This article uses the Stephen Crane story "The Open Boat" (freely available on the American English website) as an anchor text to demonstrate how teachers can apply Raphael's Question-Answer Relationship (QAR) technique to a text that students might be assigned to read. The article includes numerous examples and tips that teachers can…

Lack of interest in classroom activities, difficulty in understanding reading texts, and unfamiliarity with using reading strategies are the three major problems that negatively impact students' achievements in English as a foreign language (EFL) reading classes. This article considers integration of drama activities into EFL reading classes,…

This article covers the contribution reading and stories (children's literature) have made to reading, its study, its material world, and the implications for teaching and learning to read -particularly with picturebooks -- at the heart of that practice. It first explores the category of children's literature as a possible 'lie', but also its…

Face-to-face time with students in the early childhood college setting is at a premium and often flies by before we begin to scratch the surface of active learning. Building a community of learners is one of our main goals as instructors; therefore, we strive to set up active learning environments optimal for all students. This reflection on…

This paper highlights reciprocal teaching as an inclusive instructional strategy that has been shown to improve reading comprehension and metacognitive skills. It provides a conceptual background to reciprocal teaching and examines its purpose, strengths and weaknesses. The notion of reciprocal teaching as an evidence-based practice is also…

In science classes, teachers must consider the need for explicit, systematic reading instruction for students with learning disabilities (LD) while navigating the constructivist and activity-oriented methods typically employed in science instruction. The complexity of scientific information conveyed through print may make reading science texts the…

The author presents four approaches to shared reading that he used with first through third graders in a high-needs, urban elementary school with a large population of students from immigrant homes. Using sociocultural and cognitive constructivist principles, the author shows how these approaches built students' academic vocabulary and…

Institutions of higher education realise the importance of the role of learning organisations in terms of providing personnel training and updating. Yet further consideration should be given to flexible and accessible means for meeting the growing request for continuous learning. Jason Hughes describes an organization's capability to "learn how to…

With contributions from leading scholars, this compelling volume offers fresh insights into literacy teaching and learning--and the changing nature of literacy itself--in today's K-12 classrooms. The focus is on varied technologies and literacies such as social networking sites, text messaging, and online communities. Cutting-edge approaches to…

Constructivism refers to a collection of educational practices that are student-focused, meaning-based, process-oriented, interactive, and responsive to student personal interests and needs. In contrast, instructionism refers to a collection of educational practices that are teacher-focused, skill-based, product-oriented, non-interactive, and…

Based in a constructivist paradigm, socio-cultural views of literacy place a high degree of importance on how students connect to what they read. This means that instruction must follow constructivist principles and allow ample opportunity for discussion and learner-centered activities. In addition, this framework requires careful attention be…

High/Scope's approach to education is a blend of Jean Piaget's constructivist theory of child development and the best of traditional teacher experience. The High/Scope approach is about helping students gain knowledge and skills in important content areas, such as language and literacy, initiative and social relations, movement, music, and…

Constructivism refers to a collection of educational practices that are student-focused, meaning-based, process-oriented, interactive, and responsive to student personal interests and needs. In contrast, instructionism refers to a collection of educational practices that are teacher-focused, skill-based, product-oriented, non-interactive, and…