The purpose of this study was to explore vocabulary acquisition of primary grade children. Specifically, the study used a unique teaching strategy that added physical movement to typical read-aloud sessions with kindergarten and first grade children. Although a review of reading research revealed a plethora of studies, very few studies…

This study investigates children's ability to utilize context cues (forward or backward), dictionary definitions (original or revised), or combinations of the two to understand unfamiliar words. Significant word gains were found for all treatments and reading skill levels. Revised definitions produced significantly greater gains than forward…

The researchers addressed two questions: (1) Does maternal reading mediation and family home literacy environment (HLE) relate to children's emergent literacy (EL) level? and (2) Do the relationships among these variables differ as a function of socioeconomic strata (SES) level. A total of 94 5-6-year-old children, 47 from low SES (LSES) and 47…

This article assesses the state of the literature on word-attack skills and phonological awareness (PA) in individuals with mental retardation, in light of progress towards the development of effective teaching procedures. The literature contains promising findings. Studies have shown PA to be correlated with word-attack skills in individuals with…

Since reading achievement and study achievement failed to correlate significantly in this study, results should be interpreted in a number of ways. (HOD)

Uses an error detection paradigm to examine the use of different standards of evaluation in younger and older adults who are skilled or less skilled at evaluating their understanding. Finds that skilled readers more often detect falsehoods and inconsistencies than nonsense words, whereas less skilled readers more often detect nonsense words and…

Secondary schools--be they middle schools or high schools--are reading-rich environments. Secondary schools provide contexts in which students must regularly read and write competently to demonstrate their literacy achievement. In any given semester, there are short stories and novels to read, comprehend, and analyze; civics and science texts…

Documents the high degree of similarity between basic word lists derived from a variety of word lists and the Dolch list. (RB)

A DOCTORAL DISSERTATION WHICH EXPLORES THE CLASSICAL THEORY OF PERCEPTION IN READING IS REPORTED. THE FACTS REPORTED IN PERCEPTUAL RESEARCH ARE REALIGNED IN TERMS OF CERTAIN PREMISES OF GENERAL OPEN SYSTEMS THEORY AS UTILIZED BY THE SUBSTRATA-FACTOR THEORY AND THE PARTICULAR POINT OF VIEW OF THE INFORMATION THEORIST BROADBENT TO PRODUCE A NEW…

This paper reviews the literature and research related to reading and language with an emphasis on linguistics. Topics covered in the paper include: a definition of language, phonology, dialects, oral language, cultural differences, reading materials, morphology, syllabic generalizations, syntax, readability, and the cloze procedure. (WR)

Offers a humorous perspective on being a proponent of the whole language approach to reading instruction in the face of those who favor phonics and specific skill instruction. (SRT)

This slide presentation first provides, in a concise form, background information on the Reading Excellence Act program authorized in 1998. It then presents a chart of fourth-grade reading achievement in 1998 from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. It also outlines some findings from reading research and lists the six dimensions of…

This progress report on the work done by the National Reading Panel, established at the request of Congress, addresses the research done regarding children mastering essential reading skills and the need for early intervention. It gives a list and short biography of the 14 panel members and discusses logistics of the panel. The paper presents…

Argues that, as an exquisitely designed pattern detector, the human brain can most effectively acquire reading skill through exposure to varied texts, and that teaching isolated "reading skills" may only serve to improve scores on skill tests. Contrasts the theoretical bases underlying these two approaches to reading instruction. (PGD)

Discusses reading as a culturally conditioned and situationally sensitive activity. (FL)