The rhetoric of the reading wars has become more than just an armchair academic debate, but is encoded now in the very laws, house and senate bills, and legislative policies of the majority of the states. In turn, these policies are powered by staggering sums of money such as the 90-million-dollar investment of Fulton County, Georgia in a revamp…

This paper presents a framework intended to link the following assessment development concepts into a systematic framework: evidence-centered design (ECD), scenario-based assessment (SBA), and assessment of, for, and as learning. The context within which we develop this framework is the English language arts (ELA) for K-12 students, though the…

This booklet examines the learning process in reading, not with an eye to simple solutions, but with concern about problems and potential remedies. Within this framework, it discusses research on the brain and learning processes and suggests some ways to improve instruction for all children in grades K-8. After an introduction, sections of the…

The author attempts to develop a theory of learning to account for complex human learning using early reading as an example. (HMD)

Provides evidence for the development of grammatical sensitivity across grades one, two, and three. Shows that grammatical sensitivity is significantly related to reading skill level. (FL)

In this study, one hundred 3- to 5-year-olds were selected for reading instruction during regular 12- to 30-minute periods for 4 to 6 months. The program was ordered to establish a high level of sustained daily control over the attentional and motivational processes of the children. Learning tasks were designed to facilitate the child's grasp of…

Reading is a very complex psycholinguistic process consummate with writing, and reading instruction aspires to develop the critical reader, whose skills and abilities empower him to comprehend, enjoy, and assess both expository and imaginative writing. Using a rich background of learning and experience, the reader must handle many frames of…

Explains that if the ability to read in the fullest sense can be fostered from infancy in and out of school, children will grow to be the highly literate society of tomorrow. (DF)

Presents evidence that reading can be learned by the same informal and unstructured methods as speech, and calls for a concentration on slow readers. (CRH)

Unproven beliefs about the process of reading and its instruction and about the effects of maturation and social structure on learning have obscured the question of what children know about how to read. An alternate conceptualization proposes that to learn to read children must obtain experience in three reading contexts: the use of print and its…

A study investigated the kinds of questions children ask as they encounter written language. Data were gathered over a 7-month period for two boys, one approximately 4, the other approximately 2 years of age. Two types of observation sessions were used: formal story reading times that were audiorecorded, and informal situations where the…

Through stories, children become aware of their culture and make sense of their world. Past stories came from books; now they come from television. To develop a theory of children's literature, knowledge about children, about their books, and about reading must be placed in a new theoretical pattern. (PP)

Argues that teachers can take advantage of child-initiated explorations to develop beginning reading and writing skills. Offers specific recommendations and suggestions. (FL)

Suggests that reading and writing are not only language competencies displayed in literacy or literature but that they are the sites for analysis in emergent literacies. (DF)