Describes the Salient Characteristics Analysis Technique (SCAT), used to assist students in comprehending metaphorical text. Describes a sample lesson using a Langston Hughes poem. (SR)

Describes a schema-awareness activity (used with sixth graders and college students) that provides teachers with a model of how students can use their past experiences and their ability to infer and predict when reading. Notes that the activity convinces students that they bring to the reading act much more than they encounter on the printed page.…

The addition of captions to television is a technological breakthrough that can be used to enhance the vocabulary and comprehension skills of young readers. Taken together, several studies suggest that captioned television is a motivating medium for below-average readers and bilingual students, and that simultaneous processing (audio/video/text)…

This book presents a vocabulary development program that is designed for use in individualized programs as well as in more traditional, full-class settings. It is part of a series of seven books, corresponding to grades 6-12, which are carefully organized to ensure the comprehension and retention of valuable core words. The book consists of 16…

Describes how one teacher uses news articles to teach connections between the present-day real world and the books that her students read. Notes that her intent is to help readers transfer concepts from one domain (their reading) to another (real life). Offers the example of how this was done with the book "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. (SR)

Describes the Scaffolded Reading Experience (SRE), in which a teacher creates a carefully orchestrated set of activities to assist students in successfully engaging in any reading they do. Describes the SRE framework and how it was planned and implemented in one sixth-grade class. (SR)

This study compared using explicit rule-based instruction and a basal-reader activity-based approach for teaching 40 fourth-grade students with learning disabilities to determine character motive in three types of narrative texts. Rule-based instruction was superior to the activity-based approach when teaching character motives irrespective of…

Concludes that literal and inferential comprehension scores were not higher for sixth-grade students taught by moral dilemma questioning techniques than for those taught by the directed reading activity method or those participating in regular classes. (FL)

Examines how the role of questions in literacy instruction has always been strong, whether requiring answers involving rote memory or the activation of higher level critical thinking processes. Presents a six-step strategy for questioning followed by a field-tested group of fifth graders' responses to each step. (SC)

A practicum addressed fifth and sixth graders' deficiencies in writing and comprehension skills with the implementation of diagnostic-prescriptive teaching techniques. The Multi Level Academic Skills Inventory and interest inventories aided in defining students' specific strengths and weaknesses in the areas of reading and language arts. Among the…

This individualized inservice packet on literal comprehension in the content areas is intended to give teachers information and instructional guidelines to assist students to read for specific facts. It is one of a nine-part series of booklets--Teaching Teen Reading--in self-instructional format intended as a practical resource for teachers…

This book provides 150 reproducible worksheet activities which teachers can use to help students in grades 5-12 develop reading and study skills. The book's classroom tested activities are organized into four sections. The four units, Developing Reading Skills, Developing Study Skills, Locating Information Skills, and Presenting Information…

A practicum addressed the high percentage of students who were experiencing difficulty with reading comprehension and vocabulary retention in a fifth-grade Drop Out Prevention class by implementing a supplemental whole-language program. Subjects were 19 fifth-grade students. An informal reading inventory, an attitude survey, and academic grades…

Describes the Rapid Retrieval of Information technique used with middle school students in order to satisfy students' desire to read aloud, achieve a purpose from oral reading, and teach adult silent reading patterns. Focuses on the strategy of oral rereading to answer a question, prove a point, or provide an example from the text after silent…

Designed to introduce students to pleasure reading while teaching and reinforcing reading comprehension, vocabulary, writing, and critical thinking skills, this book presents over 240 reproducible quizzes, activities, and project pages. The book is divided into 12 monthly units covering four favorite children's books each, all suitable for…