A study explored the acquisition of word schemas, that is, implicit knowledge about patterns of word meaning in English which constrain the hypotheses that proficient word learners make about new words they encounter. Subjects, 42 seventh-grade students and 37 tenth-grade students in a small rural community and 42 college undergraduates at a large…

A high versus low rationale approach in teaching reading to grade-7 students was tested. The high rationale included using a traditional basal series approach that emphasized the ability to identify "the reasons why of how to read" through rules or formulas. The low rationale approach deemphasized rules and formulas except as the need…

Demonstrates that the application of reading and study skills during subject-area teaching does transfer to higher achievement scores on standardized tests. Suggests a realistic strategy for including reading instruction within subject areas at the junior high school level. (Author/RL)

A study investigated the effect of properties of words and texts on the incidental learning of word meanings during normal reading. Subjects--352 students in third, fifth, and seventh grades--read either expository or narrative passages selected from grade-level textbooks, and after six days were tested on their knowledge of difficult words from…

Thirty-two Afro-American and 50 Mexican-American seventh graders were randomly selected from a school located in a central Texas low socioeconomic environment. The subjects were administered the New Developmental Reading Tests, The Silent Reading Diagnostic Tests, and The California Short-Form Test of Mental Maturity. When the two groups were…

To determine if people analyze words in online reading, an experiment was conducted with 12 congenitally deaf, second generation sign language users with a reading level of 6.64 on a standardized reading achievement test. The hearing controls included seventh and eighth grade students who were matched for reading level. Both groups were split in…

Examines cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational factors as predictors of individual differences in the reading comprehension abilities of good and poor readers. Finds that regression analyses within subgroups indicated word recognition was the most important predictor variable for poor readers, whereas perceived competence predicted the…

A study of the requisite processes for establishing diagnostic validity in reading was conducted in a seventh grade remedial reading classroom. The study's objectives were to (1) collect reliable diagnostic data on each student's performance in word recognition, oral reading, silent reading comprehension, and listening comprehension before and…