DOCUMENT RESUME ED 253 865 CS 007 985 AUTHOR Anderson, Richard C.; And Others TITLE Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading. INSTITUTION Illinois Univ., Urbana. Center for the Studyof Reading.; National Academy of Education, Washington, D.C. SPONS AGENCY National Inst. of Education (ED), Washington,DC. PUB DATE 85 CONTRACT 400-83-0057 NOTE 155p. AVAILABLE FROMUniversity of Illinois, Becominga Nation of Readers, P.O. Box 2774, Station A, Champaign, IL 61820-8774 ($4.50 ea., including postage;overseas orders, add $1.00). PUB TYPE .3ooks (010) Reports Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC07 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Classroom Environment; Classroom Techniques; Elementary Secondary Education; *Literacy; *Literacy Education; Professional Development; *Reading Improvement; *Reading Instruction; *Reading Processes; *Reading Tests; Teacher Education; Teacher Effectiveness ABSTRACT Fulfilling a need for careful and thorough synthesis of an extensive body of findingson reading, this report presents leading experts' interpretations of both current knowledgeof reading and the state of the art and practice of teaching reading.The introduction contains two claims:(1) the knowledge is now available to make worthwhile improvements in reading throughout the United States, and (2) if the practices seen in the classrooms of thebest teachers in the best schools could be introduced everywhere, improvement in reading would be dramatic. The firstchapter of the report stresses reading as the process of constructing meaningfrom written texts, a complex skill requiring the coordinationof a number of interrelated sources of information. The secondchapter, on emerging literacy, argues that reading must beseen as part of a child's general language development and notas a discrete skill isolated from listening, speaking, and writing. The thirdchapter, on extending literacy, stresses that as proficiency develops,reading should not be thought of as a separate subject, butas integral to learning in all contentareas. The fourth chapter concerns the teacher and the classroom and notes thatan indisputable conclusion of research is that the quality of teaching makesa considerable difference in children's learning. The next two chaptersnote that standardized reading tests do not measure everything, andthat teaching is a complex profession. The last chapter containsseventeen recommendations for conditions likely to produce citizenswho would read with high levels of skill and doso frequently with evident satisfaction. In the afterword, Jeanne Chall commentson the history of the report, and three appendixes contain 260 referencesand notes plus lists of project consultants and the members of the National Academy of Education. (HOD) 4111111111 U.S. ()VARMINT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION E CATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) The document has been reproduced as received from the person or organisation originating it 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this docu- ment do not menu* Ngefewe official NIE 0 positionOrpolicy. Becming aNation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading pripa red by Richard C. Anderson Elfrida II. Ifichert Judith A. Scott fart A. Wilkinson with contributions front mcnibers thc Commission Oil Rcading I he National Atadetto riI hitt( Atom1 he Natt1,11.11 hmittitr nl hloration the Critter lor the Souls, of !trading 1985 3 .fr The National Institute of Education U.S Department of Mucatoon Wmimigion. D C 20208 The work upon which this publication isbased was performed persuant to Contract No. 400.83-0057 of the National Institute of Education. It does not, however, necessarily reflect the views of that agency. Cover illustration .courtesy of the United States Postal Service CD 1984 Commissionon Reading National Academy of Education Dr. Richard C. Anderson, Chairman Dr. David Rumelhart Professor and Director Professor of Psychology Center for the Study of Reading University of California at San Diego University of Illinois La Jolla, CA 92037 Champaign, IL 61820 Dr. Dorothy Strickland Dr. Isabel Beck Professor of Eeucation Professor and Senior Scientist Teachers College Learning Research and Development CenterColumbia University University of Pittsburgh New York, NY 10027 Pittsburgh, PA 15260 Sue H. Talbot Dr. Jere Brophy First grade teacher Professor and Co-director University Elementary School Institute for Research on Teaching Bloomington, IN 47401 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824 Monte Penney, Ex officio Department .of. Education Dr. Jeanne S. Chall Adult Literacy Initiative Professor and Director Washington, DC 20202 Reading Laboratory Staff Graduate School of Education Dr. Elfrieda H. Hiebert Harvard' University Associate Professor Cambridge, MA 02138 University of Kentucky Dr. Robert Glaser Lexington, KY 40506-0017 Professor and Director Judith A. Scott Research Assistant Learning Research and Development CenterCenter for the Study of Reading University of Pittsburgh University of Illinois Pittsburgh, PA 15260 Champaign, IL 61820 Dr. Lenore H. Ringler Ian A. G. Wilkinson Professor of Educational Psychology Research Assistant Center for the Study of Reading New York University University of Illinois New York, NY 10003 Champaign, IL 61820 ar Foreword Continuing discussion across the country of policies fOr improving schools is sharpening recognition of the contributions of research to educational practice. As educational decision makers consider alternative approaches to school improvement, examine current practices and revise instructional programs, research on crucial elements of the educational process is invaluable. The accumulation of.findings on certain essential aspects of schooling has reached a. critical mass and deserves close attention. Reading and the use and comprehension of language the most pervasive and fundamental activity in schooling is one such area.,This report fulfills a need L._for..catefuLand.tharough synthesis of an. extensive body of findings on reading. In its pages, the leading experts present their inter- pretations of our current knowledge of reading and the state of the art and practice in teaching reading. The Research Base For .Becoming A Nation Of Readers Three broad areas of inquiry have madeBecoming a Nation of Readers possible. Studies of human cognition in the psychology of language, linguistics, child, development, and behavioral science give us a clearer picture of reading as an integration of numerous learned processes. Research on environmental influences has described-the impact of various settings on reading experiences. Investigations of classroom practices, especially those stemming from studies of teaching and of test use, have' been interpreted in the light of the efforts to understand the reading process and to explicate factors that shape children's experience with written language. Given the scope of these inq&ries, the .Commission Q11 Reading that guided the prepar.ition of this document, and the scholars who wrote it, have been able tt, synthesize a diverse, rich body of scientific information into a systematic account of beginning reading and the comprehension of language. The Reading Process Research on the reading process has provided fuller understanding of how children an learn the lett?r partctns and associated sounds in an alphabetic lat:guage such as English, the importance of fluent word recog.ittion, aed how a text's structure influences the meaning drawn from it.It has uncovered the roots of proficient reading, and described how the development of well-practiced skills hi beginning reading fos7er comprehension of complex texts. This research often supports accepted effective practices and removes them fr:Im unnecessary debate; the findings explain and confirm the experience and intuitions of outstanding practitioners and make their methods more widely accessible. At the same time, research findings identify practices that are less useful, outmoded, or that persist in the face of evidence to the contrary. V Knowledge about the intricacies of thereading process lay to rest once and for all some of the old debatesabout the roles of phonics and comprehension. Wenow know that learning efficient word recognition and grasping meaningare companion skills from the time a child first reads. These findingsalso have yielded evidence that extends early researchon reading and on child development. We have learned that children bringmore prior knowledge and complex mental processesto reading than was thought earlier. Reading instruction should-meet the challenge of building from the knowledge that children bringto the school experience, by offering the richest texts that theyare able to understand. Teaching 'techniques and text designcan be informed by new conceptions of the potential of children's minds, andat the same tine recognize individual differences in language experienceand in the acquisition iff-FeaUing proficiency. Environmental Influenceson Reading Reading, comprehending, and thinking withlanguage and the printed word are cultural phenomena. Theextent of their devel,. opment is affected by home and family circumstances,the encour- agement of basic habits and attitudes in kindergarten andthe early grades, and opportunities and social supportfor the development of effective skills and strategies in later life.This report addresses this complexity, understanding thattoo often one phase or factor of the acquisition of reading abilitycaptures