related to student outcomes. The researchers of this article wanted to answer the following questions: (1) How do classroom teachers describe the reading cueing systems? (2) How do classroom teachers analyze running record information? and (3) How do classroom teachers implement classroom reading…