Deaf children need reading programs which emphasize comprehension of meaning rather than syntax and grammar. Successful reading programs can emerge when reading is viewed as a highly social experience, reading materials are meaningful and highly contextualized, and semantic processing in American Sign Language is used to assist reading in English.…

Compares student performances when reading printed text and text on a microcomputer screen. Reports that students have more difficulty locating information on-screen than in-print, particularly within prose passages. (MG)

Reviews the research that led to the movement toward literature based reading programs for children and describes the current status of the movement nationally. The discussion also addresses problems within the movement, including program evaluation; basalization of literature; cumbersome literature guides; acquisition difficulties; inadequate…

Two studies of the relationship between learner interest and advance organizers (AOs) with test performance were conducted: one with 33 and one with 66 undergraduates. Although the AO had no effect on test performance, student interest appeared affected by the presence of an AO. (SLD)

An exploratory analysis comparing two test batteries for English-as-a-Foreign-Language reading comprehension used a single framework of communicative language ability and test method facets to investigate construct validity. The framework's use in the content analysis of communicative language tests, and for the comparison of content across tests,…

A semantic mapping heuristic is presented which provides an instructional strategy for teaching notetaking, recognizing main ideas and pertinent details, and sorting and organizing them into a report. The strategy enables learning-disabled students to read independently about a topic and subsequently write a report, thus establishing a…

Examined 8- and 10-year olds' understanding of the unique features of and potential relations among mental activities. Found a developing tendency to organize mental activities on the degree to which memory was a component of the activity. Results suggest that a constructivist theory of mind develops in later childhood. (AA)

Seventh- and eighth-grade students with learning disabilities (n=29) who reasoned through factual prose sentences did not recall more information than students who were prompted to try to remember the content after each sentence. However, students trained in thinking skills produced more correct explanations of the information than control…

This discussion of fostering recall and developing reasoning processes in students with mild disabilities considers the role of mnemonic strategies, similarities between mnemonic strategies and elaborative interrogation to facilitate information retrieval, constructivism and elaborative interrogation, and such problems as generalization and…

Students with hearing impairments at most reading levels in the World Literature Survey Course at Gallaudet University (District of Columbia) benefited from the inclusion of metacognitive exercises which emphasized prereading, reading, and postreading strategies to improve comprehension and retention. Strategies also prompted improved group…

Twenty special education and 20 general education teachers viewed a videotape of a reading comprehension lesson with a small group of third graders, 1 of whom had a learning disability. Analysis of teacher responses suggested that general and special teacher groups may possess different professional knowledge structures on which they interpret…

Investigates differences between English-as-a-Foreign-Language students at two levels of reading comprehension performance with respect to the global and analytic reading styles. No significant differences were found with regard to meaning memorization. There were slightly significant differences in favor of the global style with reference to…

Discusses whether developmental delays can be the unintended consequence of developmentally inappropriate preschool teacher and staff practices. Describes the interplay between language and knowledge in early childhood. Includes a table that specifies the child's ability to take in information from language input through five developmental stages…

Using historical and contemporary perspectives, the paper argues that reading is a malleable social practice with identifiable moral and ideological consequences. A model that defines reading in contemporary social life through four interconnected roles is presented. The importance of critical reading in everyday life is illustrated through…

Examined the effects of taking notes during a listening comprehension test containing short monologues. A multiple-choice questionnaire surveyed student reaction to the opportunity. Allowing students to take notes had little effect on their performance, and urging them to do so significantly impaired it. (16 references) (Author/CK)