Argues that the extent of a child's sense of story influences the child's prediction of syntax and comprehension. Suggests ways for teachers to encourage children to develop their sense of story. (RL)

Two experiments demonstrated that third and sixth graders consistently selected certain strategies for solving old and new, empirical and value, contradictory information. Subjects were 320 children. (MP)

Details the external and internal elements of book sharing, activities that could follow, and the essential enrichment possibilities. Mentions specific book titles, activities, and goals to provide a guide for the interested teacher or parent. (FL)

Reports results of a study of the story reading skills employed by television actors, student teachers, and practicing teachers. The results are arranged in the following categories: selection of material, preliminary work, performance, and evaluatory activities. (GT)

The problem of deficient and inaccurate teaching materials is identified and documented--a total approach to the problem would see the removal of all elementary school textbooks with tacit or implicit sexism, racism, ethnic bias and stereotyping in their stories' plots, language, and illustrations. (MM)

Examined the influence of CD-ROM storybooks on reading comprehension and attitudes toward reading of 37 matched pairs of third graders. Found that comprehension was higher after reading CD-ROM storybooks than print versions if measured by story retelling, but was no different if measured by open-ended questions. There were no differences in…

A study involving three males (age 13) with learning disabilities investigated the effectiveness of using story mapping for teaching elements of the story form. The instructional procedure positively affected the number of story elements included in students' recall of stories when they were explicitly taught to use it in reading. (Author/CR)

This article reports on two experiments designed to study the impact of electronic text on the reading comprehension of third-grade students. Reading comprehension is compared for reading print books versus CD-ROM books, and the results suggest that the reader's comprehension can be increased by electronic texts. (Contains 59 references.)…

Discussion of oral narrative tradition and storytelling focuses on the role of librarian-storytellers. A story of children's librarians and their storytelling experiences at the Los Angeles Public Library is described, the process of acquiring and developing storytelling skills and roles is examined, and implications for administrators and…

Relates the author's experiences with literacy in another medium during 18 months of concentrated music study. Describes how this experience produced insights about the student/teacher relationship, about learning, and about the writing process. (SR)

Nine primary-age children at a residential school for the deaf were read bedtime stories using a Total Communication approach. Every child subsequently demonstrated growth on each of several language assessments, including language comprehension and expressive language. (JDD)

The impact of the sex of a story's main character on boys' and girls' reading interest and comprehension was studied with 540 fifth graders. A strong sex-of-reader/sex-of-main-character correlation was observed on the interest measure, while it had no effect on reading comprehension. (TJH)

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)

Two hearing-impaired students, aged 11 and 12, with differing American Sign Language and English-language skills, participated in a program which instructed them in summarization skills based on a knowledge of story structure. Subjects' knowledge of story structure rose dramatically, and the performance level was maintained in one subject.…

Seven fables were read to 14 average learners and 14 children with learning disabilities (ages 10-13), and 4 possible moral choices were presented (1 correct, 1 related, and 2 incorrect). Children with learning disabilities less often selected the correct moral; and when they did, they were less capable of explaining their choice. (Author/JDD)