The acquisition of thinking skills is being stressed today by educators in all fields. There are, however, no clear and concise concepts of the different faces of comprehension which deal with higher mental processes. If the thinking skills are to be implemented, certain objectives must first be met: more research must be conducted in regard to…

This book is a compilation of selected papers on comprehension and critical reading that have appeared in the annual "Proceedings in Invitational Addresses, 1965," or have been published in the journals of the International Reading Association. The articles have been grouped under several headings: (1) the nature of comprehension in reading; (2)…

Teachers of literature do not merely guide students; they also serve as critics. Teachers should remember that their classroom role as literary critics is to serve the needs of students who may not become future scholars of literature. Consequently, in deciphering the complexities of literature, teachers must focus on what the students need in…

This study presents the results of the 1970-71 National Assessment of Reading regarding "Understanding Words and Word Relationships." Subjects at four age levels--nine, thirteen, seventeen, and young adult (26-35)--were tested on eight aspects, or themes, of reading: (1) understanding words and word relationships, (2) graphic materials,…

Each of the 249 books included in this annotated bibliography is rated on a scale from 1-5 based on the following criteria: (1) the characters should seem real; (2) attitudes should be the ones we want people to have without overdrawing the dialects; (3) a modern story should not have nostalgia for the past; (4) illustrations should be kind and…

Reading comprehension questions selected from readers, teacher manuals, and workbooks of three current, widely used and representative basal reading series were analyzed according to the Barrett Taxonomy to determine cognitive objectives. The taxonomy has five major divisions and thirty-three levels within, claimed to be cumulative and sequenced…

A review of the professional and research literature suggests that definitions of critical reading remain tenuous and somewhat conflicting, largely because of the weakness in validity of current tests of critical reading. Ability to read or think critically appears to be closely related to general mental ability and may be dependent on literal…

The Bible still offers artists their basic myths and patterns for interpreting the American experience.

Explicates D. Trudell's poem about two men, unknown to each other and both approaching middle age, who shoot baskets in a moment of camaraderie. Describes use in the classroom of the poem's evocative potential to introduce students to aesthetic experience and the idea of a controlling metaphor. Quotes student responses to questions about the poem.…

States American schools are not producing critical readers. Discusses factors involved in critical reading failure, including lack of instruction and a school environment that stresses information recall. Asserts (1) critical reading skills are best taught directly; (2) content area teachers should emphasize critical reading; and (3) speaking,…

Reports on a study into the use of three classroom communication techniques in an upper-level crop physiology course. Results indicated that three-fourths of all previous students wished their college coursework had offered more opportunities for public speaking. (TW)

Adds mapping and summarization to the K-W-L (know, want to know, learned) strategy to produce a reading-thinking strategy, equally helpful to remedial and nonremedial high school students for content area textbooks. (NKA)

Enumerates results of a study which asked graduate students and doctoral candidates to read in diverse content areas and to select main idea statements for text. Concludes that readers often made initial hypotheses about the main idea and used the main idea construction processes of listing, draft and revise, and topic/comment after the text had…

Analyzes the comments and behavior of one student during an interpretive reading discussion to show that this student proceeds in a cycle of learning. Reviews research in problem solving and reading comprehension to show that, for this student, reading comprehension is problem solving. (FL)

Looks at Shakespeare's tragedy through the eyes and words of an English teacher's secondary school students. (NKA)