Reports on a study of reading and writing practices within a community environment. Concludes that literacy has different meanings for members of different groups, with a variety of modes, functions, and uses. Points out that these differences have yet to be taken into account by policymakers. (JMF)

Described is a technique for the development of survival reading activity packets for the science classroom. The reading packets described include labels from different food and medicine products and from magazine and newspaper articles. Three types of questions were used with each packet: factual, interpretive, and application. (DS)

Consists of practical classroom techniques. Topics covered are: (1) reading/studies skills techniques for college freshmen, (2) teaching main ideas, (3) a team approach to content area reading, (4) readers theatre, (5) survival skills, (6) passage dependence tests, (7) leisure reading, and (8) using music in informal diagnosis and motivation. (MKM)

This study's aim was to understand the relationship of the component skills of reading, such as word recognition, vocabulary, and spelling, to large-scale measures of literacy, such as the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) (Kirsch, Jungleblut, Jenkins, & Kolstad, 1993) and the closely related International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS)…

Children who fail to become fluent readers by the end of the primary grades are likely to achieve below same-age peers throughout their school careers. With growing use of curriculum-based measures (CBMs), it is easier to identify those students who are achieving below same-age peers. Moreover, a process of conducting individualized assessment and…

In this study, a subset of the adult functional reading items from the National Reading Survey was administered to a group of approximately 80 adults, together with a set of materials designed to assess decoding skills. The purpose of the study was to determine whether or not the inability to answer the adult reading tasks correctly is…

To devise a list of functional sight vocabulary words, a search was made of numerous curriculum guides and books, school district curricula, and several commercial materials purporting to teach such words. This search provided 16 word lists with a total of 466 different words and symbols. The word lists ranged from as few as five words to as many…

The reading program of the Reading Public Schools encompasses skills which facilitate reading a wide variety of materials, reading as a source of enjoyment, and reading as a lifelong activity. The goals for each student address word recognition skills, comprehension, reading skills needed to function in society, reading skills for individual…

A functional reading program, as distinct from the standard middle school reading program, specifically ensures that all students will acquire the reading skills necessary for survival in our society. Survival reading behaviors to be achieved include the ability to read labels on packages, to locate references in a newspaper, or to translate…

This booklet describes educational materials (developed by special projects funded under Section 309 of the Adult Education Act) which may be especially useful to adult education programs that are being developed around Adult Performance Level objectives. The products listed may be utilized or adapted by teachers without requiring special training…

This two-volume curriculum guide, designed to meet the functional reading needs of Maryland's 182,000 public school students in grades one through twelve, contains objectives, activities, and materials for classroom use. The guide, part of a reading program started in 1972 and described in "Effective Reading Programs...," is used by…

The purpose of this study was to compare the results obtained from a cloze test with the results obtained from an informal reading inventory in establishing the functional reading levels of selected third grade students of varying reading abilities. The subjects consisted of 100 third grade students. The following tests are given: the…

An analysis of job reading requirements indicates that most job reading is reading-to-do, while job training programs require reading-to-learn tasks also. (MKM)

Describes procedures for constructing and administering informal reading measures on the secondary level and discusses the proper analysis of the test results. (MAI)

Presents preliminary findings of a study of the various forms, functions, and values of literacy in Mexican and Mexican American homes. Discusses two crucial issues: the qualitative differences in the use of same literacy forms by different children and the children's role in dealing with literacy demands. (NQA)