Research supports using research-based comprehension strategies; however, comprehension strategy instruction is not highly visible in basal reading programs or classroom instruction, resulting in many students who struggle with comprehension. A content analysis examined which research-based comprehension strategies were presented in five…

Notes that basal series commonly used in kindergarten through grade six teach only about half of the most common English words. Offers a list of 382 common words that do not appear in the books and suggests that teachers supplement their basals with their own word learning lessons. (FL)

Finds that the most common type of figurative language in fourth- and sixth-grade basal readers is personification. Overall, the most commonly used figures of speech are: personification; animal, sense, and inanimate metaphors; and hyperbole. (FL)

Analyzes six basal reading series and reveals that the number of "distant" stories--those with content that is not closely related to the reader's experience--increases with the age of the intended audience. (FL)

Analyzes some problems that can make beginning basal stories difficult for young readers to understand and offers suggestions for ways teachers can help alleviate the problems. (FL)

A study examined the teachers' manuals for five basal reader programs, kindergarten through grade six, to discover their recommendations for comprehension instruction. The series analyzed were "Pathfinder," published by Allyn and Bacon; "Reading 720," by Ginn and Company; "Bookmark Reading Program," by Harcourt,…

Concludes that about 10 percent of stories in a basal series (grades one through eight) showed a character reading something for either information or pleasure, but seldom as an important part of daily life. Argues that basals could set a better model of the value of reading. (FL)

Analysis of third-grade books in the New Macmillan Reading Program reveals that the books exceeded the publisher's designation of readability and did not progress in difficulty from easy to more difficult. Findings suggest the need for more complete and reliable information from publishers concerning textbook readability. (FL)

Analyzes five basal readers and 10 adolescent novels to determine the occurrence of three types of language styles or registers: formal, informal, and technical/special. Concludes that the basal readers contained examples of all three types of registers while the novels contained relatively few examples of technical/special language. (FL)

Defines horizontal reading as providing children with more reading experiences and practice at the level they have just completed rather than moving them immediately to the next level. Describes two commercially prepared programs that make horizontal reading easier to implement and more closely correlated with the lead basal instruction. (FL)

Examines workbooks designed to accompany primary grade basal readers to determine the incidence of new vocabulary words they contain. Found that, with one exception, the workbooks all contained at least 30 percent new words--words not introduced in previous levels or at the levels for which the workbooks were designed. (FL)

Examines nine basal series to determine the number of stories featuring ethnic groups. Concludes that no one series offers more ethnic content than another. (FL)

A study examined basal readers and trade books in terms of reading ease as estimated by readability formulas and the incidence of figurative language. Based on an earlier study, the study had three major goals: to (1) assess and compare two reading series ("A" and "B") at each of two grade levels; (2) assess and compare…

A study involved a comparison of the "Miami Linguistic Readers" and the "Holt Basic Reading Series." It was hypothesized that there is no difference between the "Miami Linguistic Readers" and the "Holt Basic Reading Series" in vocabulary load, word recognition, and comprehension requirements. An analysis of…

Updates research findings concerning the way older adults are portrayed in several basal reading series. (FL)