Concludes that in reading words the understanding of meaning and the knowledge of probable letter sequences has a function at least as significant as familiarity with letter shapes. (RB)

Research shows that teachers prefer to teach the better readers, despite the fact that most teachers say they show no favoritism. (RB)

Reports on a study comparing the nouns in the Dolch word list with four recently published word lists to determine which nouns are most frequently used. (RB)

Findings show that a significant majority of inner city teachers believe the DISTAR is an effective reading program. (RB)

Supports the practice of requiring two readings of developmental reading lessons when using the Informal Reading Inventory to determine reading ability. (RB)

Concludes that a large number of student teachers and experienced teachers at the elementary level cannot define the concepts and terms they are teaching. (RB)

A study (replicating a similar 1977 study by S. Stotsky), examined whether current basal series teach prefixion clearly. Teacher's guides, student texts, and workbooks of nine popular basal reader series were examined to ascertain whether they offered a clear definition of the term "prefix" and whether that definition was reinforced by…

A study investigated the use of visualizing in remembering or understanding difficult abstract prose. Subjects, 40 students in two freshman developmental reading classes in a state college in North Carolina, received either instruction in drawing out images or in writing paraphrases as they read difficult material. Posttests of abstract reading…

A study tested the hypothesis that the time it takes for information to be analyzed by the reader is sometimes delayed because concurrent comprehension processes are still occupied with analyzing previous information (the variable utilization time hypothesis). During fixations (when the eye rests during reading), visual information, at some point,…

Identifying effective reading instruction through "process-product" research narrowly focuses attention on immediate practice and desirable outcomes as measured by tests. Failure to conduct long-term research and make instructional decisions within a historical context may discourage discovering new and innovative ways to teach reading.…

This study investigated the effects of background television on cognitive performance as it applies to reading comprehension and memory using G. B. Armstrong and B. S. Greenberg's (1990) model. Subjects, 95 undergraduates from lower-level communication courses, completed a cued-recall test of the content of an expository prose passage read under…

This report reviews the research on text-based interest, defined as those elements within texts that create interest for the majority of readers. Three issues are covered: (1) what kinds of information are considered interesting, both theoretically and empirically; (2) what effects popular strategies for creating interest have on learning…

A sample of 12 recent and older sixth grade social studies textbooks was examined to determine their level of explicitness, one of the criteria used to determine the "friendliness" or comprehensibility of a text. Researchers randomly selected three samples--usually chapters--from each of the 12 textbooks. The Explication Inventory…

Methodological deficiencies inherent in expert-novice reading research make it impossible to draw inferences about curriculum change. First, comparisons of intact groups are often used as a basis for making causal inferences about how observed characteristics affect behaviors. While comparing different groups is not by itself a useless activity,…

A field study tested a teaching method to increase comprehension by instructing students about the nature of questions and the "art" of composing good comprehension questions. The eight guidelines on which the method was developed included (1) making students aware of the purpose of such questions; (2) explaining to students that there are three…