This paper on readability begins with a brief discussion of comprehension, including a definition, and then lists factors that influence comprehension, such as knowledge of vocabulary, long passages that are ambiguous, digressions, and unnecessary restatements. The paper then explores readability and presents a graph for estimating readability and…

Ideas for helping students sharpen their ability to read mathematics are presented. (MK)

Designed to provide ideas for developing and implementing a reading skills center for secondary schools, this document focuses on the needs of students who can be helped in the typical school setting and presents suggestions for helping students who have profound reading or language deficits. The contents outline in detail the many facets involved…

Some practical ways to improve reading skills in social studies classes without sacrificing content objectives and goals are presented. It is emphasized that social studies teachers are best suited to teach reading skills in their own subject field. Social studies teachers need to focus on three reading skills: vocabulary development and word…

In order to permit teachers to tailor their instruction in the introduction of the SPPED Multiple Choice Cloze to their students, this training manual provides a package of lesson plans and materials developed by the System for Pupil and Program Evaluation and Development (SPPED). The materials include Student Guides for grade 1, grades 2-3,…

This booklet provides teachers with models for interactive reading activities that reflect an awareness of comprehension as a complex mental and linguistic process rather than as a hierarchy of mechanically applied subskills. The instructional strategies represent a combination of insights presented in recent research with those gained through…

This course outline describes English 100, a diagnostic and placement course in freshmen composition implemented in 1975 at Parkland Community College, Champaign, Illinois. It is a two-week course required of every Parkland student entering the writing program at the level of English 099 or above and leads to one of three composition courses. Its…

This publication was designed as an aid to reinforcing and improving teachers' diagnostic/prescriptive capabilities. The main section examines characteristics of reading diagnosis and describes informal diagnostic techniques (including teacher observation, informal reading inventories, and the cloze procedure) and formal diagnostic techniques…

This is a teacher's guide for "Poor Simpleton," a language test designed for students of English in bilingual programs. The guide explains the nature of the test, how to administer and score it, and how to analyze test results. The test is a modified version of the cloze procedure. Unlike most cloze tests, which are…

The bulletin contains suggestions for secondary level social studies teachers to improve students' reading skills in social studies while at the same time enhancing the learning of social studies content. The materials can be easily adapted for elementary grades. Chapter one describes specific procedures for determining student reading levels.…

In its treatment of the development of reading comprehension, the document considers the topics of general understanding, influence of vocabulary and word meaning, relationships to subject matter areas, and techniques for study and questioning. Unit one, entitled Analysis of Style, deals with grasping the main idea; directly stated facts and…