A study explored an application of rauding theory to the developmental components that contribute to elementary-age children's reading comprehension. The relationships among cognitive power, auditory accuracy level, pronunciation (word recognition) level, rauding (comprehension) accuracy level, rauding rate (reading rate) level, and rauding…

As part of an attempt to precisely clarify the role of social context in early literacy development, this paper presents a working theoretical model for the ways in which one form of close social relationship, friendship, relates to early school-based literacy. The paper defines friendship as a dyadic, mutual relationship. The paper suggests that…

A study examined the strategic behaviors of email users when they are reading online email messages. Three voluntary subjects (an undergraduate student and 2 graduate students) read a group of 24 email messages collected through a listserv discussion group. The messages were collected over a period of 1 month concentrating on one theme. Subjects…

Of all the developments in reading research during the past 30 years, few have provided as much fodder for the wars over whole language as "invented spelling." Research on invented spelling led to a developmental theory of how children experiment with phonemic rules and patterns, and scholars urged teachers to allow children to spell…

A study determined if either school entry age or gender had any effect on the reading achievement of 121 second-grade students from the Metuchen, New Jersey, public school district. The subjects were administered the California Achievement Test in the Spring of 1994. Results indicated that late starters scored significantly better than early…

Four studies examined the validity of the "Living Word Vocabulary" (LWV), a corpus of approximately 44,000 alphabetized words with multiple meanings tested at different grade levels. Regressions were performed between the grade level p-values (percentages of students responding correctly to a vocabulary test item) reported by LWV and…

A study investigated the relationship between locus of control and intrinsically motivated reading for children. The entire sixth grade, totalling 53 students, of a parochial school in San Francisco was administered the Children's Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Control Scale. A free-choice paperback reading rack provided the measure for…

A study examined the commonalities that "voracious" readers share, and how their experiences can guide parents, teachers, and librarians in assisting children to become self-actualized readers. Subjects, 25 adults ranging in age from 20 to 67 years, completed a questionnaire concerning their reading histories and habits. Respondents…

A study determined which approach for vocabulary development, context or definition, would yield the best results on a teacher-made content area vocabulary test. Two random samples (for a total of 45 students) of fourth graders from a central New Jersey elementary school were formed. One sample was taught 50 social studies vocabulary words using…

Young adults read not only to experience real-life problems, but also to "escape" from those problems. The two most popular types of novels available to teens are the contemporary realistic problem novel and the formula romance novel. A study examined the incidence of specific adolescent developmental tasks (adolescent problems/concerns)…

To describe the process by which young children accomplish individual emergent readings, it is necessary to move beyond holistic assessments and into micro-analysis. An extension of an existing emergent reading scale to the level of the t-unit (as applied to a transcription of a five-year-old Head Start child's dialogue with an adult) revealed:…

Suggesting that the contention that phonemic awareness must be taught directly and that children need explicit systematic instruction in phonics is less of a scientific "fact" than an exercise in political persuasion, this book presents the story of the political campaign that is taking place to change the minds of Americans about how…

This study investigated parents' perceptions of their child's reading abilities. Parents of 92 fourth grade students completed questionnaires to measure the perception parents held of their child's reading ability in relation to the ability of their child based on standardized test scores. Correlations between the Terra Nova Standardized Test and…

A study investigated various developmental relationships between the attitudes of students toward reading and their reading achievement, with the intention of providing additional information concerning attitudes and attitude testing within school programs. Subjects, 876 students in grades 1 through 8 from a white, middle-class rural community,…

A study investigated the role of prior knowledge in ambiguous text interpretation by directly measuring readers' knowledge of, and level of involvement with, three distinct topical domains that could be assigned during reading of an ambiguous passage. Subjects, 52 athletes of average or above average reading ability competing in one of three…