Offers suggestions for effective use of the Directed Reading-Thinking Activity developed by R. Stauffer. (FL)

Research indicates that prior knowledge is an exceptionally important determiner of reading comprehension. Many of the prereading strategies currently used to assist reading comprehension do not help teachers identify what students already know about a topic. In an effort to integrate instructional assessment with prereading instruction, the…

Suggests that critical reading and reading comprehension be taught separately at first to insure that students learn both to understand and to evaluate pieces of writing. (MKM)

Describes how to construct a reading guide to help students understand mathematical word problems. (MKM)

The Direct Reading Lesson, as discussed in this article, is a method that allows for improving reading skills in math. The author suggests the following steps for using expository material: read for main idea; read for sequence or outline; note vocabulary; refer to illustrations and diagrams; read creatively, inferring, drawing conclusions, and…

Suggests using the Guided Reading Procedure as a prereading activity and as a postreading activity when students have read different materials. (MKM)

Described is a technique for the development of survival reading activity packets for the science classroom. The reading packets described include labels from different food and medicine products and from magazine and newspaper articles. Three types of questions were used with each packet: factual, interpretive, and application. (DS)

Current educational writing and reporting suggests a need for making reading a more vital experience for the student. One of the ways being tried in the Rye Public Schools (New York) is an integrated, guided, out-of-class reading program that is keyed to the inquiry curriculum. Starting in the third grade, each inquiry unit has specially selected…

ReQuest is a reciprocal questioning technique in which the teacher serves as a model of questioning behavior for the student. Following a briefing period by the teacher, the activity begins with the student and teacher silently reading the first sentence of a story. Teacher and student exchange questions on a sentence-by-sentence reading of the…

Proposes an instructional model that uses a directed reading-thinking activity for teaching students to preview their textbook materials. (FL)

Reading is comprehension, it is a complex network of interrelated skills, and it involves several levels of thinking, but in a holistic rather than in a molecular response to the text. The practice of reading based on this theoretical understanding involves identifying levels of comprehension; noting that levels of comprehending are not strictly…

A workable plan to help social studies teachers develop the competencies they will need to teach students to read social studies materials in grades K through 12 is provided in this document. A directed reading lesson is included which suggests practical techniques for improving reading skills. A unit sample and some suggested techniques for…

Suggests applying questioning strategies based on literal, interpretive, and applied levels to reading assignments. (MKM)

Reports on a teacher survey designed to (1) determine the extent to which reading instruction is being offered beyond the reading classroom and (2) explain why some programs fail and some succeed. Suggests four steps to follow to develop a successful program. (NH)

A widely used technique for teaching reading, Directed Reading Activity (DRA), contributes to the development of passive readers rather than thinking readers. This article describes an alternative approach, Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DRTA), contrasts DRTA with DRA, gives an example of DRTA in action, and provides tips for switching to…