As students transition from primary to intermediate grades, the kind of materials that they are expected to read and write become more heavily dominated by expository texts. Expository texts contain grammatical patterns that are distinct from those used in primary-grade storybooks. These linguistic features pose new comprehension challenges for…

Examines comprehension and summary writing skills of fifth-grade Chamorro students in Guam who received instruction in the Guided Reading Procedure with an added summarizing step. Suggests that additional teacher instruction is needed to improve student understanding of the content area material. (NH)

A study determined the effect of three types of text structures (attribution, comparison, and collection) on fifth graders' reading comprehension. Subjects, 71 students from 3 classrooms in 1 public elementary school in southern California, were randomly assigned to 1 of those 3 conditions. There was no instruction given. Students read…

Two instructional strategies stress effective reading during science instruction at the middle grade level. One uses print material for enrichment, while the second uses print as the primary instructional medium. Teachers can help students get ready to read in content areas by stimulating their interest in a variety of ways: capitalizing on chance…

The ways in which students in grades five and six solve problems is the focus of this paper, which provides background for the staff of the Skills Essential to Learning Television Project, (a multi-level series of video and print resources for classroom use). It considers the problem-solving process categories of understanding, transformation, and…

This study examined middle school students' reported awareness of strategic approaches they used when they had difficulty reading science text. Student responses indicated that they used text and social context to resolve comprehension difficulties but that they were largely unaware of the use of prior knowledge for the same purpose. (SM)

Describes a whole-class strategy called Imagine, Elaborate, Predict, and Confirm designed to improve reading comprehension and writing among middle school students. Reviews research and describes modeling, prereading, reading, post reading, and follow-up stages for classroom procedures. Includes sample lessons for science, literature, and social…

Determines how science and social studies textbooks were used by teachers and students in 12 fourth grade lessons and what kinds of questions the teachers asked during the lessons. Finds that students do not get much practice reading informational text, and instruction often fails to promote conceptual understanding and meaningful learning from…

A study determined if using specific reading strategies would improve students' grades in science. Subjects, 21 fifth-grade students in an urban area school, studied four units of science--two units using the strategies outlined in the series teacher's manual, and two units using semantic mapping, cloze exercises, graphic aids, and vocabulary…

Results of an experimental study involving 49 sixth-grade science students suggest that teacher-constructed graphic organizers, regardless of position (before or after textual reading), are no more effective than traditional instruction in increasing comprehension and retention of science content-area information. (IAH)

This guide offers suggestions for an all-school reading program focusing on four areas of instruction: a diagnostic-prescriptive instructional reading program, a content area instructional reading program, a recreational-leisure reading program, and an efficiency-study skills reading program. Techniques for diagnostic-prescriptive reading include…

Learning-disabled students deficient in classification and categorization require specific instruction in these skills. Use of a classification/categorization instructional model improved the questioning strategies of 60 learning-disabled students, aged 10 to 12. The use of similar models is discussed as a basis for instruction in science, social…

Sixty hearing-impaired students, aged 12-22, studied one of four instructional formats describing basic science concepts. Comprehension gains were measured using a pretest-posttest procedure. Formats which featured highly pictorial content and simplified English produced significantly higher mean gain scores than formats with less pictorial…

Describes a directed reading and writing lesson that uses the power of the composing process throughout content area lessons to enhance reading comprehension. Uses a fifth grade science lesson as a model. (FL)

The purpose of this study was to make comparisons between intermediate grade black pupils in an individualized, computer-supported instructional program and intermediate grade black pupils who were in a traditional, self-contained classroom instructional program. Specifically, the basic problem was that of determining the extent to which an…