Nine elementary students with mild to moderate mental retardation were taught to use a balanced, multimethod, multilevel language arts framework that blended phonics and basal instruction with holistic and contextualized approaches. Children made gains in word identification and reading comprehension strategies, metalinguistics, written language,…

A reading program utilizing five components (a shortcut to phonemic awareness, Adapted Dolch words, Bridge lists and the Bridging process, reading comprehension, and American Sign Language development/language experience stories) resulted in dramatic gains in the reading levels of 48 elementary students at a residential school for the deaf.…

The purpose of this article is to provide teachers with examples of how to perform effective think-alouds. Twelve think-alouds are described. A rationale for their use in kindergarten through grade 5 is also included. In addition, this article was designed to provide teachers with lessons and activities to assist students in developing the ability…

This monograph presents a diagnostic decision-making model for reading, elementary, and special education teachers to use as a guide in assessing and evaluating students' reading abilities to design and provide more appropriate reading instruction. The model in the monograph gives an overall perspective or gestalt of the components and strategies…

A study examined the content of eight 1989 editions of the major basal reading series--those of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; D.C. Heath and Co.; Holt Rinehart and Winston; Houghton Mifflin; Macmillan; McGraw-Hill; Scott, Foresman and Co.; and Silver Burdett and Ginn. The study determined how and the extent to which lessons and activities that…

A study examined three issues concerning reading comprehension: amount of instruction in comprehension strategies; cultural backgrounds of students; and transfer and self-initiated automaticity. Two methods of creating transfer--students either taught a strategy they had learned to younger classmates, or created their own strategic lessons and…

Instructional Feature Analysis allows teachers to explain, articulate, and evaluate the processes by which students learn and the activities that involve students in those processes. To develop an Instructional Feature Analysis, teachers must first ask what processes their students need to engage in if they are to learn from a reading assignment.…

Good teachers of reading should ask questions which link the research knowledge base in reading, effective teaching, and learning with proficient decision-making skills. These questions should focus on the content to be taught, the behaviors of the student, and the behaviors of the teacher. Content questions address central concepts, prior…

The use of children's literature in the classroom can greatly enhance the core curriculum by supporting children's cognition, language, personality, social, aesthetic, and creative development. Preservice teachers often have difficulty conceptualizing a style of literature presentation that will provide optimum learning-stimulation, however, and…

Presented in three sections, this document contains recommendations based on the conclusions drawn in the Commission on Reading's final report "Becoming a Nation of Readers." Results reported generally indicate that many of America's students could become skilled readers if (1) teachers improved reading instruction, (2) parents spent…

Although the current move away from sequential isolated skill and drill instruction in reading may be good, the growing concern to accommodate individual learner styles may lead to unnecessary complications if teachers attempt to adapt instruction to their more than 30 students each day. If an instructional program is rich enough, it will provide…

The usefulness of before-adjunct questions with standardized multiple-choice tests in increasing reading comprehension scores was studied by examining the relative effectiveness of reading test questions first or reading the passage first. Subjects were 210 fourth graders randomly assigned to two treatment groups. The Level 9 Reading Comprehension…

Reports on a study that examined the relationship between understanding of specific cohesive items and general reading comprehension ability, as well as differences in performance of girls and boys. Makes suggestions for the classroom based on the findings. (ARH)

Investigated the reading strategies of 24 first grade students. Found that the "talk aloud" procedure (Olson, Duffy, & Mack, 1983) is a feasible tool for comprehension process research with young readers, and that it is possible to differentiate between the strategic preferences of good and poor beginning readers. (ARH)

Shows how the reading teacher can use television as a complementary resource and can transfer to his or her classroom some of the popular formats from "The Electric Company." (EL)