Jerry L. Johns

Patterns of reading‐to‐write

Abstract The purpose of this article is to determine what patterns of researching proficient middle school students conducting a school research task use and whether the organizational pattern of the final written text follows the researching pattern. Six middle school students were interviewed and observed while they were conducting a reading‐to‐write activity. Students were interviewed before and after seven researching sessions. While they were researching, investigators took field notes and videotaped their actions to record their searching, reading, and writing strategies. From the data, individual researching profiles were established. Of the six students in the study, one used a sequential approach, four used a spiral approach, and one used a recursive approach to researching. The students who used a sequential or spiral pattern wrote summary papers, and the student who used a recursive researching pattern wrote an integrated paper. This study concludes that at least three separate researching patt...

How Professionals View Portfolio Assessment.

Abstract This study was an extension of an earlier one by Johns and VanLeirsburg (1990) which consisted of a survey of 128 professional educators to determine their knowledge and use of literacy portfolios as an assessment tool. The present study surveyed 173 professional educators: 130 had not used portfolios and 43 had previous experience with portfolio use. Educators from both the 1990 and 1991 groups overwhelmingly agreed with Valencias four guiding principles of assessment: authentic, continuous, multidimensional, and collaborative. Familiarity with portfolios had grown from the 1990 sample to the 1991 sample. Specified items frequently included in portfolios are detailed. There was a decline in percentages regarding practical problems with portfolio use; however, planning, managing, and organizing portfolios continued to rank as the most serious concerns in both the 1990 and 1991 surveys.

Children's conceptions of a spoken word: A developmental study

Abstract The purpose of this study was to partially replicate and to expand a recent investigation on the childs conception of a spoken word. Test stimuli consisted of five examples in each of the following eight different classes of auditory stimuli: non‐verbal abstract, non‐verbal real‐life, isolated phonemes, isolated syllables, short words, long words, phrases, and sentences. The forty stimuli were recorded by a female adult on audio‐tape in four different random orders. Each subject was randomly assigned to one of the orders. The sample consisted of 120 children selected so that there would be twenty boys and twenty girls in each of the following age ranges: 5.6 to 6.5 years, 6.6 to 8.0 years, and 8.1 to 9.5 years. All the children were white and predominately middleclass to upper middleclass. An analysis of the data indicated that by the time children reached the age range of 8.1 to 9.5 their concept of a word was generally good except for confusing isolated phonemes and syllables as a word. There ...

Institutional Productivity Ratings Based on Publications in Reading Journals: 1978-1983.

Abstract The productivity of institutions was assessed by counting articles published in eight reading journals from 1978–1983. The top twenty‐five were all state assisted institutions. Twelve of these were among the top twenty‐five in an earlier study by Hopkins (1979). Other rankings were compiled by: 1) calculating productivity in two high prestige research journals and 2) calculating articles per faculty member in the same institutions.

The informal reading inventory: 1910–1980

Abstract This article traces the origin and development of the informal reading inventory (IRI). From an early emphasis on assessing reading with oral reading and rate, progress was made in developing a scheme for coding oral errors in reading. By the early 1940s, a subjective reading inventory was developed by Betts. Criteria were established to determine the students independent, instructional, and frustration reading levels. Research conducted on the criteria for reading levels did not result in a clear consensus of criteria among professionals. By the 1960s, commercially published IRIs began to appear. The influence of psycho‐linguistics is discussed and the future of IRIs is also considered.

Some Comparisons Between the Dolch Basic Sight Vocabulary and the Word List for the 1970's.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not the word list for the 1970s accounted for a statistically greater proportion of words in written materials for children and adults than the Dolch list. The American Heritage Intermediate Corpus and the Kucera‐Francis Corpus were used for the comparisons. The results revealed that the word list for the 1970s accounted for a significantly greater proportion of words than the Dolch list in materials intended for both children and adults. The practical significance of the results was discussed and comments were presented to stimulate a careful examination of why word lists are developed. Questions were also presented to focus more directly on the role of word lists in developing efficient and effective readers.

Does Our Language of Instruction Confuse Beginning Readers

ABSTRACT The author assesses students’ understanding of several print‐related concepts toward the conclusion of one year of formal reading instruction. There may be some need for teachers to alter their language of instruction so as to eliminate specialized terms that create confusion among beginning readers.

Reading Preferences of Urban Students in Grades Four Through Six.

AbstractThis study investigated the preferences of 597 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade pupils for illustrations, settings, and characters similar to and different from their own environment. A questionnaire was prepared with 15 forced choices, ail taken from modern realistic fiction books for children. Five choices were between illustrations and descriptions depicting either the stark, crowded conditions of inner-city living or uncrowded, pleasant conditions in urban or suburban areas. Another five choices were between descriptions of characters with positive and negative self-concepts. The last five choices were between descriptions of characters in positive and negative group interactions. Significant (.001) preferences were expressed for stories or books depicting middle-class settings, characters with positive self-concepts, and characters in positive group interactions. In analyzing the variables of grade, intelligence and sex, significant (.025) differences existed between grades. The results did not...

HELPING READERS AT RISK: BEYOND WHOLE LANGUAGE, WHOLE WORD, AND PHONICS

After arguing that the current emphasis on whole language has rekindled the recurring debate between meaning‐based and phonics‐based approaches to teaching reading, five generalizations for instruction are presented. They involve (a) relations with significant others, (b) the role of rereading and daily reading, (c) appropriate materials, (d) interest as a springboard to learning, and (e) the unification of instruction. These instructional generalizations should have application throughout and beyond North America; moreover, if thoughtfully applied, they will enable educators to move beyond rhetoric and fads.

How Newspapers Cover Education in Three Countries

writer suggested following community standards. Two advised anyone offended to write directly to the cartoonist. Another said that the paper should present a spectrum of views, even in its comics. One writer said that Beetle shows men as they really are. Another asked if a first-class newspaper would d o this. A particularly observant reader noticed that Lundy’s own column was missing and asked if it had been censored.