Describes how storytelling can enhance both literal and inferential comprehension, motivate oral discussion, increase perceptual knowledge of metaphor, explain and promote interesting language usage, instill deeper meaning to children's personal experiences, and excite children about literature, storytelling, and creative interpretations of story.…

Describes an author's storyboard technique which elementary school students used as a prewriting strategy to roughly sketch out stories on the storyboard frames. Suggests that the technique helps students to plan and organize their stories and helps reluctant writers find the motivation to write. (SR)

Suggest that teachers start the school year,each school day, and each daily reading lesson with reading activities designed to motivate student interest in reading. Offers ideas for use at each of these times. (FL)

Discusses Readers Theatre, an instructional activity that combines several effective research-based practices, and leads to increased engagement with literacy even in very resistant readers. Considers the theory and research behind Readers Theatre. Describes the process of choosing and writing texts for performance, and preparing for performances.…

Describes the results of one part of a two-year-long classroom study of sixth graders' engagement with and responses to nonfiction trade books. Considers what motivated these sixth graders to read the nonfiction titles they chose for small-group and voluntary reading. Concludes that when students are given the opportunity to select nonfiction…

Describes a literature-based reading program designed around independent reading and writing periods (IRWP) in which children could choose to participate alone or with others in several different literacy tasks. Finds that the physical design of the literacy centers, the modeled behavior by the teachers, and the time for IRWP resulted in increased…

Suggests that one of the reasons that schools are not as successful supporting the literacy development of Latina/o students is that school literacy, whether it be in Spanish or English, envisions forms of literacy that these students do not recognize. Notes that low academic achievement for many Latina/o students is not due to a lack of…

A first-grade teacher used comic books as read-alouds during her implementation of a reading/writing workshop. The students, primarily English-language learners, were able to make use of this medium in order to learn new reading practices. The teacher used the comics to teach multiple aspects of various reading processes such as reading with an…

Outlines ideas used by two reading teachers to make their school aware of their services, help students lose their fear of the reading room, and enhance their overall image. (FL)

Explains the differences between talking books, taped books, and books and tapes and explains how each should be used with elementary school children. (FL)

Contains contributions from five educators concerning the following topics: (1) the "Super Sounder" system of presenting phonics instruction to beginning readers, (2) teaching vocabulary in a multigrade classroom, (3) language experience and basal readers, (4) pacing as a key to successful drill work, and (5) creative ways to encourage reading.…

Contains contributions from three educators concerning the following: (1) child-made books in beginning reading, (2) ideas for celebrating a "reading week" as part of American Education Week, and (3) using doll families to teach phonics to beginning readers. (FL)

Teachers must be sensitive to the needs of modern farm children to see themselves and their families reflected favorably and accurately in reading materials. (HOD)

Recommends four books which describe how to teach children to read and write about real-world matters. States that children who are engaged with meaningful materials that they have helped select and tasks they have helped plan require less extrinsic motivation than those who are assigned meaningless materials and tasks. (MG)