GED (General Educational Development) learners are a diverse group--just like ABE (Adult Basic Education) and ESL (English as a second language) learners. For some, passing the GED tests closes the door on a history of defeat and failure and allows them to move ahead personally. Achieving the goal of passing all five GED tests is not easy for some…

This inservice professional development module, part of the Alabama Reading Initiative, presents research summaries, notes for presenters, and activities. The Oral Language and Vocabulary module elaborates on a student's comprehension of text as it relates to the overlap between the student's system of language and the author's system of language.…

One important but undervalued aspect of productive vocabulary is collocation--the ways in which words are combined with one another. To move from receptive to productive vocabulary, students need to learn a wide variety of ways that words collocate with each other. This paper describes the major types of collocations, typical collocational errors…

For children with poor vocabulary development, reading is intimidating rather than exciting. That is why elementary and middle school teachers need this activity-filled guidebook--to improve students' independent word learning skills and strengthen their comprehension so they will tackle their schoolwork with confidence. Teachers will start by…

Use storybook reading to build the early literacy competencies that preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade students need to become successful readers and learners. This essential research-based guide provides strategies and sample interactions that will help teachers to strengthen children's knowledge of written language, vocabulary, phonology,…

The apparent difficulty of students of French as a second language to acquire French vocabulary is examined, drawing on experience with teaching Irish university students and the structures and stylistic traits peculiar to French. It is noted that while certain kinds of words (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) occupy little space in text, they take…

Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of cognitive load management using vocabulary definitions in reading passages for readers of English as a second language (ESL) with different levels of expertise who were attending school in Hong Kong. Experiment 1 found that vocabulary definitions integrated within a passage (integrated…

A study investigated the rate of vocabulary acquisition in English-Japanese word pairs among college-age Japanese learners in a classroom situation. Subjects were 41 students in an intensive program of English for academic purposes. Three groups of students were given word pair lists of different lengths, and guided in studying them over a period…

This guide seeks to provide school administrators with specific information concerning the implementation of an effective school reading program. Information in the guide is intended to provide support for local school administrators, as they work with school staff in establishing cohesive and coordinated reading instructional programs for…

This lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that both individual families and whole cultures learn about their pasts by collecting and analyzing stories and artifacts; and that not all archeological finds readily reveal their history to archeologists. The main activity in the lesson involves students in making an oral…

Based on Sun Tzu's book "The Art of War," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that the book has become required reading in military curricula as well as business, economics, and political science classes, and that many cultures rely on ancient texts and ideas for advice and guidance. The main activity in the…

Based on cowboy poetry and songs, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that Old West cowboys produced a category of literature, people still write cowboy poetry, and cowboy poetry or songs have certain characteristics. The main activity in the lesson involves students in analyzing a classic of cowboy literature…

Based on Mark Twain's novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that identifying and thinking about a key quotation or symbol in a novel can help a reader extract greater meaning from the work; and that a paper analyzing literature should follow a logical organization. The…

Based on Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that some fictional literary characters become so famous that they enter popular culture in other forms (movies, games, toys); and that working on a product such as a game often demands collaborative effort. The main activity of the…

This lesson plan presents activities designed to enrich students' understanding of a literary work through careful reading and analysis of selected key scenes; to have students recognize how arts media can be integrated into literature studies; to acquaint students with masterpieces of world art; and to reinforce learning through the use of…