A study examined the degree to which audiotaped progressive muscle relaxation training influenced the oral and silent reading performance of eight adolescents who were legally classified as emotionally disturbed. A single-case ABAB withdrawal design was used to examine the effects of relaxation training on oral reading. In addition, a…

Practice in oral and silent reading is an important component in the development of reading skills. Observational techniques were used to investigate the actual amount of time a second-grade class spent reading during reading instruction. Results are discussed with regard to effects of practice time on student reading. (Author/DF)

A teacher had always allowed 20 minutes for silent reading in her classroom. But when she looked at her Year 3/4 composite class, she noticed that although some students were reading, some were not. She decided to explore why they might not be reading. She focused on three students--a boy with severe learning difficulties and an auditory…

The practice of sustained silent reading (SSR) is based on the belief that motivation, interest, self-selection, modeling, and time spent reading contribute to student reading achievement. A study was designed to ascertain the prevalence of SSR in classrooms in a particular geographic area and the degree to which the program's original goals are…

Reveals that first-grade students preferred to read silently, while third-grade students preferred oral reading. Third-grade readers' reasons for preferring oral reading indicated that they had been conditioned to view reading as a means of allowing teachers an opportunity to correct mistakes rather than as a communicative activity. (FL)

Suggests that oral and silent sentence reading represent a similar cognitive process. Reports that poor readers, in particular, decrease processing time on difficult words in silent as compared to oral reading. (AEA)

Studies the effect of sustained silent reading (SSR) on recreational reading habits after termination of instruction. Finds that SSR students read more than those not in the program, and that SSR has no impact on above average readers, great impact on average readers, and little impact on below average readers. (RS)

Compares how third- and fifth-grade learning-disabled and non-learning-disabled students use orthographic cues and contextual information during oral and silent reading. Finds that reliance on orthographic cues was consistently more pronounced in the oral than in the silent condition for all groups. Finds differences for students with and without…

This study of the cognitive processes of braille reading compared the reading of 23 adult braille readers in 4 different reading conditions: oral reading, silent reading, studying, and scanning. The findings support the idea that braille reading is process driven and that reading rates vary, depending on the purpose of the reading task. (Author)

A study examined whether oral, silent, or choral reading would affect reading comprehension. Subjects were 22 heterogeneously grouped third grade students. Two groups of 11 subjects were assigned to each of the following three samples during a three week period: (1) oral reading; (2) silent reading; and (3) choral reading. To analyze results,…

The role of subvocalization in 12 learning disabled (LD) adolescent readers' comprehension difficulties was studied. Nondisabled and LD readers were compared on silent reading and listening comprehension of noun lexical, verb lexical, semantic, and inferential sentences under conditions of suppressed and nonsuppressed subvocalization. (Author/SW)

Presents data on the impact of oral and silent reading on reading comprehension. Hypothesizes that reading comprehension is enhanced significantly by silent, rather than oral reading, and that re-reading is an effective mode for increasing comprehension in either mode. (EKN)

Children aged 7 to 9 were tested for their recall after hearing, orally reading, and silently reading comparable stories. Boys exhibited very poor recall performance after silent reading compared with their recall after listening and after oral reading. Girls showed comparable recall performance across all three language reception modes.…

Describes a reading scheme in which seventh-grade students engage in sustained silent reading for one class period per week and the reading gains made by the students in the first six months of the year. (HTH)

Although a junior high school sustained silent-reading program showed no effect on student reading achievement, significant differences on four reading attitudes between students in that school and students in schools without such a program were considered tangible evidence supporting continuation of the program. (JT)