Models of working memory were compared in 2 experiments as means of explaining variance in the comprehension of 95 skilled and 80 learning-disabled readers from grades 4 through 7. Results suggest that learning-disabled children's working memory problems are functionally related to higher order processes and not memory alone. (SLD)

Differences in component processing skills of students of different ages and developmental changes over 1 year were studied for 96 students in grades 2 through 4 and 59 of them in a follow-up. Results trace the development of component processing skills and suggest a theory of the development of component skills. (SLD)

This poetry activity helps K-3 teachers increase students' enthusiasm for reading by highlighting personal interests. Students read a baseball poem, discuss the wording, examine how it conveys action, and look for key words. The next day, they read the poem again and write about favorite activities of their own. The baseball poem is attached. (SM)

Examined elementary students' attitudes about their reading ability, reading enjoyment, and reading improvement; peers' reading ability; and the relationship of reading ability to future job success. Researchers surveyed fourth and fifth graders and asked teachers to rate those students on reading ability. Students were highly accurate in…

This study investigated the trajectories of preschool and first-grade childrens development of reading skills, as well as the cognitive and social antecedents of that development. One-hundred and ninety-six 5- to 6-year-old children were tested in October and April of their preschool year and again in the first grade. Data included measures of…

Generalizability (G) theory was used with a sample of 37 third-grade students to assess the variability in words correct per minute (WCPM) scores caused by student skill and passage variability. Reliability-like coefficients and the SEM based on a specific number of assessments using different combinations of passages demonstrated how manipulating…

Many educational psychologists now conduct assessments of children's phonological skills. In the context of an outline of some of the issues relating to memory and phonological awareness, this paper explores an assumption underlying a method of assessing phonological awareness. It was assumed by Maclean, Bryant and Bradley (1987) that the presence…

In a 3-year longitudinal, mixed-method study, 67 children in two schools were observed during literacy activities in Grades 1-3. Children and their teachers were interviewed each year about the children's motivation to read and write. Taking a grounded theory approach, content analysis of the child interview protocols identified the motivations…

Even the youngest readers and writers in today's classrooms can benefit enormously from engagement with a wide range of traditional and nontraditional texts. This teacher-friendly handbook is packed with creative strategies for introducing K-3 students to fiction, poetry, and plays; informational texts; graphic novels; digital storytelling;…

This study sought to determine the effects of the Junior Great Books program on the higher level thinking skills of gifted/able learners and on interpretive reading skills development. Three groups of students were observed. They consisted of 83 elementary students in 2 experimental groups, all of whom participated in a Junior Great Books program,…

The basic understandings that could be used to develop a foundation for holistic literacy are discussed. One way to establish this foundation for primary students is by developing understandings of science process skills using the elements and vocabulary of visual literacy. By providing opportunities to integrate oral and visual skills and…

Funded through the Ohio Disadvantaged Pupil Program Fund, the Columbus Public Schools' Instructional Aide (IA) Program served 309 kindergarten children and 1,793 first-grade students during the 1988-89 school year. The goal of the IA program was to provide an educational support program for underachieving pupils. Instructional aides were trained…

The study investigated the visual discrimination abilities of children who varied in their ability to recognize words. Measures of word recognition and intelligence were obtained in 87 first-, second-, and third-grade subjects. All subjects then performed a visual discrimination task which uses artificial graphemes as stimuli. The task required…

This study was conducted to determine the extent to which the use of certain Black English features and standard English features in a school setting related to the oral reading, the silent reading, and the listening comprehension levels of poor black children. Five hypotheses were tested, and to investigate these hypotheses, 65 black boys and 65…

The purpose of this study was to enumerate, categorize, and compare the types of reading comprehension questions and activities included in the manuals of selected basal reading series. The Barrett Taxonomy--Cognitive and Affective Dimensions of Reading Comprehension was selected as the categorization taxonomy. Basal series were classified as…