Discusses the detrimental effects that low reading groups can have on children. Presents four alternatives to ability grouping that can help all children gain control of their learning and experience success in literacy. (MG)

Studies 54 children with hearing loss using the hypothesis that children with hearing loss who learn standard language through using their hearing will learn to read in the same predictable ways as children with normal hearing. Finds that hearing losses do not make the normal acquisition of reading impossible. (MG)

This study of 30 gifted and 30 average secondary level readers assessed their reading processing strategies using think-aloud protocols. Gifted readers used such strategies as rereading, inferring, evaluating, predicting, and relating to content area, whereas average readers exhibited word pronouncing concern and inaccurate summarizing.…

Analysis of family and medical histories of 5 children (ages 11 to 16) with autism and hyperlexia and 5 sex-matched and IQ-matched children (ages 9 to 15) with autism but no hyperlexia suggested that children with autism and hyperlexia represent part of the continuum of autism rather than a specific syndrome. (Author/DB)

Examines students for the effects of grade level and recall task type on children's memory for explicit, implicit, and metaphorical information following reading. Finds that fifth graders fare better than second graders and the cued condition exceeds free recall. Finds that second graders engage in metaphorical reasoning when the task is…

Describes how a course of pleasure reading (reading romance novels) improved the reading ability of three female foreign students to the point where they could with confidence handle university-level textbooks in their fields, which previously had led the students only to frustration. (SR)

Studies accurate recognition of letters in different types of letter strings when time to inspect the strings is limited in second- or third-grade children. Compares results of children with naming speed deficits and phonological deficits. Provides some support for the hypothesis that failure to automatize letter recognition interferes with letter…

A study examined effects of phonological awareness training on 191 German kindergartners. Comparisons of children at risk with average and advanced children revealed that training gains were similar for all of these groups. Furthermore, training had comparable long-term effects on reading and spelling in grades 1 and 2 for each group. (Author/CR)

This study investigated the relation among phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and reading achievement in 69 children (ages 10- 12) with and without language-learning disabilities. Children with language-learning disabilities were outperformed in two morphological tasks that assessed skill in identifying the bases and suffices of…

Psychologists (N=368) who specialize in children read one of six vignettes describing a suicidal youth and a therapist who used a no-suicide agreement (NSA), then rated the appropriateness and effectiveness of the intervention. Results indicated that the psychologists mildly to moderately favored written NSAs regardless of reading level of the…

Investigates fifth-grade children's expectations for stories in relation to knowledge of literature/reading ability. Shows "high readers" included more high-level story propositions and structurally important story information than did low readers; students who included structurally important story information scored higher on knowledge…

Cross-validates the Simple View of Reading using a sample of children with English as their first language. Support the idea that reading comprehension ability can be decomposed into decoding and listening comprehension abilities, but does not support the assumption that most of the substantive variance in reading comprehension can be explained by…

A study assessed the predictive value of kindergarten teachers on 234 pupils for later first-grade academic achievement. Ratings of academic performance were significantly correlated with scores on outcome measures on math and reading ability. Results indicated high overall accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value of the…

A study of 2 groups of children (mean ages 7.47 and 9.04 years and reading ages of 7.27 and 9.48 years) showed a word type effect attributable to the more skilled readers. Regular-consistent words were read more accurately than regular-inconsistent and exception words; the latter two did not differ. Familiar words are appended. (Contains 57…

Examines the effects of students' access to print via a community library. Compares knowledge of authors, words, books, and magazines between the students who accessed the community library and students who used the school library. Indicates that the students who visited community libraries outperformed students who did not. (SG)