A study tested the validity of arguments leveled against reader-response methods of reading instruction, which--if these criticisms are correct--would produce lower comprehension scores on objective tests and less accurate recall from students. Subjects, 84 college freshmen in four developmental reading classes, were taught using one of four…

To determine the effects of repeated readings with cues on reading fluency and comprehension, a study was conducted on 30 third grade students reading at or above grade level, utilizing three equally difficult passages. Half the children were told to read for meaning, and the other half were cued to read for speed and accuracy. These cues were…

Methods shown to be effective in helping less fluent readers develop fluency suggest a set of principles that teachers may find helpful in designing regular classroom activities for fluency development. These principles include: (1) repeated reading of one text or meeting target words repeatedly in a variety of texts; (2) teacher modeling of…

Describes pilot study conducted with fifth grade non-readers or poor readers which uses a child's physical activities in the outdoors to lead to, direct, and develop the printed word. Provides eight reading lesson ideas using interaction with objects in nature to create reading materials. (LFL)

Science activities which help children look at the natural world can also help them gain skills for reading. Examples illustrating this link (verbal expression, vocabulary, finding main points, following directions, and writing laboratory reports) are given along with guidelines for teachers interested in building up and building on reading…

Assesses the influence of grade and reading competence on inner-city Black children's sequence memory and use of organization in recall. Suggests that primary teachers should shift from literal decoding practice to providing semantic organizers and emphasizing interrelationships between words. The development of such basic cognitive skills…

Concludes that training in a natural instructional setting can improve poor readers' ability to use top-level structure in signaled and nonsignaled passages. (FL)

This action research project describes a program for improving reading fluency in order to increase reading rate and raise comprehension. The targeted population consisted of second and third graders in a middle class community, located in a suburb of a large metropolitan area. The problems of lack of reading fluency and low comprehension were…

This report describes a program for increasing primary students' reading achievement as indicated by scores on reading series theme tests, state standards achievement test scores, achievement test scores, report card grades, and students' involvement in reading. The targeted population consisted of primary elementary school students in a…

Academic Literacy was a year-long course focused on reading strategy development for all ninth graders at Thurgood Marshall Academic High School in the San Francisco Unified School District. Course goals were to help students become engaged, fluent, and competent readers of the variety of texts necessary for them to master to be successful in high…

Based on the idea that word knowledge has particular importance in literate societies, this Digest finds that most people feel that there is a common sense relationship between vocabulary and reading comprehension, i.e., messages are composed of ideas, and ideas are expressed in words. The Digest considers several viewpoints on teaching…

Prepared as part of the Extended School Services Program in Kentucky, this paper provides information on how to help students become more proficient readers. The paper begins with a discussion of what reading is, the characteristics of a "good" reader (strategic, motivated, and independent), and beginning readers. It then discusses a few…

An action research project described a program for teaching students beginning reading strategies that will help them to become independent readers. The targeted population consisted of first grade elementary students in a growing middle class community located in a suburb of a large metropolitan area in the Midwest. The problems of beginning…

Part of a basic training series, this booklet describes creating a Reading Coaches (tm) session based on the simple concept of reading good books with children while engaging them in conversation about the book. The booklet notes that exemplary practices found in the SLICE-CORPS program (an AmeriCorps program) were synthesized to develop the…

Part of a basic training series, this booklet describes presenting a Reading Coaches (tm) session based on the simple concept of reading good books with children while engaging them in conversation about the book. The booklet notes that exemplary practices found in the SLICE-CORPS program (an AmeriCorps program) were synthesized to develop the…