This experiment investigated the assumption that children's learning and retention of prose material can be differentially affected by varying discrepancy from expectation (as established by an advance organizer). It was hypothesized that a passage which differed significantly from expectation would produce heightened arousal, which should in turn…

A report, in book form, of a "user-survey" concerned with the best current classroom practice in making use of novels, short stories, biographies, etc. The findings are based partly on teachers' replies to a questionnaire about their use of particular books and partly on the author's visits to a number of schools where he observed lessons and…

An attempt is made to show or suggest to the newcomer, whether adviser or reporter, some of the humor forms, devices, or ideas that can be used in a school publication. Twenty-four different types of humorous devices are included. These are boners (humorous errors); howlers (play on words); the pun; ethical light verse and limericks; humorous…

This monograph is written primarily for the researcher. It reviews a number of attempts to measure appreciation of literature. The measurements are grouped in two categories: (1) discrimination among poems or prose extracts, and (2) content analysis. Following the review is an evaluation of the limitations and possibilities of these measures. The…

One-hundred and forty undergraduates were divided into seven equal groups; each group read five passages and then answered one of seven types of questions. However, after reading the sixth passage, all subjects received the same type of questions. Reading time for each passage was recorded, and students were encouraged to read faster. Significant…

This analysis examined twentieth-century Spanish American works, geographically distributed throughout the area and including all genres. Results are given by genre and by nation. (RM)

Examined effects of enforced organizational strategies on the memory of older adults for textual material. Young and old adults sorted scrambled sentences of a prose passage into the correct order. When older adults were required to make an in-depth analysis to sort material, their incidental memory for textual information was approximately equal…

Preschool children were presented with short passages in either a story or a communication context. In the first experiment, recall according to importance level was ascertained; in the second, metacognitive awareness of importance level was evaluated. Six-year-olds demonstrated some metacognitive awareness of importance level. Developmental…

Investigates the hypothesis that older adults remember prose less well than young adults because they are less sensitive to the structure of prose passages. Results of studies using stories, essays, and essay summaries suggest that the old are as sensitive to passage structure as the young but recall less information. (Author/CB)

Three delivery systems with low versus high content structure were investigated in terms of immediate learning performance: captioned videotape, classroom instruction, and connected prose on paper. Results indicated that high content structure yielded significantly greater learning performance than low structure and that this performance occurred…

The number of facts college students correctly recalled was not affected by whether they were provided goals which did or did not encourage them to reorganize the passage material they studied. (Author/BW)

One hundred seventy-two fifth grade students read a short, expository passage and answered postquestions. One week later, subjects' recall of the questioned information was superior to their recall of the unquestioned information. (Author/BW)

Discusses the functions of using visuals in communicating and comprehending information. (AEA)

This textbook is a fourth reader that uses supplementary reading, memory exercises, exercises in oral and written expression, vocal training, and phonic analysis. Poetry, prose, and biographies are included.