This paper outlines the components of initial cognitive skill acquisition and analyses features of elaborations in the instructional materials that can facilitate each component. Three basic components of skill learning are identified: (1) learning novel concepts and the functionality of novel concepts and procedures; (2) learning how to execute…

A study investigated the use of the semantic webbing technique to improve reading comprehension. The model of a web consists of the core question, the web strands, the supports of the strand, and the strand ties. Subjects, 25 third graders and 26 fourth graders, were assigned to reading ability groups based on past performance, informal testing…

A study assessed the reliability and some aspects related to the validity of an open sentence approach to assessing comprehension during silent reading. Subjects, 37 randomly selected seventh-grade students, read an "Opin" passage, prepared by deleting the second half of every other sentence. The blanks filled in by students were…

The Helping Hands Project (HHP) is a program that aims at improving achievement in reading comprehension and in math problem-solving by helping the classroom teacher sustain instructional intensity. Implemented in grades four and six in two Newark School District elementary schools, HHP involved five teachers and 117 students. Ninety-two percent…

The reading objectives and measurement specifications in this paper are provided for teachers and other educators responsible for pupil instruction and for test development specialists involved with the preparation of the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills. Following lists of objectives and general specifications, the paper outlines a…

A study examined whether illustrations that must be attended to in order to make sense of a text hinder decoding by encouraging dependence on such illustrations for interpretation of text, both for decoding and for answering questions. Subjects--167 first graders--were asked to read four stories, two of which were taken from basal readers and two…

Conducted at a Chapter 1 school serving mainly Hispanic and Black youth, this practicum developed a teacher-directed listening skills program for first grade students. The project goals were to provide auditory training and to increase proficiency in decoding skills. The listening skills program consisted of five components. The physiology of…

This paper describes accounts of two kindergarten-aged children learning English as a second language (ESL) to demonstrate that exposure is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for acquiring a second language. The 10-month histories of "L," a quick and highly successful learner, and "M," a less successful, much slower…

The concept of metacognition involves two processes: an awareness of certain skills--strategies and resources that are needed to perform a task effectively--and the ability to use self-regulatory mechanisms to ensure the successful completion of the given task. A review of the literature suggests that (1) metacognitive development differs among…

A study examined the differential effects of previewing textual information with questions containing higher-order versus lower-order information. The 104 college students in the study read three passages, each of which was preceded by different combinations of questions about information high or low in the structural hierarchy of the text, then…

A study was conducted to determine the benefits of an approach to teaching inferential skills that combined an explicit attempt to sensitize children to why and how one should draw inferences to prior knowledge with substantial practice in drawing such inferences during story discussions. Subjects were 20 good and 20 poor fourth grade readers who…

Two experiments were conducted to determine whether a meaning emphasis or a word identification emphasis would give better results in a third grade reading lesson. The results investigated more than 30 factors and their two-way interactions. In the first experiment, 259 children were placed into reading groups arranged either homogeneously or…

An approach to testing reading comprehension among Dutch speaking university students of German for academic purposes is described. The test items were designed to reflect the most typical comprehension errors made by speakers of Dutch when reading German academic discourse. The most frequent errors were due to vocabulary and declension…

A study examined the effects of pictorial and verbal illustrations on the initial learning and long term retention of written instruction. Subjects were eighth and ninth grade students randomly assigned to one of two text conditions (literal or analogous instructions) under one of four pictorial conditions (no picture, functional drawing,…

An experimental program was undertaken to determine the effects of attitude and reading achievement on writing, to ascertain if intervention could improve writing achievement and attitude, and to predict success in the program on the basis of an attitude inventory that measured need for structure and tolerance of ambiguity. Subjects were 15 boys…