The difference between acquiring knowledge of a word's meaning and knowing a word well enough for it to aid in the comprehension of a text is investigated by reviewing the most recent findings in the field of vocabulary acquisition. The assumption that vocabulary items are learned through context when the meaning of unknown words can be gleaned…

A study examined students' achievement in vocabulary development under two modes, teacher directed instruction and computer-assisted instruction. The subjects--38 seventh graders who had a one to three year vocabulary deficit, according to the "Iowa Test of Basic Skills" pretest in vocabulary--were divided into two groups, Sample A (control) and…

This paper considers the integration of reading and writing into elementary science teaching by way of the implications of two leading theories pertaining to literacy: metacognitive theory and whole language theory. Discussion of the implications of metacognition includes attention to the issue of helping to overcome readers' nonscientific…

The study of wine offers possibilities for teaching a variety of topics in the high school or college French class: geography, history, grape varieties, food-wine combinations, the art of appreciating and distinguishing wines, the wine industry, and French daily life. The development of a slide-tape presentation is described in detail. Resource…

This bibliography provides citations to studies of word/letter frequencies and vocabulary applications based on issues of word frequency. While the original intent was to gather information pertinent to developing communication board vocabularies for argumentative communication systems, these resources should be useful for a variety of word…

This reading skills guide for grades kindergarten through six is based on the Readiness-Instruction-Maintenance model, which is designed to serve as an aid in the teaching of reading by supplying a cohesive framework for the instruction and acquisition of basic reading skills. In the RIM model, readiness (R) stands for exposure to the skill,…

Designed to complement the RIM (Reading-Instruction-Maintenance) Reading Skill Guide, this reference guide provides a useful tool for teachers utilizing the RIM Model in grades kindergarten through six. In the RIM model, readiness (R) stands for exposure to the skill, mastery not expected; instruction (I) stands for formal presentation with…

To offer a historical perspective on vocabulary studies, this paper presents summaries, reviews, and critiques of vocabulary studies in chronological order of publication. The only variance from this format are published rebuttals and/or critiques, which are presented immediately following the original studies. The paper is divided into two parts.…

The booklet contains brief information on nine January events celebrated by Puerto Ricans: New Year; Epiphany; and the birthdays of Betsy Ross, Eugenio Maria de Hostos, Dr. Martin Luther King, Benjamin Franklin, Edgar Allan Poe, William McKinley, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Designed as a teacher resource, the booklet includes brief biographical…

A course was developed for teaching reading comprehension of English technical texts to German speaking professionals. Before proceeding with the course, students are administered a memory test and vocabulary test to determine their initial skill levels in English. The materials used for the course include learner's dictionaries of approximately…

Based on gestalt psychology, guided fantasy is a technique that uses sensory images related to a particular situation to create a subjective understanding of that experience. For the young child, guided fantasy can be a process of creating an inner subjective experience that is subsequently integrated with objective knowledge (language) to produce…

In a primary school in Dade County, Florida, disadvantaged kindergarten children were entering first grade without the receptive language and listening skills necessary to succeed academically. A practicum attempted to remedy this problem by stimulating kindergarten children's receptive language skills in vocabulary and listening comprehension.…

This pilot study on the subject access problems of patrons of small to medium size libraries was designed to measure the extent to which users' vocabularies matched the search vocabulary of bibliographic records in the card catalog, and to enhance subject access by develooping a microcomputer system which integrated Library of Congress Subject…

Researchers and educators involved in designing programs of vocabulary instruction must take a more realistic view of the task they face and realize that vocabulary instruction has limitations. First among these limitations is the sheer size of the task. Teaching the meanings of new words one at a time cannot possibly ensure the volume of…

A study was conducted to identify the contributions of both prior knowledge and prereading vocabulary instruction to passage comprehension. In addition, semantic mapping and semantic feature analysis--instructional strategies that build upon students' prior knowledge--were compared with a modified basal approach for effectiveness as prereading…