A model of reading comprehension focuses on eye fixations, which are related to the level of reading processes--words, clauses, and text units. Longer pauses are associated with greater processing difficulty. This model is illustrated for a group of undergraduate students reading scientific articles from "Newsweek" and "Time" magazines. (GDC)

Reports on reading research studies conducted in Great Britain during 1979, noting that two areas have attracted much more attention recently--reading comprehension and the importance of motivation. (HOD)

Research on levels of questioning and their effects on learning is reviewed. It is shown that higher level questions facilitate reproductive and productive knowledge, but the reasons why are not clearly understood. An information processing model which accounts for question level effects is discussed. (MH)

Discusses a research project that is producing articulate responses from children about their responses to reading, presents a transcript of an interview with a 14-year-old boy regarding his responses to fiction, discusses various stages of response to reading, and outlines classroom implications of studies of reading responses. (GT)

Analyzes the oral reading performance of four Navajo children and notes that they believed the purpose of reading was to produce acceptable English grammar. (MKM)

Examines effects of several lexical and sublexical variables (lexical category and frequency, syllabic structure, word length) in reading acquisition in a transparent language--Spanish. Compares effects of variables in 140 normal and poor young readers. Finds that all variables produced a significant effect on the number of errors made by the…

Presents recent research results from magnetic resonance imaging on the neurological characteristics of individuals with dyslexia. Describes how the brain is normally used in reading and how a neurological "glitch" prevents individuals with dyslexia from easily gaining access to parts of the brain responsible for analyzing and…

Examines the influence of prior knowledge and text genre on prediction strategies of eleventh grade and graduate student readers. Finds that readers' prior knowledge may significantly influence the nature of readers' prediction strategies. Uses qualitative analysis of verbal report data to examine variation in types of prediction strategies.…

Explains how teaching study skills using real content area materials was accomplished in an eighth-grade remedial reading class. Investigates student performance in social studies and science classes. Finds that students improved both the self-report of study habits and their grades in social studies and science classes. (RS)

Proposes a view of literacy learning in which various forms of reading and writing are conceptualized as unique ways of thinking about and exploring a topic of study (analogous to a conceptual "landscape") en route to acquiring knowledge (best "traversed" from a variety of perspectives). (MS)

Describes two models of childrens' literacy acquisition developed by research psychologists. Argues that these models make practical sense by embodying within them the notion that children use a combination of top-down and bottom-up processes to solve the problems of how to read. (RS)

Examines the comparative use of grapho/phonic and syntactic/semantic cues for ongoing word recognition by readers in grades two, four, six, and eight reading both silently and orally. Finds a greater number of altered words were identified in the oral compared to the silent reading mode in grades four, six, and eight. (RS)

Examines tasks provided for students in most literature textbooks used in the United States, noting that these tasks typically control students' responses to literature. Relates these tasks to current theory and research on the reading process. Describes activities from literature texts used in Canada that facilitate literary response. (MM)

An investigation of native language influence on second-language (English) reading processed indicated that, when essential phonological information was inaccessible, Arabic and Spanish phonographic readers were seriously impaired, although Japanese morphographic readers were not affected. (83 references) (Author/CB)

Examines advantages and disadvantages of using textbooks as the basis for curriculum and instruction, discussing textbooks as the predominant instructional medium. The article describes attributes of good textbooks and text structures, identifies strategies for improving readers' text comprehension, and notes teachers' role as facilitators in…