A study examined the main and interacting effects of pragmatic, structural, and word-level manipulations of text on comprehension and compared the results to the effects of these variables on judgments of text comprehensibility and interest. Subjects were 120 seventh grade students who read a number of passages that differed in level of…

Stressing that it is necessary to have information about the quality of eye movement data in order to judge the degree of confidence one should have in the results of an experiment using eye movement records as data, this report suggests ways for assessing and reporting such information. Specifically, the report deals with three areas: (1)…

Developmental differences in preschool children's abilities to communicate about basic and subordinate level semantic contrasts were examined in a referential communication situation. Twenty-four three, four, and five-year-old children communicated with children of the same age and adults about pictures' referents. Speakers talked about one…

According to Dolores Durkin, reading comprehension instruction can be defined as activities in which the teacher does or says something to help children understand or work out the meaning of more than a single, isolated word. Carol Hodges criticized Durkin's emphasis on direct verbal instruction and broadened the definition to include…

A study investigated the effect of using read-along materials on the acquisition of incidental sight reading vocabulary for prereaders and beginning readers. Specifically, the study examined whether such readers acquired sight vocabulary words from exposure to read-along materials and the types of words that were learned more readily than others.…

Fifty-four first grade students comprising eight reading groups in three separate classrooms participated in a study that examined effective and appropriate communication in peer-directed groups. Specifically, the study investigated selected aspects of requests for information and action and their relationship to language ability, social…

An experiment was designed to determine whether kindergarten children could recognize the authorship of a piece of prose by the style of the writing. Specifically, the experiment examined whether, at the age when reading instruction typically begins, children are capable of appreciating stylistic properties of text that are almost universally…

This report provides an analysis of data from the 1978-79 school year that was collected in an evaluation of reading materials used for instructional purposes in grades one through six of the District of Columbia public schools. Following a discussion of the scope and purpose of the evaluation project, the report provides findings that address the…

A study was conducted using contemporary test scores to describe adults who reported that they had experienced severe reading problems in childhood and that such problems continued to influence their functioning as adults. Twelve men and one woman ranging in age from 20 to 54 volunteered for the study. All had attended college or technical school…

This report is the second in a two-part series introducing an interactive activation model of context effects in perception. In the first part, a model for the perception of letters in words and other contexts was described and applied to a number of experiments. This second part applies the same model to a number of new experiments designed to…

This is the fourth of six volumes providing information drawn from a project designed to compile a substantial data base on reading errors for use by researchers and teachers. This volume contains transcriptions of oral reading error studies conducted with fifth grade students. The transcriptions are organized according to grade and…

This is the fifth of six volumes providing information drawn from a project designed to compile a substantial data base on reading errors for use by researchers and teachers. This volume contains transcriptions of oral reading error studies conducted with sixth grade students. The transcriptions are organized according to grade and…

This biliography contains annotations of publications relating to theory, research, and practice in early reading (reading prior to the time a child begins attending school). The 142 annotations are listed under the following headings: comprehensive studies, theoretical issues, pedagogical issues, empirical issues, reviews, and bibliographies. (RL)

The effects of organizational variables on recall of prose were examined in 48 college-educated adults in three age groups (20 to 33 years, 41 to 55 years, and 58 to 79 years). It was hypothesized that if older adults suffered deficits in organizational processes, they would show lower quantities of prose recall, difficulties in following the…

The purpose of this investigation was to examine syntax comprehension by poor and average prereaders in first grade and poor and average readers in second grade, to determine whether a relationship exists between reading ability or reading readiness and comprehension of syntax. Subjects were 55 first-grade children and 56 second-grade children of…