Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (JAAL). October 2007.

Some ideas on teaching English from the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (JAAL), October 2007, a publication of the International Reading Association.

How teach homonyms, homophones and homographs?
Homonyms, same word, different meanings (bank--for money; bank--by the side of a stream); Homophones, same sound, different words (their, there); and homographs, same spelling, different meanings (tear--to rip/ tear--cry). Special problem for English as second language learners: prior knowledge; visualizing; familiarity; categorizing; compare and contrast; modeling; guided instruction, assessment. J Jacobean, et al. JAAL (Oct. 07), 88 - 111.

What are some problems with literature discussion circles?
Teachers need to be aware of what is occurring in the discussions not relevant to the literary work; in other words, what is causing problems in discussion--problems of gender, power and ideology. [RayS: Students need to be taught how to discuss in groups.] LW Clarke. JAAL (Oct. 07), 112-131.

How deal with the frustration of dyslexia?
Teach students by-pass strategies. Be positive. Get to know the whole child. Highlight the successes. Encourage support groups. Highlight keywords. L Long, et al. JAAL (Oct. 07), 124-134.

How help struggling readers, including ESL students?
Teach students to use "think-alouds" (metacognitive) strategies. RG McKeowan and JL Gentiluai. JAAL (Oct. 07), 136-147.

What is one reason students don't like to read assigned academic reading?
The teachers don't like to read assigned reading either. [RayS: And they have not learned how to become involved in assigned reading, by way of SQ3R, etc.] M Lesley, et al. JAAL (Oct. 07), 150-162.

How help struggling readers?
One-on-one tutoring. J Cohen. JAAL (Oct. 07), 164-175.

Why is there a perpetual literacy crisis? (Why can't "Johnny" ever learn to read?)
Popular culture--sensationalist newspapers in the 1880s; movies in the 1930s; video games and text messaging today. [RayS: Interesting insight into the problem.] BT Williams. JAAL (Oct. 07), 178.

Other topic: Using blogs outside of school develops digital technology and traditional literacy.