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A PUBLICATION OF THE FLORIDA READING ASSOCIATION

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Volume 44, No. 2, Winter 2007

Table of Contents

 Articles

Making Mark Twain Accessible: Teachers First, Then Students...................................................................................... 6

     Cindy Lovell Oliver
In Following the Equator, Mark Twain's classic travelogue, America's most famous author penned: "Classic: a book which people praise and don't' read." This project sought to examine teachers' thoughts on teaching mark Twain and responded with a workshop designed to make his writing more accessible to teachers so that they might make his writing more accessible to students.

Does a Correlation Exist Between Accelerated Reader, the Standardized Test of Ability of Reading, and FCAT? .. 12

    Karen Rasmussen, Charlotte Boling, and Pam Northrup
Each year, school districts across Florida spend thousands of dollars on various Renaissance Learning programs such as Accelerated Reader (AR) and the Standardized Test of Ability in Reading (STAR). In an effort to discover the utility of these programs for classroom teachers, this study investigate student performances of the Renaissance Learning programs, AR and STAR to FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test).

Using Social Stories to Teach Literacy Behaviors and Strategies...................................................................................... 38

     Mary E. Robbins, Debra P. Price, Sharon A. Lynch, Margaret M. McGuire, and Cynthia Simpson
 In this article the authors discuss how social stories can be used for a variety of purposes, including rituals and routines as well as being authentic reasons to read and write.

Making Informational Texts Accessible to Some Urban First Graders................................................................................ 48

     Paula Sunanon Webster and Antoinette Kirby Smith
 Analyses of curriculum materials, teacher surveys, and observational studies all point to relatively little use of information texts in primary grade classrooms. This study describes a group of urban first graders in a Title I elementary school engaged in interactive reading and writing activities using informational texts.

 

 Features and Information

 Editor's Note................................................................................................................ 4

President’s Message..................................................................................................... 5

Feature: Storytelling: Storytelling Mini-Lesson

Nile Stanley ...................................................................................................... 18

Feature: Integrating the Curriculum: Creative Classrooms Create Thinkers

Jacqueline J. Batey .........................................................................................  22

Feature: Classroom Connection: Addressing the Summer Reading Loss with Richard Allington

Lunetta Williams ..............................................................................................  23

Feature: Book Review: Recommendations from the Bookworm

Linda Leonard Lamme .....................................................................................  26

Guest Feature: From the Field: Mario: Lessons Learned from a Struggling Reader

Ed Dwyer  .........................................................................................................  36

Feature: Technology: Vocabulary Maps

Terence W. Cavanaugh ................................................................................... 18

Feature: Reflections on the Conference

Debra Wellman ............................................................................................... 24

Directory of Publishers............................................................................................ 36

FRA Board of Directors, Staff, and Local Council Presidents................................ 38

IRA Application Form.............................................................................................. 40

List of Honor Councils............................................................................................. 41

FRA Application Form............................................................................................. 44