The relationship between reading achievement and ability to process verbal information in achieving and nonachieving fourth-grade readers is examined. Evaluation of verbal processing abilities indicated that achieving readers performed better on all abilities measured except automatic word processing. (Author/PN)

Discusses the problems that exist when organizational policies are written on a reading level which is inappropriate for the intended employees. Management must assess and adjust readability levels of policies and procedures, write policies in a clear manner, provide background, define terms, improve supervisor development, and use trainers more…

Concludes that previewing a reading selection improved the comprehension, recall, and reading attitudes of junior high school students who were poor readers. (FL)

Reports that results of two experiments designed to assess the effects of text cohesion and schema availability on children's comprehension of social studies passages that varied in vocabulary difficulty failed to support expectations based on the interactive theory of reading. (FL)

Discusses three strategies that help students remember information from the author's point of view: webbing, pyramiding, and think sheets. Notes that each strategy highlights superordinate ideas and shows how ideas relate to each other. Offers instructional techniques for using the three strategies. (FL)

Argues that the paragraph represents a semantic unit, not just a grammatical convention. Presents original research to establish the types and frequencies of certain paragraph formats found in expository material. Discusses the most appropriate time for teaching students the ideational relationships within paragraphs. (FL)

This study compares college freshmen's reading test scores over 50 years. The 1978 freshmen at the University of Minnesota scored significantly lower than their 1928 counterparts on vocabulary, comprehension, and reading rate. (Author/PN)

Mobilizing relevant preexisting knowledge significantly facilitated retention of information inconsistent with prior knowledge but did not affect retention of congruous information. A topically organized passage was not better remembered than a topically disorganized one. (Author/PN)

Discusses nontext knowledge necessary for reading comprehension. Examines the composition of children's real world knowledge for ordinary situations. (FL)

The role of maturational factors in reading acquisition was investigated by exposing children 5.2 to 7.0 years of age to identical learning experiences. Older children significantly outperformed younger ones, suggesting that reading instruction at a later maturational level may be more effective than that performed earlier. (MP)

Two groups of undergraduates were forced to process a maplike organizer before or after reading a difficult prose passage concerning the formation of a meander. Subjects with little prior knowledge, provided with the organizer, recalled at a level similar to subjects with a good deal of background knowledge. (Author/CM)

Outlines a program of vocabulary development that contains cognitive, affective, and physical elements. Points to test results showing that the program has been effective with fourth grade students. (FL)

Investigates the accuracy of content area teachers and the "Living Word Vocabulary" (LWV) in predicting students' knowledge of specific words. Concludes that while teachers varied greatly in their ability to predict students' word knowledge, the LWV provided quite accurate predictions of student performance. (FL)

Indicates that including philosophical skills in the reading program of fifth-grade students led to improved reading comprehension achievement for both above and below average readers. (FL)

Several pedagogical approaches are described that aid at in-depth understanding of the journalistic text by examining the way the journalist's discourse functions. By demystifying the discourse, the instructor makes the learner aware of the mechanisms of manipulation and orientation at the journalist's disposal. (Author/MSE)