Evaluates the report of the Commission on Reading, "Becoming a Nation of Readers," which focuses on giving attention to classroom teaching, testing, and teacher education. It gives recommendations for changes in the way reading is taught and includes the list of 17 recommmendations from the report. (MD)

Concludes that underachieving readers appeared to make significantly less use of the phonemic, graphic, and grammatical features of text when providing miscue responses to cohesive items than they did when making miscue responses to the text as a whole. In addition, they often lost the meaning relationships conveyed by the text when providing…

This study describes a program designed to increase student achievement in reading. The targeted population consisted of first and fourth grade elementary students in a Midwest community. Evidence for the existence of the problem included standardized tests and alternative assessments to measure reading achievement, and teacher observations with…

This report describes a program for improving inconsistent reading comprehension. The targeted population consisted of first, third, and fifth grade classrooms in a diverse middle class community located in Illinois. The problems of low academic achievement were documented through teacher observation, reading comprehension test scores, and low…

Based on the 1998 Arkansas English Language Arts Curriculum Frameworks, this sample curriculum model for grade five language arts is divided into sections focusing on writing; reading; and listening, speaking, and viewing. The writing section's stated goals are to help students employ a wide range of strategies as they write; use different writing…

Based on the 1998 Arkansas English Language Arts Curriculum Frameworks, this sample curriculum model for grade six language arts is divided into sections focusing on writing; reading; and listening, speaking, and viewing. The writing section's stated goals are to help students employ a wide range of strategies as they write; use different writing…

Describes an informal inventory that gives underprepared college freshmen the opportunity to express their own perceptions of their reading needs and interests. Finds that students are most concerned with reading rate. Suggests that speed-reading activities play to students' interests while at the same time giving practice in comprehension skills.…

Reviews current research on free voluntary reading and discusses its benefits for vocabulary development, reading ability, writing style, spelling, grammar, pleasure, personal discovery, and literacy. Positive correlations are made between free voluntary reading and academic achievement and second-language acquisition. Eleven relevant documents…

Maintains that student reading often is seen as a major component of university study, yet the amount actually undertaken frequently falls short of teacher expectations. Describes the use of course readers, or teacher-compiled reading packets, in geography courses and provides a set of recommendations regarding the approach. (CFR)

Argues that schools and teachers underestimate the demands that particular texts place on readers, especially as students reach middle school. Describes how the author uses think-alouds as one particular technique to actively give contextualized strategic knowledge over to students. Shows how this helps readers overcome their struggles to develop…

In this action research project, undertaken in a Grade 2/3 classroom, I posed the question: How can I encourage the readers in my class to become reflective and critical thinkers as they read? My aim was to support students in becoming reflective about what they read as well as about the strategies they used while reading, and to support the…

Designed as a concise, easy-to-read, easy-to-use guide, this book provides suggestions for remediating aspects of a student's reading disability as diagnosed through an experienced teacher's observations and through the use of an Informal Reading Inventory. The book contains teaching ideas specifically designed for handling a wide range of reading…

A study examined a reading recovery program in Great Bend, Kansas. Subjects were 70 first-grade students divided into a treatment group and a control group. In the treatment group, 19 were Caucasian, 6 were Hispanic, and 6 were Vietnamese or Afro-American. In the control group, 31 were Caucasian and 8 were Hispanic. Independent variables were:…

The literacy strategies in this guide provide practical suggestions for teachers, regardless of discipline, to help middle school and high school students move to Levels III and IV on the North Carolina End-of-Grade Reading/Competency Tests. The strategies in the guide are designed for use with "inefficient" readers (not nonreaders).…

Based upon case studies, surveys conducted in 18 participating school districts in fall 1987 and spring 1988, meeting observations, discussions with project staff, and an audit trail, this report evaluates the first year of the Wisconsin Rural Reading Improvement Project (WRRIP), a school improvement project aimed at helping small, rural schools…