Describes an instructional technique called "creative graphing" in which students learn to reorder information visually, to interpret the graphic aids of their textbooks more easily, to highlight relationships that are not immediately apparent in the text, and to illuminate ideas for further exploration using charts, trees, stars,…

Suggests that math and reading are related, and that strategies common to reading sometimes can be applied in math. Presents instructional strategies and independent study techniques for five areas: basic sight words; vocabulary meanings; other specialized vocabulary; basic skills; and problem solving. (RAE)

Analysis of TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores for 32,467 graduate school applicants, all nonnative speakers of English, revealed that students in the two key major-field groups, humanities/social sciences and biological/physical sciences, performed better on reading passages related to their own groups than on other passages.…

Analysis of the keyed responses of items in three English-as-a-Second-Language reading comprehension tests focused on the form and source of information and on the frequency with which the information appeared in the text. Analysis of the results found that these facets were differentially related to the item score at different proficiency levels.…

The predictions that 48 students with deafness in grades 4-8 made while reading narrative text were analyzed to explore the influence of the children's expectations for text structure and content on reading comprehension. Findings indicated that interacting at a deep level with narrative text was more related to reader characteristics than to…

In a study of cultural differences and information dissemination, a group of unsuccessful Ethiopian English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) university students in Israel were compared with a typical Israeli EFL group. Results show that unsuccessful learners use similar strategies for reading comprehension, etc., but their use is "mechanical." (18…

This study reviews research indicating that specific instruction in reading comprehension strategies is effective in improving comprehension for students, including those with learning disabilities. The reading strategies of highly competent readers are identified, and effective application of transactional strategies instruction with weak…

This article describes the Reading Strategies Program, which teaches decoding skills to primary-level students with learning disabilities with a methodology intended to teach children to apply the skills to literature. Cognitive strategies also are used to apply comprehension skills to the material and to write about the material read. (JDD)

Reports a study that compared the effects of two teacher-directed prereading instructional procedures (directed reading activity versus story grammar/structured overview story mapping) on elementary students' literal and inferential reading comprehension. Story mapping produced better comprehension among third graders but no differences in…

A cohort of 92 children was followed through sixth grade to investigate the relationship of preschool skills and first-grade phonological awareness to later reading and spelling abilities. In particular, the focus was on the changing roles of letter naming, orthographic awareness, and phonological processing in prediction of reading vocabulary,…

To help students overcome difficulties in understanding scientific texts in English, the effect of using two reading study strategies (knowledge-map and underlining) on reading comprehension was studied. Both strategies improved performance on open-ended questioning and summarization. (Contains 32 references.) (Author/LB)

Compares the effects on college students in a study skills course of five hours of instruction in outlining; networking, a form graphically organizing materials; and memory techniques and library research. Though all groups showed improvement in comprehension and retention of texts, the outlining group doubled the gains realized by the others.…

Evaluates the reading abilities of 122 male and 59 female drug users as assessed through the reading subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised and the short form of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test-Revised. Men and Blacks reported the highest level of education completed, but the tests revealed no differences across gender and ethnicity…

Examines the comprehension of English conventional indirect requests by native English speakers and Japanese learners of English. Subjects read stories inducing either a conventional or a literal interpretation of a priming sentence. Results suggest that both native and nonnative speakers process both meanings of an ambiguous conventional request.…

The author discusses the preparation of a test of reading comprehension in Italian as a Second Language for Spanish university students and analyzes the results of the test. The article includes the reading passage and the test. (CFM)