Most people have struggled with reading in one situation or another, depending on their appreciation for the content, their prior experiences, and the texts. This department column shares ways for educators to help literacy learners unlock their potential with instruction anchored in their skills, knowledge, ways of learning, interests, and…

Examines the relationship among sources of interest, perceived interest, and text recall. Reveals (through factor analysis) six different sources of interest. Suggests sources of interest affect perceived interest, which in turn affects recall. Suggests that text structure appears to play an important role in perceived situational interest and,…

Finds and describes five text characteristics that are most positively associated with interest in expository text, and three most negatively associated. Shows that interest and importance were highly correlated, and that information rated as both interesting and important was recalled best. (SR)

A review of the literature was conducted to summarize how characteristics of individual readers help to determine the nature and quality of their comprehension of specific texts and to discuss how this knowledge might be used by teachers to promote effective reading in their classes. Three dimensions of readers were identified as being causally…

Interviews with 16 deaf high school students and 9 teachers found that teachers underestimated the extent of students' independent comprehension of 3 types of text. The text perceived to be most difficult by both teachers and students was the most interesting to students (but not teachers) and fostered use of a greater variety of metacognitive…