Describes the Group Comprehension Matrix and the Individual Comprehension Matrix, assessment instruments that teachers can use to help them make student placement decisions. (FL)

Identifying the main points of a communication is fundamental to successful reading comprehension. Discussed are difficulties in defining main idea, text structure variables in determining important information, textual hierarchy and the theory of macrostructure, text features signalling important information, summary writing, learning-disabled…

This article reviews 34 studies in reading research. It identifies trends related to ambiguous findings about the effect of sentence-combining training on measures of reading comprehension. The effects of grade level and four other variables are described. The use of cloze procedures and standardized tests as measures is discussed. (Author/JL)

Identifies the miscues adult Chinese learners of English typically make in their reading, the positive and negative impact of first language influence on their foreign language reading, and the role language development plays in reading comprehension. (RS)

Recommends teaching both mental imagery (an unobtrusive, natural text processing strategy) and summarizing (an efficient text reorganization strategy) to students who do not spontaneously use them. (NKA)

A cognitive-developmental view of reading was tested with 100 four-year-olds by examining the relationship between conceptual reading (multiple seriation and perceptual regulations), oral language (vocabulary and grammatic production), and reading (word recognition and comprehension). Findings suggest that language-learning explanations of reading…

The article discusses three features of content area textbooks that make them relatively easy to read, understand, and learn from--structure, coherence, and audience appropriateness. For each feature, the article describes the research basis for the feature, outlines problems with existing textbooks, and presents suggestions for evaluating…

Recommends research-based comprehensive changes in basal reading instruction. Points to the need for purposeful, direct, and text-related reading skill instruction, and for a change in the sequence of the reading lesson, with basal skills being taught prior to reading of the text. (ARH)

Examines university-level French students trained to use effective reading strategies and skills. Results indicate that, although the trained students demonstrated better reading comprehension than did their untrained peers, the variables of teaching methodologies and cognitive styles significantly affected the outcome. (Author/CB)

Examines the validity of oral reading accuracy and comprehension as indicators of difficulty for functionally illiterate adults and the feasibility of using four less commonly measured variables as additional indicators of difficulty. Indicates that accuracy and comprehension are valid indicators of difficulty. Rate and miscue quality are strong…

Grounded in schema and generative theories, this research suggests a theoretical framework and a task-specific procedure for integrating reading and writing. Fourth grade students were given a text-related generative writing task and reading recall test. Results support the notion of using writing as an orienting task prior to reading. (DST)

Since The Graduate Record Examination-Verbal measures two factors (reading comprehension and discrete verbal ability), the unidimensionality of item response theory is violated. The impact of this violation was examined by comparing three ability estimates: reading, discrete, and all verbal. Both dimensions were highly correlated; the impact was…

Outlines some applications of Natural Language Processing, the capacity of computers to process human language, to language teaching. The role of syntactic parsing (the assigning of grammatical structure to sentences by computer) and semantically based processing is examined. (Author/SED)

Compares Richard Adams's "Watership Down" to the "The Odyssey," and offers a selection of classroom activities for students that use Adams's novel to study classic literature. (NKA)

Reviews recent research on metacognition and presents some implications for its use in the classroom. (FL)