Argues that the directed reading activity (DRA) is a teaching strategy of limited use to students and discusses how teachers can transform the teaching strategy into a learning strategy. Discusses the generalization of the DRA strategy, emphasizes self-checking for learner control of strategies, and describes attributional consequences of teaching…

To meet the needs of students reading below their potentials, teachers must learn more about the reading process, become more diagnostic in determining pupils' strengths and weaknesses, and couple their knowledge of reading with an understanding of pupil deficiencies to plan a program to improve the child's ability to read. Diagnosis, though…

An innovative program to improve reading skills is described in this article. (JD)

This paper offers suggestions in the form of six guidelines on how the teacher can build toward reading maturity in the classroom. The first guideline urges the teacher to remember that reading necessitates a total complex thinking process, one which will prevent persisting at one level of instruction longer than is necessary. Secondly, students…

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…

Steps for teachers to follow in improving reading comprehension among students are presented. Three main levels of reading are identified and basic reading skills necessary for a mature reader are outlined. (Author/DB)

Reading is a tool for learning. The goal for the teaching of reading must be to produce lovers of reading. A holistic approach should replace exclusive dependence on basal readers. Effective methods are the following: (1) language experience approach; (2) word banks; (3) pattern books; (4) sustained silent reading; and (5) directed…

Success in the study of literature depends on the student's ability to establish connections between word and object, between words and phrases, and between memorable experiences in all fields of learning and the reading of literature, which is interdisciplinary by nature. In understanding a literary work, a reader must make affective memory…

The article explains how elementary teachers can strike a balance between whole language and traditional approaches to reading instruction, describing successful programs and sharing several teachers' suggestions for combining the two methods in the classroom. A list of reading resources is included. (SM)

Presents a study of United States History textbooks that identifies possible shortcomings of several readability formulas as tools in determining the appropriateness of reading materials. Suggests additional factors to consider when selecting textbooks and techniques to help students understand reading materials. (AEM)

The first part of this report reviews an extensive series of studies concerned with the reciprocal teaching of comprehension fostering and monitoring strategies--an instructional method in which an adult teacher and a group of students take turns leading a dialogue aimed at revealing the meaning of the text. The studies reviewed indicate that…

Describes and evaluates several methods for teaching reading that can involve the parent in the child's reading development. Concludes that a program involving paired reading in its purest form is the best method. (SRT)

Six weeks were spent working with a five-year-old kindergarten child who had an excellent understanding of sound/symbol relationships but did not know how to read for meaning. A variety of techniques was used to help the child develop reading strategies and increase confidence: directed reading-thinking activity in week one; student retelling of a…

Focusing on reading comprehension instruction at the word, sentence, paragraph, and larger unit levels, the articles in this volume were drawn from a variety of sources. The three articles in the first section deal with theoretical bases and conceptual concerns. Specific topics covered include the argument for a discourse analysis model, the…

Drawing on methods currently employed at St. Philip's College (San Antonio, Texas), this paper describes six strategies for teaching critical reading skills to developmental students. For each of the methods presented, relevant resources are cited, a step-by-step instructional approach is provided, and the purpose and goals of the specific…