The study evaluated the relative importance of graphic and contextual information in the correction behavior of disabled fourth grade readers who were clinically diagnosed as poor comprehenders. Results indicated that poor comprehenders tended to be more cued to graphic constraints in the text than to semantic constraints. (Author/DB)

Ten children (ages 7-10) with visuoperceptual problems were compared to sighted children on lexical decision tasks with words, nonwords, and format distorted items. The partially sighted children relied on phonological mediation as well as the "visual" route in word recognition. Regularity effects, as well as effects of intact and disrupted…

Text analysis systems, imposing coherence measures derived from the reader's and writer's notions of how a text functions in communication, produce descriptions of texture, or the totality of cohesive ties in a text. The question is if cohesion analysis, more than offering a linguistic description of text, can serve as a psychological model of…

This book remains a comprehensive, myth-debunking examination of how L1 features (orthographic system, phonology, morphology) can influence English L2 reading at the "bottom" of the reading process. It provides a thorough but very accessible linguistic/psycholinguistic examination of the lowest levels of the reading process. It is both theoretical…

Designed to describe which strategies subjects use while making inferences, this instrument identifies 10 of these strategies: (1) rebinding, (2) questioning a default interpretation or a direct or indirect conflict, (3) shifting of focus, (4) analyzing alternatives, (5) assigning an alternate case, (6) confirming an immediate prior…

Reports on a study of children's literature selected for primary grades in British schools. Finds that the books fall into two categories: word books and picture books. Recommends that authors, illustrators, and selectors of books should consider how to develop books that help students progress smoothly from one group to another. (CFR)

The readings in this collection were prepared to accompany a report of a series of experiments conducted to determine what information readers, both skilled adults and children beginning to read, use when they read to understand a story. Titles of the readings are are (1) "Oral Reading: Does It Reflect Decoding or Comprehension?" (2)…

Contends that becoming literate involves the socialization of attention. Discusses two modes of socialization, revealing and telling. Concludes that the final evaluation of any language theory is relevance to classroom practice. (CFR)

A series of experiments were conducted to determine what information readers use when they read to understand a story. The experiments examined both skilled adult readers and children beginning to read. Oral reading was used both because elementary school teachers frequently ask children to read aloud and because oral reading provides an…

States that there is concern in Western nations that literacy rates are falling. Asserts Reading Recovery programs can reverse this trend. Reports on evaluation studies of Reading Recovery and contends that the short-term gains that result from Reading Recovery programs require further research. (CFR)

Presents results from 2 British studies relating preschool reading skills and reading attainment reached by age 11. Substantiates and extends earlier research that correlated early letter identification with reading ability at age seven. Also indicates no support for hypothesis that letter sounding rather than naming predicts subsequent reading…

With the use of verbal report strategies, a study was conducted to examine (1) the types of comprehension strategies readers use to process familiar and less familiar texts and (2) the differential use of think aloud strategies by average and below average readers. Subjects were 15 tenth grade male students in upstate New York. Two weeks prior to…

Outlines a working model of the 10 elements that make up the teaching method, "instructional conversation." Profiles the use of this method to teach moral education and reading comprehension to an elementary class making the transition from Spanish-reading instruction to English. (MJP)

Intended to help classroom teachers, curriculum developers, and researchers, this book provides current information on theoretical and instructional aspects of main idea comprehension. Titles and authors are as follows: "The Confused World of Main Idea" (James W. Cunningham and David W. Moore); "The Comprehension of Important…

Intended for reading educators and researchers, this handbook characterizes the current state of methodology and the cumulative research-based knowledge of reading. The book's three sections cover methodological issues, basic reading processes, and instructional practices. The 25 chapters discuss the following topics: (1) reading research history,…