Reports that regular participation by groups of fifth- and sixth- grade students in a program of uninterrupted sustained silent reading was accompanied by improved performance on a measure of reading achievement over groups who did not participate in the program. Whether the program affected reading attitudes is not clear. (FL)

Explores determinants of successful reading remediation by investigating relationship between client reading processes and gains made in silent reading comprehension. Students (28 subjects, grades two-nine) who recalled a high percentage of inferential information appeared more amenable to clinical remediation. Perception connectives use was also…

Examines the effect of sustained silent reading (SSR) on reading attitudes of boys and girls. Finds that boys have a substantially poorer attitude toward reading than girls and that SSR has no demonstrable effect on either sex. (RS)

Converts silent reading rates into grade equivalent units. Finds that growth in reading rate is approximately constant each year in school for typical students. Presents grade equivalent data which provides reasonably valid, criterion-referenced grade equivalents that may be used to evaluate the status and progress of individuals or groups. (RS)

Examines the relationships between social and emotional variables, and oral and silent reading comprehension. Finds significant correlations between reading effectiveness and various personality characteristics. Finds also that anxiety and a low sociometric score impair oral reading more than silent reading. Argues that social and emotional…

The study investigated the compensatory effectiveness of the Quicktionary Reading Pen II (the Reading Pen), a portable device with miniaturized optical character recognition and speech synthesis capabilities. Thirty participants with reading disabilities aged 10-18 were trained on the operation of the technology and given two weeks to practice…

Using methods from conversation analysis, this microethnographic longitudinal case study traces the development of interactional competence which results from adult learners' socialization into literacy events in a modified Sustained Silent Reading (mSSR) program. The investigation focuses on two learners who participated in the mSSR program in an…

A study compared the effects of silent reading and oral reading on the comprehension scores of 15 second-grade and 14 third-grade low-ability reading students. The instruments used were selected from the Macmillan Series r program. First, students were introduced to new vocabulary from the teacher's manual for a particular reading selection. Next,…

A study examined the relationship between sex differences and the development of reading proficiency, specifically investigating if sex differences related to achievement on measures of silent reading comprehension, sight vocabulary, recognition of vocabulary in context, and use of structural analysis in word recognition taken separately or in…

The purpose of the present investigation was to sample the range of texts selected by 21 students in sustained silent reading in a single fourth-grade classroom. Using a sampling technique developed by French and Foster (1992), single pages from sampled texts were evaluated. The evaluation found that most students were reading fiction (n = 14),…

Secondary students who read an economics lesson silently scored significantly higher than students who received an oral presentation of the lesson. A significant interaction between lesson organization and student ability level indicated that highly organized economics lessons increase student learning under certain ability level conditions.…

Advocates a supplementary reading program for kindergartners and first graders that is a combination of modified sustained silent reading and Booktime, after an investigatory study showed that, although highly thought of, SSR was difficult in practice in kindergarten and first-grade classrooms. (NKA)

Concludes, among other things, that fluent oral reading is an important step toward reading for meaning and independent silent reading and that silent reading should be encouraged from the beginning of reading instruction. (FL)

This report describes a program for increasing primary students' reading achievement as indicated by scores on reading series theme tests, state standards achievement test scores, achievement test scores, report card grades, and students' involvement in reading. The targeted population consisted of primary elementary school students in a…

A study hypothesized that auditory input does not increase the comprehension of students. Forty Basic Skills English students in a suburban high school were identified for this study. They were grouped according to class section and assigned randomly to treatments. Two of the sections read narrative and persuasive/argument texts silently and were…