Whole language often lumped together with reading process, real language, and holistic reading entered mainstream classrooms. Teachers taught students the skills they needed while learning to read for meaning. Literature books, the stories children read on their own, instead of basal series manufactured specifically for school systems, became the student textbooks. And the outcomes of the National Research Council's study will significantly affect future educational programs. Many children's authors, who were once teachers, know this type of change isn't always better.
Publishers modify their programs to fit current trends.
The latest basal series are touted as literature-based series. However, the instructional process remains the same. Workbooks still consume more time than actual reading. Many teachers who incorporated literature books into their instructional methods were unsure of how to teach reading. Most authors have issue with these practices.