Describes transactional strategies instruction (an approach to reading instruction that focuses on teaching students a repertoire of reading strategies), its impact on students, and its challenges. (SR)

Presents a current analysis of vowel regularity done with slightly different parameters. Compares the findings of this analysis to Clymer's classic 1963 study and other studies in order to demonstrate some of the issues that affect interpretation of this kind of analysis. Gives some specific suggestions about the teaching of vowels. (SG)

Reflection is a powerful means to involve readers actively in gaining new insights about texts and themselves as readers. This article relates the story of three fifth-grade girls engaged in metacognitive inquiry within a classroom book club group. The use of exploratory talk and reflection illustrate how the girls constructed meaning and deepened…

As students move through the grades, the demands of comprehending increasingly complex text increase, and some students begin to struggle. What are the differences between skilled and struggling readers? How can educators teach students to become more proficient readers? This Teaching Tip describes research into middle-level students' reading…

Describes how to teach story mapping to primary-grade students. (MM)

Reviews the full set of criteria to measure instructional resources. Reviews six new resources on comprehension materials that are appropriate for classroom use. (MG)

Presents an approach for teaching children strategies for reading comprehension called the "comprehension strategy framework." Offers a description for the rationale of elements of the framework (including an example of a second-grade lesson); shows how the framework fits into current literacy trend in strategy teaching; and describes…

Suggests that to develop fluency, educators need teacher-directed lessons in which children spend the maximum amount of time engaged in reading connected text. Presents the National Reading Panel's (2000) examination of research on guided oral reading in order to explore what works. Discusses research on effectiveness of reading practices and…

Skilled reading requires attention to many aspects of print at the same time. Some children demonstrate difficulty in attending flexibly to multiple features of print, often focusing solely on decoding or word-level information. These children often lack the insight that reading is more than decoding; they have a difficult time thinking about…

Miscue analysis has been used by teachers and reading specialists for more than 30 years. Its purpose is to reveal strengths and weaknesses in how children process text and thereby inform instruction for individual learners. But is it still a useful approach? The authors assert that miscue analysis can indeed be a useful tool, though not for all…

Reading aloud makes important contributions to young children's literacy development, but some methods of reading aloud are much more beneficial than others. Researchers have investigated ways to make read-aloud sessions more meaningful for children, and several methods have emerged as particularly effective. This article examines the role of…

Provides a wide range of practical teaching ideas, including tips for using big books, the use of word maps for teaching new concepts, and the use of storybooks to teach counting. Provides an annotated bibliography of summer reading for students and teachers. Discusses the history, content, and future of the Whole Language Approach. (ARH)

Notes that inference is the strategic process of generating assumptions, making predictions, and coming to conclusions based upon given information in text and in illustrations. Discusses the use of causal and relational inferences. Presents strategies that help emergent readers focus their attention on important information that is explicitly…

Considers how struggling readers may pronounce each syllable more or less correctly when reading a longer word, but without the proper alternating emphasis and de-emphasis characteristic of natural, recognizable speech. Uses a three-part rhyme to determine the relationship between suffixes and stress. Presents some suggestions for helping students…

This article describes an enjoyable, intuitively grasped, learn-by-doing activity that uses general to increasingly specific sentences describing a mystery topic. This technique helps teachers assist students to bridge the gap between foundational skills--such as phonemic awareness, letter patterns, and sight words--and the acquisition of a…