Scientific texts are often multimodal, consisting of both text and illustrations. However, previous research indicates that young readers are poor at using text-and-illustration integration strategies and at in-depth processing of scientific illustration information. This study used an experimental paradigm to teach strategies of illustration…

Is there a way of reading literature that is specialized for teaching? Research into the teaching of mathematics has identified a specialized form of content knowledge (SCK, Ball, Thames, & Phelps, 2008) that is significantly linked to student learning (Hill, Ball, & Rowan, 2005). Despite the centrality of literature to the teaching of…

In this new edition of their groundbreaking book "Strategies That Work," Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis share the work and thinking they've done since the second edition came out a decade ago and offer new perspectives on how to explicitly teach thinking strategies so that students become engaged, thoughtful, independent readers.…

Concerns about the ability of post-secondary students to read scholarly materials are well documented in the literature. A key aspect of reading at the deeper level expected of these students is connecting new information to prior knowledge. This study is based on an activity where students were explicitly required to make such connections as part…

A question being asked by teachers across the country is, How can I teach students to acquire both the skills and knowledge demanded by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) while simultaneously guiding them to read challenging texts such as those presented in Appendix B of the CCSS? Answering this invites the integration of ideas and the…

Supporting the reading development of college students is the responsibility of all professors. As experts in the field, with experience navigating and interpreting readings in a particular discipline, professors are obligated to think of themselves as master artisans apprenticing their students to the craft of reading. Texts in all subject areas…

Academics often treat students' discipline-specific literacy as unproblematic. In doing so they may underestimate the difficulties for university students as they move between subjects of study that may involve different disciplines, language genres and academic practices. This paper describes an initiative aimed at supporting students in reading…

The secondary school teachers can make a difference even if they do not have formal training in teaching reading in the content areas. Teachers can support improved reading comprehension by introducing model approaches that encourage interaction with text, which helps students gain insight into their own reading strategies and also increase their…

Argues that the focus of content area instruction needs to include an emphasis on factors that motivate students to read their textbooks. Presents five strategies to link reader and text: using analogies; relating personal anecdotes; disrupting readers' expectations; challenging readers to resolve a paradox; and introducing novel and conflicting…

Recommends teaching both mental imagery (an unobtrusive, natural text processing strategy) and summarizing (an efficient text reorganization strategy) to students who do not spontaneously use them. (NKA)

Notes that in the fourth grade, readers begin a transitional period where emphasis shifts from experiential reading to include informational and expository material. Discusses reading in the different content areas--English, history, mathematics, and science--and asserts that teachers should spend more time preparing students to read in these…

A study examined an approach to assisting students in increasing their awareness of the organization and demands of text during the survey process of SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Review, Recite). Twenty-seven college freshmen in a developmental reading course, were (1) introduced to the concept of SQ3R, (2) given instruction on types and uses of…

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…

Explains how to ask questions that will help students focus on structure and better understand expository text. Notes that because students must make both internal and external connections to text structure, teachers should ask questions which prompt students to identify the relationships among ideas in a text so that meaningful learning can…

This paper outlines the theoretical foundations of a strategy-based approach to second language reading abilities and demonstrates how the strategies described can be related to content area texts, thereby "authenticating" the learner's knowledge. There are three major sections--approach, method, and techniques. The "approach"…