Current conversations about children's literacy have focused on the need for more phonics and decoding instruction and have sidelined the importance of children's language development, argues George Hruby. Language development involves more than the ability to decode written language. The ability to understand the meaning of those words is also…

In this article Ernest Morrell argues that while it is right and important to focus on contemporary literacies, it would be erroneous to assume that digital tools are the real essence of any powerful classroom interaction. No matter what technological innovations arise, the core classroom transactions are between teachers and students, students…

This program, included in "Effective Reading Programs...," serves 459 students in grades 1-3 at 15 elementary schools. The program employs a diagnostic-prescriptive approach to instruction in a nongraded setting through the use of the Lippincott Basic Reading program. When a child enters the program, he is introduced to a decoding…

This program, included in "Effective Reading Programs...," serves 115 disadvantaged children in first through third grade and includes black, Filipino, white, and Spanish-surname students. Begun in 1965, Total Reading is a complete language arts program for the primary grades which integrates the teaching of reading, writing, spelling,…