While most educational models point toward cognitive and metacognitive skills to promote reading comprehension, recent studies indicate that motivation also plays a key role. Consequently, studying social factors that may support reading motivation represents an interesting research avenue. We therefore performed a systematic review of the…

Results of a recent study indicate that, when students write about relevant, personal experiences prior to reading a literary text, their understanding and engagement in the text are significantly improved. Recommends autobiographical writing before a reading assignment. (22 references) (MLF)

Reviews 11 studies originally analyzed by Bergquist to support the contention that children can be trained to increase their reading rates without any loss of comprehension along with more recent work. Concludes that rapid reading results in a decrease in the accuracy of comprehension. (FL)

Prepared as part of a continuing study of the instructional practices that make up the process of schooling, this paper concentrates on the practices that comprise reading comprehension instruction. The paper focuses on four skills commonly taught and assessed as part of many widely used reading comprehension instruction programs in the…

Argues that vocabulary is best taught by helping students experience the meaning of words. Offers research background and four teaching methods to use with intermediate grade students. (FL)

Discusses literature for transitional readers (8 to 11 year olds who can read fairly lengthy stories independently, but need to sharpen and extend reading comprehension and critical thinking skills). Outlines developmental characteristics of these readers, and characteristics of the literature they tend to favor. Includes references to 73…

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…

Reviews research concerning the relationship between reading achievement and student leadership. (FL)

Discusses "Cobblestone," a social studies magazine, and "Penny Power," a consumer education publication, in this the second of a two-part article concerning content area periodicals for intermediate grade students. (FL)

Suggests that students in upper elementary grades and high schools may benefit from extended decoding and spelling instruction, requiring strategies going well beyond phonics. Asserts that learning about morphological structure may provide the strategies needed to decode and spell multisyllabic words. Reviews literature providing a rationale for…

This paper investigates the proper length of instruction in various curriculum areas. The 17th century educator, Johann Amos Comenius, believed that a teacher should be careful not to present too much for a child to learn. A review of the research shows that there are no clear and ironclad answers. Some studies have shown that large deficits in…

A replication of D. Durkin's classic study of comprehension instruction reveals that the study has had profound effects on the way reading is now taught. (FL)

There are two divergent points of view concerning the placement and instruction of special students in regular middle school language arts and reading classrooms: cooperative learning, and direct instruction. Three areas of research have emerged from the social model of teaching strategies having to do with helping students study and learn…

Presenting the viewpoint that teaching reading is not an "either/or" situation of phonics versus whole language, this book offers a comprehensive compilation of research and best practice on the specifics of skill development and how skills should be organized, taught, and integrated into the language arts program. The book helps…

Concern about the high percentage of underprepared minority students in American schools and the increasing demand that schools educate them to a level never before attained are discussed, and a study of reading disabled bilingual students is reported. It is noted that continuing to allow a disproportionate number of minority or disadvantaged…