Marjorie Y. Lipson

Becoming a Strategic Reader

Abstract An important aspect of learning to read is understanding how to use strategies to aid comprehension. Many actions such as skimming, using context to discern unfamiliar words, and taking notes to aid remembering can promote reading comprehension and learning. In this paper we examine aspects of knowledge and motivation that are critical to becoming a strategic reader. We emphasize that agents are strategic, not actions removed from contexts, and that self-guided learning depends on the intentions, perceptions, and attributions of learners. Learning to read strategically is related to childrens cognitive development as well as to the social contexts of instruction. Some suggestions are offered for classroom instruction that can promote childrens awareness and use of strategic reading.

Reading Disability Research: An Interactionist Perspective

In this paper we examine reading (dis)ability from an interactionist perspective, and discuss the implications of this view for research on reading disability. The paper is divided into three sections as follows. The first section provides a brief historical perspective of the events leading to current views of reading disability and research practices in this area. The second section presents a review of selected literature that provides an interactionist perspective on reading (dis)ability. The final section provides a discussion of the implications of this perspective for future research on reading disability and presents examples of “interactive” research. Our general thesis in this paper is that research on reading disability must move away from the search for causative factors within the reader and toward the specification of the conditions under which different readers can and will learn.

Relations between the CCSS and RTI in Literacy and Language.

Initiatives such as Response to Intervention (RTI) and the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (CCSS-ELA) have the potential to positively impact progress toward the goal of literacy for all. Because the CCSS-ELA will guide the content of the curriculum, instruction and assessment in the large number of adopting states, they will also have a significant impact on instruction and intervention within an RTI approach to teaching and learning in language and literacy. This column explores the implications of the CCSS-ELA for RTI in the areas of language and literacy with regard to definitions of success, perspectives on reading/literacy, instruction, and assessment.

To What Interventions Are Students Responding

In this column we review research about effective literacy intervention(s) and guide language and literacy professionals in thinking through this critical aspect of a systemic approach to improving literacy outcomes for all students.