Table of Contents

• • Introduction
• • Chapter 1 - Balanced Literacy:  What Exactly Are We Trying To Balance?
• • Overview
• • Literacy Research That Makes a Difference. The authors take a historical look at research that has contributed to our understanding of literacy.  They synthesize research from the 1960s to the present and look at how literacy instruction has changed over the last several decades.  They also explore the role of research in instructional change and discuss the studies that have most infliuenced current practices. Timothy Shanahan and Susan B. Beuman.  “Literacy Research That Makes a Difference.”  Reading Research Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, 1997, pp. 202-210.
• • Delicate Balances:  Striving for Curricular and Instructional Equilibrium in a Second-Grade, Literature-Based Classroom. Are instructional goals to give students the literacy skills they need in direct competition with developing an enjoyment and love of reading?  Barman and Ivey studied whether instruction in reading and writing strategies could be integrated with a literature-based environment that would assist students to obtain the skills and strategies needed to read and write, gain knowledge and appreciation of children’s literature, and create the desire to engage in reading and writing for learning and pleasure. James F. Baumann and Gay Ivey.  “Delicate Balances:  Striving for Curricular and Instructional Equilibrium in a Second-Grade, Literature-Based Classroom.”  Reading Research Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 3, 1997, pp. 244-275.
• • Chapter 2 - Feud For Thought:  The Reading Wars
• • Overview
• • Redefining the Reading Wars:  The War Against Reading Researchers.  The idea that there  is only one best way to teach reading is gone.  Flip asserts that the single best approach idea did not originate in the community of reading researchers; rather, it comes from political forces outside the research community.  Flippo shares her findings from a 10-year study that reveals what reading experts from a wide variety of philosophies agree is good reading instruction. Rona F. Flippo.  “Redefining the Reading Wars:  The War Against Reading Researchers.”  Educational Leadership, vol. 57, no. 2, October 1999, pp. 38-41.
• • The Voices of Researchers:  Conflict and Consensus in Reading Research and Policy.  Goldenberg’s commentary about the contempt with which the public sometimes regards researchers adds to the discussion of the reading wars.  He suggests that there is not as much chaos in the field of teaching reading as we are led to believe.  We can contribute to policy by focusing on consensus rather than differences. Claude Goldenberg.  “The Voices of Researchers:  Conflict and Consensus in Reading Research and Policty.”  Reading Teacher, vol. 53, no. 8, May 2000, pp. 640-641.
• • Taking a Broader Look:  Reading Literacy Instruction.  Edmondson states that all too often we read literacy education policies without considering their historical context, particularly the key people involved and the values that are brought to bear on a policy.  To do so puts educators at risk of subscribing to literacy programs that are counter to their own values and beliefs. Jacqueline Edmondson.  “Taking a Broader Look:  Reading Literacy Education.”  Reading Teacher, vol. 54, no. 6, March 2001, pp. 620-629.
• • Chapter 3 - Instructional Strategies
• • Overview
• • In Pursuit of an Illusion:  The Flawed Search for a Perfect Method.  The authors explore the seductive appeal of the perfect method for teaching reading.  They claim that the answer is not in the method; it is in the teacher.  Good teachers are thoughtfully eclectic in their approach to teaching reading. Gerald G. Duffy and James V. Hoffman.  “In Pursuit of an Illusion:  The Flawed Search for a Perfect Method.”  Reading Teacher, vol. 53, no. 1, September 1999, pp. 10-16.
• • Seven Strategies That Encourage Neural Branching.  Brain-compatible learning, a relatively new field in education, offers the first ever biologically driven framework for learning.  It behooves educators to make the curriculum relevant to learners or else they will prune away what is not important to them.  Cardellichio and Field offer seven strategies that will help make teaching reading more relevant to learners. Thomas Cardellichio and Wendy Field.  “Seven Strategies That Encourage Neural Branching.”  Educational Leadership, vol. 54, no. 6, March 1997, pp. 33-36.
• • Improving Reading Instruction:  The Triarchic Model.  Offering a way to move beyond the reading wars, the authors suggest teaching reading through a triarchic theory of human cognition.  Called triarchic because of its three parts, the theory corresponds to analytical, creative, and practical cognitive skills.  Robert J. Sternberg, Elena L. Grigorenko, and Linda Jarvin.  “Improving Reading Instruction:  The Triarchic Model.”  Educational Leadership, vol. 58, no. 6, March 2001, pp. 48-52.
• • Learning to Read:  Painful Mystery or Joyful Success?  Learning takes place within a social context.  In this article, Kirk looks at powerful instructional strategies for working with students in culturally and economically diverse populations. Luther, R. Kirk.  “Learning to Read:  Painful Memory or Joyful Success?”  Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, vol. 44, no. 5, February 2001, pp. 420-431.
• • A Nine-Country Study:  How Do Teachers Teach Reading to Nine-Year-Olds?  Barrier and Robin offer a global perspective through their study.  Are there national tendencies toward the approach to teaching reading?  Is it possible to say that teaching practice is characteristic of culture?  Emilie Barrier and Daniel Robin.  “A Nine-Country Study:  How Do Teachers Teach Reading to Nine-Year-Olds?”  Reading Literacy in an International Perspective, collected papers from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Reading Literacy Study.  Washington, D.C.:  U. S. Department of Education, 1996, pp. 181-190.
• • Chapter 4 - The Emergent Reader
• • Overview
• • So What’s Going on in Research on Emergent Literacy?  Two leaders in the field of emergent literacy share a conversation with the reader.  The dialogue offers an excellent definition of what emergent literacy is, a synthesis of current research in the field of emergent literacy, and implications for teaching children to read.  Lea M. McGee and Victoria Purcell-Gates.  “So What’s Going on in Research on Emergent Literacy?”  Reading Research Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 3, 1997, pp. 310-318.
• • Report of the National Reading Panels:  Teaching Children to Read.  This report is seen as one of the most comprehensive reviews of existing reading research in American education.  The report articulates the most effective approaches to teaching children to read, examines the status of the research on reading, and reveals instructional practices that teachers around the country use.  National Reading Panel.  Report of the National Reading Panel:  Teaching Childen to Read.  Washington, D.C.:  Department of Health and Human Services, 2000.  Available from http://www.nationalreading.org.
• • National Reading Panel Reports That a Combination of Methods Is the Most Effective Way to Teach Reading.  This review describes a balanced approach to teaching reading and presents criteria for evaluating reading programs.  It also discusses Success for All, a federally funded reform program that is raising literacy rates.  National Institutes of Health.  “National Reading Panel Reports That a Combination of Methods Is the Most Effective Way to Teach Reading.”  ERIC Review, vol. 7, no. 2, Summer 2000, pp. 28-29.
• • Balanced Reading Instruction.  Stoicheva provides a definition of balanced reading instruction and tells how it is implemented.  She concludes that perhaps the best approach to teaching reading is to link the curriculum to clearly defined, research-based standards while allowing teachers creative space for finding balance in their own classrooms.  Mila Stoicheva.  “Balanced Reading Instruction.”  ERIC Review, vol. 7, no. 2, Summer 2000, pp. 29-30.
• • When Older Students Can’t Read.  For Moats, older students are those beyond the third grade.  She is concerned about these children because once students fall behind in reading they seldom catch up.  She suggests that plenty can be done to intervene if educators apply the best practices supported by reading research. Louisa C. Moats.  “When Older Students Can’t Read.”  Educational Leadership, vol. 58, no. 6, March 2001, pp. 36-40.
• • Chapter 5 - Critical Theory and Critical Literacy
• • Overview
• • Negotiating Critical Literacies.  Comber defines critical literacy as the opportunity to use language to exercise power, enhance everyday life, and question practices of privilege and injustice.  She calls for educators to collaborate with children in helping them analytically look at power and pleasure in the literacy process.  The author gives strategies to assist students in producing powerful texts of their own.  Barbara Comber.  “Negotiating Critical Literacies.”  National Council of Teachers of English, vol. 6, no. 3, April 2001.
• • Saving Black Mountain:  The Promise of Critical Literacy in a Multicultural Democracy.  Educators often are unaccustomed to linking literacy instruction with democratic aims.  The authors suggest that there are three basic assumptions underlying critical literacy, and then they demonstrate how a group of students implemented a critical literacy project.  The engagement and relevancy of this kind of project for students shows educators a new way to approach literacy and teaching reading.  Rebecca Powell, Susan Chambers Cantrell, and Sandra Adams.  “Saving Black Mountain:  The Promise of Critical Literacy in a Multicultural Democracy.”  Reading Teacher, vol. 54, no. 8, May 2001, pp. 772-781.
• • Power, Identity, and Instructional Stance in Writers’ Workshop.  This article explores how the issues of power and identity are embedded withiin the culture of an elementary school classroom’s writing instruction.  It examines children’s responses to the ways they are positioned as writers in the classroom and how this affects their literacy learning.  Deborah Wells Rowe, Joanne M. Fitch, and Alyson Smith Bass.  “Power, Identity, and Instructional Stance in Writers’ Workshop.”  Language Arts, vol. 78, no. 5, May 2001, pp. 426-434.
• • Critical Reflection in the Elementary Grades:  A New Dimension in Literature Discussions.  Silvers studied how teaching for social justice aids students in identifying, exploring, and working toward addressing inequities in their own lives.  The author believes that critical reflection is a basic skill that is all too often ignored in the literacy process.  Penny Silvers.  “Critical Reflection in the Elementary Grades:  A New Dimension in Literature Discussions.”  Language Arts, vol. 78, no. 6, July 2001, pp. 556-563.
• • Chapter 6 - Literacy at the Middle and High School Levels
• • Overview
• • Johnny Still Can’t Read.  The nation rightfully spends an enormous amount of energy and attention on beginning readers but tends to ignore efforts to help high school students who are lagging.  Governors and legislatures fund reading programs for young children but fail to fund literacy programs for adolescents.  This article focuses on teaching critical thinking skills to teachers so that they can use them as strategies to help teenagers catch up on literacy.  Peggy J. Farber.  “Johnny Still Can’t Read?”  Harvard Education Letter, vol. 15, no. 4, July/August 1999, pp. 1-3.
• • The Remaking of a High School Reader.  How do students who have been ability tracked integrate successfully into classrooms with more demanding academic expectations?  Rex looks at the transformation of student identities and conditions.  She believes that lower-ability or marginalized students have to remake themselves if they are to be successful in classrooms with academic capital.  Her research is based on three questions:  Who or what is a student becoming?  When do we mark the performance moments that describe transformation?  What data points can be explored to describe the nature of transformation?  Lesley A. Rex.  “The Remaking of a High School Reader.”  Reading Research Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 3, 2001, pp. 288-313.
• • What’s Hot? What’s Not? in Secondary Reading Instruction.  Anders looks at the hottest strategies to engage adolescents in literacy.  In her article, she discusses topics like popular culture, politics, and critical thinking.  Patricia L. Anders.  “What’s Hot? What’s Not? in secondary reading Instruction.”  California Reader, vol. 34, no. 3, Spring 2001, pp. 9-22.
• • Guidelines for Teaching Middle and High School Students to Read and Write Well:  Six Features of Effective Instruction.  Drawing from a five-year study of English programs, Langer and her team of researchers compared English programs that get outstanding results with those that get mediocre results.  They identify six features that lead to effective instruction.  Judith A. Langer et al.  Guidelines for Teaching Middle and High School Students to Read and Write Well:  Six Features of Effective Instruction.  Albany, N. Y.:  National Research Center on English Learning and Achievement, 2000.
• • What Secondary Teachers Can Do to Teach Reading:  A Three-Step Strategy for Helping Students Delve Deeper into Texts.  Jacobs gives content-area strategies that help teachers teach reading in an uninterrupted fashion, including strategies for pre-reading, guided reading, and post-reading.  Vicki A. Jacobs.  “What Secondary Teachers Can Do to Teach Reading:  A Three-Step Strategy for Helping Students Delve Deeper into Texts.”  Harvard Education Letter, vol. 15, no. 4, July/August 1999, pp. 4-5.
• • Conclusion and Reflection
• • Additional Resources
• • Reading Resource Organizations.  Schartman and Potter provide a list of organizations that offer reading-related materials and services to parents and others.  Linda Schartman and Ann Potter.  “Reading Resource Organizations.”  ERIC Review, vol. 7, no. 2, Summer 2000, pp. 42-43, 45.
• • Internet Resources.  Lu provides a list of reading-related websites for parents and children.  Mei-Yu Lu.  “Internet Resources.”  ERIC Review, vol. 7, no. 2, Summer 2000, p. 46.