This book is a collection of ideas submitted to the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) by elementary and middle school principals of 1996-1997 Blue-Ribbon Schools selected by the United States Department of Education. Each of the ideas presented offers a way for the teachers to raise students' reading levels and give them…

Some techniques or strategies and principles of organization can make the teacher's task of modifying or writing curriculum materials easier. This monograph provides a step-by-step guide for writing curriculum materials, whether approaching the problem from scratch or modifying that which already exists. Chapter 1 provides the rationale, and…

A study investigated the effect of research-based instructional strategies on the reading achievement of students in grades two through five. Instructional process variables were assembled into a manual used to train 24 experimental teachers. The five categories of variables were (1) classroom environment, (2) lesson introduction, (3) lesson…

A study was conducted to explore first grade students' conceptions of reading and writing, and how those conceptions may be associated with and influenced by the type of reading instruction they receive. The study was conducted in three separate classrooms, each based upon theoretically different models of literacy learning: (1) a content-centered…

The relationship of the amount of classroom time devoted to reading instruction, the number of reading related activities, and teacher instruction feedback to reading achievement at the end of kindergarten was investigated for a sample of approximately 300 children in 14 kindergarten classrooms at three schools. Based on nine rounds of full-day…

A study in 18 schools in the Alum Rock (California) Union Elementary School District investigated the educational effects of differential distribution of compensatory resources and services to educationally disadvantaged pupils. The study focused on the relative effects on reading skills of two methods for resource targeting: (1) concentration, or…

National compensatory education and the relationship between student achievement growth and educational processes are assessed in a first year report of the Sustaining Effects Study required by Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Federal funds were authorized to provide special compensatory services to educationally…

Noting that reading development is a crucial factor in breaking down social, intellectual, and political barriers, this paper uses Nigeria as an example of a developing multilingual country in order to examine the problems and challenges that learners and educators in multilingual societies face. The discussion is focused on children at the…

The applicability of phonics generalizations, particularly the rule "When two vowels go walking the first one does the talking and the second one is silent," is examined in this paper. The first section reports on a study of the applicability of the two vowel rule to words in first- and second-grade basal readers and on a core vocabulary list; the…

Research is reviewed on high success (low error rate) during instructional tasks in relationship to learning outcomes; alternative interpretations of the relationship are considered; and alternative strategies for controlling success during remedial reading instructional tasks are discussed. A simple procedure is described for the analysis of…

A study was undertaken to determine (1) whether community college freshmen who perceive certain structural considerations in their reading can generate essays that show application of those considerations, and (2) whether there are significant differences in the writing achievement of "more able" and "less able" students. The experimental group…

The effects of a language-based reading approach on the reading strategies of first grade children were examined in a study involving a total of 40 children. Half of the students were placed in an experimental group that was exposed to the language-based reading approach, and half were placed in a control group that was taught to read by a…

Describes a four-year Follow-Through Research Project that investigates the effects of a comprehensive staff development program, based on Madeline Hunter's Instructional Theory into Practice Model, designed to improve instruction on student engaged rates and achievement in reading and mathematics. (Author/HOD)

This inservice professional development module, part of the Alabama Reading Initiative, presents research summaries, notes for presenters, and activities. The Phonemic Awareness and Phonics module clarifies that skilled readers are accurate and automatic decoders (i.e., they have the alphabetic principle). Phonics instruction must empower all…

Eight highly structured fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms were compared with seven less structured classrooms with respect to the degree to which teachers', classmates', and self ratings of ability to read were in agreement. It was suggested that classroom structures may effect perceptions of ability. (CTM)