Recent studies on schema theory and other concepts related to reading comprehension are discussed in this paper. Noting that the psycholinguistic model of reading views reading as a process of predicting meaning based on the reader's prior knowledge of language, the paper describes recent research that has led to a definition of reading…

Six articles concerning college reading instruction are presented in this special interest journal. Chester Tillman and A. Garr Cranney offer informal guidelines for evaluating commercially produced reading improvement materials in terms of their purpose, educational and psychological factors which affect appropriateness for a class, cost, and…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 20 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: the effect of instruction in critical listening on the reading progress of remedial readers; the effects of four tutoring procedures on the oral reading responses…

Six reading textbook series and two standardized reading tests were examined for their uses of 16 syntax structures and the sequential patterns of increasing complexity of syntax structures within each series. Results were as follows: although the series showed overall increases in complexity across the six grades, the increases were not…

A multiple-choice test of English vocabulary and grammar was administered to college-bound Swedish-speaking and Finnish-speaking students studying English in Finland. Erroneous responses were analyzed to determine differences in learning strategies between the two groups. Swedish speakers were found to choose incorrect alternatives based on…

The language teaching method presented here is an inter-related set of techniques for teaching target comprehension skills directly to students on both university and high school levels. Three elements of the method are discussed: (1) the basics of a comprehension-based classroom; (2) the expanded speaking component; and (3) the expanded reading…

The final report and a general summary of a research project that assessed the developmental differences in children's use of constructive reading strategies are presented in this paper. The five chapters of the final report offer descriptions of separate studies conducted in the following areas: children's metacognitive knowledge about reading;…

SPECIFIC STUDY MATERIALS AND A GUIDE FOR TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION AND LITERATURE ARE PRESENTED. THE STUDY MATERIALS PROVIDE FOR A WIDE RANGE OF ABILITY AND ACHIEVEMENT AND ARE APPLIED TO THE TITLES REGULARLY USED IN THE NINTH-GRADE LITERATURE PROGRAM OF THE RAMAPO CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT IN SPRING VALLEY, NEW YORK. EXCERPTS FROM "THE THREAD…

This unit guide, sixth in a series of seven, is designed to provide eighth-grade teachers with materials for reading and study skills instruction while developing the facts, attitudes, and concepts of social studies. Information about the rise of industry and agriculture is found in two texts: "This is America's Story," for use with…

This unit guide, second in a series of seven, is designed to provide eighth-grade teachers with materials for reading and study skills instruction while developing the facts, attitudes, and concepts of social studies. Information about the European colonies in the New World and America's struggle for independence is found in two texts, "This Is…

All literature teachers agree that students should read with perception, enjoy reading, and continue reading after classes have ended. Because perception promotes the pleasure that leads to continued reading, the basic step toward improved reading is to increase perception. The "index-card" system, which focuses attention on textual explication,…

This two-part guide was designed to serve as a comprehensive source of information on published reading tests. Part I provides the following descriptive information about each test: (1) the name as listed on the front cover of the test booklet, (2) the publisher's suggested grade or age level for test use, (3) the type of test-individual or group,…

The role of testing has received a great deal of criticism over the years. Some steps have been taken to develop more universal items into the test. One innovation was the introduction of the multiple choice exam. Yet even with this type of aptitude test, the majority of questions and plausible answers have become quite involved and intense. All…

All of the students, both black and white, in three ninth-grade English classes in rural southwest Virginia were taped reading a specified passage. They then wrote at least one page in response to questions and completed the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test. The tapes and writing samples were analyzed for the presence of specified phonological and…

This research studied the effects of abstract-reasoning ability, degree of bidialectism, and grade level on listening comprehension tasks presented in both Standard English and Black English and on oral reading and oral-reading comprehension tasks presented in Standard English, Black English standard orthography, and Black English nonstandard…