Encourages the use of television to promote reading and describes four types of television-reading programs. Provides evidence to support this practice and offers a list of resources. (FL)

Reviews investigation of word recognition and identification ability of learning disabled and average students. Disabled students' abilities did not differ from those of average students with matched reading level and IQ, but they made substantially more errors than average students matched by chronological age and IQ. (HTH)

Notes that vocabulary has long been recognized as a strong determinant of reading success. Discusses how children's vocabulary knowledge is largely determined by informal factors, such as parental interaction and other sources, such as the television. Addresses individual differences in vocabulary acquisition; amount of vocabulary needed for…

Examines the long-term effects of instruction on the reading achievement of children diagnosed as having learning disability and were taught in resource rooms. Studies the consequences of such instruction on the cognitive level of children identified as having reading disability. Finds that resource room placement and instruction have deleterious…

Studies the influence of illustrations on children's book preferences and comprehension. Finds that while third graders scored higher than first graders, both groups showed highest comprehension for the Text-plus-Illustrations book content and the lowest for the Illustration-Only book content. Notes that participants preferred bright illustrations…

Uses the American College Testing Program (ACT) and Teale-Lewis Reading Attitude Scales to investigate achievement predictability in a teacher-preparatory course in reading methods. Determines the two tests to be effective predictors of achievement. (SG)

Examines methods and materials for teaching beginning reading and Mandarin Chinese (the standard dialect the People's Republic of China) to Chinese children of different dialects. Finds value in the integration of language arts with peer tutoring, multimodal approach, and teaching with mnemonics, but reports excessive memorization, little silent…

Reviews research relating to graphic organizers. Suggests that no systematic approach to analyzing graphic organizer research exists, resulting in a lack of explanations for why graphic organizers work or do not work. Proposes a framework through which graphic organizer research may be better understood in relation to the cognitive processes of…

Suggests that readers' theater activities may help children with reading problems gain oral-reading fluency and confidence. Describes how readers' theater can be successfully integrated into a broader, multifaceted tutorial. Finds positive benefits of readers' theater preparation and practice during a summer reading tutorial. Presents classroom…

Examines and describes first-grade children's development of strategic processes for detecting and correcting errors, problem solving difficult or novel words, and confirming responses in order to be successful as they participated in Reading Recovery instruction, as opposed to simply increasing "item" knowledge (i.e., identifying more…

Studies the effects of Reading Recovery participation on 103 first-grade students in Atlanta elementary schools. Finds that participating in Reading Recovery appears to assist students in increasing their level of belief about their value in the eyes of significant others but does not increase students' sense of competence. (NH)

Introduces Nicholas Silvaroli, founder and Program Coordinator of the Reading Program at Arizona State University. Discusses what he believes to be critical issues of concern to all of us, including the quality of tomorrow's teachers and recent trends in reading instruction. (JK)

Supports the contention that learning disability and remedial reading professionals provide a similar service and, lacking interdisciplinary coordination, are in danger of duplicating services. Indicates support for interdisciplinary training that would foster coordination. (FL)

Compares the vocabulary learning effectiveness of the mnemonic keyword method and two semantic-based approaches (semantic mapping and contextual analysis). Concludes, among other things, that the keyword method is superior to the other two strategies with respect to students' ability to recall word definitions. (FL)

Reveals that in the average number of words per T-unit, the complexity of basal reader passages generally exceeds that of children's oral language, and that none of the basal series studied exhibited a graduated increase in average number of words per T-unit among passages in the same reader. (FL)