Suggests sources of information on minimum competencies and minimal competency testing, including publications and conference proceedings, policy statements from professional organizations, and resource lists available from various organizations. (MKM)

Discusses the difficulty of determining the readability of textual material. (MKM)

Summarizes good reading research published in journals during 1986, focusing on studies that deal with reading comprehension, prior learning, and word recognition. (SRT)

Addresses three questions: (1) What is involved in understanding a word or concept? (2) How do we presently measure word knowledge? (3) What are some alternative formats which teachers could utilize with their students? Suggests techniques such as paired word questions, categorizing, analogies, and sentence writing as ways to evaluate vocabulary…

Provides teachers with instructions on effectively using student journals in classes at all levels. Gives examples of different types of personal writing students can engage in, suggests ways to respond to them, and lists benefits of and reservations about using journals in writing classes. (SKC)

Adds mapping and summarization to the K-W-L (know, want to know, learned) strategy to produce a reading-thinking strategy, equally helpful to remedial and nonremedial high school students for content area textbooks. (NKA)

Argues that remedial reading programs should be included in the core curriculum where it can support and expand subject area learning. (NKA)

Describes a high school developmental program in which newspapers are used to motivate students to read. Discusses how this approach helps improve students' reading and study habits and boost their attitudes toward reading. Identifies four general reasons for students' negative reaction to traditional reading skills material. (JD)

Describes newspapers as a good alternative to the traditional writing textbook and discusses how they can be used at all age levels to develop three stages of the writing process: prewriting, revision, and publishing. (JD)

Discusses possible limitations to the use of context for word learning (such as poor reading skills and text complexity). Recommends that content area teachers be aware of these limitations and provide specific instructions in determining word meaning from difficult contexts. (SKC)

Presents a concentration improvement guide for students. Offers a procedure for effective presentation of the guide--reading and discussing the guide in small groups, followed by whole class discussion of reactions. (ARH)

Examines data from the 1979-80 National Assessment of Reading that reveals that television as external stimulation is beneficial to some groups of students yet detrimental to others. (HOD)

The ReQuest procedure, designed to teach students to raise questions independently, has many components that lend themselves to solving some of the problems faced by the teacher of juvenile delinquents. (HOD)

Draws from the work of J. Kinneavy to identify text superstructures that are considered organizational patterns within larger structures: literary, expository, persuasive, and expressive writing. (HOD)

Reports on a survey used to evaluate the secondary school reading program in Polk County, Florida. (DF)