For decades there has been a divide between educational research and practice. Sometimes the blame is placed on teachers for not following research-based strategies or not being trained well enough to read the literature. Just as frequently the blame is placed on researchers for not (a) studying topics important to teachers, (b) writing them so…

Considers that because literature can exert such a powerful hold on the imagination, certain works can be used to invite students to become more literate and to encourage students to take responsibility for their ongoing personal development. Notes that reading and other ways of learning are shown in fictional works of Louis L'Amour to be a rich…

Determines the efficacy of a structured reading intervention program with adolescents identified as evidencing significant reading underachievement. Suggests that implementation of the "LANGUAGE!" intervention program was effective in significantly improving reading comprehension and spelling, word recognition for students in grades 7 and 10, and…

Examines current adolescent fiction of award-winning and widely read authors according to religious themes concerning Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Native American religions, African spirit religions, and the occult, supernatural, and New Age. Finds that the portrayal of religions and its adherents is very mixed, depending upon the religion.…

Outlines a meaning-based reading program for English-as-a-second-language teenagers in grades 8-12 aimed at promoting analytic thinking, cultural integration, and creative processing skills, as well as increased English proficiency. Discusses general and specific objectives, reading materials, types of reading programs, integrated and followup…

Claims students can become better readers and writers by acquiring knowledge of the structure of the English language and developing skill in using the language. Discusses strategies for helping students to recognize five sentence patterns, and learn how to expand sentences. (NH)

Suggests students can be led to listen to the sounds of poetry as they would listen to a score of music, discovering and re-discovering relationships between sound, rhythmic accents, sections, movements, and ideas. (NH)

Compares the use of the third person direct object pronoun by native English-speaking students to use by 10 third-semester second-language (French) students. Suggests several instructional techniques. Examines the inconsistencies between first and second language reading ability to highlight the need for a sharing of information between the two…

Uses cloze techniques to examine the development of writers' memory for their own texts. Finds 70% accuracy on writer's cloze to be a consistent cutoff score for detection of plagiarism. Suggests that teachers should be aware that students remember their self-generated texts very well and that these standards can be used to detect and deter…

Discusses the importance of teaching vocabulary in the content area so that at-risk readers can develop strategies to see word relationships and the importance of higher-level thinking. Examines and offers specific examples of the strategies of mnemonigraph cards, analogies, and word groupings. (RS)

Categorizes students' self-selected topics in a state writing assessment. Finds that fifth graders chose "animals"; eighth graders chose "sports"; high-school students chose "social problems" and "sports" until twelfth grade, when "school/learning" issues replaced "sports." (RS)

Indicates that more secondary students were quite uncertain about their textbook clarity. Reveals a need to strengthen textbook readability in United States secondary schools. (RS)

Explores the reasons for people's fear of public speaking and the need for adequate speech training in high schools to foster positive attitudes toward public speaking. (JM)