Examines the efficacy of a computer assisted instruction system designed to help junior high school remedial reading students increase their reading motivation by immediately providing definitions for unknown words. Finds that the program increases students' reading rates and actively engages students in reading novels. (RS)

Examines teacher practices of placing students in basal reading series, particularly capable readers. Finds basic inconsistencies between teachers' stated beliefs about capable readers and stated placement practices which are partly the result of the fear of skipping essential skills as outlined in the basals. (RS)

Examines the effect of sustained silent reading (SSR) on reading attitudes of boys and girls. Finds that boys have a substantially poorer attitude toward reading than girls and that SSR has no demonstrable effect on either sex. (RS)

Investigates visual processing asymmetries in normal and dyslexic readers to determine whether differences between dyslexics and normals were due to structural hemispherical differences or to strategical processing differences. Results indicate dyslexics behave as normal readers if they are unable to predict whether the stimulus will be verbal or…

Reports on an investigation of whether or not persuasive writers actually can engineer a match between their stylistic and organizational intentions and their readers' perceptions of those elements of a text. Finds that a consistent writer/reader perceptual match can be achieved. (MS)

Explores how high school students' reading logs reveal their reading processes as they read and respond to literature. Examines the reading logs from three eleventh-grade English classes throughout the school year. (MM)

Examines time spent on comprehension instruction by award-winning teachers, teachers with master's degrees, and a control group of teachers with bachelor's degrees. Finds that award-winning teachers spend more time in making assignments and giving individual help, but notes no differences in time spent on prereading activities or direct…

Examines similarities and differences in responses and experiences of two children's natural literacy development--the author's son, and the daughter of librarian Dorothy White, described in "Books before Five." Concludes that by reading aloud and discussing books with the children, parents created a strong foundation for beginning…

Three experiments examined the effects of outlines prefacing text and headings inserted in the text on the recall of prose by 178 undergraduates. Results indicate that a combination of outlines and headings best benefit readers' recall. Results are discussed from a schema activation perspective. (SLD)

Converts silent reading rates into grade equivalent units. Finds that growth in reading rate is approximately constant each year in school for typical students. Presents grade equivalent data which provides reasonably valid, criterion-referenced grade equivalents that may be used to evaluate the status and progress of individuals or groups. (RS)

Investigates students' sensitivity to compare/contrast, description, enumeration, and sequence text structures using an error-detection paradigm. Finds that task (oral recall and recognition), text structure, and grade level differentially affect students' sensitivity to the four text structures. (RS)

Compares discourse between an adult and children as they make meaning of and respond to text and pictures. Finds the adult used a non-directive format during discourse about pictures and a question-response format during conversation about text. Finds that the adult initiated the majority of exchanges about text. (RS)

An experimental study involving 32 second-grade poor readers found that students involved in dyad reading groups (buddy reading groups) made greater achievement gains on all reading outcomes (vocabulary and comprehension) than the matched control students. (IAH)

Tests the statement in "Becoming a Nation of Readers" that kindergartners can name an average of 14 letters. Finds that a more realistic distribution is bi-modal in that most kindergartners know 8 or fewer letters, and only a few can name more than 20 letters. (RS)

Examines the possibility that readers' attitudes toward a topic might color their perception and recall of factual information about that topic presented in expository text. Finds no significant differences among readers with opposing attitudes to the topic in either free recall or multiple-choice test performance. (RS)