Somalia has a long and rich oral literacy tradition of poetry, proverbs, and songs, while Somalia's print literacy history has been significantly disrupted by colonization and then the Somali Civil War. Many Somalis have fled the country since the start of the civil war in 1991, and an estimated 10,000 Somalis have made a new home in Maine. When…

Student retention has become a difficult issue within higher education. As such, it is imperative to examine the causes, as well as provide educators with strategies to implement to improve retention rates. "Critical Assessment and Strategies for Increased Student Retention" is a pivotal reference source for the latest progressive…

The article examines reading programs in use in Birmingham (United Kingdom) schools to evaluate their appropriateness in instructing partially sighted students in integrated settings. Suggestions are made for general appearance, contrast, paper type, type size and style, spacing, line length, readability, and vocabulary. (DB)

Reflecting the large amount of evidence linking children's progress in learning to read to their phonological awareness, this manual presents a program of phonological and phonological linkage activities, a set of reproducible record sheets, and 54 picture sheets used in the program. After an introduction and guide to the program, the manual…

Elementary school teachers know that classroom experiences do not just happen, but reflect a teaching and learning program that synthesizes a host of contemporary, and sometimes competing, concerns. To be coherent a program is something of an art form. This book elaborates some programming approaches developed by expert practitioners around…

This handbook provides suggestions for gathering and interpreting information about students' reading behavior; planning instruction that develops students' reading skills; and planning instruction that reinforces and extends students' reading skills in areas where they are successful. After a brief introductory section, the handbook presents a…

Based on recent reading research, this secondary school developmental reading curriculum guide presents a reading program to help developmental students acquire strategies to begin independent reading of a variety of print materials and for a range of purposes. The introductory section of the guide presents a rationale and a declaration of…

Intended for teachers in Tasmania, this booklet discusses making sense of language, the nature of written language, language and context, and organizing knowledge of the world. Chapter 1, Understanding Reading, contains a general discussion of the reading process as well as sections on the beginning and continuing reader, planning a reading…

Using information gathered through a study funded by the New Zealand Minister of Education, this document examines the history and implementation of the New Zealand government's 1:20 teacher-pupil ratio policy first set in motion in 1985, pupil progress associated with the policy, and related literature about class size. The following papers, each…

This booklet presents a reading and writing intervention program for French Canadian preschool children with developmental delays, to be implemented by parents or collaboratively by parents and teachers. The program calls for children to have frequent contacts with written language, in order to facilitate the development of a positive attitude…

One Israeli junior high school initiated an extensive reading program that promotes independent English reading and increases acquisition of English. This article explains how to get such a program started, develop guidelines, and handle problems. Student surveys indicated that similar numbers of students enjoyed reading English and reading…

With creative ideas contributed from Wisconsin youth services librarians, this manual is a practical guide for planning and implementing the state's 1999 summer library program. Dealing with the theme, "Go Global: Read!," this manual contains a broad spectrum of ideas--from solid information about varied cultures to playful fantasy tales…

Workplace literacy is literacy training provided in the workplace, incorporating basic skills training with job-related instructional materials. Early research efforts to define the literacy requirements of jobs began with two military projects, Operational REALISTIC and Project 100,000, in the late 1960s. Subsequent studies have focused on the…

Focusing on literature and the teaching of literature, this monograph presents and discusses salient issues, inviting the reader to participate in the dialogue. The first section following the introduction presents reasons for teaching literature and discusses the types, quality, and selection of literature, as well as literature and values. The…

Intended for teachers, this book on beginning literacy examines questions and solutions concerning literacy theories and practices. Chapter 1, "An Open Approach to Literacy," explores some assumptions about literacy and characteristics of a model for language learning. Chapter 2 presents historical viewpoints and current practices,…