This report describes a program for improving reading comprehension in seventh graders by focusing on higher order thinking and metacognitive skills. The targeted population was in a growing, middle class community located in northern Illinois. The problem of below grade level reading comprehension was documented by Illinois Goals Assessment…

A study examined the effect of Direct Instruction (DI) on the reading achievement of sixth graders. Subjects were 72 Chicago Public School students, nearly 100% minority. In the school year of 1994-95 no students received DI. A sample of 30 students who performed poorly, with stanines of 1, 2, and 3 on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) were…

A practicum addressed the problem of poor reading comprehension of average ability third graders in a southeastern U.S. elementary school. The target group consisted of 24 third-grade students from a low socio-economic background. The reading program was initiated to improve reading comprehension skills. The average test score on the basal reading…

As in processing oral speech, proficient reading involves "chunking" written texts into meaningful phrase units. Unlike oral speech, however, cues for segmenting the written text at the proper points are not clearly marked in the text. One method for helping readers identify and use phrase boundaries is to mark such boundaries in the…

If people can evoke mental images when listening to a story, they can extend the process by turning words on a printed page into speech and evoke images for the "speech on the page." This is an exercise for reading comprehension that does not come naturally but can be worked on deliberately. A few moments of self-observation, when…

One of six related documents, this publication contains a U.S. Air Force course designed to help students improve their reading skills. The chapters contain lessons on reading habits and how they affect the reader, exercises to identify one's reading speed, an improvement program, exercises to improve eye movement and to reduce eye fixations,…

Mildly learning-handicapped elementary school students (N=5) with poor reading comprehension were trained to use story-mapping procedures to improve reading comprehension. Trained students demonstrated increased ability to answer comprehension questions, maintained performance after intervention, and increased the tendency to include story-mapping…

Elementary learning disabled students (N=32) were assigned to a control group or to an experimental group trained to use a comprehension monitoring strategy wherein important paragraph ideas were restated as they read. Restatement training improved comprehension not only under conditions matching the training task, but also those demanding…

Argues that on-the-job reading makes special demands upon readers. Presents a technical reading strategy that involves a five-step prereading checklist and four postreading analyses. (FL)

The purpose of this study was designed to increase the reading abilities of students in the targeted first and third grade classes in two elementary schools located in the Midwest. The study involved an action research project highlighting the overall growth of the students' academic achievement through increased reading growth. The study was…

This action research project investigated various reading strategies to increase reading comprehension and vocabulary skills. The targeted population consisted of students from three elementary schools and one junior high school, located in lower to middle socioeconomic neighborhoods. Two elementary schools and the junior high school are located…

This paper is intended to enlighten the general education classroom teacher concerning many of the readily available strategies that can be used in their curriculum to enhance reading skills. In the bibliographies in the paper, the reader will note references to Robert E. Slavin and others relative to Collaborative Learning; these references…

Notes many students with disabilities benefit from prompts for reading in general education classrooms. Considers how visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile prompts implemented by the teacher, by the student with minimal teacher assistance, or by the student independently can facilitate more effective reading. Describes strategies for using…

Students in fourth and seventh grade who were poor comprehenders were taught prediction, clarification, question generation, and summarization using scaffolding instruction. Performance on a standardized comprehension test improved for the students who received the instruction. (PCB)

Describes and evaluates a remedial reading strategy--assisted reading--which uses a motivating series of popular children's books to improve the performance of remedial readers. (MM)