Argues that each basic skills course taught at the City University of New York should incorporate complete historical texts. Lists conditions that would increase students' volume of reading, including the sharing of information with faculty, students, and the community. Urges community college presidents and faculty to take action on citywide…

Examines how the organization and content of basal reading programs may influence reading instruction. Concludes that: (1) basal programs differ in organizational complexity; (2) they differ in influence on the assignment and reading of material; (3) they emphasize skills; and (4) instructors rely on basal teaching guides to differing degrees. (RS)

Describes a study in which one group of community college students expected to be questioned orally and at random in class about a reading assignment, whereas another group expected to volunteer answers. The students expecting questions read more pages and had higher quiz scores. Discusses lack of preparation for lecture classes. (DMM)

Public policy affects the experiences of workers and their families, both directly and indirectly. For example, employment-focused statutes such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Employment Retirement and Income Security Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act establish frameworks for…

A basic concept in reading content in the social studies is for pupils to experience adequate background information. A pupil cannot read and understand new subject matter unless prerequisites have been met. For early primary grade pupils, the Big Book concept may be used, wherein the teacher discusses the illustration in the book pertaining to…

A study compared the results of a 1986 survey on the opinions of preservice teachers with those of a survey conducted in 1984 by William Bennett (at that time chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities). Bennett's survey asked respondents to list 30 works that students should be expected to read before high school graduation.…

THE PURPOSES OF THE PROJECT WERE TO (1) DESIGN A SELF-PACED TEACHING DEVICE FOR THE BLIND WHICH WOULD ALLOW THE EVALUATION OF SYSTEMATIC TRAINING IN PREREADING TACTUAL DISCRIMINATION AND BRAILLE CHARACTER DISCRIMINATION AS BOTH RELATE TO SUBSEQUENT ABILITY TO LEARN TO READ BRAILLE SYMBOLS, (2) DESIGN AN ELECTRONIC AUTOMATED DEVICE WHICH ALLOWS THE…

BOOK REPORT ASSIGNMENTS SHOULD BE PART OF A CAREFULLY PLANNED READING PROGRAM TO MOTIVATE STUDENT INTEREST IN LITERATURE. GOOD READING PROGRAMS CAN BE CREATED BY--(1) ASSESSING STUDENT NEEDS, INTERESTS, AND REGIONAL BACKGROUND, (2) APPRAISING THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENT'S READING ABILITY AND THE AMOUNT OF OUTSIDE READING REQUIRED IN OTHER COURSES, (3)…

Political scientists who teach African politics courses at U.S. colleges and universities were surveyed in 1973 to (1) discover successful teaching techniques, approaches, and texts; (2) determine the popularity of courses in African politics; and (3) collect data on the status of African politics as a research area. A questionnaire was mailed to…

Describes story impressions, a prereading activity that uses story fragments in the form of clue words and phrases to help readers activate schemata by building anticipatory models of the text prior to reading, then allowing the reader to confirm or modify the model as the details of the actual story are encountered. (SKC)

Describes a study which examined through classroom observations of reading and social studies whether elementary schools provide comprehension instruction. Major findings included the fact that almost no comprehension instruction was found. (MKM)

Advocates teaching history through children's fictional and nonfictional literature in elementary social studies. Offers seven criteria for selecting books for elementary history units. Provides activities for teaching about American Indians, communities, and U.S. history based on award-winning children's books. (CH)

Examines the role of the teacher in enhancing students' reading comprehension. Finds that the teacher is a more significant factor in the comprehension of lengthy natural texts than is the ease of the text itself. (MG)

A simulated art history textbook reading assignment was designed to examine the effects of visual information on student learning and understanding. A sample of 234 students was taken from a population of freshman/sophomore English students in a large metropolitan community college district. In phase one of the study, students took the Group…

A study examined the reading practices in various secondary content classrooms. As part of assigned observations in secondary schools, students in three sections of an undergraduate class in secondary teaching methodology which included a literacy component were instructed to complete a data sheet for each class they observed. Observations from 38…