This review of the literature on reading theories is built around three components: an explication of each theory, an evaluation of the theory based on an examination of its internal and external coherence and correspondence, and an application of the theory to a child's reading. The literature is organized around discussions of 12 benchmarks…

A study was undertaken to determine if a criterion referenced test based on a Piagetian stage model of reading acquisition was related to grade level, to a standardized reading achievement test, and to a test of cognitive developmental level. Sixty first, second, and third grade children were administered a comprehensive test of basic skills. They…

It was hypothesized that college students' metacognitive behaviors would predict their reading achievement scores. Nelson-Denny Reading Tests scores were obtained for each of 66 students in undergraduate reading methods courses, and these students were asked to introspect about their behavior as they read an article related to course work.…

The focus of this paper is on how bilingual children may benefit through a reading method that allows them opportunities to perceive and conceptualize aspects of the English language using a Piagetian model. The paper presents the analysis and prevention methods used for correcting difficulties encountered by bilingual students, and argues that…

Two experiments assessed the effect of vocabulary difficulty on three measures of text comprehension--free recall, summary recall, and sentence recognition. In the first experiment, the effect of differing proportions of rare-word substitutions were examined in 79 sixth grade students. It was found that a high rate of difficult vocabulary (one…

This annual report contains summaries of more than 1,200 reading research studies that appeared in print between July 1, 1979 and June 30, 1980. The summaries are arranged into six major categories. The first category lists other general bibliographies offering summaries of reading research, while the second category presents summaries of studies…

Using computer controlled text presentation that permitted the measurement of reading time for individual sentences, a study tested two hypotheses concerning how schemata guide reading comprehension. The focusing hypothesis suggested that the schemata activated by the reader's perspective might identify relevant information to which additional…

A sample consisting of 115 college students participated in a study of the relationships between reading rate, reading comprehension, and related independent variables (attitude, motivation, and interest). A short story was used for obtaining objective rate and comprehension scores for each subject. Two questionnaires designed for the study were…

Reading times can be a valuable source of data on comprehension processes, especially in the case of recording reading times on individual sentences in a passage. To overcome the methodological problems encountered in other research efforts concerning reading times, a multiple regression method was used to compare an ordinary language processing…

The effects of high intensity tutorial/enrichment treatments involving language arts process development were the major research concerns of a two-summer project designed to provide preservice and inservice teacher education students with training in the development of language arts processes and in planning for instruction corresponding to a…

To ascertain whether subjects spanning the range of reading acquisition exhibit semantic constructivity when confronted with a silent reading task, a study was conducted involving 120 second, fifth, and seventh graders, and 30 graduate students. For purposes of the study, semantic constructivity was defined as the uncued production of inferences…

Research by developmental psychologists has investigated metaphor comprehension without its surrounding context. This research has the positive feature of being unidirectional, all indicating that the older the child, the greater the possibility that metaphor will be understood. The disadvantages of the studies for educators include the fact that…

Two experiments investigated individual differences in semantic recall of expository text. In the first experiment, fourth grade students of superior and average ability read and recalled a prose passage that had been analyzed for its semantic and logical content with a content structure grammar. Unlike past research results, the superior…

Sixty undergraduate students read and summarized eight short passages in a study of how semantic components were involved in text comprehension. After the first summary was completed (the naive or untutored summary), the students were assigned to one of three groups. The experimental group was introduced to the semantic components, including…

This annual publication contains summaries of more than 1,100 reading research reports that appeared in print between July 1, 1978 and June 30, 1979. The summaries are arranged into six major categories. The first category contains a listing of other general bibliographies offering summaries of reading research, while the second category presents…