Examines children's responses to nine works of realistic literature and film. Finds (1) between-text differences for stance and understanding; (2) book and film differences for stance but not for understanding; (3) most responses were written from an aesthetic stance; and (4) the use of an aesthetic stance is associated with significantly higher…

Analyzes the conversation of sixth grade children in literature response groups. Finds and describes two distinctive gendered styles of talk about literature, the predominate female mode of response being the "discourse of feeling," and the predominate male mode of response being the "discourse of action." Discusses pedagogy…

Explores the development of students' knowledge of the meanings of 10 common English suffixes. Finds that knowledge of the meanings of the common English suffixes underwent significant development between fourth grade and high school. Notes that the test can be used to identify students who have particular difficulties with English suffixes. (RS)

Investigates the relative contribution and trade-off effects of children's knowledge and reading skill in text comprehension. Finds that domain knowledge and reading skill can be traded in order to achieve similar levels of comprehension. Suggests that reading skill compensates for deficient knowledge and specific knowledge compensates for…

Finds four categories of instructional practice: background knowledge, vocabulary, alignment, and imagery. Notes that teachers had many different ways of enacting practices within the categories, and that some of the practices had strong theoretical and research support, while most did not. Explores connections between what teachers did and what…

A study investigated the effects of systematically varying the vocabulary-related instructions that students receive before reading to further understanding of the vocabulary/comprehension relationship. Subjects were 299 students from fifth- or fourth/fifth-grade classrooms, who participated in 6 different conditions which included reading…

A study determined the effect of parental involvement on reading achievement of participating students. Subjects were 22 fifth-grade students in a Chicago public school who received parental involvement and 19 students in the same school who did not receive parental involvement. Subjects' scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills were used in the…

A study determined the effectiveness of the "Direct Instruction" program on the reading achievement of sixth-grade students. "Direct Instruction," known as "Distar" in the 1960s, is a phonic-based method that uses scripted lesson plans engaging students to learn by memory and classroom responses. Subjects were 30…

The investigation involved a comprehensive descriptive analysis of the reading and writing behavior of 13 upper elementary level learning disabled students. Data were collected on student responses to 11 language tasks, including drawing; forming letters, numbers, and their names; being read to; reading; and answering questions about reading and…

A study evaluated the effectiveness of a direct instructional paradigm for teaching children to comprehend main ideas of prose passages. Subjects, 69 children in three fourth grade classes, were randomly assigned to an experimental "strategy" group receiving direct instruction in main ideas, an experimental "basal" group…

A study investigated the reading interests of fourth and sixth grade students of above-average reading achievement. Subjects, 44 fourth graders and 39 sixth graders in an urban environment, responded to a reading interest inventory containing 25 categories. The sample was separated into two groups, an experimental group which attained 60 or higher…

This study controlled the gender context of sentence cues containing nouns and pronouns and asked children to draw pictures depicting the situations described in them. Subjects were 220 elementary students from the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Each child drew responses to cues for only one form. The experimenter allowed them 4 minutes per cue…

A study was conducted to compare the results of three test formats in relation to assessing the depth of vocabulary knowledge of fourth-grade students. Students (117) were tested on their knowledge of the primary and secondary meanings of 44 multimeaning words using multiple-choice, yes/no, and interview formats. Information on the test-taking…

A study examined fourth grade students' written definitions to determine if definitions or aspects of definitions were schematized by the students. Subjects, 89 students from several Midwestern suburban school districts and 15 inservice and preservice teachers enrolled at a nearby college, were asked to write definitions of 16 words, four each of…