Teaching intermediate grade children how to write means teaching them how to write the alphabetical letters, words, lists, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, narrative text, expository text, and writing mechanics (punctuation & grammar). Teaching writing for meaning is teaching children how to express their thoughts in writing, this is the…

Vocabulary knowledge is key to comprehension and expression. For students in the intermediate grades, the need for breadth and depth of vocabulary accelerates as they encounter more challenging academic texts in print and on the Internet. Drawing on research-based principles of vocabulary instruction and multimedia learning, this article presents…

It is easy for intermediate students to get the wrong ideas about the purpose of reading. Educators pay so much attention to decoding and fluency in the early years that children sometimes come to believe that flawless and rapid word recognition is the point. As texts get more demanding or unfamiliar, some of the "good readers" in classes begin to…

This book provides classroom-tested methods for engaging struggling middle grade readers--even those who appear to have given up--and fostering their success. The emphasis is on constructing respectful, encouraging learning environments that incorporate students' diverse literacies, cultural interests, and prior knowledge and skills into…

To broaden the scope of basal reading programs, fifth and sixth grade students read four full-length novels during the school year. Worksheets and exercises were used to improve reading skills. The novels selected included realistic works, fantasy, and historical fiction. A suggested reading list is provided. (JL)

This resource guide, for teachers and students in the upper elementary and middle school grades, has been developed in response to the nationwide interest in asking schools to play an active role in preparing students to become informed and responsible citizens. The guide is divided into seven sections, one for each character trait: Caring, Civic…

Students (N=120) with learning disabilities in grades 6-9 were assessed on comprehension of silently read materials under conditions of adjunct questioning, oral recitation questioning methods, and middle/end and end-only question placement. Results indicated a significant effect of method and a significant interaction between level and focus of…

The study found no significant difference between 50 deaf and 50 hearing readers' sensitivity to contextual build-up as evaluated in a cumulative cloze exercise, using readers at the eighth-, tenth-, and twelfth- grade levels. Differences in the number of deaf and hearing readers' responses were found at the fourth- and sixth-grade levels.…

Five modified cloze procedures useful in intermediate-level reading-comprehension instruction are described. They include exercises where clues to the missing word come before the blank, clues come after the blank, clues are labels for groups of ideas, clues are pronouns, and clues signal readers to look for something important. (Author/JDD)

The study, involving 39 intermediate-grade disabled readers, found that visualization instruction plus pictorial display, in which subjects were instructed to make pictures in their minds and were shown a pictorial display that illustrated the temporal-spatial sequence of the reading text, was particularly effective in facilitating subjects'…

A six-phase theoretical model for the teaching of summarization is presented, and the concept of direct instruction is applied to teaching students to summarize lengthy selections. A sample fourth grade lesson is included, though the plan itself is also recommended for use with older students needing assistance. (JDD)

This article describes a picture drawing strategy to enhance the comprehension of fourth- and fifth-grade students with language and reading problems. Students used adhesive notes to draw pictures of main ideas as they read aloud or listened. Students learned the strategy rapidly and were able to use the pictures to generate summary statements.…

Reading comprehension games and activities are presented in four sections: literal comprehension, inferential comprehension, comprehension games, and comprehension questions. Section I offers detailed instructions for 10 individual activities which develop literal comprehension skills. Each activity includes a teacher objective, a student…

A study measured the effects that direct instruction in narrative text structure using a story map (called "macrostruction") had on the comprehension of average and above average sixth-grade readers. A 2 x 2 x 2 repeated measures design was used with time, text, and treatment as the independent variables. The number of story grammar idea…

Written for the fifth- and sixth-grade levels, this workbook gives students practice in using context clues and reading comprehension to apply punctuation rules, as well as in carefully reading and following directions. Noting that the activities are based on the idea that punctuation is necessary to make written communication clear, the…