Compiled by Pam Mordecai (First Book) and Zellynne Jennings-Wray (Second and Third Books), this series of three readers will be welcomed by teachers looking for interesting and challenging reading material for children in the upper grades of primary and preparatory and the lower grades of secondary and high schools.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of using differentiated instruction to improve students’ overall reading abilities in a Standard 1 Belizean classroom. Data were collected by conducting teacher interviews, pre- and post-literacy assessment, and analysis of teachers’ weekly reading plans. The pre- and post-tests assessed students in three areas: phonological awareness, phonics, and reading comprehension.

The book, Blooming with the Pouis: Critical Thinking, Reading and Writing across the Curriculum, is a compilation of different articles spanning a wide range of subject areas which are arranged by co-authors Paulette A. Ramsay (a Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Humanities and Education at The University of the West Indies, Mona), Vivienne A. Harding and Ingrid A. McLaren (Lecturers in the Department of Language, Linguistics and Philosophy at The University of the West Indies, Mona) and Janice A.

This paper reports on the development of an observation instrument that is designed to assess teachers of language and literacy in the Caribbean, and to provide an avenue for feedback to these teachers. The instrument contains four broad dimensions (planning, execution, classroom environment, and reflection), each with several items that are based on literature in the field, and validated by literacy professionals in the Caribbean. The items on the instrument were piloted across the region and modified before the final version was produced.

Basic reading skills need to be acquired early in a target language to allow students to make full use of educational opportunities provided in all their subjects. Grades 1 to 3 is a critical time as those reading below the grade 4 level, internationally, are classified as non-readers, with grade 1 being a crucial link. Phonetic skills are an important component of reading skills.

National and international large-scale literacy assessments play an indelible role in impacting educational policy and curriculum across the globe. In fact, the value attached to these measures persists regardless of questions raised about the influence of the nature of such tests, characteristics and requirements of test items, and the ways in which demographic characteristics such as English learner status, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and disability impact student literacy performance.

The intervention, Camp Summer Plus (CSP), was initiated by the USAID/Jamaica Basic Education Project in an effort to raise the performance of grade three students requiring remediation in reading and mathematics. The five-week summer programmes were informed by the Earl Phalen Summer Advantage Programme which has been successfully implemented in the USA since 2009. The camps were held in 2011 and 2012.