Suggests that teachers can work with children to help them learn to "read" pictures using current models of reading comprehension as a guide. Discusses three steps in this process: connecting prior knowledge to illustrations, using picture clues, and extracting meaning from the words and sentences. (MG)

Discusses various issues concerning reading literature in the elementary classroom, under the following section heads: "Adding to Your Alphabet,""Working with the Transitional Reader,""Reading Aloud to the Very Young,""Leading to Lively Conversation," and "Enriching the Teaching of Science." (TB)

Outlines the difference between "drilling for skills" and "becoming skillful readers" and shows how teachers can help students become skillful readers, writers, discussants, and thinkers through literature discussions. Discusses establishing a context for literature study, and initiating and maintaining literature study groups. (SR)

Reacts to recent curriculum changes in Texas and California by offering a facetious teaching plan for reading whereby all the teacher's work is to be done for them in the form of workbooks and worksheets on skills. Suggests that children can read the same book for all six years of elementary school. (TB)

Summarizes some of the criticisms which have been directed at basal instruction. Discusses how whole language approaches enhance the ability to teach children to read, and engage students in a democratic and democratizing educational experience. (MS)

Examines the history of California's reading program, reviewing its change to a literature-based approach and then back again to a phonetic- or skill-based one. Reviews key factors influencing California policy and speculates about the future of the state's reading program. (TB)

Discusses one teacher's abandonment of workbooks and a skills approach and her development of a reading program that emphasizes the elements of time, ownership, and response. (MS)