Examines the components of text that predict reading times and recall in skilled and less skilled college readers. Finds that sensitivity to the structure of the text was not a source of reading-ability differences in reading times and recall. Suggests that reading-ability differences result from word-decoding factors and the efficiency of…

Discusses the benefits of teachers becoming researchers the field of education rather than researchers telling teachers what needs to be done and how. (MG)

Argues against the idea that story is the primary way that children come to literacy. Presents a case study that shows that, given the chance to interact with information books, young children are not only capable of reading them but eager to do so. (MG)

Summarizes a longitudinal study examining the relationship between the abilities of young children to read and spell phonologically. Shows that children acquire the ability to use a phonological strategy for spelling before the ability to use an equivalent strategy for reading is confirmed. Discusses implications for reading instruction. (MG)

Reports on a congenitally blind young girl who learned to read Braille. Suggests that phonological awareness can be well developed even without word or letter experience, and the logographic phase of reading can be bypassed in favor of an alphabetic phase. Notes that her level of skill is similar to that of sighted children. (RS)

Reports a study that tested the efficacy of the fluency development lesson (FDL) as a supplement to the regular reading curriculum among second graders. The 10- to 15-minute FDL, which was implemented daily for 6 months, resulted in fluency gains, and teacher response was positive. (SM)

Establishes the logical validity of instructional activities for teaching reading evaluatively. Supports the view that the 20 characteristics of literate students who read evaluatively were translated into valid instructional activities by experienced classroom teachers. (HB)

This study tested the comprehension of object-control adjectives in second-grade good and poor readers using both an act-out task and a sentence-picture matching task. Contrary to an earlier study, significant group differences were not found in interpreting object control adjectives with either task. (Contains 20 references.) (JL)

Good and poor readers in grades 3-5 read stories 4 times in succession, crossing out misspelled words as they read (the misspellings changed each time). Reading times for good, and especially poor, readers decreased across repeated readings, and spelling errors were detected better on later readings by both groups, suggesting that the print was…

Demonstrates theoretical and practical limitations of traditional subgroup classifications of acquired and developmental dyslexia. Suggests a process-analytic approach, a variant of a dual-route model for word processing. Demonstrates the usefulness of the approach in two cases of "auditory" dyslexics. (RS)

Examines the "sib pair" method of linkage analysis designed to locate genes influencing dyslexia, which has several advantages over the "LOD" score method. Notes that the sib pair analysis was able to detect the same linkages as the LOD method, plus a possible third region. Confirms that the sib pair method is an effective means of screening. (RS)

Studies fourth-grade children's lexical acquisition ability for aurally taught words. Finds that reading ability predicted facility at learning novel phonological sequences, while intelligence was the only factor which accounted for performance level for the semantic content of the words. Suggests that vocabulary deficits of less-skilled readers…

Explores the relationship between speech and spelling in a case study of developmental dyslexia. Finds that the 14-year-old subject's articulation difficulties were recapitulated in his spelling. Suggests that, although young children make use of a phonological frame on which to organize orthographic information, dyslexics are unable to do so. (RS)

Studies error detection by Swedish children. Finds that the sixth-grade children were better at the task, that errors were easiest to detect while listening, that errors were easiest to detect from paper copy, but that fourth graders detected more errors when reading from the moving window. (RS)

Discusses three uses of prediction: (1) as a purpose-setting process; (2) as a reading-critical thinking process; and (3) as a comprehension-controlling process. Provides an overview of the importance of prediction, identifying key concepts and practices spanning the late 1960s to the 1990s. (RS)