This article questions whether the British National Literacy Strategy is raising the achievement of lower attainers and suggests adaptations, based on a Literacy Acceleration program. Literacy Acceleration is described as providing secondary-age students with reading difficulties with daily, specific teaching and individual attention within groups…

Describes some findings from the Books for Babies project, a central strand of Derbyshire's county-wide literacy initiative, Read On--Write Away! (ROWA!). Indicates that there are additional benefits for other family group members when a Book Start project includes follow-up activities and is connected to wider ranging community literacy…

This paper discusses the concept of "study reading" as used at a learning disabilities clinic at the University of Southampton, England. Study reading is defined as attentive reading to learn and remember, as different from reading that is performed simply to follow a narrative or browsing for one's own, self-set purposes. Results…

A study evaluated the effect software for self-assessment and management of reading practice had on reading achievement and motivation in two primary schools in Aberdeen, Scotland. The program utilized was The Accelerated Reader (AR) which was designed to enable curriculum based assessment of reading comprehension within the classroom. Students…

This paper addresses cognitive issues raised by the success of an early reading intervention program, Reading Recovery (originated in New Zealand and also used in Australia and the United States,) in which the great majority of students move from low reading achievement to average achievement for their age group within 12-15 weeks. The first…

The 40 articles in this collection deal with issues and problems in the learning and teaching of reading and offer suggestions for future policy concerning reading. The articles cover the entire reading field, including the relationships among language, intelligence, and reading; early reading schemes; extending reading; reading difficulties,…

This paper examines the efforts of the Chinese Communist government since 1949 to bring literacy to the masses through its language reform policies. The policies discussed include the establishment of a common dialect, simplification of Chinese characters, and the development of a Chinese phonetic alphabet. In addition, the paper discusses methods…

This evaluative report provides information about a remedial reading program in a Canadian school district. Various sections of the report deal with the following areas: the purpose of the evaluation project; procedures and sample; major findings according to remedial reading teachers, two groups of taxpayers, remedial reading pupils, and…

A total of 125 7-year-old students who were poor readers were assigned to 1 of 4 experimental teaching conditions: reading with phonology, reading alone, phonology alone, or a control. Although the phonology alone group showed the most improvement on phonological tasks, the reading with phonology group made the most progress in reading…

Four experiments with 23 second graders in Haifa (Israel) tested the hypothesis that comprehension gains in fast-paced reading are attributable primarily to changes in short-term memory (STM) functioning. Results confirm the hypothesis, providing support for a causal role of STM functioning in text processing. (SLD)

Considers why the use of story in literacy education is central to critical adult literacy practice, and examines both its potential and limitations. The use of story in the form of student-written and student-produced autobiographies in general, and one student's story in particular, is explored. The value of publishing learners' stories is…

The articles included in this publication, while dealing with several aspects of reading, all share a common concern for the better understanding and improved teaching of reading. Articles include the following titles: "Reading in the Secondary School--Taught or Caught?""Developing Reading Skills in the Post-infant Years,""A Remedial Programme…

The reading achievement of two age groups (eleven- and fifteen-year-olds) was surveyed in Northern Ireland's schools during 1976, and the results were compared to those of a similar study in 1972. Two significant findings emerged: an increase in reading standards of eleven-year-olds, and a decrease in severe reading retardation at both age levels.…

A study was conducted in South Auckland, New Zealand, to discover how parents could help children with reading difficulties. Specifically, the study addressed three questions: Do parents want to help improve their children's reading? Can parents learn specific reading tutoring skills? Does parent tutoring improve children's reading, both at home…

The 25 articles in this collection focus on reading as a humanizing experience. The topics covered include the following: (1) the politics of literacy; (2) the holographic nature of the reading process; (3) literacy through language communication; (4) life-long reading; (5) diagnosis of reading disabilities based on psychoeducational analysis of…