The problem of this study was to determine types of books selected for recreational reading by children in grades four, five, and six in fifteen schools, how the children ranked the books according to preference after reading them, their stated reasons for selections, and their reasons for indicated strong preferences. A total of 2,765 children…

Reading is a process in which written language conveys meaning between writer and reader. The reader uses graphic, syntactic, and semantic cues to get to the meaning. This study examines the reading process of 94 subjects with proficiency levels ranging from low second grade to high tenth grade using the Goodman Taxonomy of Reading Miscues. The…

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of taped listening lessons on the achievement of first grade readers. Five classes of first grade children were randomly chosen for treatment one (T1) and five for treatment two (T2). T1 subjects studied reading by use of the Ginn Basal Reading program for skills-building, the…

The objective of this study was to examine selected cultural variables (length of urban residency, the child's ordinal position in the family, the number of children in the family, and field independence-dependence) and relate these to reading achievement. The following hypotheses were tested: (1) there is no relationship between length of urban…

This study examined the nature of reading comprehension to determine if the process is best described as a unitary ability or in terms of multiple skills that can be identified and measured. Test items were constructed to measure each of the comprehension skills selected for investigation: (1) remembering word meanings, (2) inferring word meanings…

The purpose of this study was to construct and evaluate lessons designed to teach a given number of words and the multiple meanings associated with each word. Methodologies employed in the presentation of the lessons were also evaluated. Four treatment groups were established: group 1 used the author-constructed lessons in a team learning…

Limited evidence suggests that different kinds of inserted questions may be differentially effective in promoting learning from text. In this experiment one of four groups had inserted knowledge-level questions and a second group, comprehension questions. It was argued here that: (1) in previous adjunct-question research, treatment groups have…

This study investigated a ninth grade developmental reading program--reading taught in a reading classroom by a reading teacher--in hopes of determining what could be considered an adequate length of time needed in this type of situation for a student to show specific gains and a definite carry over of skills into the content areas. Ninth grade…

A summative evaluation design was developed as a framework for evaluating instructional materials in remedial reading. The paradigm includes the selection of (1) relevant variables for study and (2) the method of study. Two types of reading materials used in Chicago schools were studied--Cracking the Code (CTC) and the Mott Semi-Programmed Series…

Harcum Junior College has offered a reading development program for freshmen since September, 1966. Incoming freshmen who score below 30th percentile rank on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test are required to enroll in this program. To evaluate gains made by 51 September, 1970 freshmen who completed the program, the Nelson-Denny pretest and post-test…

Because vocabulary control in children's reading materials is largely based on vocabulary lists and studies which are now obsolete, new areas of learning are being considered for developing beginning reading materials. Instead of basing vocabulary lists on frequency counts and adult reading materials, the three approaches examined here are…

A word recognition model involving four processing stages was used, and tests of various word recognition strategies were administered to 25 fourth graders and 25 college students. The model included the following stages: (1) using information in a passage; (2) generating hypotheses from what the next word might be; (3) testing these hypotheses…

Factors were investigated under acquisition and retention conditions which might be expected to counteract interference brought on by mixing sight and phonics methods. Experiment 1 dealt with training kindergarten children to attend to and encode letter pattern cues and the word's contextual cues. Subjects were trained individually in a series of…

The assumption that the learning of letter names in their proper sequence is a prerequisite for literacy can be questioned. There is disagreement over the value of early letter-name training. It is variously said to aid in letter or word discrimination, to aid in attaching sounds to letters, and to interfere with both of these tasks. An analysis…

Effects of a speed reading course on ninth-grade girls were studied at intervals of 3 and 6 months after completion of the course. The Perceptive Reading and Study Skills Course was administered to 94 students, and progress was evaluated using the Nelson-Denny Reading Tests. Results indicated that significant improvements in speed and…