Examines whether students spontaneously focus on and acquire meanings for unknown words encountered in text. Indicates that, while the intentional learning group made the greatest gains, the incidental learning group acquired some knowledge and confidence. Shows that the control group gained little in either case. Provides support for incidental…

Four field tests of Canadian software show that computerized interactive fiction teaches both history and independent reading/study skills. (ARH)

A study investigated the effectiveness of the Chapter 1 Reading Program, which provided assistance to 5,956 selected underachieving pupils in grades one through eight in the Columbus, Ohio public schools. The program featured small group instruction arranged according to pupil needs for the improvement of language and reading skills. Data included…

Reflecting the views of teachers, reading specialists, and professors on both the basics and the new technologies in reading instruction, these conference proceedings begin with Carl Personke's address, "The Word's the Thing," on classroom activities that stress the word as concept. The second paper, William Linville's and David…

To determine how children develop schema for text that include increasing sensitivity to text types, text categories, orthographic conventions in words, conventional story beginnings and endings, and text cohesive ties, a study examined the writing of four kindergarten children. The kindergarten had adopted a process-conference approach to writing…

To examine literacy instruction in light of recent research and practice, this journal issue presents five articles focusing on the creation of a literate society where people appreciate literature and can use reading and writing to enrich their lives. The first article, "Literacy Instruction: An Alternative" (A. S. Bayer), presents an…

The Children's Art Carnival (CAC) Creative Reading Program combines instruction in reading with art activities, as well as providing the services of a social worker and psychological externs. Operating in sites in Manhattan and Queens, New York, the program served 319 second to sixth grade students during the 1985-86 school year. Students who…

Twenty third-grade teachers and their low ability reading group students participated in a naturalistic study to test how teachers' explanations during a year of reading instruction affected either metacognitive awareness or student use of strategies while reading. The 10 teachers in the treatment group were trained to be explicit when teaching…

The purpose of the third edition of this book is to explore what must be involved in reading by addressing such topics as language, information theory, learning theory, the development of spoken language ability, and the physiology of the eye and brain. It is designed to serve as a handbook for language arts teachers, a text on the psychology of…

Written for language educators, this volume about reading and research suggests that the theory-practice and research-teaching gaps are dysfunctional and calls for a collaborative pedagogy between colleges and schools to develop a practical theory of reading instruction. In the opening article, Jerome Harste discusses issues that emerged from…

The 28 articles in this collection focus on the theme, "reading for life." The topics covered include the following: language and logic, theories of language development and their implications for teaching the language-disordered child, reading difficulties, developing literacy in the primary grades, peer and cross age tutoring, reading…

A questionnaire was designed to give content area teachers an opportunity to review 35 reading/learning skills that are necessary for vocabulary development, the comprehension of written materials, and the efficient use of study time. Over 400 secondary school teachers in seven content areas (English/language arts, social studies, science,…

This bulletin summarizes and interprets some of the main findings of "Survey of the Literature on Methods and Materials in Reading," by Martha J. Maxwell and George Temp, Chapter IV of "The Information Base for Reading: A Critical Review of the Information Base for Current Assumptions Regarding the Status of Instruction and Achievement in Reading…

This is a collection of comments and research on the problems of students studying at the tertiary level through the medium of a second language. It includes sections on vacabulary, reading skills, syntax, and speech. It also contains several studies of actual students and conditions at the University of Papua and New Guinea. (HW)

"Recipe for Reading," a highly structured phonetic approach to reading, helped remediate Navajo students having reading difficulties and equip younger students with essential decoding skills. The program could serve as supplementary material or program basis in developmental or remedial settings. Recommendations for teaching reading to…