A mature understanding of the natural world requires experiential learning. Significant experience provides a constant source of values and understanding. Experiential learning is a holistic process, where conceptual, linguistic and perceptual elements are blended with direct impressions of the environment. Experiential knowing is not fixed but is…

Works of art can be a valuable tool for teaching reading skills, such as visual discrimination, language experience, word recognition, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and other language arts skills. Classroom activities based on art work are described. Sources of art reproductions are noted. (PP)

Observations of third- and fourth-grade classroom reading lessons revealed not only that text-related reading comprehension was seldom taught, but also that a coordinated or topically organized sequence of text reading instruction was rare. (FL)

Indicates that college students make use of word length and shape information to decode text and that the context of a passage affects students' knowledge of the syntactic structure and semantic content of that passage. (AEA)

Subjecting the comprehension passages of the Gates-McGinitie Reading Test to readability analysis using a multiformula computer program revealed that the instrument can best be used for making comparisons between groups using the same test forms and levels in the same sequence. (FL)

Argues that metacognitive training in students can help students to remediate comprehension difficulties, to more accurately guage their success as learners, and to view reading as a flexible, thought-provoking process of interaction with text. (HOD)

Reports the findings of a study indicating that reading aloud to Black first grade students in an inner city area expanded significantly their knowledge of specific topics. (FL)

Discusses social studies as an area of study in which to apply a variety of strategies for improving the reading comprehension of students. Important factors that can aid students in improving reading comprehension are considered, including understanding textbook organization, vocabulary improvement, speed reading, following directions, and…

Demonstrates how having students dramatize a novel from many points of view can help them to understand the work on different levels. (FL)

Describes a program designed to teach content area vocabulary that resulted in vocabulary growth and improved comprehension. (AEA)

Future efforts to assist with reading-disabled students should include: early identification and intervention, more effective differentiation of students, increased individualized instruction, an increase in specially trained personnel, and a greater variety of specialized materials. (JN)

Describes an approach to the utilization of news items and ads from a local newspaper in the culture and civilization classes of a French language program for foreign students. Suggests criteria for the selection of materials by students and provides examples of "grids" that facilitate the content analysis of texts. (MES)

Explains how education majors try to learn to recognize thought unit sentences (ThUS's) and to gauge their difficulty. Shows examples of simple writing and discusses the task of writing ThUS's to match style and level of author. Gives a rationale for doing a readability analysis in this way. (FL)

Outlines a teaching unit based on the use of the telephone, with activities aimed at easing the difficulties experienced by foreign speakers. Among these difficulties are problems of comprehension due to the absence of visual clues, the use of special formulas, and the characteristic speed of delivery. (MES)

The study evaluated two kindergarten predictive instruments, the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests: Readiness Skills and the Teacher Estimate of Kindergarten Pupils' Abilities, by following the same 107 kindergartners over 1, 2, 3, and 4 years using multiple regression analysis. (Author/SBH)