Students who fail to establish an identity as a reader run the risk of becoming disconnected from both school and society due to the important position reading holds in our culture. Therefore it is crucial to determine how classroom teachers can help marginal readers increase their participation in the classroom learning community. Three major research questions guide the study: (1) Do participating teachers conceptualize reading as encompassing a broad or a narrow range of behaviors? (2) How do teachers' theories about reading development, reading instruction, and learning potential impact upon their interactions with slowly developing readers? (3) How do curriculum, instructional groups, and classmates influence efforts to help slowly developing readers increase their participation in the literate classroom community? The study employs qualitative research methods. It describes the theory and practice of two first grade teachers recognized for their commitment to helping marginal readers. Data collected over a four month period of time are drawn from participant observation, audiotaping of classroom reading events, and interviews/conversations with teachers, students, and parents. Data indicate that participating teachers conceptualize reading as encompassing an extremely broad range of behaviors. Teachers' theories of reading and learning stress motivation, self-confidence, support, challenge, and shared roles among teacher and students. The study concludes that teachers can help marginal readers increase their participation in the learning community through explicit language that reflects social and cognitive goals, support and challenge, and focus on students as resources to one another. It further concludes that slowly developing readers benefit from participation in the same language-rich environment as peers when teachers modify and extend learning experiences to meet individual needs. Ensuring success for all students involves careful analysis of existing practices to determine if teachers' theories about reading, learning, and student potential expand or limit classroom alternatives for students whose reading development differs from that of peers. Further, it requires examination of the role of classmates and family in promoting or hindering student progress. The challenge for educators is to explore ideas and practices that demonstrate promise for helping slowly developing readers reach high levels of competence.

This study describes an experimental fifth grade reading class in which an interactive writing program replaced the traditional school model's follow-up activities of workbooks, skill worksheets or assigned comprehension questions. For the purpose of the case-study, the researcher made careful, systematic observations, collected samples of the students' work and kept detailed ethnographic notes for an entire year. The researcher hoped to learn about the complementary relationship between reading and writing and more specifically the effects of a writing-infused program on the reading comprehension ability of the students involved. The subjects of the study were a group of fourteen students selected from the middle of a class of sixty-one fifth graders. The median IQ for the entire fifth grade was 108, while it was 100 for the fourteen students participating in the study group. The IQ ranged from 93-117. In this dissertation can be found the results of the writer's exploration and her answers to five research questions. Did the students make observable improvements in their writing abilities and skills? Did the writing-infused students make gains in reading comprehension? How did the writing-infused students perform in tests measuring traditional language and reading achievement as compared to the other fifth grade students in the same school receiving traditional reading instruction as recommended by the teacher's manual for their basal reader? How useful did the writing-infused students feel the writing activities were to their reading and writing development? And lastly, how much interest and enjoyment did the students have in the interactive writing activities? The findings cited in this study support the researcher's belief that students can be taught a process of writing that will positively affect their general reading ability--specifically their reading comprehension. The performance of the reading-writing students compared favorably to the performance of the students in the traditional classrooms. The students found the writing instruction to be appealing, informative and instructive and as a result made great progress in their competencies.

The purpose of the study was to examine reading strategies used for students whose spoken language is Spanish, and are learning to read in Spanish. The study has as one of its goals, to try to unify the methods used in the process of reading development for Spanish speaking students. The study describes events of reading in six classrooms, and explore methods used in the development of reading. The impact of these methods on students and the result of testing. Another goal is to explore the attitudes of teachers, and if these attitudes affect implementation of methodology. The information for the study was gathered through interviews and questionnaires with teacher respondents and, students, as well as test scores at the end of the trial period. The test used was the, Unit Test, used in many Bilingual Programs. The test are divided into two parts. The teacher determines when to offer the test after having taught the skills of the Unit, according to the basic series used by the Bilingual Program. The gathered information showed which of the reading strategies used for the development of reading of Spanish speaking first graders appeared most effective. The three strategies reported by teachers were: The Phonics Methods, Whole Language and a combination of both methods (and in some cases other methods were included in the combination). From the information shown in the findings chapter it can be observed that the Phonics Method obtained the highest percentage when used as a reading strategy. The combination of methods obtained the second highest percentage as a reading strategy. The Whole Language Method obtained the lowest percentage when used as a reading strategy for Spanish speaking children. Students of teachers who have an average of 17-18 years of experience, had the highest scores in the tests. This is relevant, for the methods are not the only variable that seems to affect the results.

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