The effects of vocabulary instruction on word knowledge and reading comprehension were investigated. Average students learned some word synonyms under all conditions except a noninstructional control condition. However, learning disabled students acquired fewer meanings across all conditions and seemed to require more direct instruction in order…

Discusses the content and structure of a computer-based instructional program in reading for disadvantaged adults and describes the design, test materials, procedures, and results of a formative evaluation with 36 pre-GED students in an Illinois Correctional Center. Results support the value of such complete computer-based reading comprehension…

Six contributors suggest ways to (1) improve handwriting, (2) help children choose reading materials, (3) develop sight vocabulary, (4) use phonics with ESL learners, (5) use Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading, and (6) teach reading comprehension. (FL)

Examines how speakers and listeners make judgments on the relationship and truth of propositions connected by subordinating conjunctions. (EKN)

Investigated cognitive development of eleventh-grade students (N=389) in Jordan and its relationship to comprehension of concrete and formal physics concepts. Results revealed that cognitive level (17% formal; 52% concrete) was related to comprehension of both concrete and formal concepts. Findings related to sex differences are also reported.…

Examines the effects of a cloze procedure developed from transfer feature theory of processing in reading on immediate and delayed recall of good and poor readers. (HOD)

Reviews research in which children's processing of individual words is examined in prose context. When taken together, the data suggest that the reader's dependence on contextual constraint for individual word identification decreases with age. (HOD)

An extensive case history of instructional environment and acquisition of reading skills by 50 first-grade students in ten classrooms indicates that the rate at which students mastered decoding depended on classroom instruction with direct instruction appearing most profitable for children from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. (MKM)

Introduces a taxonomy of applied methods to help industrial arts teachers improve the reading abilities and verbal aptitudes of their students. The taxonomy is divided into five major sections: vocabulary, comprehension skills, interpretation skills, work study skills, and reading range (a more discriminatory reading ability). (CSS)

Results of a study in which four instructional methods (involving different amounts of preparation and guidance in reading short stories) were used with 48 seventh-grade students demohstrate that it is possible to simultaneously prepare able and less able readers for discussion of the same story. Reading attitudes were also assessed in the study.…

Stories were constructed in which minor variations in content influenced the relationship existing between statements. The stories had four episodes, which were either logically related or independent. First and third graders could more accurately recall the structure of the logically organized episodes than that of the temporally listed episodes.…

Discusses why and how language laboratories are used in Japan to develop aural perception and comprehension and oral production in English. Presents some practical suggestions for the preparation of relevant teaching materials. (PMJ)

Describes a study which examined through classroom observations of reading and social studies whether elementary schools provide comprehension instruction. Major findings included the fact that almost no comprehension instruction was found. (MKM)

Reviews studies that explore the nature of the relationships between reading and writing and that suggest the influence of writing on word recognition, reading comprehension, and reading motivation. Offers six recommendations for classroom instruction based on the available information about the reading/writing relationship. (GT)