Investigates the effect of word acquisition by kindergarten children under two conditions of instruction: an isolated-word condition and a word-sentence condition. (HOD)

Investigates the relationships among the speeds of word encoding, lexical access, semantic memory access processes, and reading achievement of college undergraduate students. Concludes that reading deficiencies may occur as a result of either slow semantic memory access speeds or a lack of organization of information in semantic memory. (FL)

The results of two experiments serve to extend the processing-time explanation of content effects and to indicate that context effects are greater when reliance upon phonological input is increased as compared to predominant reliance on the direct visual access route to the lexicon. (FL)

A study was conducted to measure the effect on reading comprehension of forcing attention to different levels of analysis. Results indicated that for adult fluent readers, and--to a lesser extent--for children, attentional orienting tasks affected the amount and type of information recalled from reading a paragraph. (MKM)

Reports on an investigation of the effects of teaching first grade children two sets of six words by phonics and sight word methods in three instructional conditions with either a selection or production response. (MKM)

Tests a hypothesis about the growth of word knowledge in kindergarten and first graders. Notes that it was predicted that phoneme awareness develops in phases and that ability to finger-point read interacts with phoneme awareness in the development of early reading skill. Concludes that structural equation modeling showed that the longitudinal…

Evaluates the hypothesis that dyslexic children have a specific deficit in phonological reading processes to elucidate the characteristics of developmental dyslexics' reading skills. Finds no evidence for distinct subtypes of dyslexia, although recent conceptualizations of reading development provide a better framework in which to investigate…

Examines school and classroom factors that moderated gender and home language gaps in reading achievement of New Zealand students. Uses data from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement survey to examine comprehension and word recognition scores of nine-year-olds. Shows that the magnitude of the gender gap and…

This study examined the effectiveness of a little book curriculum in facilitating the independent word-solving skills of first-grade readers. The curriculum was based on a theoretical model that identified two critical dimensions of text-based support for beginning readers: linguistic content and cognitive load. The 15-week little book…

Reveals high awareness of comparison/contrast structure and low awareness of causation structure. Supports the hypothesis that structure-aware students are more likely to use a structural strategy when reading than unaware students. Reveals that sixth graders have some text structure knowledge and may be promising candidates for instruction in how…

Compares the abilities of good and poor readers in the second through fifth grades to read a frequency-graduated series of irregularly spelled words presented in isolation and in meaningful context, noting that the number of correctly read words varied with reading ability. (HOD)

Concludes that intermediate grade students were better able to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words when (1) contextual clues were provided, (2) students were older, (3) the clues were in synonym rather than inference form, and (4) the contextual clues were closer to the unfamiliar words. (FL)

Compiles data from 27 studies comprising the Cooperative Research Program in First-Grade Reading Instruction. Reveals ability to recognize letters of the alphabet prior to beginning reading instruction was the best predictor of first-grade reading achievement. Indicates various nonbasal programs tended to be superior as measured by word…

Finds that third and fifth graders were able to select characters containing the correct radicals (a component of Chinese characters that provides information about the character's meaning) even when the characters as a whole were unfamiliar to them. Finds that good readers displayed more awareness of radicals than poor readers. (RS)