To develop a new model of the reading process, a longitudinal study investigated the importance of the concepts of cohesion and register (fiction or nonfiction) in the assessment of text readability. Subjects, 436 8-year-olds (Cohort A), 474 10-year-olds (Cohort B), and 445 13-year-olds (Cohort C) from 23 urban and rural British schools--most of…

Two model programs for integrating the language arts and specific lessons that integrate language arts activities for kindergarten through grade 12 are described in this booklet. The two programs are (1) the New Brunswick Comprehensive Reading/Language Arts Program, which has five critical experiences as the core of the program: sustained silent…

This packet is the last of five developed as a set of self-appraisal instruments with which teachers (and others) can systematically examine their instruction methods in communication skills. The packet contains forms for teachers, students, administrators, and parents, addressing two levels of specificity: responses to the overall communication…

Discusses the effects of a sustained silent reading (SSR) program on school administrators, teachers, librarians, and the students. Offers suggestions on setting up an SSR program. (SRT)

This paper contains descriptions of activities that have proven successful in one middle school's reading program. Each description contains a commentary on the activity, its objective, the skills it reinforces or teaches, and the materials needed. Among the activities presented are a method of teaching vowel sounds; a creative writing activity…

The Pennsylvania Comprehensive Reading/Communication Arts Plan (PCRP) is a flexible guide designed to advance student competence in reading, listening, and oral and written expression, and to nurture positive attitudes toward reading and the effective use of language. Intended for use on every educational level, preschool through adult, the PCRP…

The advantages of shared silent reading in the home and in the school for the promotion of literacy are numerous. At home the child may read silently in the presence of a parent who is engaged in a household task, or who is reading silently. In schools, shared silent reading may be used at all grade levels with groups of students in structured or…

The Pennsylvania Comprehensive Reading/Communication Arts Plan (PCRP) is a language arts curriculum providing four critical experiences that all students need in order to become competent in reading, writing, listening, and speaking: responding to literature, sustained silent reading, oral and written composing, and investigating and mastering…

The discussion of sustained silent reading (SSR), an independent reading technique commonly used to support native language literacy development, recommends the method in the teaching of English as a second language (ESL). It is argued that because SSR materials are self-selected, they are likely to be selected at an appropriate comprehension…

This proceedings of the 1993 Asian Reading Conference contains the following 20 papers: "Adverse Effects of Lower Cognitive Processing Capacity on Achievement: What Can We Do?" (James M. Furukawa); "The Impact of Foreign Language Literacy on Higher Education in Thailand" (Uthai Piromruen); "Reading Achievement of Students…

Affective reading instruction teaches mildly handicapped children to read by improving their attitudes toward reading through oral and silent reading of children's literature. The paper outlines steps involved in program implementation, reading activities used in conjunction with skill training, parent involvement, use of extrinsic rewards,…

The Reading Enrichment/Achievement Demonstration Project (READ) has provided continuing studies, since 1976, of sustained silent reading programs that use paperback books. The 1980-81 Project READ involved 1,100 young people in the juvenile justice system who attended 25 alternative schools and community-based programs. The public school portion…

The Diagnostic Assessments of Reading with Trial Teaching Strategies (DARTTS) is a program of diagnostic tests with sample lessons in aspects of literacy. Developed by Florence G. Roswell and Jeanne S. Chall, the DARTTS program is published in a multilevel format for beginning through advanced (high school) readers. Teachers administer and score…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 19 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) factual, elaborative, and inferential levels of text processing; (2) the effect of explicitly and implicitly presented rhetorical functions on the…

A preliminary study investigated whether regular periods of sustained silent reading (SSR) would positively affect verified silent reading comprehension scores for eighth grade students. The hypothesis tested was that students allowed 15 minutes of recreational reading (reading self selected material for enjoyment) five times a week for three…