Reading is a basic life skill. Unfortunately, in 2007, only 29% of all eighth graders were able to comprehend at or above a proficient reading comprehension level. Sensory learning styles (kinesthetic, tactile, auditory, and visual) affect the way that students prefer to learn and the areas in which they will have difficulty learning. This study…

The importance of content-relevant pictures in the comprehension of the main idea of a paragraph was investigated. Various reading conditions were constructed which contained a paragraph, a picture, or both, each with three types of instructions. In addition, the effects of paragraph readability, student grade placement (grade 3 and 6), and sex…

In a study that investigated differences in the processing styles of beginning readers, a Pictograph Sentence Memory Test (PSMT) was administered to first and second grade students to determine their processing style as well as to assess instructional effects. Based on their responses to the PSMT, the children were classified as either visual or…

This paper discusses research findings regarding vocabulary instruction and reading comprehension and suggests methods to develop vocabulary using visual aids. As indicated by the research, vocabulary instruction is necessary and can lead to improved comprehension; there also appears to be a strong need to relate concrete visual experiences to…