Stepping Stones to Literacy (SSL) is a supplemental curriculum designed to promote listening, print conventions, phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, and serial processing/rapid naming (quickly naming familiar visual symbols and stimuli such as letters or colors). The program targets kindergarten and older preschool students considered to…

"Just as we 'do' laundry in a certain way...so, too, we 'do' school. As educators, we gather students, we sort them (by grade level, ability, or both), we teach them, we test them, and we grade them." --From the Preface. The 20 thought-provoking poems in this collection are meant to promote reflective conversation about how educators do school.…

This report presents the findings of a study by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). To gather data for the study, NCEO designed a document review of state standards and supplementary instructional documents to help answer such questions as: Do states recommend instructional strategies in reading, mathematics, or science for English…

There is a national movement underway to assist teachers in connecting the ideas and practices found in multicultural, general, and special education (Sobel & Taylor, 2006, p.29). In particular, educators are seeking innovative ways to implements general education practices with students with low incidence disabilities. This article describes the…

This study investigated how preservice teachers' beliefs about the nature of knowledge influence how they learn from, and interact with, a case-based hypermedia system designed to highlight exemplary elementary literacy instruction. Specifically, we examined if teacher preparation students' epistemological beliefs influenced what cases they…

Developing students' ability to read is a critical educational goal, necessary in order that students can become successful members of society. Proficiency in reading increases opportunities for higher education and promotes positive social change.Unfortunately, many students struggle with comprehension, especially in the content areas. Some have…

In recent years, the teaching staff from the Central Queensland school of Wowan State Primary School have been responding to recently released Education Queensland initiatives or whole school literacy planning, "Literate Futures: Reading" (Education Queensland, 2002), and a framework for pedagogical reform, "Productive…

Reading motivation has been viewed as a multifaceted construct with multiple constituents. Our investigation of motivational multiplicity expanded on previous literature by including motivation constructs (interest, perceived control, collaboration, involvement, and efficacy), text genres, specific versus general contexts, and the self-versus…

The art of reading refers to the act of representing and interpreting text through oral dramatic reading. To the dismay of many teachers, reading is becoming a "lost art." Students are expected to apply specific literacy techniques rather than use their imagination to learn to enact text. Based on a study of the reading perceptions of natural oral…

Language-related differences between discrepancy-defined and non-discrepancy-defined poor readers were examined in a three-year longitudinal study that began at school entry. The discrepancy-defined (dyslexic) poor readers (n = 19) were identified in terms of poor reading comprehension and average or above average listening comprehension…

Research has shown that extensive reading offers a wide range of learning benefits to second language (L2) learners. However, most studies on L2 extensive reading are conducted collectively on groups of learners and do not provide a detailed picture of individual experience. Moreover, there are few studies conducted on the reading experiences of…

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the effects of the "Reading Success Level A" program on the comprehension skills of 93 fourth graders across four general education classrooms. Two general education teachers participated in this study over a 6-month period. Pre- and posttest data were collected on individual student…

Arthur Levine's (2006) study of teacher preparation in the United States and his resulting controversial recommendations have increased the need for teacher educators in independent institutions to share insights into designing and implementing effective degree programs. To that end, this article highlights aspects of an innovative M.A. Ed.…

Teaching literacy to struggling readers can present many challenges. This article suggests 10 strategies that can help middle and high school language arts and content area teachers meet them: (1) Ask for help; (2) Support word recognition needs; (3) Select appropriate materials; (4) Develop reading fluency; (5) Foster vocabulary acquisition; (6)…

This longitudinal project identified young children at risk of literacy difficulties and asked why some of these children fail to benefit from phonologically based intervention. Reception class children were screened to identify a group at risk of literacy difficulties and a matched group of children not at risk. Profiles were compiled for each…