A four-factor approach to estimating the readability of content area texts for learning disabled students focuses on vocabulary, syntax, density, and format. (CL)

Intended as a resource of staff-tested activities for two-year college faculty, staff, and administrators, this manual is a compilation of representative materials from training workshops conducted, as a professional development project, to increase instructor skills and knowledge regarding intervention in reading deficiency of postsecondary…

Suggests using readability formulas, a skills inventory, an introspective report, and diagnostic approaches based on models of comprehension as informal evaluations of students' content reading ability. (MKM)

Intended to address the problems associated with functionally illiterate students, this manual provides vocational educators with strategies for incorporating reading skills into specific content area instruction. The exercises stress the skills necessary to assess vocational classroom reading materials, develop content specific vocabulary, and…

From their study of science and social studies reading problems in urban secondary schools, the authors present specific suggestions for the responsibility of the content teacher in selecting appropriate reading materials and helping students to understand their content. (Author/SJL)

Evaluated and compared 12 science textbooks with respect to their readability levels and agreement with the intended reader level. Four of the books were determined to be unsatisfactory for their intended grade levels. (20 references) (MDH)

Assuming that the ability to interpret punctuation is basic to reading comprehension, a study was conducted to assess the junior high school reader's ability to interpret internal punctuation in a written passage. From an examination of texts, reference and research materials used at the junior high school level, six uses of three punctuation…

By understanding factors that can make reading difficult for students who are normally able readers, content teachers can facilitate comprehension in their classes. (AEA)

Reviews reading problems encountered in industrial arts courses and provides suggestions for how to deal with them. (MKM)

High school students were tested on their ability to follow directions written by content area teachers. Poor readers understood the directions only about half the time, which probably confounds their performance on classroom tests and assignments. Ways that teachers can make their instructions easier to read are suggested. (SJL)

Proposing two major shifts in how to involve low readers more effectively in textbook learning, this book suggests that students, even those with low reading skills, can learn to use mainstream textbooks, and that textbooks can be designed to make them more usable for all students. The book presents a series of instructional techniques that…

Intended to provide guidance for secondary school mathematics teachers who desire to maximize the reading abilities of their students and thus maximize students' performance, this report attempts to make the secondary school teacher aware of some of the difficulties encountered in reading mathematics and offers some techniques, activities, and…

The article discusses three features of content area textbooks that make them relatively easy to read, understand, and learn from--structure, coherence, and audience appropriateness. For each feature, the article describes the research basis for the feature, outlines problems with existing textbooks, and presents suggestions for evaluating…

Differentiating textbooks is modifying or adapting textbooks in ways that make them easier for students to read and comprehend and then to retain what they have read. This book explains how teachers can motivate their students as they are confronted with text which is generally written in a "less-than-engaging" expository style. The strategies…

These instructor's materials consist of a handbook directed to the teacher and 33 worksheets teachers can use with adult students in order to use the cloze procedure to assess how readily they can read materials of differing complexity. The handbook introduces the materials by considering such questions as What is meant by reading?, How could…