This article describes a small-scale project designed to help engage reluctant adolescent readers in voluntary reading practice during sustained silent reading (SSR). Three teachers worked with a secondary school reading expert to identify and agree on elements of effective instructional conversations and then implemented these "book talks" with a…

This issue contains 12 articles on modes of delivery in adult basic education. They include: "Teaching for Communicative Competence" (Donna Moss); "Sustained Silent Reading: A Useful Model" (Susanne Campagna); " A Slow Conversion to Reading Groups" (Susan Watson); "Differentiated Instruction" (Mary Ann Corley); "Differentiating Instruction for a…

Emphasizes that the teacher as a role model is crucial to the success of Sustained Silent Reading (SSR). Suggests that teacher modeling of sharing activities immediately after SSR is also very important. (MG)

Results of an experiment to establish an operational definition of "silent letter" suggest that a silent letter is one that, when added to graphic syllable, makes no difference to its pronunciation. This finding contradicts the theory that silent speech occurs in silent reading. (CMG)

Offers reasons why teachers should focus on silent reading during instruction and use oral reading only for specific instructional purposes. (FL)

Proposes, as a follow-up to a previous article about applying a phonological reading model to technical communication, that educators and practitioners of technical communication would benefit from a thorough understanding of the speech instinct. Explores the speech instinct, how humans developed it, and how it has been and still is fostered by…

Critical review of the National Reading Panel report on fluency. Asserts that panel omitted or misinterpreted studies confirming the value of free reading in the classroom to improve student literacy. (Contains 24 references.) (PKP)

The present study examined lexical stress in the context of silent reading by measuring eye movements. We asked whether lexical stress registers in the eye movement record and, if so, why. The study also tested the implicit prosody hypothesis, or the idea that readers construct a prosodic contour during silent reading. Participants read high and…

Only by exploring the past of the reading field can the literacy leaders of today make informed decisions about reading education in the future. This indispensable resource offers new insight into the development of reading education by examining the groundbreaking contributions of the "early reading pioneers"--16 reading researchers, reading…

In the current study, 42 secondary students (10th, 11th, and 12th grade students) and 51 elementary students (4th and 5th grade students) read 400 word passages silently and aloud. During aloud reading, words correct per minute (WCPM) were recorded. After reading each passage, students answered 10 multiple-choice comprehension questions. Results…

Students in 61 English classes at an urban high school participated in an investigation of the effects of sustained silent reading (SSR) on their reading comprehension skills and on their atttiudes toward reading. SSR calls for a systematic structured time in school for students to read books of their choosing without being tested when the reading…

There is a paucity of Vygotskian influenced inner speech research in relation to the reading process. Those few studies which have examined Vygotskian inner speech from a reading perspective tend to support the notion that inner speech is an important covert function that is crucial to the reading process and to reading acquisition in general.…

Readers share information on the use of the uninterrupted silent sustained reading method to change the reading attitudes of adult Native American students and on the use of taped books with high school remedial reading students. (MKM)

Reviews research indicating that subvocalization does not hinder reading ability and may assist less able readers. (Author/FL)