The article, the sixth in a series discussing specific tests of the Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude (DTLA), deals with verbal opposites (word meanings in isolation) and verbal absurdities (word meanings in context). (DLS)

Disabled readers can be taught to rely on illustrations in their books as a way of enhancing understanding of the material. Ten activity formats, including feature labeling, categorical sorting, verb completion, and picture sequencing may help to teach illustration viewing skills. (CL)

Application of the direct instruction paradigm to reading comprehension skills involves providing a problem-solving strategy through demonstration and modeling, guiding strategy application, and creating opportunities for independent strategy application. Examples of the approach to teach sequential relationships and main idea-supporting…

Adults can help children with reading disabilities improve comprehension and enjoyment of stories by listening to the child retell the story s/he has just heard. (CL)

A modified graphic organizer approach is suggested to provide motivation and structure to disabled students using textbooks. An eight-step sequence in using the graphic organizer as a study and comprehension aid to textbook learning is presented. (CL)

The nature of brain specialization in the comprehension process is considered, and many disabled readers are shown to have a preference for right-brained styles of processing information. Three instructional strategies are suggested: prediction mapping, storydrama, and guided journeys. (CL)

As alternatives to hierarchical outlining, pictorial, topical, and critical outlining kinesthetically reinforce reading comprehension and can be useful in helping older students who are learning disabled or poor readers. Examples of each approach are given. (CL)

Consistency with flexibility can be provided in a remedial reading program for learning disabled elementary grade students with a seven-step program involving oral language remediation, alphabetic-phonetic instruction, auditory analysis, Glass analysis, (decoding, Glass, 1973) neurological impress, and strategies for comprehension. (DB)

The study involving 46 learning disabled children (mean age eight years) was designed to determine the effects of training in paradigmatic language structures on the reading process of Ss. Findings lent support for the semantic and syntactic relativity of words and for the meaning inherent in the nucleus of key verbal elements linking ideas to one…

The need for direct, systematic vocabulary instruction in improving language comprehension abilities of hearing-impaired and learning-disabled students is discussed. Vocabulary instruction should be knowledge-based and should be combined with extensive reading opportunities. Sample instructional techniques, such as word maps, semantic feature…

Among 26 techniques presented to assist elementary school students in four major areas of reading comprehension (literal, inferential, critical, and creative) are: visualization of a story's mood and setting; research and discussion about a story's author; and reflection on the significance of a historical story. (CB)

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)

Four strategies effective in helping learning disabled students develop specific skills necessary for effective reading comprehension are described: (1) self questioning, (2) lookback strategies, (3) use of a code, and (4) inference modeling. The procedures are designed to shift students from a passive to an active role in reading. (CL)

A study involving 120 second-grade students with deficiencies in visual perceptual skills was designed to determine the effects of a vision training program on reading test performance. Students receiving vision training did significantly better in tests measuring reading comprehension and word recognition skills than did students who did not…

A discussion of methods for assessing students' use of cognitive reading strategies provides suggestions for what to look for, including decoding dysfluency and cognitive strategies used in nonreading contexts, and a three-part approach to conducting such an assessment. (MSE)