In this investigation of potential sources of individual differences in free-recall learning and retention by children, learning ability is defined in terms of performance on a free-recall test with the upper and lower thirds of the distribution typically being defined as fast and slow learners. Variables concerned with short-term memory,…

This report describes field test activities for the Wisconsin Design for Reading Skill Development and for CEMREL's Aesthetic Education Program. The word attack element of the Design was implemented in schools in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia in the 1970-71 school year. The analysis of progress in word attach and other reading skills of children…

A highly reproducible scale of difficulty of word identification tasks was identified for both good and poor readers: consonant-vowel combinations and short vowel words were learned first. Long vowel words, special rule words, and nonsense words were more difficult. Reading instruction should parallel this sequence since it follows learning…

Shows that word discriminability and contextual complexity have significant developmental effects on word identification, reflecting the growth of meaningful reading with age. (RL)

Three experiments examine the information extraction process in adults and elementary school children reading paragraphs or words. In experiments 1 and 2 subjects were presented paragraphs to read and to search for specified targets. In experiment 3 subjects were asked to judge whether briefly presented pairs of letters were the same or different.…

Reports on three experiments that explored the metalinguistic competence of 26 deaf students to segment and manipulate their fingerspelled lexicons. Indicates their metalinguistic sophistication correlated selectively and significantly with reading success. Also reports on a training experiment that showed that deaf students identified more sight…

A cognitive-developmental view of reading was tested with 100 four-year-olds by examining the relationship between conceptual reading (multiple seriation and perceptual regulations), oral language (vocabulary and grammatic production), and reading (word recognition and comprehension). Findings suggest that language-learning explanations of reading…

Eight reading-disabled boys with subskill deficits in either oral reading, associative skills, or sequential skills received skill specific computer-assisted instruction emphasizing accuracy and speed of response for two and a half months. Comparison with controls indicated marked improvement which generalized to achievement measures of word…

Concludes that there are numerous problems with the test studied. Argues that the abilities it assesses and their relationship to reading and reading instruction are not sufficiently understood to warrant the test's use. (FL)

This report describes a program for improving word analysis skills in order to increase sight reading, reading accuracy, and fluency. The targeted population consisted of second and third graders in a suburban area close to a large metropolitan city in a Midwestern state. The problems of low word analysis skills were documented through Qualitative…

This report describes a plan to increase word recognition skills. The targeted population consists of first, second, and fourth grade students in upper middle, middle, and lower socioeconomic communities located in the suburbs outside of a large city. The problem of inadequate word recognition skills was documented through data revealing the…

Many storytellers, educators, and researchers advocate that storytelling can contribute significantly to early literacy development. Early childhood education needs to embrace literacy programs that actively employ storytelling to bridge students' established oracy skills and their newfound literacy skills. By doing this, children will encounter a…

Describes a procedure for teachers to follow when engaging in diagnostic testing in reading. Presents a method for analyzing word recognition samples relative to applied information in word attack skills. (FL)