Adolescents in the United States and their teachers face an enormous academic challenge with respect to reading comprehension. College and career readiness standards outlined in the Common Core (2012) place increased emphasis on preparing students to read increasingly complex text across a range of disciplinary content areas. At issue is how to…

In Reading Apprenticeships, teachers serve as "master readers" of texts, engaging in collaborative inquiry with students. Reading is demystified through metacognitive conversations that draw on readers' self-knowledge. Academically underperforming students gained an average of 2 years' reading growth in 1 academic year using the…

Suggests that poor readers gain self esteem and reading skills by learning to read to children. Discusses ways in which to get young adults interested, to train them, and to arrange for real practice in local grade schools. (JM)

Describes collaborative efforts by the Strategic Literacy Initiative at WestEd and secondary teachers and administrators in California to develop and implement an interactive approach to reading improvement called Reading Apprenticeship in an effort to help adolescent readers break through the "literacy ceiling" in all their subject area…

Describes a classroom-based research project that investigated how talking and writing about the novel "Sarah, Plain and Tall" (by Patricia MacLachlan) and rereading parts as a group helped four deaf teenagers build meaning and broaden their understanding of the story. (SR)

Describes an innovative approach to the familiar structure of readers' workshop in which troubled adolescent males reexamined their early literacy experiences through the process of reading, listening to, and reacting to children's books. Notes that many of these readers came to see reading as a valuable life activity, a form of enjoyment, and…

A practicum encapsulated a reading skills assessment and intervention program utilizing computer-aided instruction and support activities for four 3-week sessions. The primary target population was the 43 juvenile delinquents at a Florida juvenile detention center who completed posttest measures. A total of 280 students participated in the…

Determines the efficacy of a structured reading intervention program with adolescents identified as evidencing significant reading underachievement. Suggests that implementation of the "LANGUAGE!" intervention program was effective in significantly improving reading comprehension and spelling, word recognition for students in grades 7 and 10, and…

Discusses why (given the need and rationale for adolescent assessment, instruction, and support) it has been such a struggle over the years to develop and maintain strong adolescent reading programs. Looks at failures to understand and communicate, and budget battles. Argues that the Adolescent Literacy position statement of the International…

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of a Literacy Development Program using the computer as a means of adjusting reading instruction to the varying abilities of illiterate and semi-literate adolescents and adults, and to compare the effectiveness of the literacy materials presented through the computer system with the…

Presents a position paper on adolescent literacy and what adolescents deserve developed by the International Reading Association's Commission on Adolescent Literacy. Outlines some questions and answers about adolescent literacy. Details seven principles for supporting adolescents' literacy growth as they deserve. Lists suggested readings and notes…

A practicum was designed to train staff to improve (over an 8-month period) the literacy and reading skills of 60 delinquent adolescent boys residing in a juvenile correction facility. Most of the boys residing at the training school had poor school histories characterized by reading achievement scores several grade levels below their peers and…

This book is designed to teach parents the skills necessary to enable them to help their teenage children who are having study problems. The book covers a wide range of possible difficulties from basic reading problems to researching and writing a full-scale report. The book includes discussions of alibis students use to disguise poor study…

Resulting from the Center for Adolescent Literacy's investigation of reading programs that refuse to tolerate acquiescence to the inevitability of reading failure, the second edition of this book describes what works and why in adolescent literacy, through case studies and through observations gleaned from extensive literature searches and site…

Originally developed for the Department of Defense Schools (DoDDS) system, this learning package on motivating low performing students is designed for teachers who wish to upgrade or expand their teaching skills on their own. The package includes a comprehensive search of the ERIC database; a lecture giving an overview on the topic; the full text…