Investigated was whether retarded readers make more gain in reading achievement when taught by the regular classroom teacher using prescriptions written by the diagnostic teacher than they had under the traditional basal reader approach. Subjects were 17 fifth graders in the lowest reading group in a public school classroom. Subjects were tested…

Reports a study indicating that students who received instructions to induce mental imagery identified both explicit and implicit inconsistencies in text significantly more often than did those in a control group, supporting the use of mental imagery as a comprehension-monitoring strategy. (HTH)

Describes an experiment that examined the degree to which self-instructional training influences elementary school aged children's comprehension monitoring during reading, and notes that such training does, indeed, increase comprehension monitoring. (HOD)

Preteaching vocabulary terms to fifth-grade students was found to have a significant facilitative effect on their acquisition and retention of social studies content. An instructional sequence for teachers to follow in preteaching concept vocabulary is outlined. (RM)

Reports on a study during which intermediate level students were exposed to three auditory backgrounds while reading (no music, classical music, and rock music), and their subsequent comprehension performance was measured. Concludes that the auditory background during reading may affect comprehension and that, for most students, rock music should…

Indicates that sentence combining and kernel identification training enabled sixth-grade students to comprehend longer, syntactically more complex sentences than control group students and to retain this ability over a six-week period. (HOD)

To improve the inferential comprehension of good and poor fourth-grade readers (n=40), teachers provided instruction in (1) drawing inferences between new and existing knowledge, (2) discussing, prior to reading, events similar to the story, and (3) providing inferential questions to discuss after reading. (Author/PN)

Notes that students' comprehension and interest increase when they talk about how to read, draw inferences, and answer inferential questions. (FL)

Notes that intermediate grade students who still have difficulty understanding implied messages in print have a limited time for learning the skill. Suggests that the traditional teaching method of questioning about a passage is ineffective, and proposes a direct instruction method for use in a variety of situations. Recommends materials that…

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…

This workbook is designed to help students expand their spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension skills through the study of roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Noting that roots, prefixes, and suffixes are the building blocks upon which all words are formed, the introduction contends that a thorough knowledge of these elements will greatly enhance…

This document lists the test and item specifications for the Washington Assessment of Student Learning for fourth grade reading. The test section of the document explains that the purpose of this test is to measure Washington fourth grade students' level of proficiency in the Essential Academic Learning Requirements in reading. The reading test…

Past research shows the imperative nature of students having a high knowledge of vocabulary, particularly as it relates to their level of reading comprehension. This is especially true in the areas of science and social studies because of the nature of the subjects and their corresponding texts. Students' ability to retain and recall vocabulary…

A study focused on the relationship between emotions and literacy achievements. It begins with a mention of the theoretical contributions which backed up the study. In the Dudelange project survey (4th graders), the following literacy variables are available: word recognition, two different measures for reading comprehension, spelling, vocabulary…

This study examined whether there is an association between the activities suggested by a federally mandated Title I learning compact and the reading achievement of at-risk fourth grade students. In addition, it investigated the relationship between specific home and school parent involvement activities and student reading scores. Specifically,…