Purposes a reconsideration of the traditional notions regarding reading rate and flexibility (i.e., that the good reader is a flexible reader who adjusts reading rate to the difficulty of the material or the purpose for reading) and suggests that perhaps there is no relationship between reading rate and flexibility. (JM)

Suggests that the cloze procedure be used as an instructional strategy; includes a rationale for using cloze tasks in reading instruction, descriptions of various cloze activities, and guidelines for implementing cloze exercises in an instructional setting. (TJ)

Two experiments examined the roles of semantic and surface information in reading and recognizing sentences. Results indicate that reading and recognition are interactive processes, involving conceptually driven and data driven operations; the interaction may be either automatic or controlled. Semantic and surface information are conceptualized as…

Two experiments were conducted with Chinese subjects to investigate whether phonemic similarity affected the visual information processing of Chinese characters. The first experiment used a short-term retention paradigm and the second, a sentence judgment task. Results were discussed with respect to the issues of orthographical differences and of…

Response latencies were obtained in word matching and sentence completion tasks from disabled readers, age-matched normal readers, and reading-level matched normal readers. Results indicated that perceptual and semantic processing are interconnected and improvements in the speed and accuracy of one facilitates improvements in the other. (HOD)

Summarizes what is known about the reading process and suggests that English instructors can help their students learn to comprehend assigned materials. (MKM)

Reviews the research that has led to a new formulation of the reading process and emphasizes the remarkable similarities that have been found inprocesses underlying reading and other cognitive capacities. Using the example of developments in woodcut book illustrations, he examines the relations between the process of reading and the history of…

Proposes a teaching viewpoint on comprehension which removes some of the abstraction; the final product is a teaching sequence for comprehension skills that is parallel in form to the teaching sequences commonly used for word recognition. (JM)

A study was conducted to extend the findings of Meyer (1975) on forward transfer theory, by examining a different subject matter (four science passages) and different adjunct question types (verbatim recognition vs. conceptual short-answer essay). Results were consistent with the forward transfer theory of adjunct questions. (Author/LMO)

Hyperactive boys (N=20) recalled fewer words and showed less category organization than reading-disabled and normal boys. Rather than lacking the skill to use semantic organization as a strategy in free recall, hyperactive boys had difficulty in spontaneously generating the strategy and in sustaining sufficient effort to task completion.…

Examines whether "social reading" can facilitate literary engagement. Indicates that social readers made a greater attempt to convey meaning than did nonsocial readers, but were less engaged with the text as literary discourse. (SKC)

Discusses some concrete examples of the kinds of conflicts that can surface when reader-response theory is actually practiced in the classroom, and considers some of the implications. Urges instructors to make room for contesting views and to facilitate serious, committed, personal interchanges. (MS)

Describes two approaches--direct explanation and reciprocal teaching--for helping poor readers understand how the reading process works and how to study and learn from a text. Explains how to plan a lesson, and offers two samples. (MM)

Examines the reading and writing concepts of two groups of low literate adults (prisoners and adults in mainstream society). Finds that both groups possess a restricted view of literacy, viewing reading as a decoding task and writing as a handwriting and spelling activity. (MM)

Argues that reading should be taught as a process. Suggests sources for information on the active reading process (missing in most textbooks) and describes a method for integrating the reading process and collaborative learning in a college writing class. (SD)