Notes that the African oral tradition of storytelling is giving way to an expansion of published works for children. (JC)

Suggests that using the game of finding answers to mystery clues can encourage children, particularly reluctant readers, to use the library. (JC)

Suggests that children learn to distinguish between similar words when the words are first taught separately, then compared. Offers a vocabulary remediation technique and shows how three groups responded to some variations. (JC)

Notes that before mapping stories, children may need help in defining story elements, and offers a guide to act as a transition to creating stories. (JC)

Argues that a problem with the storage and conduit metaphor lies in its attention to representational knowledge while giving little attention to cognitive knowledge. (JC)

Notes two trends in the development of basal-related software and describes the Scott, Foresman Reading Courseware and the Ginn Reading Software. (JC)

Suggests ways students can benefit when elementary teachers combine reading instruction with art activities. (JC)

Reviews the criterion referenced test VICTA and concludes that it should be used with caution because of, among other things, the limited sample of questions per critical thinking skill, and the lack of a well integrated instructional program based on the test. (JC)

Investigates context effects on children's reading accuracy when reading words in a story context and from a word list. Notes that although many children read words in context which they could not read from lists, this result did not apply to good readers. (MM)

Presents an interactive view of reading assessment, which minimizes levels of comprehension and comprehension skills, focusing instead on readers' oral language, prior knowledge of the topic, and ability to reason, and emphasizes the teacher's role in gathering evaluative information. (MM)

Suggests classroom activities appropriate for disabled readers, including thematic approaches, whole language activities, writing in response to reading, incentives and competition, and relaxation techniques. (JAD)

Describes two approaches--direct explanation and reciprocal teaching--for helping poor readers understand how the reading process works and how to study and learn from a text. Explains how to plan a lesson, and offers two samples. (MM)

Investigates the teacher's role in a whole language classroom. Asserts that explicit written guidelines concerning the teacher's role in directing and supporting student learning should be available for novice teachers in training and for experienced teachers who want to shift from a conventional approach to a whole language approach. (MM)

Investigates the effects of prediction strategies and predictable materials in teaching ethnic Chinese children in the United States to read in Chinese. Shows that the use of predictable materials and prediction strategies resulted in good responses by the beginning Chinese readers. (MM)

Presents the 14th annual annotated bibliography of 115 newly published books voted by children as most enjoyable (from more than 500 selected for evaluation). Titles are listed by reading levels, and publication information is provided. (MM)