Shows that, despite the pendulum swings from the 1930s to the present, reading-achievement levels have remained constant, and one-third of children do not learn to read well. Argues that reading is a multidimensional activity, and that a massive effort is needed to implement multidimensional curricula that empower all children by providing them…

In this column, the author relates her experience as a teacher in a K-12 school in Point Hope, Alaska, where most of the students spoke "village English," a form of nonstandard English mixed with the village's native language of Inupiaq. She relates how the students' reading test scores, which had been below the 25th percentile, were…

Written to focus attention on the emerging philosophy and practice of whole language, this book serves as a "portfolio" for the graduate or undergraduate student who is interested in pursuing ideas, considering issues, and thinking about problems related to whole language. The 48 selected articles from 24 major education journals presented in the…

Designed to offer a balanced instructional approach for language arts, this book combines a systematic phonics program with whole language. It teaches reading skills by using the children's own language, basal readers, poems, and songs, and by emphasizing writing, spelling, listening, and speaking skills. The book includes daily lesson plans,…

This document summarizes the final reports of five Colorado classroom projects funded to promote and evaluate effective instructional techniques for students with learning disabilities. (However, the projects also involved students who were not disabled.) The five projects dealt with: (1) effectiveness of using an edu-kinesthetic whole brain…

Originally developed as part of a project for the Department of Defense Schools (DoDDS) system, this learning package on reasearch about teaching and learning reading is designed for teachers who wish to upgrade or expand their teaching skills on their own. The package includes an overview of the project; a comprehensive search of the ERIC…

The manual includes teacher instructions and learning activities for a transitional, bilingual program of English as a Second Language (ESL). The program, which is aimed at elementary to college-age Spanish-speaking students from Mexico, Central America, and South America, uses soccer as a motivating cultural force. The ESL program is designed to…

The reading exercises in this workbook cover the general areas of letter recognition; basic phonics; word structure (including common phonograms, compound words, contractions, possessives, plural forms, and suffixes); vocabulary (including identifying picture names, rhyming words, and word meanings); study skills (including following directions,…

Project READ had a two-fold purpose: to improve the reading levels of diagnosed learning disabled adults, and to investigate the following research questions: (1) which of three teaching approaches selected for this study is most effective for reading disabled adults? (2) what is effective assessment? and (3) how may the impact of reading…

A study examined the performance on the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) for first grade students from a rural northwestern school who had received reading instruction via a structured, phonics-based reading program. Specifically, the study compared the performance of (1) three students scheduled for retention because of poor…

A compendium of reading instructional practices from approximately 1950 through 1970, this compilation of essays supplies a theoretical background of the reading discipline for elementary and secondary school reading instructors. The five articles deal with different aspects of the reading curriculum. "The Basics in the Reading Curriculum"…

The National Advisory Council on Educational Research and Improvement sponsored a conference to take a close look at the practical ways in which education is being reformed, and perhaps transformed, with the assistance of private-sector advice and innovations and with certain business disciplines. Following are the titles and authors of the papers…

Ideas of educational psycholinguists Frank Smith and Kenneth Goodman can be combined with the ideas presented in current basal reader manuals to help teachers teach reading more effectively. Since reading and speaking are parallel processes, teachers may invite children to "read" with them, hearing the melody of language as they point to…

A sampling of over 100 ideas submitted by elementary school teachers at the Idea Exchange at the annual meetings of the National Council of Teachers of English are contained in this collection of teaching tips. The first chapter, "Getting to Know Each Other," includes games to help students learn each other's names, directions for making a…

The purpose of this booklet is to help teachers become familiar with current research-based spelling trends so that they can apply them in their classrooms. The first section of the booklet reviews current trends likely to influence spelling instruction, including practices related to the writing process, studying spelling from the learner's…