A framework for a comprehensive theory of reading is presented in this paper. The framework consists of perceptual, semantic, and control systems. The perceptual and semantic spaces of the theory should not be confused with the terms "decoding" and "comprehension"; decoding and comprehension refer to ways in which those spaces…

The two reading programs discussed in this paper, "Reading Unlimited" (RU) published by Scott Foresman and "New Primary Grades Reading Systems" (RS) by the University of Pittsburgh Learning Research and Development Center, provide maximal contrasts in materials and teaching strategies. The instructional strategies in RU are…

In this paper, it is suggested that reading instruction can be improved by studying the interactions of students and teachers in beginning reading classes. Such research could identify effective environments for learning to read, providing teachers with alternative and effective ways of adapting reading instruction to the students' needs. The…

Current issues in reading diagnosis and remediation may be classified as political, diagnostic, and remedial. The main political issue in recent years has been the overlapping of the concepts of learning disability and reading disability and the consequent conflict of jurisdiction of reading specialists and learning disability specialists. This…

Secondary teachers must help students to expand vocabulary skills, to understand and apply ideas in complex reading material, and to improve organizational and work-study skills. To assess reading instruction at the junior high school level in one school district, classroom observations were made of teachers of mathematics, science, social…

This study attempted to assess the effects on the achievement and attitudes of preservice teachers at Washington State University of a modular independent study program about teaching reading to minority children. A total of 81 students was randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group completed five…

This anniversary edition of "Hooked on Books" adds new materials about the general educational context necessary for the success of the approach described in earlier editions. Discussions center on the difficulties of reading instruction, caused by the decreasing importance of reading in a television era; growth in the importance of peer teaching…

The articles in this publication deal with the encouragement of staff teamwork in reading programs. The feature article examines ways of facilitating the personal interchange process between classroom teachers and the reading teacher, principal, or supervisor charged with implementing change in the schools, in order to bring about successful…

The effectiveness of an eight week college course for reading/study skills improvement was evaluated by pretesting and posttesting 152 students with the Nelson-Denny Reading Test and the Optimum Reading Achievement Test and running simple correlations between reading rate, comprehension, vocabulary, and 18 variables that included ACT scores, grade…

The Conceptions of Reading project is examining the role of teacher beliefs and predispositions within the classroom, a complex task that has required modification of both conceptualization and research methodology. This paper discusses the original goals of the project, changes that have resulted from the first year of pilot studies, and proposed…

This manual for teachers sets forth in some detail the direct method of teaching children to read. It has proved successful to a very large degree in the hands of teachers with no experience or teaching preparation. This manual includes: (1) History of the Method; (2) The Method Explained; (3) Principles Underlying the Method; (4) Material Needed…

This study was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of the PLATO instructional system to teach adult basic education and general educational development students basic mathematics and reading skills. The study was conducted with a control group of students who had no use of PLATO during an 18-month period, a second group of students who had less…

A study was conducted to identify effective instructional strategies being used to teach reading at the secondary school level. In the first phase of the study, researchers observed 43 secondary school remedial reading classrooms to determine the relationships between teaching processes and students' gain in reading. In the second phase, the…

Studies of successful beginning readers have suggested two factors--a responsive communication environment and the awareness of reading as communication--that contribute to early success in reading. In light of this, a study was conducted to identify and differentiate high communication and low communication classrooms and to explore the…

The term "direct instruction" is often used by researchers and educators as if there were consensus regarding its meaning, when in fact, it covers a variety of qualitative differences. To test this hypothesis, two second grade teachers, each categorized as a proponent of direct instruction, were studied using descriptive techniques. The…