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Argues that the "good" reader in school, who has mastered reading skills, does not offer a natural starting point for progression to the "good" reader of adulthood who is an active and voracious reader. Stresses that reading in school needs to reflect reading attitudes and behaviors of "good" adult readers. (RS)

Surveys parents to find out what they thought about the reading instruction their children receive in schools and how it could be improved. Reports that reading educators need to communicate with parents about the design and importance of reading instruction. (MG)

Comments on the facilitative effects of Reading Recovery reported by G.S. Pinnell, C.A. Lyons, D.E. DeFord, A.S. Bryk and M. Seltzer in their article `Comparing Instructional Models for the Literacy Education of High-Risk First Graders' published in the `Reading Research Quarterly.' Criticisms against the reported effectiveness of Reading Recovery.

To capitalize on the power of literature to promote intercultural and multicultural appreciation, librarians need to consider how literature will be used as well as what literature should be made available. In this article, we present a framework that school and public librarians can apply to promote multicultural learning through children's literature. We first describe four models for considering the use of children's literature in dealing with cultural differences. We then focus specifically on librarians' roles in helping children develop, explore, and act upon their cultural values and beliefs. Finally, we provide an example of the framework by summarizing the experiences of a group of elementary school children. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recent literature in the area of psychological differentiation suggests that cognitive styles may have significant application potential to the problems of education. Field dependence/ independence is one cognitive style construct that has a relatively rich history of research and has been given serious consideration for issues involving curriculum and instruction. This article reviews field dependence/independence research as it relates to reading and reading instruction. In particular, the construct is considered from its overall impact on reading, its relation to vocabulary or word knowledge, and its impact on reading comprehension. Implications for reading instruction are developed from the review of the literature and future directions for the interaction of field dependence/ independence and reading research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The role of the teacher, specifically teacher craft, is central to engaging students in effective reading instruction. However, the science of reading has revealed that the content taught is also important to reading acquisition. Although the science of reading was aggregated some two decades ago to result in what became known as the five big pillars, it has not been fully incorporated into instructional practice. Subsequent research has continued to inform and strengthen what we understand about reading, and new energy has now emerged to bring the science of reading fully into practice. However, the science of reading and teacher craft are each insufficient without the other. In this article, we discuss the art of teaching and advocate that it must be given serious consideration if the science of reading is to be adopted en masse by teachers. We also discuss several reading strategies and their role in effective reading instruction and the art of teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Looks at ways in which reading education can be a part of the community, with educators, parents and community members providing opportunities for students to interact in literacy-related activities. Types of community involvement; Taking students to the community; Benefits; Examples.

Discusses the findings of a survey conducted by "The Reading Teacher" on parents' perception towards reading exercises in the schools. Attitude of parents towards the adequacy of reading instruction; Proposals for improving reading programs in classrooms; Parental involvement in reading.

Over the past decade, fluent reading has come to be seen as a central component of skilled reading and a driving force in the literacy curriculum. However, much of this focus has centered on a relatively narrow definition of reading fluency, one that emphasizes automatic word recognition. This article attempts to expand this understanding by synthesizing several key aspects of research on reading fluency, including theoretical perspectives surrounding automaticity and prosody. It examines four major definitions of reading fluency and their relationship to accuracy, automaticity, and prosody. A proposed definition is presented. Finally, the implications of these definitions for current assessment and instruction are considered along with suggestions for reenvisioning fluency's role within the literacy curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]