This paper focuses on enhancement of literacy skills of young children with learning disabilities, through intentional learning, reciprocal teaching, and redefining the contexts of early literacy learning. Research results show that children benefit from strategy instruction occurring within classroom cultures that support collaborative discourse,…

Examined the contribution of play, metaplay, and productive language competence in the thematic-fantasy play context to kindergartners' comprehension of familiar and unfamiliar stories. Results indicated that metaplay and productive language competence are independent constructs and both contribute to comprehension, whereas play does not. (GLR)

This study examined the sustained effects of methylphenidate on reading performance in 42 boys (ages 8 to 11) with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, either with or without conduct disorders. Only the subgroup of those with conduct disorders responded, and significant reading improvement was exhibited in only a subgroup of these students.…

Fifth- and sixth-grade students without disabilities and with mild learning disabilities and seventh- and eighth-grade students with more severe disabilities participated in an instructional program about the concept of themes in stories. The program improved comprehension of theme and identification of a specific theme that had been used in…

Of three methods (free recall, verbally prompted recall, and visually prompted recall) for eliciting understanding of a folk tale by 35 adolescents with intellectual disability, none proved significantly better in eliciting story understanding. All measures correlated with short-term memory, suggesting that subjects' difficulty encoding stories…

A discussion of the use of video as instructional material in the second-language classroom looks at the relationship between the visual and the verbal and offers a number of exercises using each, together and separately. (MSE)

It is argued that listening comprehension must be developed in second-language learners as actively as oral expression has been for many years. Exercises specifically for beginning language learners are described. They include physical response to commands, discovery and location activities, and group recitation or storytelling. (MSE)

Compares the reliability and validity of the 10 subtests of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) obtained from 99 developmental college students with norming values obtained in an earlier study. Indicates that 9 out of 10 subtest reliability coefficients approached but did not equal the earlier study. (HB)

The use of cinema in a French literature class can help students become more aware of their role as receivers in the reading process. "Le retour de Martin Guerre" and "Entre Nous" helped develop students' awareness of gender's importance in a variety of literary texts. (16 references) (LB)

Argues that educational practices that focus only on hands-on experience within a discipline are not enough to permit students to experience a discipline in its fullest sense. Emphasis should also be placed on the cognitive goals of developing the knowledge, skills, and understanding of disciplines to permit students to communicate and reason…

Tests whether nominal compounds, the juxtaposition of three or more nouns, retain sufficient semantic information to justify their use for brevity. Finds that respondents often misidentified at least one out of five given headwords. Recommends reminding students of headwords' importance and employing nominal compounds only after their fuller…

Critical background references on the problems related to comprehension of science text material, a conceptual framework on which to base instructional decisions, and some specific activities designed to enhance science reading comprehension are presented. (36 references) (KR)

The study examined the effectiveness of the use of nonoptical tinted (Irlen) lenses with 44 children (ages 9-16) with reading disabilities. Evaluation after 6 and 12 months indicated a significant improvement in attitude to school and to basic academic skills. Reading comprehension and accuracy, but not rate, were also significantly improved.…

Reviews research in revising instructional text by examining multidisciplinary research in readability, text structure, text interestingness, expert revisers' strategies, and readers' comprehension strategies. Finds that much of this research is limited by a simplistic view of reading, the use of experimentally contrived texts and contexts, and a…

Investigates the degree to which children and adult readers use semantic and syntactic information sources to increase speed of word recognition and to increase speed of determining sentence meaningfulness. Finds three developmental differences in the speed of analyzing these sentences for words/nonwords versus meaningfulness/nonmeaningfulness.…