Writing skills are essential for success in the 21st-century school and workplace, but most classrooms devote far more time to reading instruction, with writing often addressed in isolation or excluded. In this insightful professional development resource and text, leading researchers discuss why and how to integrate writing and reading…

The current study examined the effects of text-based relational (i.e., cohesion), propositional-specific (i.e., lexical), and syntactic features in a source text on subsequent integration of the source text in spoken responses. It further investigated the effects of word integration on human ratings of speaking performance while taking into…

Teachers can use comics for reading instruction by capitalizing on their colorful graphic representation. Technology and reading are wed during the use of the Internet, and readers must rely on their visual literacy skills--a group of vision competencies people can hone for comprehension. This article reports on strategies for developing visual…

This article offers ideas as to how students can collaborate as they learn about and utilize a variety of text types (also known as rhetorical modes). The article begins with explanations of the teaching of text types and cooperative learning. The longest section of the article consists of examples of ways that students can use cooperative…

The article reviews the research on composition and transcription writing skills conducted with elementary-aged learning-disabled students and published during the last five years. Conclusions are drawn concerning the influence of: text production method, specific interventions, text structure knowledge, word presentation form, and…

Research on text processing is reviewed including the role of text structure and summarization ability. Implications for the instruction of learning-disabled students include strategy instruction and instruction in such text processing skills as identifying main idea and identifying text structure. (DB)

Describes a method of generating a flow chart which indicates the multiple cause and effect relationships in literature and content area texts. Argues that this teaching strategy aids in the comprehension of difficult text. (RS)

POSSE, an instructional procedure for a reading comprehension curriculum, structures classroom dialogue about text meaning. Students with mild handicaps predict what the story will be about, organize their knowledge, search for the text structure, summarize, and evaluate. POSSE's successful application is dependent upon effective lesson dialogue…

Instruction in narrative text structure on first graders' listening and reading comprehension was examined with a view to documenting strategy instruction and transfer of learning in beginning readers. Of interest was whether or not first-grade students (n=35) would, following instruction within the context of listening to stories, gain in…

Teaching organizational strategies to language-disordered children can improve comprehension and formulation of written language. The semantic organizer approach involves activating and organizing prior knowledge, understanding text structure, and developing organizational strategies with both a verbal component and a graphic-structure component.…

Five deaf students, aged 11-12, participated in an instructional program using metacognitive strategies to teach summarization skills based on a knowledge of story structure. During intervention, the subjects' performance rose noticeably, and the level of performance was maintained in three subjects. (Author/JDD)

Today, English language learners (ELLs) represent an increasing proportion of U.S. middle and high school enrollment. As a result, mainstream content-area teachers are more likely than ever to have ELLs in their classrooms. At the same time, education policymakers and researchers are increasingly calling for improved academic literacy development…

Presents the results of two studies where children were taught to identify textual cues, syntactic and semantic, in order to locate main ideas. The children also built graphic representations of these structures and were taught relevant questions to ask regarding comprehension. Results showed significant improvement, especially with older…

Describes a long-term project where middle school students were taught to visually represent key text ideas through idea-mapping techniques. Instruction was inserted in the content area curriculum along with regular textbooks and supplementary material. Positive effects were found in recall, comprehension, and learning. (MJP)