Reviews research indicating that presenting vocabulary in semantically related clusters may improve students' vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Describes how words from elementary school textbooks were divided into semantic clusters and makes suggestions for their use. (FL)

Three experiments were conducted that studied the effect on comprehension of words containing more than one meaning. When children were asked to choose appropriate word meanings by reading sentences that provided "disambiguating" clues, they did not effectively identify from context the less common or secondary meanings of words. (MKM)

Investigates the effects of purpose for reading and frequency of encounters with unknown words in written context on learning from context tasks performed by 119 sixth grade good and poor reading comprehenders. Finds no significant interactions, resulting at least partial support for Robert Sternberg's model of verbal comprehension. (MG)

This paper reports the results of a study for determining the reading vocabularies of graduating seniors majoring in education. The vocabulary section of Form A of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test was administered to ninety-eight graduating seniors at a major Southwestern State university. An analysis of the data revealed that only the teachers of…

Documents a model that resulted from an analysis of context clues to determine which were amenable to instruction and what pedagogical approach should be used. (DD)

Details two experiments that assessed the effect of vocabulary difficulty on three measures of text comprehension--free recall, summary recall, and sentence recognition. (FL)

Focuses on the examination of pupil responses for grades two through four in a study that provides more recent information about the performance of pupils on the Dolch Test. Provides some observations to assist teachers in interpreting the result of pupil responses to these words. (MG)

Examines the effects of teaching individual word meanings and deriving word meaning from context. Concludes that instruction in individual word meanings effectively teaches specific word meanings, training in deriving meaning from context improves students' ability to derive word meanings, and practice in either method leads to higher levels of…

Investigates how Hispanic bilingual students' knowledge of Spanish vocabulary and ability to identify Spanish-English cognates relate to their comprehension of English expository text. Finds that performance on a multiple-choice test was related to students' ability to recognize cognate relationships, as was the relationship between Spanish…

This 37-item annotated bibliography is a review of literature in the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database from 1976-1989 related to vocabulary instruction in secondary education. The majority of citations in the bibliography provide articles with specific strategies for teaching vocabulary in content classrooms. The remainder…

Based on the best available research, this publication describes the most effective methods of vocabulary instruction for the improvement of reading comprehension. Examples of useful approaches to vocabulary instruction aimed at students past the initial stages of reading are presented for use or adaptation by classroom teachers. The publication's…

A study examined whether students already know the meanings of reading vocabulary presented as "new" vocabulary in their basal readers. Subjects, 142 second and fifth grade students from two midwestern school districts, were asked to complete a yes/no test and a multiple choice test of vocabulary in their basal readers at their grade level and at…

Concluded that the incorporation of new words into the educable mentally retarded child's reading vocabulary can be enhanced by the phonological pairing of content and function words. (RB)

There is a need for basic readability research and for an easily applied and accurate new readability formula. Two steps taken toward the development of such a formula are the revision of a vocabulary list for primary grades and the combination of reading exercises given at different grade levels into a single scale of ascending difficulty. Much…

Examined reading habits and activities which may require skills used in prose recall tasks as they occurred in everyday lives of young (N=18), middle-aged (N=18), and older (N=18) adults who kept structured diaries. Everyday activities and reading habits were related to daily life requirements. Pattern of activities was influenced by current…