Education Commons^™

Profile Of A Heterogeneous Grouping Plan For Reading, Nancy Leyse Logan, Jean Dixon Rux, Edward E. Paradis

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Grouping children by ability for reading instruction is common practice in many elementary schools today. By reducing heterogeneity, ability grouping presumably allows teachers to provide instruction at an appropriate level for students in a particular group. However, research has shown that grouping children by ability can have a negative impact on lower ability readers, especially when the grouping occurs over time.

Parent Communication In A Whole Language Kindergarten: What We Learned From A Busy First Year, Beverly Bruneau, Timothy V. Rasinski, Martha Shehan

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Among recent developments in literacy research and practice is the increased recognition of the critical roles that parents play in the education of their children (Rasinki and Fredericks, 1989). Involving parents in their child's literacy learning is particularly important for kindergarten teachers. The kindergarten literacy curriculum should build upon what children have begun to learn at home, and, continue to involve parents in supporting their child's literacy development. Communicating with parents on how they can continue to give active support to their children's literacy learning is an important task for kindergarten teachers.

Reading Horizons Vol. 32, No. 2

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Complete issue of Reading Horizons, volume 32, issue 2.

The What, Why, When And How Of Reading Response Journals, Julia Shinneman Fulps, Terrell A. Young

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Today much student time is spent in preparation for mandated reading and writing tests. Consequently, students rarely get a chance to generate their own meanings as they read and compose from their own thoughts as they write. Ruth (1987) points out the need to present opportunities for students to ask and answer real questions of their own about reading and writing. Reading response journals provide students with an opportunity to respond and interpret their reading personally.

Reading: The Conferences, Jeanne M. Jacobson

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

National Middle School Association 18th Annual Convention, November 1991

An Authentic Literary Experience: Sixth-Graders And Preservice Teachers In Shared Response, Delores E. Heiden, Pamela Schmitt

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Response journals--often called reading logs--are written conversations about books. When students' journals are shared with teacher or peers, lively dialogue about plot, characterization, favorite authors, and personal response to literature may ensue.

The Effectiveness Of One School District's Basal Reader Selection Process, Michael A. Tulley

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the basal reader selection process in one midwestern school district. The study took place during the academic year immediately following that district's basal selection process, in the midst of teachers' first year teaching with a newly adopted basal reading program and was guided by two questions: 1) what type of reading instruction did teachers intend for their classrooms when they adopted this particular reading program and 2) was that type of instruction occurring?

Becoming Literate: The Acquisition Of Story Discourse, David L. Brown, L.D. Briggs

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Educators and researchers are focusing their attention on children's knowledge of reading and writing acquired prior to formal instruction. Many research projects have described the parallel between children's acquisition of spoken and written language. As a result of extensive research during the last twenty years, educators' understanding of how children learn to read and write has changed drastically.

Reviews: Professional Materials, Kathryn Kinnucan-Welsch, Sherry R. Myers, Paul Bright, Jeanne M. Jacobson

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Jerry L. Johns (1991). Basic Reading Inventory; Children's Books: Merry Christmas, Amanda and April; Chicken Man; All the Lights in the Night; Jack and the Beanstalk; The Swineherd; The Worst Person's Christmas; That's Exactly the Way it Wasn’t; An Auto Mechanic, A Carpenter, A Potter; Meredith's Mother Takes the Train

Making Wordsmiths, Beth Weir

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Templeton (1991) uses the term "wordsmith" to refer to language users conversant with and excited about their use of words as tools. Becoming a "wordsmith," developing a working knowledge of the English language and an interest in it is no mean feat.

Readers Theatre: Bringing Life To The Reading Program!, Terrell A. Young

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Readers Theatre is a presentation of prose, poetry, or content area material that is read aloud by several readers. Readers Theatre is similar to a play; however, the participants read their parts rather than memorize them. Therefore, Readers Theatre is both less threatening and less time consuming for students than involvement in conventional children's drama since it is easier to read rather than memorize the script.

Primary Teachers Involved In Change: A Special Kind Of Learning, Kathy Dulaney Barclay

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

In this article, I offer a glimpse into the classrooms of seven teachers, describing, in their words, some of their successes, as well as their struggles, as they attempted to make changes in their classroom environments and their instructional procedures.

Guiding Illiterate Parents In Assistning Their Children In Emergent Literacy, Pamela J. Farris, Mary R. Denner

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

As the number of illiterate adults continues to grow, increasing numbers of children have parents with limited reading and writing skills. Such children are deprived of the joys of reading, for their parents do not read to them at bedtime nor do such parents peruse the morning paper.

Reviews: Professional Materials, Ronald A. Crowell, Sue Coker, Kathy Barclay, Mark Neidlinger

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Hy Ruchlis and Sandra Oddo (1990). Clear Thinking: A Practical Introduction; Books for children; songbooks; Three recommended children's books; Content area literature for young people

The Thinking-Writing Connection: Using Clustering To Help Students Write Persuasively, Jeannie L. Steele, Patty Steele

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Understanding what you know, think or believe about a topic is essential if you are to write clearly about that topic. Yet it is often difficult for young writers to know what they think and, certainly, even more difficult for them to organize their thinking. Simply telling students to write more clearly or to make their point more effectively will not make them able to do so. They must be taught how to become aware of their thoughts and feelings and how to organize them to effectively communicate them through their writing.

Commentary: A Pledge Of Responsibility For Children By Teachers Of Reading, Richard D. Robinson

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Statements of responsibility for literacy.

College Students As Readers, Jan Labonty

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The Statistics on the reading habits of adult Americans are grim: 10% of the population reads 70% of the books while most adults never read for pleasure. Of the 159 members of the United Nations, the United States ranks a mediocre 24th in book production and 49th in literacy. The 27 million Americans considered functionally illiterate and the additional 35 million who have less than minimum survival skill comprise approximately one-third of the adult population. Their ranks are increasing by 2.3 million each year (Larrick, 1987).

Reading Horizons Vol. 32, No. 1

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Complete issue of Reading Horizons, volume 32, issue 1.

Reading Recovery: A Viable Prevention Of Learning Disability, Carol A. Lyons

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Mrs. Wishy Washy, one of the most popular charac ters of the little books used in Reading Recovery, sets a Herculean task for herself — to keep the barnyard ani mals clean. Professor Lyons, too, has taken on a big job — to convince the educational establishment that there must be a better way to cope with the increasing number of children classified as learning disabled. Suggesting that Reading Recovery can be that first net for avoiding the mislabeling of young children as "at-risk" learners, she provides a detailed case study of Mike, once labeled LD. The detailed description of …

Helping To Learn: Components And Principles Of Reading Recovery Training, Noel K. Jones

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Professor Jones, completing his training at The Ohio State University as a Reading Recovery teacher trainer, reflects on the dynamics of Reading Recovery training at the many levels of the program: teacher training, teacher leader training, and the program for university trainers. Jones identifies a set of unifying activities that underlie the training of Reading Recovery personnel at all three training levels. He zeroes in on "the public teaching" be hind the glass and characterizes it "as a powerful force toward individual self-improvement." He also explores the tension created because of watching the lesson and attending to the discussion, a …

As We See It; Classroom Teachers View Reading Recovery, Jennifer Hamill, Cynthia Kelly, Jeanne M. Jacobson

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This is the second article in this special issue not written by Reading Recovery trained teachers. Hamill and Kelly are first grade teachers in one of the 26 participating schools in the first year of Reading Recovery implementation in Michigan. In response to questions by the editor of Reading Horizons, they explain the program — its impact on the Reading Recovery children and on their classroom teaching.

Clearly the concerted work of the Reading Recovery teacher-in-training and these teachers demonstrates that the Reading Recovery program is an intervention in the education system, as well as a program for children.

Why Is An Inservice Programme For Reading Recovery Teachers Necessary?, Marie M. Clay

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The Reading Recovery program was developed in New Zealand to answer the question how can an education system provide a second chance for young children who have not re sponded to the literacy programme in their first year of instruc tion at school? (It is not a program for teaching beginning reading to 80-90% of school children.) There are four aspects to the program: 1) the teaching of children, 2) the training of teachers, 3) the training of teacher leaders, and 4) implement ing the program in an education system and coordinating the long-term prevention strategy. Teachers help children from …

Article Index

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Index to articles in volume 31.

Author Index

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Index to authors in volume 31.

Reading Recovery: Getting Started In A School System, Janet S. Gaffney

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

In this article, Professor Gaffney suggests a schema for school personnel interested in planning for the implementation of a Reading Recovery program in a local school district or consortium of school districts. Her emphasis that Reading Recovery is a system of intervention, not a bag of tricks or quickie methods, for the purpose of preventing reading failure is an important caution to would-be innovators. She also describes the nature of full implementation, its importance, and how to plan for it. In addition, she joins Professor Clay in cautioning us that the Reading Recovery procedures were not devised for the 80-90% …

Hypothesizing About Reading Recovery, Michael F. Opitz

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Professor Opitz's article is one of two in this special issue not written by a Reading Recovery trained teacher. The author has examined the literature on Reading Recovery and attempted to puzzle out the reason(s) for its success. Trained Reading Recovery teachers will find both points of agreement and disagreement, and many points on which to establish a discussion. Opitz writes, "...we do not, I believe, know why the program works." Yet as Clay suggests in this issue, answers are learned in the year-long and continuing contact training sessions. Our understanding of why the program works does not come from …

Reading In Families: A Research Update, Linda Asmussen, Janet S. Gaffney

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Asmussen and Gaffney have uncovered one of the many rich sources of research data inherent in the Read ing Recovery program. The Ohio research studies (already some 13 volumes) have documented the success of Reading Recovery in the United States. Success like this produces a need to unravel the warp and woof to examine the nature of that success. Certainly there are many threads to examine. In this brief research update, they describe a current study to explore reading in the families of a sample of Reading Recovery children in Illinois. It will be interesting to compare their findings with …

Reviews, Stephanie Brinkerhoff

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The Story Box.Wright Group (1990).

Reading Horizons Vol. 31, No. 5

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Complete Issue of Reading Horizons volume 31, issue 5.

Improving The Effectiveness And Efficiency Of Textbook Selection Procedures: A Smorgasbord Of Suggestions And Strategies, Jeanne Shay Schumm, Martha Doucette

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Textbook selection in the United States used to be quite simple. As Nila Banton Smith (1986) reminds us, choices in colonial America were limited to the New England Primer and a Holy Bible. Throw in a slate and a lunch pail and children were fully equipped for the school year!