The problems arising from treating word and sentence complexity as the direct causes of difficulty in comprehension are surveyed in this paper from the perspective of readability formulas. The basic choices and assumptions made in the development and use of readability formulas are discussed in relation to the larger question of text…

Comparing traditional to experiential instruction, a study investigated whether teaching content area vocabulary using hands-on experiences and teacher/student interaction would result in greater vocabulary knowledge and better comprehension of a related text than conventional dictionary work. Subjects, 45 fourth grade students from a chapter 1…

Divided into three sections, this book presents a selection of papers arising from a conference that focused on the impact of recent technological advancements on the development and teaching of reading. An introduction by J. M. Ewing provides general insight on this topic. Identifying major concerns, the first section includes: "Reading and…

A study was conducted to analyze the content of stories in several basal reading systems widely used in primary grade reading instruction. The investigation was in terms of the relative frequency of main characters who are elderly, the portrayal of elderly characters in relation to other characters in the stories, the incidence of aging themes,…

The articles in this journal issue present a rationale and methods for using elements of the humanities to teach remedial reading and writing. The titles of the articles and their authors are as follows: (1) "The Humanities and Basic Skills Project" (Nan Dougherty); (2) "The Humanities and Basic Skills" (Robert L. Horn); (3) "Beyond Fragmentation;…

The articles in this journal issue explore classroom methods for enhancing language acquisition. The titles of the articles and their authors are as follows: (1) Forests and Trees: Conservation and Reforestation" (Joyce S. Steward); (2) "Using Literature to Teach Language" (Richard D. Cureton); (3) "Language Learning through…

The Bilingual Pupil Services (BPS) Program has been operating for 11 years in 24 New York City schools. During the 1984-85 school year BPS provided bilingual instruction to 1,616 Hispanic students and (for the second year) to Chinese students of limited English proficiency (LEP) in grades one through six. BPS has two functions: providing services…

Expanding on the original "Miscue Inventory," this book examines various miscue analysis procedures and discusses how they provide teachers with effective methods for understanding and measuring students' reading processes. The chapters are divided into three parts, focusing on miscue analysis and the reading process, miscue analysis…

To address the issue of implementing research findings in the schools, 26 teachers enrolled in a graduate seminar in teaching reading applied research findings in their classrooms. Their instructor visited their classrooms and used her observations as discussion starters for the seminar, during which they also discussed assigned readings. They…

Enlarging upon the scope and agenda of earlier diagnostic research, a study was conducted to examine (1) teacher responses to receiving diagnostic information about some of their students, (2) effects on student achievement of teachers receiving both diagnostic information and diagnostic training, (3) diagnostic classifications that emerged from…

J. D. Bransford's tetrahedral model of learning considers four variables: (1) learning activities, (2) characteristics of the learner, (3) criterial tasks, and (4) the nature of the materials. Bransford's model provides a research-based theoretical framework that can be used to teach, model, and have students apply a variety of study strategies to…

A study evaluated the effects of one reading software program on the written language production of kindergarten and first grade students. Subjects were approximately 600 students from six different schools--three using the computerized reading program, Writing to Read, and three comparable in demographics, but not using the program. Stories…

Automaticity training was provided to an experimental group of eight high school sophomores whose reading achievement fell below the seventy-fifth percentile on the New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills Test to determine the effect of such training on reading comprehension. The 16 subjects (experimental and control groups) were pretested using the Gates…

A review of National Assessment of Educational Progress findings presents a picture of the reading attitudes of a large segment of the American population, and of the relationship between reading attitudes and reading performance. The findings show that a negative attitude toward reading exists, and that it increases with each year spent in…

Intended to provide children with pleasurable reading experiences by letting them feel successful in their early reading attempts, the program described in this booklet employs reading comprehension techniques that have been found effective and focuses on helping to prevent comprehension problems before they arise. The program was designed to be…