Teaching Reading

This volume brings together the sciences of psycholinguistics and developmental psychology with the practical knowledge of classroom practice in literacy education to create a unique but accessible explanation of how children learn to read. It explains the necessary educational and pedagogical steps that parents and teachers both can take in assisting the child to make a smooth transition from infant babbler to eight-year-old fluent reader. It also points to the possible developmental as well as educational danger signals that tell us that things are not going as they should, and suggests what we can do to help children overcome their problems, slowdowns, and difficulties learning to read and write. Included here is a discussion of such important issues as emergent literacy or reading readiness: phonics and slow reading; fluent reading and the "reading system"; the dangers of the first-grade Rubicon; reading problems of unique children; the dangers and benefits of "Whole Language" reading programs; Reading Recovery" for endangered young readers; the role of writing; parents; TV; and the school program. The book is clearly written, uses nontechnical terminology, and should provide teachers and parents a guide to evaluating the progress of youngsters from the time they approach child-care and pre-school stages of socialization to that point where they should be reading independently for pleasure as well as searching for information and subject-matter competency.

This popular text examines literacy from a multidimensional and interdisciplinary perspective. It "unpackages" the various dimensions of literacy--linguistic, cognitive, sociocultural, and developmental--and at the same time accounts for the interrelationships among them. The goal is to provide a conceptual foundation upon which literacy curriculum and instruction in school settings can be grounded. Dimensions of Literacy: A Conceptual Base for Teaching Reading and Writing in School Settings, Second Edition: *Links theory and research to practice in an understandable, user-friendly manner--in each chapter as well as in a final chapter focused exclusively on instructional implications; *Provides in-depth coverage of the various dimensions of literacy--linguistic (the nature of language, oral-written language relationships, language variation); cognitive (constructive nature of perception, the reading process, understanding written discourse, the writing process); sociocultural (literacy as social practices, authority of written discourse); and developmental (constructing the written language system); and *Includes demonstrations and hands-on activities; authentic reading and writing events that reflect key linguistic, cognitive, sociocultural, and developmental concepts; and tables and figures that summarize the concepts. New in the Second Edition: *Expanded discussion of the "reading wars," the nature of perception during reading, the comprehension process, and the writing process; *Separate chapters on the nature of oral and spoken language relationships, and understanding written discourse; and *Integration of instructional implications and pedagogy throughout all chapters. Educational institutions--and teachers in particular--are currently under intense scrutiny as the standards movement and high-stakes testing increasingly determine what is taught, when it is taught, and how it is taught. If literacy teachers are to have a voice in these policies and practices, it is critical that they have an understanding of what literacy entails. Because they work with students' reading and writing on a daily basis, teachers have an intuitive sense of the complexities of the literacy processes. The intent of Dimensions of Literacy: A Conceptual Base for Teaching Reading and Writing in School Settings, Second Edition is to make this teacher knowledge explicit, as well as to more fully develop it. It is essential reading for all teachers and students in the field of literacy education.

This book appears at a time when the crisis rhetoric about schools, teaching, and learning to read is extremely high. There is a rising call within the profession for a balanced perspective on reading. Balancing Principles for Teaching Elementary Reading aspires to help set the agenda for improving the quality of literacy instruction in the United States--by recentering the debate from "What's better, 'whole language' or 'phonics'?" to "What can we do in reading instruction to prepare all children for the literacy demands of the next century?" The authors, all members of the professional community of reading educators, work on a daily basis with teachers in classrooms, prospective teachers, clinicians, and tutors. Their goal for this book is to represent what they have learned about effective teaching and learning as members of this community. It is written with four purposes in mind: * to offer a principled conception of reading and learning to read that is considerate of both the personal dimensions of literacy acquisition as well as the changes that are taking place in society, * to summarize key findings from the research that relate specifically to effective teaching practices, * to describe current practices in reading instruction with specific comparisons to the principles of effective practice that are identified, and * to suggest an action agenda that is school-based and designed to promote positive changes in the quality of instruction. This text offers a perspective for teaching that provokes members of the reading education community to think about their underlying beliefs about teaching and their shared commitment to making schools more effective for the students they serve. It is envisioned as a resource to be used in building a community of learners--to be read with professional colleagues in a course of study, in a teacher-researcher book club, or in some type of in-service setting. Readers are encouraged to debate the ideas presented, to challenge the authors' conceptions with their own reality, to make sense within a community about what action is desirable. Some specific suggestions and strategies are provided as springboards for further exploration and action.

This text is designed specifically to meet the needs of preservice teachers who have had little experience working in middle-grade classrooms. Three ideas are central: * teaching language arts at the middle level is a complex activity that demands expertise in the use of a variety of strategies, * reading and writing are key processes of language arts study, but so are speaking, listening, and viewing/visually representing, and * teaching the processes of effective communication is crucial, but middle school students must also begin to learn the content of the field--literature, language, and media. Teaching Language Arts in Middle Schools gives balanced attention to various teaching strategies, processes, and content, demonstrating how all of these connect to improve students' abilities to communicate. In this text: *Research and theory are summarized and applied to practice *A non-prescriptive approach is integrated with practical information *Debates in the field are acknowledged *Additional reading and research are emphasized *The author's voice and point of view are explicit

Demonstrates how to use the concepts of artificial intelligence for more effective reading instruction.