Investigation of the effect of establishing purposes for reading upon reading comprehension showed that neither specific nor general reading directions appeared to affect performance and that purpose-setting directions served to discriminate between intentional and incidental information only for above-grade-level readers.

Many behavioral theorists have suggested that self-directed activity is central to the learning process (e.g., Dewey, Piaget, Wertheimer). Accordingly, it was predicted that such activity bears a significant positive relationship to the quantity, quality, and variety of responses in a reading lesson. Moreover, it was expected that selected…

The effects of specific directions on the reading comprehension of sixth-grade students were investigated. Two passages on different topics, each with 20 percent of the sentences relevant to the topic, were materials for two informal tests administered to 92 six-grade students. Half of the students were given specific directions to learn about the…

Poses six unanswered questions in need of research that concern school reading programs. Questions address (1) advisability of a uniform sequential reading series, (2) relative effectiveness of materials, (3) generalists vs. specialists, (4) usefulness of workbooks, (5) permanent assignment of class reading texts, and (6) parental involvement. (TE)

Sixty-six grade six students were subjects in a study to evaluate the effectiveness of a direct instruction paradigm for teaching children the reading comprehension skill of main idea identification. Both experimental groups (strategy and basal) and the control group received eight lessons of 30 minutes each. All instruction occurred over a…

This study examines the stability of teacher effectiveness over a two-year period and its relation to emphasized reading skills. Data gathered in 1974 and 1976 for all third-grade and sixth-grade reading teachers at an Indiana school identified teacher effectiveness in reading instruction, instructional emphases, and any trends that might have…

Examines effective ways of practicing reading that facilitate the development of efficient reading skills in beginners. Indicates that increases in reading efficiency depend largely on the amount of independent, computer-aided practice with speech feedback, a method that seems promising as a means of improving reading skills in beginners. (JK)

This study was a follow-up of a three year longitudinal study of factors affecting learning to read. It examined the efficacy of four different approaches to beginning reading instruction on subsequent reading achievement in grade four. Major purposes were to determine what effect maturation and exposure to a non-experimental typical grade four…

A study investigated the effect of instruction about conventional expository text structure on fifth-graders' ability to learn from similarly structured social studies material. Subjects, 82 fifth graders from four heterogeneous classrooms in two schools in a small midwestern city, were assigned to either a structure training group which received…