What kind of meaningful learning goes on when an introverted and intuitive traditional professor imparts his knowledge to an extroverted student of the new wave generation? In a project exploring how teaching personalities influence student learning, a traditional professor of literature and a "new wave" (defined as characterized by…

Within the last few years English curriculum, especially at the introductory levels, has changed so that reading and the study of literature is integrated with the learning of writing skills. Consequently, English teachers need to consider the best way to merge the two skills by drawing upon the findings of psychologists and cognition theorists to…

This paper examines the context of critical reading and considers how it can best be taught. The paper also includes some reflections on the current "state of the art" in critical reading in an English for Special Purposes (ESP) or English as a Second Language (ESL) context. The paper details a series of attempts to develop a set of…

To illustrate the interdependent relationship between critical thinking and reading comprehension, and to show that critical thinking can be infused into classroom instruction using ordinary classroom materials (e.g. selections from a basal reading series), a study analyzed the transcript of a critical-thinking reading lesson for sixth grade…

Briefly summarizes popular perspectives on the native-language reading process; presents pertinent studies of second-language reading; and analyzes these studies for pedagogical implications in three categories: organization of prior knowledge during the pre-reading phase; development of metacognitive skills during the reading act; and careful…

Notes that expository text, the predominant form of writing in content textbooks, is generally more difficult for students to comprehend than narrative, which predominates in basal readers. Recommends the use of extended anticipation guides as a strategy for helping students build background knowledge for understanding content area texts. (SKC)

Explains why proficient readers may find it difficult to understand written directions. Indicates direct instructional strategies for helping such readers handle procedural text independently. (NKA)

Outlines a process approach to teaching literature which focuses both on meaningful writing and on the ways students respond to what they read. Suggests that such an approach can create in students a life-long love of literature. (ARH)

Discusses what objectives should be pursued in the teaching of English and the need for strong theory to underlie teaching practices. (SRT)

Argues that children need to be taught how to extract, synthesize, organize, and integrate important information from texts into their own knowledge structures and describes some techniques that can be used to activate prior knowledge. (HOD)

Describes instructional techniques, based on schema theory, which enable English as a second language (ESL) students to revise their writing to meet the expectations of English-speaking readers. Illustrates this approach by examining a Chinese-speaking student's first revision of an essay. (RS)

Describes literature study groups in which students choose the adolescent literature books they wish to read, write down their thoughts in journals, and share their reading experiences in discussion groups. Notes that students respond favorably, actively involving themselves in reading and discussing books. Discusses the problem of evaluating…

Multicultural books can make cultural awareness and appreciation an integral part of the classroom. This article examines various books that convey positive recognition of peoples' differences and similarities and that teach history, geography, nature, culture, problem solving, art, creativity, and race relations. (SM)

Research indicates that engagement with text is critical to becoming a good reader and can be fostered in primary grades by using informal assessments of individual student's reading ability to guide instruction. Describes running record, miscue analysis, and cloze-procedure assessment tools and the assessment task of oral retelling. Sidebars list…

When the author and her teaching colleague assessed their 7th and 8th grade students' research papers, they realized that although the papers demonstrated proper structure, the students had not gained meaningful understanding of their topics. Although the teachers had carefully prepared students to write, they had not ensured that students had…