Argues that computers can be used in schools or reading clinics to maintain skill banks for organizing information about materials, tests, and prescriptive recommendations. (FL)

Decries the fact that membership in professional reading associations and attendance at meetings and conferences are not considered important enough to be included in the teacher evaluation process. Cites a study showing this to be true, and sets forth guidelines to help change the situation. (FL)

Probes the association of reading achievement and attitude with productive factors in learning by regressing on 18 indices of seven factors the scores of more than 2,000 17-year-old students from a National Assessment of Educational Progress sample. (FL)

Using environmental materials (such as the phone book and placemats from fast food restaurants) can be a motivating way to teach learning disabled students skills and concepts, as shown in an approach to reading, math, science and nutrition, and social studies instruction using a JELL-O brand gelatin box. (CL)

Indicates that teachers still in preparation tended to cling closely to traditional beliefs about the teaching of reading. Suggests that teacher educators reexamine their preparation programs to determine if they are offering prospective reading teachers information about psycholinguistics and other theories of the reading process. (FL)

Ninety-six hearing impaired students (seven to 15 years old) completed cloze versions of stories written at the students' respective reading levels. Comparison of the cloze results to both probe and free response measures of comprehension indicated that the cloze procudure produced valid discrimination. (Author/CL)

Offers suggestions for making questions more effective. Argues that harder questions are not necessarily better. (FL)

Contends that visual presentations of story elements can enhance poor readers' comprehension. Supports the claim by presenting a study on a mapping readiness approach to improve comprehension. (FL)

Disusses three assertions regarding mastery learning in reading programs: (1) mastery learning is adopted to "legitimize" reading programs to the public; (2) schools cannot provide unlimited time for learning to read; and (3) thus, teachers are reduced to managers of materials and, with students, surrender control of their literacy. (HTH)

A reading teacher discusses ways to make the reading lab an enjoyable place to be. She suggests the use of nontraditional reading materials, such as TV guides, newspapers, and excerpts of old basal readers recovered to make thin books. Parent participation is stressed. (CL)

Discusses some of the caveats of computer-assisted teaching of foreign languages raised in David Wyatt's paper, "Computer-Assisted Teaching and Testing of Reading and Listening." These include the limited ability of the computer to display text. Questions if the benefits of computer-assisted instruction justify the time, energy, and…

Reports on intervention efforts to improve reading among 14 children (8-12 years of age) with major levels of reading retardation. Found a direct instruction program to be more effective than diagnostic-prescriptive remediation. (GC)

Reports the findings of a study that sought (1) to confirm for Australian children the pattern of print concept acquisition noted in North America and New Zealand and (2) to determine whether children of varying reading proficiency can be differentiated in terms of their print concepts. (FL)

Points out why drill work has a role in the language arts classroom, explores the possibilities of using a microcomputer to give children drill work, and discusses the characteristics of a good software program, along with faults found in many software programs. (FL)

Describes a technique, based on story grammar research, that merges the reading of a basal story with a writing lesson. (FL)