This report describes a program for improving reading comprehension. The targeted population consists of first, second, third, and fourth grade classrooms in a middle class community located in a suburb of a large midwestern city. The problem regarding poor comprehension skills is evident from teacher observation, student performance, previous…

This publication is a transcription of a forum held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on May 19, 2006 on background knowledge and reading proficiency. This topic goes to the heart of the education reform agenda, according to the first speaker, Eugenia Kemble, executive director of the Albert Shanker Institute, the sponsor of this…

A study ascertained the degree of relationships between scores on each of various reading subskills and overall reading success. Reading subskills were measured by locally developed reading skills tests. Overall reading success was measured by the reading subtest of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). In each of three southern Indiana school…

This paper uses the conceptual framework of cybernetics to understand why learning information systems such as the "Accelerated Reader" work so successfully, and to examine how this simple yet incisive concept can be used to accelerate learning at every level and in all disciplines. The first section, "Basic Concepts,"…

A study investigated the reading comprehension and educationally related characteristics of the United States Navy's recruit population based on data for selected variables. The variable of primary interest was the recruit's grade level score on reading comprehension; other variable employed in the study were grade level score, years of education,…

Often approaching reading with feelings of stress, anxiety, and fear, disabled readers need affective as well as cognitive training in remedial reading programs. Their intellectual objectivity, self-understanding, and rapport with teachers and classmates could be increased, and their anxiety reduced, if remedial reading specialists would…

To learn more about reading specialists (such as job requirements, certification, and opportunities) in Louisiana, a brief, one-page questionnaire was mailed to all principals of elementary schools in the state with a student population of over 400, to personnel directors of every parish in the state, and to directors of certification in all 50…

The expressive reading journal aims to break through student passivity by asking students to write extensively and expressively about what they read, each time they read, and to make discoveries and take possession of what they read. This type of journal in the academic course depends for its usefulness on the nature of expressive language, the…

A study investigated the efficacy of using the neurological impress method in peer tutoring during reading instruction. The neurological impress reading method is a unison reading procedure in which the student and teacher or tutor read aloud simultaneously and quickly, with the student placed slightly in front of the teacher so that the teacher's…

A study was conducted to investigate the reading comprehension and educationally related characteristics and relationships that describe the Navy's recruit population. The variable of primary interest was the recruit's reading comprehension grade level score; other variables were years of education, aptitude score, high school graduation status,…

A study investigated the development of metacognitive strategy instruction on standardized reading comprehension measures with fourth grade students. Forty-one subjects were assigned to one of three criterion reading groups, based on pretest scores using the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test (SDRT) and the Wide Range Achievement Test: (1)…

Reading research can answer the question of how to teach vocabulary to increase reading comprehension. Literature reviews show that almost any type of vocabulary instruction can produce significant gains in word knowledge, but that since more than this superficial knowledge is necessary to make a difference in reading comprehension, much…

Designed for use in helping parents to become familiar with their children's microcomputer needs, this guide addresses two important questions: whether parents should provide a computer in the home to assist children in their reading development, and which computer they should purchase. The answer to the first question is a simple yes, but the…

This paper suggests that reading offers a partial solution to the adaptation problems that older adults must face. Reading materials provide a means of disseminating information among older adults, and offer a source for consumer services information and basic education in living for those adjusting to retirement or old age. In addition, reading…

The patterns of reading achievement growth for Title I children in Cincinnati, Ohio, schools were examined to see whether gains in reading achievement by these children were lost over the summer months. The subjects were 295 children who remained in the program from second to fourth grade, and 175 children who remained in the program from third to…