Describes Bedtime Story Nights, a county-wide project where parents could observe techniques for reading aloud to their children. Parents and 2- to 8-year-olds met monthly in the evenings for 30 minutes of stories, rhymes, and snack. Details benefits for children and parents, site variations, and family reactions to the program. Includes tips for…

This study examined the structural relationships between (a) the latent independent constructs of orthographic and lexical knowledge and phonological sensitivity and (b) the effect of these constructs on the latent construct of literacy manifested by reading aloud and spelling regular and exception English words in 156 Cantonese-speaking Chinese…

In this article, the author relates how she uses an art lesson that integrates art, language arts, and science in an enjoyable, creative project about dinosaurs in her kindergarten class. She relates how the children enjoy being illustrators and becoming familiar with well-known children's illustrators. She also relates that she starts her classes…

"Science Briefs" summarize the findings and implications of a recent study in basic science or clinical research. This brief reports on the study "Mother-Child Bookreading in Low-Income Families: Correlates and Outcomes during the First Three Years of Life" (H. Raikes, B. A. Pan, G. Luze, C. S. Tamis-LeMonda, J. Brooks-Gunn, J. Constantine, L. B.…

Too many middle school students struggle to comprehend their textbooks in science and other content areas. Thus, many adolescent learners lag behind in developing scientific literacy, which the National Research Council has defined as sufficient understanding of the scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision making,…

This article presents results from 2 studies comparing 3 approaches to teaching vocabulary during storybook reading: (a) contextual instruction, based on connecting words to their use in books and to children's personal experience; (b) analytical instruction, which enhances contextual instruction with semantic analysis of words in contexts other…

"Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition"[R] ("CIRC") is a comprehensive reading and writing program for students in grades 2 through 8. It includes story-related activities, direct instruction in reading comprehension, and integrated reading and language arts activities. Pairs of students (grouped either by or across…

Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are physically active and impulsive often to the point of being difficult to contain. Fortunately, advances in research and practice are helping unravel some of the mysteries of ADHD and with this information comes an imperative to inform individuals with ADHD about their disability.…

In this article, the author describes a day in the life of Sandy Meagher, a librarian for 22 years at the Honesdale, Pennsylvania, elementary school. On a normal day in the library, Meagher's activities include conducting sessions of read-aloud time, assisting children in selecting research materials for a class project, and guiding Internet…

Purpose: The primary purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the influence of context on interaction patterns used by mothers who are homeless with their preschool children during book-reading and game-playing activities. The impact of mothers' previously determined language functioning on their contextual use of facilitating language…

In this article, the author shares the lessons he learned from Aaron, a 12-year old kid who had never been to school, on the importance of crafting systematic fluency lessons. The following are strategies that worked for them: (1) Demonstrate what fluency sounds and feels like; (2) Read aloud to the students at least three times a day from a…

This article examines the curricular possibilities within critical inquiry-based primary classrooms. The children in this first through third grade multi-age, multi-lingual classroom participated in a two-year critical and collaborative inquiry around issues of segregation and the Jim Crow laws. A touchstone text, Freedom Summer (Wiles, 2001) and…

Learning to read and write is a social as well as a cognitive undertaking, and children are literally driven to learn language because of their need to communicate. Just as children go though stages in learning to talk, they go through similar stages when learning to read and write. Literacy learning is also rooted in the culture of the child and…

A study examined a program for improving attitudes toward reading. Subjects were 19 kindergarten, 39 first-grade, 17 second-grade, and 29 sixth-grade students in a middle class southwestern suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Reading attitude problems were documented through parent/student surveys and observations. Students' reading was prioritized in…

Intended primarily for teachers and others who work with children from approximately three to eight years of age, this book suggests ways to make and introduce Big Book versions of well-loved predictable stories and describes how shared book experiences can lead to learning across the curriculum. The book presents teaching tips, book…