Makes a case for why the National Council of Teachers of English should participate in the K-12 movement to develop curriculum content standards. Explains that curriculum content standards do not strive to impose teaching practices on teachers but rather encourages the discussion of standards on the local level. (TB)

Argues that the development of national standards is another way in which the literacy crisis is being managed and maintained, a crisis arising from the tension between America's promise to the individual that he or she will have full access to intellectual resources and the needs of capitalism to have a differentiated, stratified workforce. (TB)

Suggests that literate ability at the end of the 20th century may best be measured as a person's capacity to amalgamate new reading and writing practices in response to rapid social change. Reviews preliminary reflections on a study of 65 Americans who were asked to answer questions about their own literacy development. (TB)

Describes a service learning course for which students participated in a seminar on literacy and an after-school tutoring program for children. Shows how undergraduate representations of literacy share common features with conversations among well-known writers (such as Walter Ong and David Olson) and also implicitly critique them. (TB)

Argues for a reading of Jane Austen's "Persuasion" that undermines Joseph Duffy's reading of the novel as a commentary on shifting social class structures, and which bolsters Nancy Armstrong's reading as a commentary on female voice and the values of the domestic household. Interprets the novel in the light of 18th-century rhetorical theory. (TB)

Interviews 195 older adults, finding that those who read for pleasure were less lonely than those who did not. Finds no association between loneliness scores and several other factors thought to have a relationship to loneliness. Finds, however, decreased loneliness strongly associated with whether the participant had a confidant. (SR)

Describes a workplace literacy program that uses both workplace and participant-generated materials, including job descriptions, job procedures, training materials, newsletters, booklets, and memos. Shows how literacy development went beyond the survival stage to levels of empowerment and human development. (SR)

Describes a familiar reading strategy, Question-Answer Relationship, modified for use in the mathematics classroom to help mathematics students read, answer questions, and learn from text. (SR)

Describes an alternative, holistic vocabulary strategy for students with limited English proficiency that draws high-frequency words from a variety of literary publications, then recycles that vocabulary in reading, writing, listening, and speaking activities. (SR)

Describes experiences with adult students showing that teachers can take a dialogic approach to literacy in any classroom setting. Points out that the focus is on talk, generative themes, and written dialog. (SR)

Describes an activity for a content area reading class called "Subject of the Day," in which future secondary teachers consider ideas from disciplines other than their own and incorporate these ideas into their teaching repertoires to improve cross-curricular and interdisciplinary connections. (SR)

Introduces a new column which will be a "collection of choice morsels" about ways to use technology in the interest of enhancing literacy for adolescent and adult learners. (SR)

Presents research results (in the form of a story) regarding parents', teachers', and students' observations about the students as readers, and their goals for the students as readers. Discusses the role of teacher as researcher. (SR)

Describes Suzanne Fisher Staples' young-adult novel "Haveli." Presents two passages from it as read-alouds. Suggests class activities related to the book as a means of discussing cultural diversity and differing attitudes towards literacy in other cultures. (SR)

Defines "guided imagery" as an experience/exercise led by a teacher/facilitator that allows participants to more fully use their imaginations. Discusses some important dimensions of guided imagery, including safety issues, building skills, respecting individual response, dissent, debriefing, emotion and imagination, scripting, pacing, the…