Designed to increase sixth-grade students' leisure time reading, this practicum study investigated the effectiveness of a computerized independent reading contest. An existing word processing program was modified to encourage the sixth-grade students to read. A list of 25 books was developed. Students used the computer program to respond to…

A study investigated the transfer effect of three different word recognition strategies. Subjects were 90 first- through fourth-grade children randomly drawn from an elementary school population to serve in the experimental group and a like number assigned to a non-instructed control group. Strategies taught to subjects were a graphophonic…

A study determined if the Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) method would raise levels of critical thinking in students. Subjects, 20 third-grade students, used the DR-TA for 30 minutes each day for a period of approximately 8 weeks. Subjects were pre- and posttested using the Thinking Skills Assessment and the Reading Attitude Inventory.…

A study examined the efficacy of the repeated readings method in improving the oral reading rate, decreasing the number of oral reading errors, and improving the oral reading comprehension accuracy of educationally handicapped students. The oral reading skills of eight students from an urban northeastern United States community identified as…

A study evaluated a program designed to improve the reading attitude of students who had the skills to read independently but chose not to during their recreational reading time. Subjects, 25 third grade students enrolled in a public school in a rapidly growing city in Florida, performed in the 80th percentile or above on county, state, and…

This study investigated the effects of story mapping on reading comprehension. Subjects, 20 second-grade students of below-average reading achievement, were presented over a 10-week period with activities in story mapping utilizing a variety of story map frames. The Metropolitan Achievement Test was administered as a pre- and posttest. Results…

This practicum was designed to provide a setting where negative attitudes toward reading in eight eighth-grade literature students (in a small private school in a large southeastern city) would be modified. The practicum aimed to provide students with regular opportunities for successful experiences in reading, and to promote the enjoyment of…

This project was developed and implemented to increase the target students' phonemic awareness in order to be able to make sense of the alphabetic principle and become successful independent readers. The objectives for the project were for 8 of the 10 target students to score 80% on the posttests of rhyme detection, blending, and the Yopp-Singer…

A practicum encapsulated a reading skills assessment and intervention program utilizing computer-aided instruction and support activities for four 3-week sessions. The primary target population was the 43 juvenile delinquents at a Florida juvenile detention center who completed posttest measures. A total of 280 students participated in the…

A total of 162 elementary school children who were underachieving in reading were selected to participate in a supplementary program that used paperback books to improve reading competency. Exit scores were predicted for each student. The program focused on the following components: encouraging students to read from a wide selection of readily…

A practicum addressed the cognitive and affective needs of underachieving fifth grade students in a suburban school in southwest Florida. Twelve fifth grade students (the target group) were paired with same age tutors who provided supplemental reading instruction four times a week over a 12-week period. They also participated in weekly…

A practicum addressed the problem of achieving reading speed and accuracy along with reading comprehension in an eighth grade remedial class, by implementing short timed reading passages and teacher-made speed tapes. Eleven students were pretested and posttested with the Gates-MacGinitie reading test in comprehension, speed, and accuracy. The…

A practicum was designed to intervene and assist borderline elementary school RSP (Resource Specialist Program) students in special education classes and/or through extra assistance within the regular classroom. Borderline RSP students who had been referred to the Student Study Team (SST) for below-grade-level scores and classroom functioning in…

A 3-year project developed a procedure to achieve the objectives of using miscue analysis in the reading program in a way that is economical in time, applicable to more than one student at once, and usable as a teaching tool as well as a diagnostic tool. Three separate trials, in 1975, 1976, and 1977, refined and developed the procedure until it…

A developmental project was designed to improve the course of study for Reading Specialist Credential candidates at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). The project is an example of action research that systematically developed an inservice presentation for improvement of classroom instruction in language arts.…