Reviews five composition textbooks, assessing their attempts to integrate the reading and writing processes through literature and composition. Examines the textbooks' theoretical instantiation and notes their lack of success in achieving the reading/writing connection. (MM)

Three basal reading series, levels kindergarten through grade three, were studied to categorize the types of literature each contained. The following series were analyzed: "The Headway Program" (Open Court Publishing Company), "Series r Macmillan Reading," and "Basics in Reading" (Scott, Foresman and Company). It was…

Students in a teaching methods course evaluated a recently published basal reader to see if it conformed to guidelines for the efficacy of such materials already established by the class. A story selection was read to identify (1) essential background information, (2) text features that might cause comprehension problems (subject matter for…

The first of two volumes dealing with the effective use of textbooks to teach reading, this booklet describes New Zealand's "Ready to Read" program and how materials are used in the curriculum to accomplish literacy goals. The first part of the booklet provides a general overview of the country and its educational system and of the…

A comprehensive system of literacy instruction is outlined in this monograph. The system involves two stages--learning to read and reading to learn (reading to get information from printed materials)--which are integrated through two overlapping teaching spirals organized around a chosen subject matter theme. The nine chapters of the monograph…

Testing the assumption that textbooks were getting harder while students' abilities have been declining over the years, a study was conducted to determine the readability levels of six college reading textbooks across three editions to see if they were equal or the same in readability. The study also sought to determine whether these texts were…

Seeking to discover how comprehensively and systematically one significant category of semantic elements is taught in current reading instructional material, a study surveyed the teaching and use of prefixes in the teachers' guides, readers, and workbooks (grades two to six) of six major reading series. Findings indicated that many of the most…

This column reviews two secondary-level poetry supplements: "Steps to Poetry: Fifty Spirit Masters" and "Understanding Poetry," both from J. Weston Walch, 1978. For various elementary and secondary grade levels, ten poetry anthologies suitable for pleasure reading and six titles from the Caedmon Poetry Record series are reviewed. (SJL)

Most secondary science courses in North America are designed to use textbooks as the primary or exclusive source of information about the content or processes of science, and most science teachers focus their instruction on a single text. Although there are many serious issues raised by the overwhelming reliance on text-based teaching/learning in…

A study was undertaken to develop an evaluation procedure that could be used to analyze the cognitive requirements of instructional materials used to teach beginning reading. The study involved four phases. The first phase, an examination of the literature in order to create a basis for the development of assessment procedures, included an…

A system for the analysis of elementary school science teacher's guides and other program materials is described. The system, which can be used with either textbook-based or activity-based programs, produces a detailed step-by-step account of "What the classroom would be like if the teacher followed the recommendations in the teacher's guide…

This supplemental report concludes the analysis of data collected in response to a request by the Eugene (Oregon) school board for an assessment of reading instruction in the school district. The first section of the report examines materials and recordkeeping within the schools. Specifically it states what materials are used and how teachers rate…

READING PROGRAMS IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES IN MANITOBA, CANADA, WERE STUDIED OVER A 4-YEAR PERIOD TO DETERMINE WHAT TYPES OF PROGRAMS WERE IN EFFECT AND TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF READING. INCLUDED IN THE REPORT ARE (1) A SURVEY OF READING IN MANITOBA FROM 1946-1966, (2) A DESCRIPTION OF THE CONTENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE…

The author discusses the criteria to be considered in evaluating textbooks for classes of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). They are: (1) the age and proficiency level of the students; (2) the amount of time allotted for ESOL classes; (3) the treatment of the four language skills and all subject areas; (4) gradation and presentation…

A study of eight basal reading series was conducted to determine how Native American characters are portrayed in basal readers and how much realism is in recently published stories. Native Americans were not presented in first grade stories. Fifth grade stories were realistic and well written. (JHZ)