Responds to an article ("On Balanced Reading") in the December 1998/January 1999 issue of this journal. Argues for a closer look and more evidence before committing to "balanced" models of literacy education. Discusses criticisms of Reading Recovery programs. (SR)

Replies to an article in this issue that responded to an earlier article ("On Balanced Reading") by this author. Argues that Welna's unbalanced coverage of research and critique is the very fuel that continues the Reading Wars. Argues that a study of past and present research can lead the profession to common ground. (SR)

Questions the facilitative effects of Reading Recovery reported in an earlier article. Argues that differences between Reading Recovery and other treatments in level of teacher training and experience, and in actual time and use of time for instruction, may account for the differential effects of Reading Recovery over other treatments. Challenges…

Responds to an earlier article in this issue about the effectiveness of Reading Recovery. Suggests that achieving an instructional match between compared programs is nonsense. Argues that researchers need to address bigger questions in order to further understand complex, changing educational environments. (RS)

Responds to a response to an article in this issue concerning the effectiveness of Reading Recovery. Remains steadfast in assertion that alternative explanations exist for the findings reported in the original article. (RS)

Teachers cannot expect that students at any level know how to create meaning with expository text. Students' ability to comprehend expository text can be improved through the use of comprehension skills. In order to learn the skills, they need to be broken down into specific steps and taught explicitly. Six comprehension skills are described in…

Assesses the feasibility of using a statewide database containing standardized test scores to examine the utility of developmental reading programs in Texas. Suggests that a wide range of academic experiences may pull most students up in terms of reading competence. (TB)

Suggests that reading aloud: incorporates into any language program, is cost effective, requires little preparation, develops listening habits, builds language skills, aids reading comprehension, and impacts students' attitudes toward reading. Lists 15 books that are good to read aloud for K-1, 14 books for grades 2-3, and 13 books good for…

The traditional college required remedial reading course has many shortcomings: students are stigmatized by forced placement and resent the course; dropout rates are higher; and high-risk students who take the course take longer to complete degrees and take longer to shed the high-risk label. The skills taught tend to be speed, vocabulary, and…

Phonological awareness has little, if anything, to do with reading or the acquisition of literacy. Learned opinion has been divided as to the relationship of phonological awareness and reading. Some scholars hold that the ability to analyze speech into discrete phonic segments is a precursor to, even a cause of, successful reading acquisition,…

If people can evoke mental images when listening to a story, they can extend the process by turning words on a printed page into speech and evoke images for the "speech on the page." This is an exercise for reading comprehension that does not come naturally but can be worked on deliberately. A few moments of self-observation, when…

Responds to an article in the April 1998 issue of this journal. Shares evidence about the effectiveness of peer tutoring. Discusses literacy tutoring of K-3 emergent readers by volunteers. Explains why tutoring is not teaching, and offers a model for successful tutoring practices. (SR)

Replies to an article in the same issue of this journal, which responded to this author's earlier article. Elaborates two fundamental points of disagreement (the definition of tutoring and the characteristics of the children being tutored). (SR)

Discusses what it means to struggle as a reader, lacking competence with reading strategies and lacking confidence in oneself to make meaning with texts. Argues that balance can be found in adolescent reading programs by seeking equilibrium between the visible and invisible aspects of instruction in the development and use of reading strategies.…

Reports on the writer's experiences at the public schools in Magdalena, New Mexico. Attempts to identify several linguistic and social traits of Southwest Indian children and to recommend appropriate instructional practices for addressing these students' reading needs. (MG)