This paper provides an overview of the Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction (ECRI), a research-based instructional program designed to improve students' ability to read, understand, and communicate in English. The program focuses on pre- and inservice professional development for teachers who are trained in a highly structured,…

The Open University of Israel (OUI) is a distance education institution that offers over 250 computer-mediated courses through the Internet. All OUI students must pass an English reading comprehension exemption exam or take the University's English reading comprehension courses. Because reading instruction differs from content instruction,…

Data on 153 assignments prepared by teacher candidates who designed academic adaptations found both elementary and secondary adaptations were most likely to be carried out with students in the lowest grades. Students were most likely to have learning disabilities, and Language Arts, Reading, and English lessons were most likely adapted. (Contains…

Argues that computer technology can help to engage struggling readers in meaningful transactions with text. Lists and describes seven web sites that will captivate reluctant readers. Notes three web sites that send students on "WebQuests" to transact with text in order to build knowledge. Discusses other ways to engage students in text via…

As in urban schools, at-risk students in rural schools may be unmotivated, lack purpose for learning, have special learning problems, or come from dysfunctional families. In this paper, an experienced teacher in a small rural Oklahoma high school describes her efforts to demonstrate that at-risk students would improve in all language areas as a…

This paper attempts to bring information to a broad audience on children's utilization of semantic and syntax context clues in reading. It reviews the research of several contemporary theorists who indicate that semantics and syntax are overlapping processes. The simultaneous use of these processes enable young, particularly struggling readers to…

Papers delivered at the First American Reading Forum are collected in this yearbook. Focusing on the theme of comprehension, many of the essays respond to a preceding essay. The essays and reactions cover a variety of topics, including the following: (1) comprehension measures, (2) instructional strategies to promote comprehension, (3) current…

Intended for use as a standard textbook or a student handbook, this book serves as a reference tool for reading and writing activities. In addition to guidelines concerning reading and writing and library use, the book contains lists, tables and information usually found in an almanac. The sections are divided as follows: (1) grammatical terms,…

Developed to assist teachers of communication arts in the high school PREP (Preparation for Raising Educational Performance) summer classes, the 30 75-minute lessons in this first of two handbooks are designed to help ninth graders operating with below grade level reading skills (around the 5th-7th grade level) improve their reading comprehension.…

Developed to assist teachers of communication arts in the high school PREP (Preparation for Raising Education Performance) summer classes, the 30 75-minute lessons in this second of two handbooks are designed to help ninth graders operating with below grade level reading skills (around the 3rd-5th grade level) improve their reading comprehension.…

This document describes a course in the teaching of reading for content-area teachers, which has been offered at Temple University since 1970. It was designed to help English, science, and social studies teachers meet state certification requirements in reading. The theoretical base of the course is psycholinguistic, with a major emphasis upon…

This volume aims to bridge the gap between language arts teaching and linguistic theory. Part one discusses selected aspects of linguistics that are relevant to language arts teaching: the acquisition and development of language during childhood; the English sound system and its relation to spellings and meanings; traditional, structural, and…

A summary of the reading and literature studies undertaken by an international voluntary association of educational researchers from various countries is in this paper. The studies' major findings are listed, and certain student attributes--such as sex, socioeconomic status, reading and viewing habits, and parental involvement--are discussed as…

A number of common procedures underlie speaking, writing, listening, and reading; some students acquire these through exposure while others do not. A program for the teaching of procedures will differ from many conventional programs in that it will first identify and recognize these procedures. Abstract and complex prose and issues of…

In the United Kingdom at present, there is a rift between leading authorities who stress the use of oral language in helping children learn to read and those who focus directly on the teaching of reading and writing. This paper identifies five phases in educational development from 1870 to the present; for each phase, indication is given of the…