To determine whether increasing decoding speed affects the comprehension of poor readers, two experiments were designed to test two groups consisting of seven good readers and eleven poor readers chosen from fourth and fifth grade. In the first experiment, poor readers were trained to read a list of words as rapidly as the good readers and were…

The inservice learning module described is for teachers interested in acquiring specific competencies for teaching the English language arts and reading comprehension, especially at the middle school level. An outline is given of the five modules that comprise this product. Activities and resources involved in using the module are described, and…

The purposes of this study were to analyze the effects of instructional objectives as advance organizers prior to a reading assignment, determine if an advance organizer was more effectively presented with two learning modalities than with one; predict whether vocabulary or readability variables influenced comprehension; and determine whether…

In this study concerning individualized instruction, forth fifth graders who had been taught language arts by an individualized instructional system since first grade were the experimental group. The control groups were of the same socioeconomic status and racial composition but had been taught by traditional methods of instruction. To assess…

This report covers the use of the Job Corps Graded Reading Program at Phillips Junior High in 1971-72, the third year the materials were used. A major goal of this program was to raise the level of reading underachievers to a level of competency. Gates-MacGinitie vocabulary and comprehension tests were used as standardized measures of achievement.…

Indicates that use of two microcomputer word recognition programs led to substantial increases in word recognition/decoding skills and to substantial improvements in comprehension at the word and proposition/sentence level, but to no improvement at the passage level. (NKA)

Describes a "Talents Unlimited" program, based on the work of Calvin Taylor, that was used successfully in a class of fifth-grade remedial readers. Includes some of the activities devised by members of the class. (FL)

Examines the story comprehension patterns of good and poor sixth-grade readers across four modality combinations for input and output: listening-oral recall, reading-oral recall, listening-written recall, and reading-written recall. (HOD)

The primary question raised in two experiments was whether instructing fourth-grade students about different sources of information used when answering comprehension questions would enhance their performance on a comprehension test. The answer was yes. (HOD)

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…

Describes how, in one Texas fifth-grade classroom, Shared Inquiry book discussions were taught and implemented over a six-month period in connection with the Junior Great Book Series. Discusses solutions to the dilemma of grading these active class discussions, and reports that scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) tests were…

Fifteen middle school students with mild disabilities and poor reading comprehension were taught to independently create cognitive maps from reading passages. Comparison with a matched control group indicated that students who were taught the cognitive mapping strategy demonstrated substantial gains in both literal and inferential comprehension…

Explores the effects of the use of aesthetic and efferent stances in response to literature with 43 fourth graders, 47 sixth graders, and 40 eighth graders. Finds use of an aesthetic stance is associated with higher levels of personal understanding and the level of understanding increases with grade level. (MG)

Seven poor readers (ages 11-12) were trained in reading comprehension strategies using reciprocal teaching procedures in resource rooms and were instructed to employ the strategies in their homeroom classes. The combination of reciprocal teaching and transenvironmental programing was effective in facilitating subjects' unprompted use of relevant…

This study investigated the instructional conditions required to teach students how to initiate and employ learning activities aimed at conceptual change. The CONTACT-2 strategy (a computer-assisted instructional strategy for promoting conceptual change in the domain of physical geography) served as a starting point for a training procedure aimed…