Discusses contemporary theory on the comprehension process in first language reading research and psychology. Examines beliefs, materials, and classroom behaviors which have been under recent discussion and applies the theory of comprehension--that comprehension is the process of relating incoming or new information to information already stored…

Presents the ideas of three people highly visible in the field of reading, each of whom holds different views about reading and reading instruction, in an effort to help teachers clarify their own thoughts. (FL)

Describes a study contrasting hierarchical and causal approaches to story understanding indicating that when the number of causal connections increases, the likelihood of summarization for both goal and other statements increases. Suggests that the importance accorded to a statement in a story structure is the result of causal reasoning during…

Structural equation modeling procedures were used to verify a causal relationship between the phonological, word recognition, reading rate, and comprehension components of the reading process. Results indicated proficiency in phonological skills was important for development of word recognition ability, a major contributor to reading…

Shows how older, largely context-free models of reading and its instruction became changed into a multidimensional, context-dependent orientation toward written language and the reading process and concludes with suggestions for using a variety of contextual strategies to increase reading comprehension. (HOD)

Presents guidelines to help literacy educators adopt the organic primer approach that has been found to be effective in helping adults learn to read. (HOD)

Fifteen college students read passages from a cathode-ray tube as their eye movements were monitored in a study that investigated the size of the visual region within which they used visual information to distinguish among letters as they read. (HOD)

Examines coherence between sentences in a paragraph, arguing that readers require coherence at this level as well as between paragraphs. Discusses continuative and discontinuative relationships between sentences, including (1) sequence, (2) exemplification, (3) addition, (4) replacement, (5) contrast, and (6) alternation. (HTH)

Concludes that there is no adequate support for recommending that teachers attempt to increase the incidence of a child's self-corrections when reading. (FL)

Individual differences in working memory capacity affect the probability of resolving apparent inconsistencies in sentences. Resolution was less likely for readers with small working memories. Such readers devote so many resources to reading processes that they have less capacity for retaining earlier verbatim wording in working memory. (Author/RD)

The psycholinguistic method of teaching reading stresses the use of the child's oral language ability and syntactic and semantic information. (JH)

The last 25 years have seen tremendous advances in the study of the reading process and reading acquisition. The growing body of knowledge on the reading process and reading acquisition has applications to such important problems as the prevention of reading difficulties and the identification of effective instructional practices. This book…

Noting a renewed interest in and dedication to the rights and needs of adolescent readers, this digest addresses the development of content area reading, discusses recent reconceptualizations of the field, and offers a new model for classroom practice. It begins with a brief description of the historical context of literacy development in the…

Before children can make sense of phonics study, they first must learn that print conveys meaning. Children who do not have this foundation concept may do phonics workbook pages, but without understanding or processing the concepts. That is why--unlike books on traditional phonics teaching--this book emphasizes the making of sound instructional…

Efferent teaching asks the student to read for a predetermined answer, focusing on another person's ideas of the text's meaning. Aesthetic teaching allows for literature to be read and experienced as art through the reader's personal transaction with the text which focuses on one's own interest to create and understand the meaning. This paper…