Outlines an approach for moving staff, parents, and children toward an emergent literacy perspective. Discusses how to (1) lay the foundation for new policy directions; (2) assess the literacy environment; (3) plan for essential experiences; (4) attend to skill development and program objectives; and (5) reassess emergent literacy programs. (MM)

Describes a reading program, Reading Recovery, that provides intensive instruction for young children who are at risk of failure during frist grade. Provides responses solicited from four Reading Recovery teacher leaders. (MG)

Teachers today face increasing demands to ensure their students achieve high levels of literacy. They may feel overwhelmed by the challenges of teaching reading comprehension strategies that foster the integration, interpretation, critique, and evaluation of text ideas. The challenges are compounded because students of diverse backgrounds often…

Offers a variety of practical writing ideas that can help first-grade teachers encourage writing across the curriculum. (FL)

Reports on a study of six fourth grade reading groups that were observed to see if vocabulary instruction was a priority, what kinds of vocabulary instruction occurred, and what shaped teaching decisions. (JC)

Concludes that three experimental programs were more effective than traditional approaches in beginning reading instruction: (1) a literature program using special decoding strategies, (2) a literature program not using the special strategies, and (3) a traditional basal approach using the special decoding strategies. (FL)

Reviews six professional books which provide excellent theoretical principles and practical suggestions for promoting young children's literacy. (MG)

Shares a curriculum framework based on six aspects of literacy: ownership, reading comprehension, writing process, word identification, language and vocabulary knowledge, and voluntary reading. Notes that this framework is consistent with a whole literacy approach, and includes an assessment system and provisions for accountability. (MG)

Describes three characteristics of whole-literacy instruction and relates these characteristics to current perspectives on vocabulary instruction. Includes examples designed by middle-grade teachers who were interested in using these ideas to shape classroom instruction. (MG)

Describes the design and implication of a 10-week unit for third and fourth graders using QARs (Question-Answer-Relationships) to integrate reading and writing tasks and prepare for standardized tests. Concludes that the student-friendly model described here is easy to implement and can be customized for any classroom and grade level. (SG)

Nine contributors discuss: short-term grouping to improve reading performance, using picture books to inspire creative writing, writing musicals in the classroom, reading aloud to remedial readers using book boards to motivate readers, and other topics. (FL)

Discusses, through the reflections of three educators, the need to address cultural diversity in the reading curriculum and the importance of using strategies consistent with an emergent literacy perspective throughout the early childhood years. (MG)

Discusses six books that give a range of perspectives on the issues of assessment and accountability, from the use of standardized reading tests to creating student and professional portfolios. States that these books will provide teachers with the knowledge to make sound assessment decisions and with practical suggestions to document student and…

A significant body of research suggests that wide differences in concept and vocabulary knowledge exacerbate the achievement gap among students, especially in schools with large numbers of children of poverty. Educators sometimes attribute this difference to the Matthew effect: the sad reality that having a well-developed vocabulary allows a…

Reviews the literature on classroom reading instruction and elaborates the results of a series of studies that hypothesized that high-risk students, such as those typically found in low reading groups, would become more aware of how to reason during reading if their teachers explained the mental acts associated with strategic skill use. (NKA)