Offers modifications to the Question Answer Relationships technique that provide (1) a clearer explanation of different sources of information for answering questions, (2) an easier format for considering developmental differences in reading and learning, and (3) an expanded use for the technique both as a tool for teachers and as a strategy for…

Because playwrights are limited to textual elements that an audience can hear and see--dialogue and movement--much of a drama's tension and interest lie in the subtext, the characters' emotions and motives implied but not directly expressed by the text itself. The teacher must help students construct what in a novel the author may have made more…

This article explains the relationship between the number and type of questions that readers with deafness have and their comprehension of the reading material. It describes intervention strategies that can be used to improve comprehension, with the goal of developing readers' abilities to read in a way to answer their own questions. (Author/JDD)

Reviews the literature on the effect of prior knowledge and text familiarity on document comprehension and usability. Discusses current methods for assessing subjects' topic familiarity. Presents an empirically based method for effectively assessing topic familiarity. Explains that the method includes use of two subject groups and reliance on…

Discusses ways to teach modern plays and poetry, using a reader response approach that makes the works more accessible to students. (HTH)

Presents the background, design, research, and possible uses for the Cloze Story Map, which combines the elements of cloze with a story-mapping strategy to represent the structure and semantic content of both narrative and expository text. (FL)

Examining how teachers help students respond to short fiction, this book presents 25 essays that look closely at "teachable" short stories by a diverse group of classic and contemporary writers. The approaches shared by the contributors move from readers' first personal connections to a story, through a growing facility with the…

This study applied Reader Response theory (which stresses an aesthetic experience with the text) with seven less proficient readers (learning-disabled fifth and sixth graders). Student response was best when the text was read to them, when their responses were oral, and when instruction focused on active meaning construction and the reader/text…

A three-stage lesson sequence that used story grammars to teach plot development has been proved successful with a group of eight above average third grade students reading Deborah and James Howe's "Bunnicula." The first stage was a training unit designed to familiarize children with a typical story grammar's parts: a theme and plot…

States that comprehension of expository text and the ability to summarize are factors in students' success with such material. Describes a model that induces students to use existing schemata to create new and necessary expectations while providing a technique for explicitly teaching the components of effective summaries. (JK)

Explains how to teach F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" in three stages: before, during, and after a close look at the text and outlines the novel's narrative structure. (HOD)

Now in its Second Edition, "The School Superintendent: Theory, Practice, and Cases," provides reflective summaries, pertinent questions, and case studies at the end of each chapter to encourage the reader to engage in reflection by linking content with personal experiences. The text provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of the school…

Discusses how books that have predictable story lines can provide rich opportunities for students with hearing impairments to expand their knowledge, experience success in decoding and predicting text, and develop a love of reading. Tips are provided for choosing books that contain familiar sequences, events, ideas, and situations. (CR)

Based on the notion that visual decisions play an important role in what children recognize and interpret in books and that teachers have a special responsibility to help students become visually literate, this article draws parallels between visual and verbal concepts and suggests some activities for teaching "picture reading" skills in the…

Describes a three-step process to help teachers honor what children bring to each reading situation and to model for children the importance of accessing appropriate knowledge sources before reading. (FL)