Concludes that preschoolers, unlike older children, view books and reading as masculine objects and activities. (AEA)

Reports that fourth-grade poor readers were able to identify more high-frequency words in context than in isolation. Discusses the findings in terms of a context-oriented approach of word identification instruction and assessment. (FL)

First- and third-grade students were assigned to a list/list, list/story, or story/list condition and their ability to recognize easy and hard target words was noted. (FL)

Reports that children's reading speed for paragraphs in which either words, syllables, or letters were spaced widely apart was a good predictor of reading ability in grades one through three, but not in grades four through six. (GT)

Discusses experiments that provide information about the reading processes involved in mapping phonemes onto alphabetic symbols; suggests several techniques for helping children both to differentiate among the short vowel sounds and to associate sound and symbol. Focuses on the needs of beginning readers who are experiencing reading difficulties.…

Comments on the rationale and methodology of the textual cue experiments of L. T. Frase and B. J. Schwartz (see EJ 203 980) and describes two studies that attempted to replicate and extend their findings using a different methodology. (Author/GT)

The effects of manipulating the connective words "because" and "after" on fifth graders' reading comprehension was examined. The results provide no support for the notion that sentence length is related to comprehensibility or that implicit connectives are more difficult to comprehend. (HOD)

A survey by the IRA Committee on Basic Education and Reading revealed that most states required adult basic education (ABE) teachers to have elementary or secondary credentials but usually had no additional requirements. Respondents favored setting standards for ABE reading teacher certification, with "a demonstrated competency in teaching…

Summarizes studies of strategies used in silent reading and in locating information in books, noting that the findings provide information relevant to the teaching of silent reading. Points out that more work is needed both in the observation of reading strategies and in the discovery of effective means of teaching these strategies. (GT)

Findings from this study suggest that by the end of the first grade, children taught using "meaning emphasis" curricula shift towards increased use of graphic information when confronted with reading material in which words are harder to identify. (HOD)

Reveals that (1) structural importance and not serial position was the better guide to recall, (2) children were able to sequence properly with few idiosyncratic interferences, and (3) younger children recalled main events, as well as did older children--improved recall with age was primarily for filler events. (FL)

A study by R. Anderson, R. Reynolds, D. Schallert, and E. Goetz was replicated to determine the possible effects of contextual constraints on the findings of the original study. Results suggested that context-of-situation and background are both powerful predictors of interpretive frameworks of reading comprehension. (MKM)

Reports the results of an interest survey given to children in four fifth and sixth grade classrooms to determine if the sex differences in interest reported by earlier researchers were still in effect. Found that differences in reading material preferences between males and females still existed. (FL)

Describes a literature course that used popular paperback novels to motivate reluctant readers. Reports on a study showing that liking the materials read could be a strong motivational factor in the increase of basic skills. (FL)

Reports that techniques that enhanced the quality and quantity of parents' communication with the school were found to improve children's short-term reading performance. (Author/FL)