The question of whether French-as-a-second-language reading can be facilitated by teaching some organizational patterns of discourse was investigated. It was concluded that strategic training is highly complex and difficult and that cumulative evidence is required to assess its usefulness in improving reading recall. (Contains 41 references.) (LB)

A study measured the effects that direct instruction in narrative text structure using a story map (called "macrostruction") had on the comprehension of average and above average sixth-grade readers. A 2 x 2 x 2 repeated measures design was used with time, text, and treatment as the independent variables. The number of story grammar idea…

The ability of foreign language readers to comprehend 3 different story structures of a medieval French folk tale, "Le Bisclavret," was investigated among 120 university language students. Findings suggest that both story organization and amount of second-language study influence recall. Recommendations for classroom instruction are suggested.…

Examines the possibility that part of the problem in the teaching of physical science may lie in teaching-learning materials. Selects 14 chemistry textbooks and 14 physics textbooks in Australia. Analyzes them based on learning theory and scientific literacy. (YP)

Investigates whether enriching text with analogies, similes, and metaphors has an impact on student cognitive learning and attitudes. Reports no gain on achievement, negative gain on attitude, no gain on proposition recall test, and negative gain on student attention to the text. (YP)

A study found that both paradigmatic and syntagmatic aspects of text were important for signifying meaning of text in the reading comprehension of 102 Australian students at 3 age levels (10, 12, and 14 years). Underlying comprehension problems was a lack of prior experience of text topics. Reading preparation through developing shared meanings is…

Forty-two inner city intermediate-grade learning-disabled students wrote fables when provided with the following stimuli: story starter, story ending with story content, and story ending with rhetorical purpose. The story ending groups did more story development planning than the story starter group, but composition quality was not significantly…

One way that teachers can assist students to learn from their textbooks is through the use of verbal-spatial representations of text structure. This report offers teachers and teacher educators information about learning to make idea maps for instructional use with elementary science texts. Idea maps, which are verbal-spatial representations of…