Background: Although comprehending illustrated texts is essential, adult readers in this era may not have acquired reading comprehension strategies. Eye-movement modelling example (EMME) is promising for helping less-skilled learners master these strategies; however, its benefits for adults remain unknown. Another understudied factor in the EMME…

Moment-to-moment emotions are affective states that dynamically change during reading and potentially influence comprehension. Researchers have recently identified these emotions and the emotion trajectories in reading, tutoring, and problem solving. The primary learning-centered emotions are boredom, frustration, confusion, flow (engagement),…

The art of reading refers to the act of representing and interpreting text through oral dramatic reading. To the dismay of many teachers, reading is becoming a "lost art." Students are expected to apply specific literacy techniques rather than use their imagination to learn to enact text. Based on a study of the reading perceptions of natural oral…

Defines "electronic books," and shares examples of prior research on the use of such environments to improve the reading fluency and comprehension of students with reading difficulties. Presents a taxonomy of the types of supportive resources that have emerged from efforts to design and research the use of electronic books, and presents…

Describes sentence collecting, an activity in which students do outside reading that may include content area textbooks, and bring to class interesting sentences found in their reading. Maintains that sentence collecting helps to model reading as a dynamic cognitive and social process in which readers participate actively. (SR)

The purpose of this article is to explain each of the three phases of reading textbooks and to provide strategies for aiding students to better understand and connect to their textbooks in each of these phases. Each of the three phases is named for its writing counterpart: planning, drafting, and evaluating. This article also states that three…

Can teachers see where the reading process is going wrong in the first years of school? Marie M. Clay designed procedures called Reading Recovery to help young children at risk of failure in reading. In the first year of an Ohio pilot study over two-thirds of the children reached average levels in reading and were successfully released from the…

This paper focuses on methods to improve the reading abilities of college students. A list of five elements college instructors (who are not reading specialists) should establish in a content reading agenda is offered; (1) an instructional basis for the reading process which will work for them; (2) content literacy environments; (3) insights into…

Identifies three problem areas in teaching students with limited English proficiency to read: (1) the readers' input (what they bring to the reading process), (2) the author's input, and (3) the reading process itself. Recommends that teachers acquaint themselves with students' prior knowledge and language competence level and strive for a balance…

The relationship of syntactic sensitivities to fluency and understanding are usually neglected when discussing reading fluency. The article describes oral reading and interpretation activities in one seventh grade class undertaken to improve comprehension and fluency. It also discusses evaluation methods, such as portfolios and recordings as…

Focusing on the importance of the search for meaning in reading, the essays in this book address critical reading and the confusion about the place of skill development in the search for meaning. The following works are included: "Introduction to the 50th Yearbook" (M. P. Douglass); "The Quest for Meaning" (M. Poplin);…

Argues that comprehension is a problem-solving activity and that different problem-solving schemata exist for different types of texts, both narrative and expository. Suggests that good comprehension occurs when there is a match between the author's schemata and that of the reader, creating a dialogue between the writer and the reader. (JK)

Designed for low-level adult learners, this book contains true stories of 20 men and women who have faced and overcome serious challenges in their lives. The book is intended to inspire and motivate developmental students in basic reading and writing classes. The book can be adapted to different instructional approaches--some teachers may wish to…

A study investigated the effects of using topic-related pictures to build and activate readers' schemata as a means of increasing background knowledge and, consequently, reading comprehension. Subjects, two special education middle school students with low scores on standardized reading comprehension and vocabulary tests, were taught to interpret…

A companion piece to "Improving Students' Abilities To Read and Think: A Source Guide" and to the training manual of the same title, this guide is designed to help middle, junior, and senior high school personnel responsible for reading instruction learn new strategies for improving student comprehension of text and learn new ways to…