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Noting that early reading achievement is increasingly being named as a top priority in venues ranging from national policy arenas to local schools and school districts, this book consolidates and summarizes research on early reading achievement, making it accessible to parents, teachers, administrators, and others concerned with children's reading success. The six essays in the book represent a joint effort of seven literacy educators who are committed to the improvement of children's literacy skills, and who represent a number of Michigan organizations and institutions that have a long history of successful collaboration. After a preface and introduction, the essays are: (1) "Toward a More Complex View of Balance in the Literacy Curriculum" (P. David Pearson and Taffy E. Raphael); (2) "Every Child a Reader: At Work in a First-Grade Classroom" (Elfrieda H. Hiebert); (3) "Diversity in a Democratic Society: Implications for Literacy Instruction" (Barbara J. Diamond); (4) "School-Family Connections: Why Are They So Difficult To Create?" (Patricia A. Edwards); (5) "A Michigan Early Literacy Parent/Teacher Collaboration" (Deanna Birdyshaw); and (6) "A Balanced Early Literacy Curriculum: An Ecological Perspective" (W. Dorsey Hammond). (Each chapter contains references.) (RS)

In the ever-changing world of education, beginning teachers need resources to turn to as they face new, daily challenges. In a collection of 22 essays, the book's author shares insights and experiences from her first three years of teaching, using humor, honesty, and compassion to cover diverse topics. The essays can make new teachers feel like they are not alone and allow veteran teachers to reflect on their own journeys. Following a Preface, the collection contains these essays: "The First Year: Knowing Enough for Now"; "The Second Year: Another Look"; "The Third Year: One More Down"; "Memorable First-Year Moments"; "The First Day of School"; "The Most Challenging Students"; "Finding Success--One Student at a Time"; "Heartaches in the Classroom"; "Using Your Fresh Perspective";"A Life Outside Teaching"; "Dealing with Your Students' First Teachers--Parents"; "Playing Can Be Productive"; "Planning Ahead: Avoiding the Grading Pile-Up"; "What a Difference a Year Makes"; "The Strength to Grow"; "Becoming a Mother of Many"; "My Favorite Lesson"; "The Lazy Days of Summer"; "Establishing a Support System"; "Dealing with Administration"; "Getting Involved"; and "A Sense of Relief." (NKA)

The College Reading Association believes and values literacy education for all as one way to protect people's freedoms. This 24th Yearbook celebrates the varied "faces" of literacy. The yearbook contains the following special articles: (Presidential Address) "What Is Johnny Reading? A Research Update" (Maria Valerie Gold); (Keynote Addresses) "Effective Reading Instruction: What We Know, What We Need to Know, and What We Still Need to Do" (Timothy Rasinski); "Stories That Can Change the Way We Educate" (Patricia Edwards); (J. Estill Alexander Leaders' Forum Address) "What Research Reveals about Literacy Motivation" (Linda Gambrell); (Dissertation Award) "Effects of Three Organizational Structures on the Writing and Critical Thinking of Fifth Graders" (Suzanne A. Viscovich); and (Thesis Award) "Moving Adolescent Mothers and Their Children toward the Path of Educated Independence" (Joan Scott Curtis). "The Faces of Literacy Teachers" section contains these articles: "Comparing Career Choices and Expectations of Inservice and Preservice Teachers: A Case Survey" (Amy R. Hoffman and Evangeline V. Newton); "Learning to Use a Self-Assessment Instrument to Advance Reflection-Based Literacy Practice" (Linda S. Wold); "Preservice School Experiences Impact Literacy Staff Development of Inservice Teachers" (Jane Brady Matanzo and Eliah J. Watlington); and "Apples and Oranges: Teachers' Judgments of the Utility of Word Identification Software for Supporting Classroom Instruction" (Barbara J. Fox). "The Faces of Change" section contains these articles: "Literacy, Literature and Transdisciplinary Education: Collaborative Investigations in Apples, Bats, and the Democratic Process" (Mary Lou Morton and Nancy L. Williams); and "Implementing a Successful America Reads Challenge Tutoring Program: Lessons Learned" (Rita M. Bean; Katy Belski; Gregory H. Turner). "The Faces of Diverse Literacies" section contains these articles: "Literacy Possibilities and Concerns for Mexican-American Children's Literature: Readers, Writers, and Publishers Respond" (Janelle B. Mathis); "A Cultural Examination of the Functions of Literacy from a Contextual Setting in Western Ukraine" (I. La Verne Raine; Wayne M. Linek; Brenda Smith); and "Children's Literature as a Catalyst for an EFL/ESL Writing Class" (Sabiha T. Aydelott). "The Faces of Children and Families" section contains these articles: "Using Play as a Context for Children's Acquisition of Phonemic Awareness" (Nicole Regush; Jim Anderson; Elizabeth A. Lee); and "Family Stories in K-3 Classrooms: Promoting Culturally Responsive Instruction" (Julie K. Kidd; Eva K. Thorp; Sylvia K. Sanchez). (NKA)

In this book 100 dynamic educators share some words that are important to them and what those words mean for teaching--here are the ideas that can start a teacher's day or stimulate new ideas for class activities. According to the book, each educator was asked to select a term that reflected an important idea for teaching; the terms appear in alphabetical order so it is easy to locate them. A recurring theme in the book is the need for teachers to see their personal strengths and skills as important contributions to their teaching. The following terms are addressed in the book: Adaptive; Age-Appropriate; Balance; Balanced Perspective; The Basics; Bonding; Caring; Collaboration; Community; Compassion; Cooperation; Crystallizing; Culturally Responsive Pedagogy; Curiosity; To Discover; Discussion; Ebullience; Emergent; Empathy; Encouraging; Energy; Engage; Enthusiasm; Ethical; Facilitator; Family Literacy; Flexibility; Formative Assessment; Friendship; A Good Teacher; Guide; Heart; Hidden; Honesty; Hope; Imagination; Imitative; Immersion; Incendiary; Inquiry; Inspiring; Integrity; Juggler; Kidwatching; Kindness; Laughter; Learner; Listener; Love; Metamorphosis; Motivation; Musing; "Obuchenie" (Russian); Open; Openness; Optimistic; Option; Partner; Passion; Performer; Perseverance; Perseverance and Reflection; Reflection; Respect; Rhetoric; Scholar Ethos; Self-Expression and Imagination; Self-Knowledge; Self-Renewal; Sensibility; Sensitivity; Spiritual Pedagogy; Struggle; Subversion; Support; Teach; Theory; Total Involvement and Total Commitment; Trust; Turbulence; Versatility; Vision; Visionary; Worldliness; and Yes and Solitude. (NKA)

The articles in this Proceedings of the 2000 College Reading Association Conference focus on teachers/mentors. Following the Presidential Address, "Literacy 2001: What Is and What Should Be" (J. Cassidy) and the Early Leader, "College Reading Then and Now: How Much of a Difference Has 50 Years Made" (M. Maxwell), articles in the Proceedings are: "Nature of Literature-Based Electronic Mail Collaboratives between Fourth Grade Struggling Readers and Preservice Teachers: A Multiple-Case Study" (C.A. McKeon); "Influence of Audience Awareness in Children's Writing of Different Genres: Case Study of a Second-Grade Class" (R.A. Oswald); "Using Repeated Reading, Paired Reading, and Demonstration to Improve Reading Fluency" (S. Gerdes); "Children's Aesthetic and Ethnic Involvement in Response to Multicultural Picture Books" (R.P. Harlin and L. Dixon-Krauss); "The Instant Phonograms: Phonograms Worth Teaching" (T. Rasinski and B. O'Connor); "Tuesdays with Nora" (C.R. O'Connor); "Making and Writing Words in a Second Grade Classroom" (R.A. Oswald and T. Rasinski); "Exploring the Evolution of Public School Teachers' Perceptions of University/Public School Partnerships: The Quest for Collaborative Preparation of Literacy Teachers" (M.B. Sampson; M. Foote; C. Fleener; L. Moore); "Literacy Teacher-Researchers Unite: Factors That Motivate in a Professional Development Setting" (M.E. Styslinger); "Do Academic Centers Meet Students' Needs?" (M.M. Cash; L. Saumell; M.T. Hughes); "Enhancing and Reinforcing the Concept Knowledge of English Language Learners through Children's Literature" (J.B. Matanzo); "Netsearch Strategies of Experienced Researchers" (S.D. Lenski); "Teaching Inquiry Project: Promoting Reflection and Action in Literacy Education for Preservice Teachers" (L. Elish-Piper); "Releasing Responsibility for Assessment of Their Learning to Preservice Teachers" (B.L. Goerss); "Improving Preservice Teacher's Learning from Tutoring Struggling Readers: Lessons from the Field" (H.M. Anthony and D.L. Harris); "Examining the Literacy Beliefs and Change Processes of Preservice Teachers with Reading Specializations in a Field-Based Teachers Education Program: Critical Dissonance Factors" (B. Smith; M.B. Sampson; W.M. Linek; I.L. Raine); "Questions Parents Ask: The FAQ Project" (N.D. Padak; M. Mraz; J.D. Kinner; D. Grubler; C. McKeon; E. Newton; J. Peck); "Do You Want Me to Read to You?: A Case Study of Older Siblings' Literacy Teaching" (L.A. Lenhart); and "Parents as Partners: Improving Children's Writing" (E.F. Guastello). (NKA)

Letters and notes between grandchildren and grandparents can bring mutual benefits. This book shows grandparents how to start writing, what to write about, how to make writing fun and easy, how to get replies, and how to write memorable letters. The book, a sequel to "With Love, Grandma" (1998), provides sample letters on numerous topics for all ages. One of the issues it addresses is character development. The book's first few chapters seek to develop the traits crucial to gaining self-esteem and confidence. The book also covers citizenship. Following an introduction, the book is divided into these chapters: Writing Letters to Children; Growing Inside and Out; Letters Connect the Generations; Relating to Others; Becoming a Citizen; and Quick Ideas for Quick Letters. (NKA)

This book describes a way to develop effective spellers--boys and girls who have a system for writing words accurately in their school compositions and in personal messages. Teachers know that to develop effective spellers, they must attend to helpful rules and to regular practice. Most research on effective spelling can be reduced to these two techniques: knowing the patterns of English spelling and writing regularly. Young writers need to know there is a system in English-language spelling that enables them to devise generalizations for solving spelling problems. By paying attention to the sound-spelling system and by developing related memory techniques, students establish the habits needed to spell accurately. This book puts spelling in perspective, teaches the important spelling patterns, shows children how to self-correct their writing, and demonstrates the regularity of English spelling. Based on a study of more than 16,000 student compositions, the book gives spelling instruction a practical focus that makes teaching and learning easier and improves performance. It is designed to help teachers motivate children, understand how children learn to spell, develop a teaching strategy for spelling, and know which areas to concentrate on. Appended are criteria for evaluating a spelling program, and words for a spelling program. Contains approximately 100 references. (NKA)

In this essay collection, scholars in the area of early literacy provide concrete strategies for achieving excellence in literacy instruction. The collection presents current, research-based information on the advances and refinements in the area of emerging literacy and the early stages of formal instruction in reading and writing. Following a foreword (Alan Farstrup) and an introduction (Dorothy S. Strickland and Lesley Mandel Morrow), chapters in the collection are: (1) "Beginning Reading and Writing: Perspectives on Instruction" (William H. Teale and Junko Yokota); (2) "Becoming a Reader: A Developmentally Appropriate Approach" (Susan B. Neuman and Sue Bredekamp); (3) "Literacy Instruction for Young Children of Diverse Backgrounds" (Kathryn H. Au); (4) "Enhancing Literacy Growth through Home-School Connections" (Diana H. Tracey); (5) "Children's Pretend Play and Literacy" (Anthony D. Pellegrini and Lee Galda); (6) "Talking Their Way into Print: English Language Learners in a Prekindergarten Classroom" (Celia Genishi, Donna Yung-Chan, and Susan Stires); (7) "Organizing and Managing a Language Arts Block" (Lesley Mandel Morrow); (8) "Classroom Intervention Strategies: Supporting the Literacy Development of Young Learners at Risk" (Dorothy S. Strickland); (9) "Teaching Young Children to Be Writers" (Karen Bromley); (10) "Phonics Instruction" (Margaret Moustafa); (11) "Reading Aloud from Culturally Diverse Literature" (Lee Galda and Bernice E. Cullinan); (12) "Fostering Reading Comprehension" (Linda B. Gambrell and Ann Dromsky); (13) "Assessing Reading and Writing in the Early Years" (Bill Harp and Jo Ann Brewer); (14) "Sign of the Times: Technology and Early Literacy Learning" (Shelley B. Wepner and Lucinda C. Ray); and (15) "Still Standing: Timeless Strategies for Teaching the Language Arts" (Diane Lapp, James Flood, and Nancy Roser). (NKA)

Suggesting that teaching in New Times requires that educators read and re/mediate the social relations, the cultural knowledges, and the relationships of power between adolescents and their social, biological, and semiotic universes, this collection of essays offers new ways of seeing and talking about adolescents and their literacies. Most of the essays were presented at the 1999 International Reading Association annual convention in San Diego, California, and all are reprinted from the February 2000 issue of the "Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy." The essays are all deliberate attempts to raise and "change the subject" of adolescent literacy by pushing the boundaries of the field. After an editorial by Allan Luke and John Elkins, essays in the book are: "Reinventing Adolescent Literacy for New Times: Perennial and Millennial Issues" (Elizabeth Birr Moje, Josephine Peyton Young, John E. Readence, and David W. Moore); "Teenagers in New Times: A New Literacy Studies Perspective" (James Paul Gee); "New Literacies in Teacher Education" (Carmen Luke); "Fandom and Critical Media Literacy" (Donna E. Alvermann and Margaret C. Hagood); "Critical Literacy in Australia: A Matter of Context and Standpoint" (Allan Luke); and "But Will It Work in the Heartland? A Response and Illustration" (Cynthia Lewis and Bettina Fabos). (RS)

In this Proceedings from the 1999 College Reading Association Conference, many articles reflect on the heritage of centuries and upon the possibilities of growth in literacy learning programs, while others consider meaning making and how these factors can be best incorporated in literacy learning programs. Following the Presidential Address, "Listening to Learners" (N. Padak) and the Keynote Address, "Teacher Decision Making in Literacy Education: Learning to Teach" (G.S. Pinnell), articles are: "Perspectives from Fifty Years of Teaching: A Personal Odyssey" (E.L. Kress); "This Is Reading!" (R.A. Kress); "An Exploration of Reading Attitudes and Literary Character Identification in Third Graders" (B.S. Abromitis); "'Everybody Should Do Literature Clubs': Students Reveal Their Perceptions of the Experience" (D.H. Stuart); "Teaching Metacognitive Strategies to Enhance Higher Level Thinking of Adolescents" (E.H. Kingery); "The Integration of Conation, Cognition, Affect and Social Environment in Literacy Development" (C. Fleener; J. Hager; R.F. Morgan; M. Childress); "Investing in Portfolio Assessment" (L.L. Thistlethwaite; A.M. Ferree; R.A. Radcliffe; B.C. Higginson; J.A. Miller); "Constructing the --isms of Making Meaning" (G. Font and G.G. Hruby); "Philosophical Dilemmas in Undergraduate and Graduate Literacy Programs" (M.W. Strong; S.B. Wepner; M.J. Furlong; A.D. Wartenberg); "Construction of 'How-to' Books in a Secondary Content Area Literacy Course: The Promise and Barriers of Writing-to-Learn Strategies" (P. Daisey); "What They Know and Believe about Family Literacy: Preservice and Mentor Teachers Respond and Reflect" (M.M. Foote and P.E. Linder); "Constructive Comprehension and Metacognitive Strategy Instruction in a Field Based Teacher Education Program" (M. Fazio); "Field Based or Traditional: Examining Preservice Teachers' Rationales for Selecting a Teacher Preparation Program" (M.B. Sampson; I.L. Raine; D.H. Harkins); "Integrating Language and Literacy through Projects: An Applied Internship Experience" (J.K. Kidd; S.Y. Sanchez; E.K. Thorp); "Preservice Teachers Explore Culturally Responsive Instruction" (J.B. Mathis); "From Theory to Practice: A Qualitative Case Survey of TEFL Peace Corps Volunteers in Armenia" (E. Newton and L.A. Smolen); "Lessons in Teacher Education: What We Learn from Overseas" (P.L. Bloem; A.L. Williams; S. Nixon-Ponder; P. Novotny); "Mentoring in the Information Age: A Study of Telementor Functions Between Preservice Teachers and Middle School Students" (N. Van Valkenburgh and S. Grierson); "Literacy On Line: Learning about Authentic Assessments via the Web" (E. Roberts; C. Doheny; D. Harkins); "Preservice Teacher's Conceptual Development Using Computer Mediated Communication in Language Arts Classes" (S.K. Goetze; B.J. Walker; D. Yellin); "Rethinking the Language Arts: A Framework for School Wide Professional Practice" (B.J. Reinken and C.M. King); "A New View of Staff Development: The Role of Peer Coaching in Effecting Change in the Primary Literacy Classroom" (L.K. Haid; M. MacBee; J. Stack; S. Riley); "Using Literature to Develop Workplace Communication Skills for Career Acceleration" (L. Dixon-Krauss and L.R. McClanahan); "College Students' Use of Self-Selected Learning Strategies When Interacting with Easy and Difficult Text" (N. Marshall); and "Influence of a Process Approach to Writing Instruction, Including Audience Specifications, on the Writing Development of a Second-Grade Student: The Story of Samuel" (R.A. Oswald). (NKA)

This booklet features articles that explore the roles and relationships in partnerships for enhancing reading and writing in the elementary years. The authors communicate how voices outside the reading profession--parents, community members, and state and federal policymakers--are affecting literacy instruction, and how educators must establish a dialogue with these diverse voices. The booklet's 7 articles are as follows: (1) "Editorial: Voices of the Other: Understandings Emerging from the Controversy" (Priscilla L. Griffith); (2) "The De-democratization of Schools and Literacy in America" (James V. Hoffman); (3) "The International Reading Association Responds to a Highly Charged Policy Environment" (Cathy Roller); (4) "The Voices of Researchers: Conflict and Consensus in Reading Research and Policy" (Claude Goldenberg); (5) "Educators Influencing Legislators: Commentary and the Kentucky Case" (Shirley C. Raines); (6) "Making Kids Winners: New Perspectives about Literacy from Urban Elementary School Principals" (Jennifer C. Dandridge, Patricia A. Edwards, and Heather M. Pleasants); and (7) "Stopping the Silence: Hearing Parents' Voices in an Urban First-Grade Family Literacy Program" (Robert J. Nistler and Angela Maiers). (SR)

This collection of brief articles, targeting middle school educators, features ideas for reading improvement. The following articles are included: "Special Ed Students Should Read and Re-read for Fluency"; "Collaboration between Special Education and Regular Education: What It Is and How We Make It Work" (Deborah LeGrande); "Newspapers, an Excellent Source for Classroom Activities"; and "Reading Groups Improve Student Comprehension." (NKA)

This collection of essays contains a brief description of the symptoms of dyslexia and a definition of the terminology. The meaning of being the mother of a dyslexic child and how to live with this "hidden handicap" are also described. Suggestions regarding how to treat persons with reading and writing difficulties are put forward. After a foreword and an introduction, the essays are: "Reading and Writing Difficulties and Dyslexia (Britta Ericson); "Living with a Handicap" (Birgitta Johansson); "To Be Seen as a Person" (Kajsa Stening); "Walking with Your Child Side by Side" (Katarina Stening); "How To Deal with People Having Reading and Writing Difficulties" (Birgitta Johansson and Kajsa Stening; "A Few Thoughts on Dyslexia" (Serge Garcet); and "Reading and Writing Difficulties form a Belgian Point of View" (Arlette Paulissen). (Author/RS)

This booklet features eight K-6 teachers from the region served by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) whose work illustrates research-based principles of how children learn to read and write and the environments that support that learning. (These principles were presented as 13 core understandings about learning to read in NWREL's 1997 research synthesis, "Building a Knowledge Base in Reading.") The booklet presents vignettes of diverse teachers and their K-6 classrooms. The teachers in the booklet represent rural, suburban, and urban settings; various student demographics; a range of teaching experience; and various teaching styles--while the teachers were chosen to illustrate the core understandings, they are anything but uniform in their literacy instruction. The teachers in the booklet vary in the ways they organize their classrooms, group students, select and use materials, and assess reading development; some are more systematic in their skill and strategy instruction, while others plan instruction as needed in the context of a specific reading experience. In each vignette in the booklet, selected core understandings have been highlighted, but others are readily apparent as well; vignettes are organized by grade level. In addition to the core understandings, the booklet stresses that learning to read requires access to critical components, among them adequate time, appropriate texts, knowledgeable teachers, and useful demonstrations about how reading and writing work. An appendix lists the International Reading Association/National Council of Teachers of English standards for the English language arts. (NKA)

Intended for parents, this book offers straightforward directions on how to guide children in constructing a composition. It also helps parents review and clarify compositions that their children have already written. The book gives a developmental perspective to children's performance and includes sample compositions from actual classroom writing of children in grades 3-5. Chapters in the book are: (1) What Do Kids Write about in the Early Grades?; (2) Follow a Writing Process; (3) Prewriting: "How Do I Get Started?"; (4) Drafting: "How Do I Write the First Version?"; (5) Revising: "How Can I Improve What I've Written?"; (6) Proofreading: "How Can I Check for Mistakes?"; (7) Writing Descriptions; (8) Writing Letters; (9) Writing about Literature; and (10) Writing Stories. The book contains worksheets to give parent and child a thorough guide to improved writing, starting with early activity in the elementary grades. (CR)

This collection of essays exemplifies the universal theme that competence in language is key to success in learning and in life. The research studies reported in the collection offer insights into the challenges of literacy learning in Asia: social, cultural, and linguistic factors that sometimes constrain the teacher's approach to instruction. While coming from different Asian educational systems, the essays reflect similar themes and concerns. Following an introduction, essays in the collection are: (1) "Literacy Instruction in Taiwan: Teachers' Beliefs and Their Classroom Practices" (Chem Chiou Lan); (2) "The Composing Processes of University Student Writers: A Comparison across Two Competence Groups" (Antonia Chandrasegaran); (3) "Learning English in Hong Kong Pre-School Centres: A Research Project" (Ng Seok Moi); (4) "Promoting Second Language Development and Reading Habits through an Extensive Reading Scheme" (Vivienne Yu Wai Sze); (5) "Use of Action Research in Exploring the Use of Spoken English in Hong Kong Classrooms" (Andy Curtis); (6) "A Study of Extensive Reading with Remedial Reading Students" (Propitas M. Lituanas, George M. Jacobs, Willy A. Renandya); and (7) "Second Language Writers' Knowledge and Perceptions about Writing and Learning to Write Strategies" (Kwah Poh Foong). Short reports are: (1) "The Message of Marking: Teachers' Attitudes to the Writing of ESL Students" (Vivian Li Yuk Yi); (2) "An Investigation of EFL College Students' Listening Comprehension: A Case Study of Cadets Studying English at the Chinese Military Academy" (Chen Li Jung); and (3) "The Effects of Well-Written Texts and Glossaries on the Comprehension of Academic Texts" (Evy Chrysanti Ridwan, Purnama Wahyuningsih, Etika Noor). (Each essay contains references.) (NKA)

This book addresses reading issues pertaining to college students at all levels, and is envisioned as an essay collection of interest to educators involved with college reading, as well as those in other disciplines. Section 1 (Perspectives) presents 4 essays, which describe how college readers perceive reading and writing: "'Josh': Case Study of an Underprepared College Student in a Response-Centered Composition Classroom" (Evangeline Newton); "Reader Assignation of Race/Ethnicity to Ambiguously Depicted School Principals in Chapter Books" (Marguerite Cogorno Radencich); "Whole Language: A Survey of a College Population" (Latty L. Goodwin); and "The Spontaneous Comprehension Monitoring Strategies of College Freshmen and College Seniors" (Barbara Martin Palmer). Section 2 (Practices) presents 2 essays, which address a way of changing teacher education through journaling, and the relationship between electronic conferencing and the reading, writing and thinking of community college readers: "University and Classroom Conversations: Transformative Education Found, Lost, and Found Again" (Nina Zaragoza, Jane Devick, and Deborah Beam); and "Factors Associated with Computer-Mediated Pre-Writing and Reading Activities" (Bob Lucking, Ray Morgan, and Ann Woolford-Singh). (Contains approximately 120 references.) (EF)

Based on years of experience with intergenerational correspondence at the "Senior Partners Network," this book is designed to help grandparents (and grandchildren) to find the right topics for correspondence, all laid out in clear steps. The book also offers sample letters, cards, and e-mail messages, and provides dozens of themes. The book's goal is to help grandparents connect with their grandchildren in a "warm and fun-loving manner"--through regular letter writing. Emphasizing that letter writing provides mutual benefits, the book notes that strong bonds through letters can help grandchildren succeed in school and can promote kindness and good citizenship. The book offers sample letters for diverse holidays; discusses building family relationships; storytelling; humor; and pets; and presents ways to use the four seasons for letters writing. It also considers school and learning and letters about school and presents "quick ideas for quick letters." (NKA)

This revised edition of the first volume of the "Best of the Running Record Newsletter" contains 23 articles published between March 1989 and Spring 1998--some selections are from the now out-of-print first edition. Articles are arranged by subject matter to assist the reader in finding articles which address a particular point of interest. Section 1, Historical Perspective, contains the following articles: "Why Reading Recovery Works, May 1989" (Barbara Watson); "An Early Intervention To Prevent Literacy Learning Difficulties: What Is Possible? Spring 1994" (Marie M. Clay); and "Welcome Speech, Fall 1995" (William D. Lynch). Section 2, Research and Rationales, contains the following articles: "Reading Recovery Swift, Effective in Reversing Reading Failure, MacArthur Study Find, Winter 1992" (Gay Su Pinnell); "The Role of the University in Reading Recovery in North America, Spring 1993" (Janet S. Gaffney and Gay Su Pinnell); and "Rationale for Teaching At Least Four Reading Recovery Children, Spring 1997" (Noel Jones). Section 3, Reading Recovery Training, contains these articles: "Reading Recovery Teachers as Lifelong Learners: Teachers in Transition, Autumn 1991" (Diane DeFord) and "Interpreting Teacher/Student Interactions in Reading Recovery from a Vygotskian Perspective, Winter 1993" (Carol A. Lyons). Section 4, Teaching for Diversity, contains the following articles: "Descubriendo La Lectura: A Reconstruction of Reading Recovery in Spanish, Winter 1994" (Kathleen McDonough); "Helping All Students Learn, Winter 1994" (Raquel C. Mireles); "Responding to Changing Demographics: Selecting Reading Recovery Books, Winter 1994" (Linda Garrett); "Text Selection for Limited English Proficient Students in Reading Recovery, Winter 1994" (Diana Geisler); and "'We Goed to Readin': Understanding How Children Learn Language, Fall 1995" (Nancy Anderson). Section 5, Teaching and Learning in Reading Recovery, contains the following articles: "A Closer Look at the Writing Component in the Reading Recovery Program, Autumn 1990" (Mary D. Fried); "Learning To Look at Print, Autumn 1992" (Steve Hansell); "Organizing Reading Recovery Lessons for Efficiency and Effectiveness, Autumn 1993" (Steve Hansell); "Dual Processing in Reading: Don't 'Get Your Mouth Ready' Yet, Autumn 1994" (Noel Jones); "Reading Recovery and Phonics: A Response for Parents, Autumn 1994" (Steve Hansell); "What Does Teaching at the Word Level Really Mean? Winter 1994" (Rose Mary Estice); "Doing It by the Book...or, Using the Language of the Guidebook in Our Teaching, Winter 1995" (Judith Neal); "Using Patterns of Responding to 'Follow the Child,' Spring 1997" (Rose Mary Estice); "Helping the Hard-To-Accelerate Child: Problem-Solving the More Difficult Cases, Fall 1997" (Noel Jones); and "Teaching for Strategies in Writing: Maintaining the Balance between Composing and Transcribing, Spring 1998" (Lee Skandalaris). (Each article contains references.) (NKA)

Presenting a wide array of Internet addresses and sample lessons, this book shows how teachers can integrate the Internet into their K-12 curriculum to actively involve students. The first section of the book (chapters 1-6) deals with the programs needed to use the Internet, as well as 100 great web sites for teachers, how to manage the Internet classroom, and how to search the Internet effectively and easily. The second section (chapters 7-16) contains lessons with clearly stated goals, rationales, objectives, procedures, and evaluation guidelines. New to the third edition are reproducible Black Line Masters and Evaluation Rubrics that consider each aspect of the activity. After a matrix of contents and an introduction to the basics, chapters in the book are: (1) "The World Wide Web"; (2) "A Wealth of Web Sites"; (3) "Using the Internet for Teaching--Rules for the Road"; (4) "Searching on the Web--Directories and Search Engines"; (5) "Developing and Designing a Web Site"; (6) "The Past, Present, and Future of the Web"; (7) "E-pals and Keypals"; (8) "A Whale of a Time!"; (9) "The CyberNews"; (10) "The ABCs of Canada"; (11) "Virtually Together in D.C."; (12) "Get a Job!"; (13) "A Book an Hour"; (14) "The Ambassador to Mexico WebQuest"; (15) "The Games People Play"; and (16) "Just for the Little Kids." Contains a 28-item list of selected Internet books and a 37-item abridged glossary of Internet terms. (RS)

Papers in this collection focus on diverse issues in literacy ranging from motivation to wordless books to professional development schools. Papers in the collection, and their authors, are as follows: "The New Literacy and Reading Workshop: How Comfortable Is Too Comfortable?" (Jeanne Henry); "Fostering Reading Motivation: Insights from Theory and Research" (Linda B. Gambrell and Rose Marie Codling); "Standards for the English Language Arts: Stylish but Stillborn" (Thomas Cloer, Jr.); "Skill Standards: Establishing a Framework for Basic Skills" (Eunice N. Askov); "Balanced Reading Programs: Exploring Their Essentials" (Mona W. Matthews; Jerry L. Johns; Victoria J. Risko; Marian Tonjes); "Wordless Books: Promise and Possibilities, A Genre Comes of Age" (Sarah Dowhower); "Reading Instruction in the Middle School Mathematics Classroom" (Chet H. Laine; Terry L. Bullock; Bob Drake); "The Relationship of Standardized Reading Scores to Children's Self-Perception as Readers" (Thomas Cloer, Jr. and Shana Y. Ross); "Perspectives on Schema and Reading Comprehension: Content or Formal Schema? What Promises?" (Samuel S. Myers); "The Making of a Researcher: A Self-Study of a Mentoring Relationship" (Josephine Peyton Young and Donna E. Alvermann); "Storytelling to Promote Emergent Literacy: Prospective Teachers' Storytelling Experiences and Expectations" (Reed Motley and Richard Telfer); "Reflecting Retelling: Perceptions of Preservice Teachers and Implications for Instruction" (Marie F. Doan Holbein and Jane Brady Matanzo); "Seeking Readers: Integrating Gay and Lesbian Texts into a Developmental Reading and Writing Course" (Michaeline Lane); "Empowering Teachers through a Professional Development School and Classroom Action Research" (Joyce C. Fine); "The Perils and Promises of One School/College Partnership" (Marilyn G. Eanet); "A Literacy-Focused Professional Development Academy" (Shannon W. Kossack and Joyce C. Fine); "Teacher Training and the Effects of Past Experience on Preservice Teacher's Concerns for the Role of the Internet in Planning and Instruction" (Anne L. Mallery and Jane F. Rudden); "World Wide Web: Proposals and Pilots for Connecting Schools to Authentic Commerce in Literature, Ideas, Humanitarianism, and the Free Market" (Anthony V. Manzo; Amy Barnhill; Andrew Lang; Ula C. Manzo); "The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age" (Wayne Otto; Rick Erickson; Ken Smith); and "Reaction to 'The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age'" (Eunice N. Askov). (NKA)

This book presents 25 essays and studies that explore the interplay of a variety of factors that provide the fuel for individual and collaborative explorations into the nature of literacy. Essays and studies in the book are "Patterns of Response: Struggling Readers Respond to a Real Book during Transactional Literature Discussion" (JoAnn Rubino Dugan); "Literacy Behaviors in the Spontaneous Play of a Multi-National Group of First Graders in a Small Overseas School" (Karen E. Schroeder); "Those Wonderful Toys: Read-Alouds from the Classics and Assorted Literature" (Judy Richardson); "If the Horse Is Dead, Get Off" (Wayne Otto); "Beginning Reading Methods: A Review of the Past" (Lillian R. Putnam and Ray Reutzel); "Controversial Pathways to Literacy: The Present" (D. Ray Reutzel);"Future Controversial Issues in Literacy: The Same Old Stuff or a Whole New Ball Game?" (William A. Henk); "Recreational Reading Choices: How Do Children Select Books?" (Charlene Fleener, Susan Morrison, Wayne M. Linek, Timothy V. Rasinski); "The Role of Textbooks and Reading in Content Area Classrooms" (Teresa Murden and Cindy S. Gillespie); "Graduate Students' Explorations: Their Own Words on Research and Writing" (YeVette McWhorter); "Storybook Reading in Even Start families" (Nancy Padak, Timothy V. Rasinski, Jennifer A. Fike); "Parents in a Family Literacy Program: Their Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors Regarding Literacy Learning" (Patricia E. Linder); "Coherence: One Aspect Examined of the Textual Features of the Needs of Beginners" (Liqing Tao); "Analytic Categories for Practitioners' Assessment of Instructional Discourse in Literacy Teaching: Observation in the Reading Clinic Setting" (Kathleen Roskos and Barbara Walker); "Instructional Teams in a University Clinic" (Linda Hughes and Catherine Zeek); "Preparing Preservice Elementary Teachers for Professional Collaboration with Special Education Literacy Teachers" (A. Lee Williams); "The Evolution of a Professional Development Center: Collaboration, Reflective Assessment and Refinement" (Mary Beth Sampson, Wayne M. Linek, LaVerne Raine, Pat Westergaard); "Learning to Teach in the 'Real World': Reflections on Field-Based Reading Instruction" (Evangeline V. Newton); "Promoting Diversity: A Learning Community Project for College Reading Programs and Teacher Education Programs" Mary Sheehy Costello and Norman A. Stahl); "The Field Experience Triad: Influences of the College Instructor and Cooperating Teacher on the Preservice Teacher's Beliefs, Practices, and Intentions Concerning Literacy Instruction" (Deidra W. Frazier, Thomasine H. Mencer, Mary Annette Duchein); "Redefining Reflective Practice: Thinking Forward about Conditions That Support Literacy Learning" (Jacqueline K. Peck); "Building Bridges: Designing Project Portfolios to Accommodate the Needs of Beginners" (Joan B. Elliot and Barbara Illig-Aviles); "Reducing Resistance to Content Area Literacy Courses" (Lia F. Maimon); "The Unheard Voices of Students in School Reform: A Collaborative Study with Content Reading Preservice Teachers" (Don Pottorff); and "A Collaborative Model for Developing a Children's Literature Pathway into Preservice Methods Course" (Jane B. Matanzo and Marie F. Doan). (RS)

This book offers ideas to help parents teach positive values to their children. The book suggests ways to teach children to have the courage to tell the truth; to understand the value of hard work and persistence; and to make positive contributions to their community, their country, and their world. It includes four sections on helping children grow into successful individuals, family members, students, and citizens. The book contains 95 activities and lists of carefully selected popular, award-winning children's books which offer positive learning experiences so that children can cultivate important character traits and values, such as honesty, persistence, appreciating the value of hard work, and avoiding stereotypes. (CR)

This book presents 12 strategies (focusing on one strategy a week) for students to increase vocabulary and boost communication skills, suggesting that these techniques can easily double the average person's vocabulary. After an introduction, the book presents the following 12 techniques: (1) "Expand on What You Know: Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homophones"; (2) "Build through Word Structure: Base Words and Prefixes"; (3) "Build through Word Endings: Base Words and Suffixes"; (4) "Find Related Words and Grow"; (5) "Gain Meaning from Context"; (6) "Say Exactly What You Mean"; (7) "Play the Analogies Game"; (8) "Create Word Maps and Word Webs"; (9) "Search for Treasure in Dictionaries and Thesauruses"; (10) "Learn More about Word Structure: Roots and Affixes"; "Discover Latin and Greek Word Families"; and (12) "Take a Foreign Tour: Words from Other Languages." An epilogue, "Keep Building Your Vocabulary: An Ongoing Process," is attached. (RS)

This guide shows parents how to combine story reading, phonics, and writing to help their children develop into skilled and motivated readers. The guide discusses how to prepare children for reading success; how to use children's literature to promote learning and enjoyment; why combining book experiences and phonics is better than using either approach alone; ways to use writing to enhance children's reading progress; why reading aloud is important; and which books to use and where to find them. Chapters in the guide are: (1) "The "Great Debate"; (2) "Acquiring Language and Learning To Read"; (3) "Early Readers: What Can They Teach Us?"; (4) "What Works? One Successful Program"; (5) "Using 'Real Books' in Your Program"; (6) "Preparing for Formal Lessons"; (7) "Book Reading and Strategy Development"; (8) "Learning about Letters, Sounds, and Words"; (9) "Story Writing in the Reading Lesson"; and (10) "Putting It All Together: A Sample Lesson." Contains 34 references. Appendixes present a 600-item bibliography of children's trade books and a special note for Christian educators. (RS)

This collection of 17 papers provides a blueprint for teachers who want increasingly sophisticated methods for monitoring student growth and can serve as a resource for in-service educators as literacy instruction changes. Papers in the first section of the book examine literacy assessment as it pertains to school-age children. Papers in the second section illustrate how portfolios can be used in a variety of different settings from the classroom through higher education. Papers in the book are "Assessment Criteria in First Grade: What Do Teachers Want to Know about Students' Reading and Writing?" (Elizabeth Pryor); "Learning about Literacy through Retelling" (Gail G. Smith and Diane Keister); "Profiling Students' Achievement in Language and Literacy: Merging Perspectives" (Gerry Shiel and Patrick Forde); "Assessment of Reading Attitudes: Validity Issues" (Mary M. Brittain and Clay V. Brittain); "'I Believe Learning Is Concentrating, Figuring Things Out, and Sometimes Having Fun': Revisiting the Reading Clinic" (Nancy B. Cothern); "Involving Graduate Students in Personal Literacy Evaluation through the Use of Portfolios" (Diane D. Allen); "Teachers as Learners: Experiencing Self-Evaluation, Portfolios, and Rubrics" (Michael P. Ford); "Authentic Assessment in a University Preservice Literacy Course" (Deborah R. Dillon and others); "A Model for Preparing Preservice and Inservice Teachers to Interpret and Utilize Portfolio Assessment" (Rebecca P. Harlin and Sally E. Lipa); "The Challenge of Change: The M.Ed. Portfolio" (Barbara Martin Palmer and others); "Literacy Portfolios: The Myth and the Reality" (Linda Irwin-DeVitis); "Pre and Post Course Literacy Self-Assessment: Its Positive Impact on Preservice Teachers" (Jane Brady Matanzo); "Rethinking the Role and Practice of Assessment in Teacher Education: Learning to Assess Authentically on Multiple Levels" (N. Suzanne Standerford); "Portfolio Assessment in Adult Education Programs" (Linda Thistlethwaite); "Assessing Developmental Learners' Perceptions of Reading and Writing and the Literacy Demands in College" (Maria Valeri-Gold); "The ALERT: One Answer to Literacy Screening" (Rita M. Bean and Others); and "Developing and Assessing Emergent Literacy through Children's Literature" (Nancy A. Anderson). (RS)

This publication identifies and examines existing assessment instruments in oral communication for K-12 and higher education, and abstracts and describes assessment instruments and systematically reports their availability and interest to scholars, teachers, and administrators. It also provides background research needed to develop oral communication assessment instruments designed to encourage the development of new instruments. The document begins with an editor's foreword and a preface that relates alternative assessment, test fairness, and assessment utility to communication. It then presents an introduction to assessing oral communication, discusses topics including why oral communication skills should be taught, oral assessment for classroom decision-making, issues in assessing oral communication, locally developed instruments, and research and development priorities. The publication then discusses trends in K-12 state standards and assessment efforts, performance assessment, Speech Communication Association standards for assessment, and identification of measures. It then presents reviews of 16 oral communication assessment instruments for grades K-12. Next, it addresses the process by which instruments for higher education were identified and selected for inclusion, as well providing ideas for using the instruments. The final section presents reviews of 45 higher education instruments, divided into sections containing instruments intended for skills and behavioral assessment, or instructional and informative measures. (RS)

This book describes FIRST (Focussed Instruction in Reading for Successful Teaching) Reading, a computer program that takes answers to 20 questions about a learner and matches this profile against profiles in the database. FIRST Reading, formerly called "Consult Reading," can recommend the most-likely-to-succeed teaching focus(es) for K-12 troubled readers with over 90% accuracy. Chapters in the book are (1) FIRST Reading: A New Look to Teaching; (2) What FIRST Reading Is Not; (3) The FIRST Reading Taxonomy; (4) The Eight Instructional Focuses; (5) Comprehension; (6) Functional Language; (7) Games; (8) Interest; (9) Language Experience; (10) Motivation; (11) Self-Concept; (12) Study Skills; (13) Implementation; and (14) FIRST Reading: Evaluating Affect, Attitude, and Success. Appendixes present the taxonomy, a learner profile sheet, bookbinding procedures, and sample informal interest inventories for grades 1-6 and grades 7-12. (Contains 53 references.) (RS)

Based on the idea that parents are the first and most important teachers, this bilingual (Spanish/English) book offers 101 practical and fun-to-do activities that children and parents can do together. The revised edition provides a preface by Professor Josefina Villamil Tinajero and additional information of particular interest to Latino parents. The activities in the book are organized to fit the way parents tend to think about their time with their children: in the nursery; around the home; at bedtime; on the road; out and about; when you're away; using television; and success in school. The book concludes with an afterword and a list of additional resources for parents. (RS)

Intended as a guide for both novice and experienced researchers, this collection of articles focuses on single-subject experimental research used for investigations in literacy. The premise of the collection is that this single-subject approach allows researchers--both those from outside the classroom and teacher-researchers--to discover how an instructional intervention affects the student actually in need of assistance. The articles and their authors are: (1) "What Is Single-Subject Experimental Research?" (Sandra McCormick); (2) "Reversal Designs" (David B. Yaden, Jr.); (3) "Multiple-Baseline Designs" (James Kucera and Saul Axelrod); (4) "Alternating-Treatments Designs" (Susan B. Neuman); (5) "Statistical Analysis Procedures for Single-Subject Designs" (Michael L. Kamil); (6)"Combining Single-Subject Designs with Qualitative Research" (Tanja L. Bisesi and Taffy E. Raphael); (7) "Teachers Using Single-Subject Designs in the Classroom" (Judith A. Braithwaite); and (8) "Important Issues Related to Single-Subject Experimental Research" (Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar and Andrea DeBruin Parecki). Three appendixes conclude the collection: Appendix A--"Conventions for Displaying Data on Line Graphs" (Sandra McCormick); Appendix B--"Comparison of Research Methodologies Commonly Used in Literacy Investigations" (Sandra McCormick); and Appendix C--"Single-Subject Experimental Research Studies with Literacy-Related Themes" (Susan B. Neuman). (NKA)

The following articles are included: "Reconceptualizing the Language of Adult Literacy" (Ilsley, Stahl); "Expanding the Definition of Literacy for Adult Remedial Readers" (Heathington); "Adult Literacy Programs" (Davis); "Stages in the Reading Development of Adults" (Norman, Malicky); "Reading Concepts and Strategies of Adult Nonreaders" (Malicky, Norman); "Some Assumptions about Adult Reading Instruction" (Shuman); "Adult Literacy in Rural Areas" (Ferrell, Howley); "Views of Personal Literacy within a Prison Population" (Hansell, Voelkel); "Issues in Adult Literacy Assessment" (Metz); "Exploring Reading with Adult Beginning Readers" (Padak et al.); "'Measuring Success' in Reading in Adult Basic Education" (Finlay, Harrison); "Learning from Researching" (Fargo, Collins); "Reading Difficulty of Tests for Job Placement" (Ash); "Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM)" (Murphy); "What Works: Adult Literacy Program Evaluation" (Padak, Padak); "Profiles of and Instructional Strategies for Adult Disabled Readers" (Keefe, Meyer); "Building on Strengths" (Biggs); "Cooperative Learning Process" (Mocker); "Word Banks for Adult Literacy" (Austin-Anglea); "Picture Books to Use with Older Students" (Danielson); "Storytelling for Adults" (Ford); "High Interest-Low Readability Books for Adults" (Hill, Rabideau); "Four Poets" (Kazemek, Rigg); "Poetry in the Adult Literacy Class" (Conniff et al.); "Consumer Advocacy, Empowerment, and Adult Literacy" (Rosow); "Using Classic Novels with Adult New Readers" (Schierloh); "Writing Workshops" (Pates, Evans); "Writing Our Lives" (Stasz et al.); "Using Student Journals in the Workplace ESL [English as a Second Language] Classroom" (Sole); "Nondirective Combinatory Model in an Adult ESL Program" (D'Annunzio); "Using Computers in Adult Literacy Instruction" (Askov, Clark); "Adult Literacy in a Multiliterate Society" (Howie); "Interactive Computer-Assisted Instruction with Adults" (Finnegan, Sinatra); "College Students as Tutors for Adults in a Campus-Based Literacy Program" (D'Annunzio); "Intergenerational Adult Literacy Project" (Nickse et al.); "Training Family and Friends as Adult Literacy Tutors" (Scoble et al.); "Helping a Nonspeaking Adult Male with Cerebral Palsy Achieve Literacy" (Gipe et al.); "I Ain't Never Read My Own Words Before" (Purcell-Gates); "Use of an Educational Therapy Model with an Illiterate Adult" (Scully, Johnston); "Norman: Literate at Age 44" (Meyer et al.); "Approaches to Assessment in Workplace Literacy Programs" (Askov); "Workplace Literacy Lessons" (DeStefano); "Navajo Head Start" (Anziano, Terminello); and "Using Annual Reports for Adult Literacy Improvement" (Miller). (YLB)

This 1994 yearbook presents 24 papers and a summary of the dissertation award winner "Overcoming Misconceptions about Science Beliefs" (G. Qian). Papers are: "The Roots of Reading: Preserving the Heritage of a Profession" (N. A. Stahl and others; "CRA Professional Programs and Progress: A Personal Twenty-Five Year Perspective" (James E. Walker); "The Cohesiveness of Preservice and Inservice Teachers' Whole Language Perceptions and the Information Sources Contributing to This Knowledge" (R. J. Rickelman and others); "Change as a Process: A View of an Instructor and Her Students" (M. B. Sampson and W. M. Linek); "Preservice Teacher's Epistemology of Diagnostic Reading Instruction: Observations of Shifts During Coursework Experience (Barbara J. Walker and Kathy Roskos); "Analyzing Preservice Teachers' Efficacy Beliefs and Conceptions of Literacy Development" (R. Johnson and N. E. Hoffman); "Moving toward Change: One School's Experience" (J. Shapiro); "Mental Imagery, Text Illustrations, and Reading Comprehension of Adult Readers" (B. J. Walker and others); "Workplace Literacy: Why Participants Dropped Out of School and Why They Remain in a Workplace Program" (S. B. Merlin); "The Creation of Writing/Reading Intensive Discipline-Specific Courses (A. Friedman and J. Resnick); "Processes and Learning Strategies: What Works for Postsecondary Students" (YeVette McWhorter); and "Writer's Block: A Case Study of Holistic Intervention Using Reader Response and Metacognitive Writing Tasks" (E. V. Newton); "Using Technology in Support of Preservice Teachers' Generative Learning" (V. J. Risko and others); "Authentic Contexts for Learning to Teach: Approximation and Feedback in Field-Based Preservice Literacy Courses" (M. E. Robbins and L. Patterson); "The Efficacy of a Site-Based Literacy Methods Course Developed within the Context of a School-University Partnership" (S. Lefever-Davis and J. P. Helfeldt); "Literature-Based Instruction in Preservice Teacher Education" (M. Craig and others); "Classroom Research in Cooperative Learning: Assessing Methodology in a Teaching of Reading Course" (J. Elliot and B. Illig); Using Peer Coaching To Provide Additional Feedback to Preservice Teachers of Reading in an Early Field Experience (Nancy A. Anderson and others); "The Research Process of Eighth-Grade Students" (S. J. Davis and M. A. Wham); "Increasing Story Recall through Prereading Instruction: Use of Advanced Organizers Combined with Teacher-Guided Discussion" (S. D. Rinehart and others); "Read to Me? A Program Designed To Enhance Children's Attitudes toward Reading through Teacher and Parent Read Alouds" (J. E. Barnhart and M. A. Wham); "Storymates: A Cross-Age Reading Program" (B. J. Fox); and "Curriculum, Instruction, and Evaluation in Ohio's Family Literacy Programs" (N. D. Padak). (RS)