In order to meet the goals of No Child Left Behind, standardized testing is preeminent as the sole indicator determining whether states all across America demonstrate adequate yearly progress regarding the improvement of student achievement in literacy education. This book will help teachers and parents raise children's scores on standardized…

A study examined how metacognition and motivation related to performance among college learners seeking to improve their skills in reading and writing. Subjects, 27 female and 16 male students representing a range of ethnicities and socio-economic conditions who were enrolled in a pre-freshman summer program at a major northern university, had…

A discussion of reading instruction in college English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes presents an overview of reading instruction theory, looks at the role of reading strategies and metacognitive awareness in reading, describes the SQ3R study skills method of instruction, and examines how the method can be used for developing independent…

To investigate the higher level comprehension strategies used by children reading basal reader stories, a study compared the results of an earlier investigation of 50 fourth grade level readers' comprehension strategies with findings gained from 30 subjects using a sixth grade basal reader. Subjects were asked to read aloud from a basal and stop…

To determine if able and disabled college student readers can be distinguished by their awareness and use of metacognitive and cognitive strategies, 36 freshmen students enrolled in a reading and study skills class were classified as either good or poor readers based on their Nelson-Denny Reading Test scores. After reading five short passages and…

A pilot study assessed the effects of training in self-awareness and self-regulation on the reading comprehension of students in a postsecondary occupational training program. Subjects, 11 students enrolled in a community college technical training program in welding, were given training sessions that provided practice in metacognitive methods…

Teachers enrolled in a graduate reading course on the latest research in comprehension and instructional techniques were asked to keep a metacognitive journal instead of writing a traditional term paper. The journal provided the 32 teachers with the opportunity to become aware of the strategies that they use in processing difficult material,…

A study was conducted to examine students' reading difficulties from a metacognitive perspective by considering the content of their awareness and the control they demonstrated over that awareness as they reflected on similarities and differences in various types of reading materials. Subjects were 35 seventh grade students representing seven…

A literature review was undertaken to demonstrate how knowledge of one's cognitive processes, the orchestration of strategic effort, and the monitoring of one's cognitive activities can enhance reading performance. The findings indicate that while older readers exercise more awareness of their own learning processes and greater self-control or…

Two contrasting kindergarten reading programs (book-focused and letter-focused) were chosen for a study that evaluated the ability of the Early Reading Test to probe children's knowledge of stories as well as letters, sounds, and words. The test also evaluated the kinds of strategies children use to attempt reading tasks and, through interview…

A study was conducted to determine whether word length and sentence position influence the likelihood that a child will acknowledge that a word has disrupted comprehension of a reading passage. In the first task, third and fifth grade skilled and less-skilled readers read 16 short paragraphs containing nonsense words and reported whether the…

An intervention program, consisting of story grammar training and/or attribution training, was designed to remediate the failure of poor readers to use metacognitive skills. Using 42 fourth-grade poor readers in three different treatment groups, results showed strategic training produced dramatic gains in reading comprehension. (BS)

This book explores 15 practical literacy strategies that can be used across grade levels (K-College) and content areas. The easy-to-use book offers an overview of the research and best practices associated with each literacy strategy--and it defines each strategy. It explores proven instructional methods such as metacognition, literacy circles,…

Assesses the utility and effectiveness of three interactive computer programs and associated print materials in instructing and modeling for undergraduates how to comprehend and reconceptualize scientific textbook material. Finds that "how to" reading strategies can be taught via computer and transferred to new material. (RS)

The cognitive and metacognitive knowledge of a proficient bilingual sixth-grade reader who was Latina was studied by comparing her reading processes with those of a marginally proficient bilingual reader and a proficient monolingual reader. Four key dimensions are identified that distinguish the proficient bilingual reader's performance. (SLD)