Finds that explicit anaphors only reactivated undergraduate students' target antecedents when they are both lexically and conceptually identical to a target antecedent; but as distance between an anaphor and its antecedent increased, even an explicit anaphor did not reactivate a target antecedent. Shows that distant antecedents were reactivated…

Argues for the usefulness of merging experimental and correlational approaches in the study of expository prose comprehension. Reviews studies in recent years. Shows that the correlational approach yields results similar to the experimental literature, and that the vast databanks associated with multiple-choice tests allow exploration of some of…

Examines to what extent negotiation of meaning can be useful in reading instruction in order to make written input comprehensible. Finds that negotiating the meaning of unmodified written input led to higher comprehension than premodifying the same input. Suggests guidelines as to the role teachers should play when input is negotiated in the…

Suggests that adult basic skills programs may be ineffective for developing the kinds of literacy proficiencies assessed by the National Adult Literacy Survey--reading and understanding prose and documents materials and texts containing quantitative information. Discusses why basic skills education may not lead to improved literacy skills. Offers…

Examines relations between morphological sensitivity and decoding ability in grades 3 through 6 to investigate the morpho-phonological nature of English orthography. Indicates that children's recognition of derivational relationships improved with grade level. Concludes that both phonological awareness and sensitivity to morphological structure…

Assesses 48 French children's phonological skills from kindergarten to the end of grade two. Finds that the French-speaking children used phonological mediation in silent-reading tasks and that phonological processing contributes to the construction of the orthographic lexicon. (RS)

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development concentrates on three questions: how children learn to read English and other languages; which skill deficits and environmental factors impede reading development; and which instructional approaches work best with particular children. Research indicates that deficits in developing…

Describes the work of Donald D. Durrell, a reading research leader, focusing on his work as a teacher. Explains his commitment to improving school classrooms as well as to his own university classroom. Highlights his early teaching years at Boston University, his deanship, his full-throttle years between deanship and retirement, and his retirement…

Reviews the literature on decodable text, instructional material containing words with phonically regular relationships that the reader has been taught. Synthesizes findings into a theoretical model that suggests a specific developmental juncture in which decodable text may be useful. Concludes that additional analyses of words in text are not…

Notes that suggestions have been made in the media that tinted lenses may provide a "cure" for developmental dyslexia, and considers how there have been many anecdotal accounts of improvements in reading following their use. Provides an overview of the research into the use of tinted lenses for the amelioration of reading difficulties. (SG)

Provides a rationale for using verbal protocols in discourse processing. Argues that readers construct a text representation and then use it to "tell a story" about their understanding--this story reveals important information about the processes involved in text comprehension as well as about constructing a message to be understood in a…

Investigates the relative contribution and trade-off effects of children's knowledge and reading skill in text comprehension. Finds that domain knowledge and reading skill can be traded in order to achieve similar levels of comprehension. Suggests that reading skill compensates for deficient knowledge and specific knowledge compensates for…

Finds four categories of instructional practice: background knowledge, vocabulary, alignment, and imagery. Notes that teachers had many different ways of enacting practices within the categories, and that some of the practices had strong theoretical and research support, while most did not. Explores connections between what teachers did and what…

Finds that children's ability to identify and label the letters of the alphabet and to write their own name at school entry were the most powerful predictors of successful reading by the end of the year. Finds a weaker, but still positive, relationship between understanding the conventions of print and reading achievement. (RS)

Studies use of a restricted language, Simplified English (SE), to write procedural documents for specific audiences. Examines the effect of type (SE versus non-SE), passage (A versus B), and native language on the comprehensibility, identification of content location, and task completion of procedure documents for airplane maintenance. Suggests…