A study examined basal readers and trade books in terms of reading ease as estimated by readability formulas and the incidence of figurative language. Based on an earlier study, the study had three major goals: to (1) assess and compare two reading series ("A" and "B") at each of two grade levels; (2) assess and compare…

A study examined 58 home economics education textbooks in terms of reading difficulty, writing style, and interest level for special population learners. The objective was to identify texts, using six different readability formulas that were significantly more difficult and provided educational obstacles to special populations in their preparation…

The first phase of a study investigating textbook readability and students' reading levels used three traditional formulas to assess the readability levels of 51 primary textbooks from college introductory social science courses in 7 disciplines. The second phase investigated the relationship between the readability levels of students' texts,…

A sample of 12 recent and older sixth grade social studies textbooks was examined to determine their level of explicitness, one of the criteria used to determine the "friendliness" or comprehensibility of a text. Researchers randomly selected three samples--usually chapters--from each of the 12 textbooks. The Explication Inventory…

Eight college listening texts were selected and evaluated by the following criteria: organization, supporting material, and readability. Text organization was assessed by preface material, table of contents, index, and references. Text supporting material was evaluated by the use of hard data, soft data, visual aids, and bibliographies. Text…

Defining lexical familiarizations as devices by means of which an author gives a reader an understanding of newly introduced key lexis, this paper discusses familiarizations in content area textbooks. The various sections of the paper examine the following topics: (1) the forms taken by lexical familiarizations, including use of reader experience,…

An instrument to assist in assessing textbooks was created to provide a concise format for comparison and evaluation. Textbook characteristics were selected to illustrate content and proportion of characteristics of textbooks. Nine textbook characteristics were selected for quantifying the content areas of textbooks: (1) number of pages in the…

For much of this century, text linguists have recognized that various tokens called "metadiscourse" may help explain how texts function. In linguistics, metadiscourse has a more concrete meaning than it typically does in composition: it refers to specific words, phrases, and clauses which are primarily intended to help the reader…

To explore and characterize the problem-solving processes of experts evaluating and revising text/illustration combinations, a study was conducted with experts from three different fields. Participants, who included five subject matter experts (SMEs) in biology, five professional designers, and five editors, were asked to diagnose and address…

A study examined students' ability to comprehend consistent or inconsistent text when activating relevant or irrelevant background knowledge. Fifty-five grade six students reading at or above grade level were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups: activated/consistent, nonactivated/consistent, activated/inconsistent, and…

Recent studies refuting the effectiveness of advance organizers in preparing students to comprehend text material have not met the conditions necessary for advance organizers to succeed. According to the assimilation theory, which holds that people learn by chaining what is known to what is to be learned, the following conditions must be met for…

Six college health textbooks published between 1980 and 1987 were analyzed to determine the extent of coverage of 10 selected content areas from "Healthy People: The Surgeon General's Report on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention." Content areas assessed included: motor vehicle accidents, alcohol and drug misuse, teenage pregnancy,…

In reviewing current literature on the importance of examples in the process of teaching learning, this report takes into particular consideration textbook approaches that emphasize the role of examples for comprehension and motivation. Utilizing a constructive theory of prose comprehension, it then attempts to specify the function of examples in…

Using a Curriculum Characteristics Inventory questionnaire, this study identifies teacher concerns and interests about curriculum materials and discloses teachers' attitudes about the nature and characteristics of curriculum materials. Teachers rated six characteristics in the following order of priority: 1) relevance of subject matter, 2)…

Presents research findings about textbook construction and how they should influence the development of chemistry texts. Discusses learning as a constructive process, the importance of interpreting symbolic representations, and the creation of structure by the learner. Advocates publisher responsibility for incorporating results of research when…