Uses autobiographical analysis to understand the implicit beliefs of preservice teachers about teaching and learning. Finds five themes: instruction should be authentic, relevant, meaningful, purposeful, and interesting; students should be actively involved in their learning; reading and writing to learn are important; teachers can influence…

Interviews 20 vocational high school students about school and family histories, present school experiences, and reflections about their literacy histories. Discusses three themes that emerged: connections and disconnections between home and school literacy practices (and resulting frustrations and failures); difficulties meeting standards set by…

Discusses the importance of nonfiction as part of children's and young adults' reading. Topics include library collection development practices to keep nonfiction collections up-to-date; electronic formats that allow interaction; nonfiction picture books; booktalks; results of research on reading and skill development related to nonfiction; and…

Differs with those who respond to boys lagging behind girls in literacy by making more space in literacy curricula for reading and writing practices favored by boys. Looks at patterns of gender differentiation. Argues that, since reading gives access to other, wider ways of being, educators need curricula and assessment procedures that enable all…

In this volume, highly regarded authors in the field of reading research share what they know about today's hottest topic in education--Response to Intervention (RTI), the key to helping struggling students "before they fall behind." More than 30 expert contributors reveal what the latest research says about RTI's Three-Tier Approach:…

One of the most critical needs in Florida's "Reading First" schools is to improve the effectiveness of interventions for struggling readers. For example, during the 2005-2006 school year, only 17% of first grade students who began the year at some level of risk for reading difficulties finished the year with grade level skills on the…

There is little debate among researchers, policymakers, and educational stakeholders that reading achievement among African American students is an important issue (Strickland, 1994). While several scholars have contributed greatly to the research literature on matters pertaining to African American students and reading, additional research is…

Answering the call for a comprehensive textbook on what reading teachers really need to know, this is the book that arms educators with not just the what and the how, but also the why that other texts don't cover. Two prominent literacy experts team with an elementary school specialist to give preservice teachers an easy-to-understand textbook…

The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) was appointed in 2002 and carried out its work under the auspices of the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL). NELP's primary goal was to identify interventions, parenting activities, and instructional practices that promote the development of children's early literacy skills. The National Institute…

Rates of reading in the United States have been declining for at least two decades, with the steepest decline occurring among young adults. Fewer than half of adults read literature--poetry, plays, short stories or novels--in their leisure time. At the current rate of decline, literary reading will virtually disappear in the next half-century. Few…

This article reviews research to examine how teaching and learning are improved with the use of narrative story materials. Stories help to focus the reader's attention and build personal connection, resulting in better retention and deeper subject-matter understanding. Four key advantages of narratives cited by D. T. Willingham are discussed. The…

A study evaluated the Chapter 1 Reading Program that served 5,914 underachieving pupils in grades 1 through 8 in the Columbus, Ohio, public schools. The program provided service to 84 public elementary schools, 26 public middle schools, and 11 nonpublic schools. These students appeared unlikely to learn to read successfully without additional…

A literature-based reading program was introduced to 98 students in 5 second-grade classrooms in an urban school district with a socioeconomic status ranging from middle class to disadvantaged. Students were primarily African American or Hispanic. Of the total, 22% had previously been classified as "at risk" as determined by state regulations. The…

A longitudinal study documented the classroom experiences of 4 case study children from preschool through grade 2. The children studied were thought to be at-risk: Ani, a profoundly deaf child of hearing parents; Mark, a child of an immigrant family struggling to learn their way in a strange culture and language; and Caitlin and Ira,…

A study examined changes in students' valuing of reading during middle childhood and early adolescence. The study evaluated reading teachers' instructional practices as well as students' achievement motivation. Subjects were 254 male students and 276 female students: 140 in third grade; 142 in fifth grade; and 248 in sixth grade. The sample of 54…