A word recognition model involving four processing stages was used, and tests of various word recognition strategies were administered to 25 fourth graders and 25 college students. The model included the following stages: (1) using information in a passage; (2) generating hypotheses from what the next word might be; (3) testing these hypotheses…

This article reports some cautions to consider when too much emphasis is placed on phonic instruction, especially with adolescent and adult learners. The importance of developing automaticity in word identification and fluency in reading rate is discussed. Six specific procedures designed to improve reading fluency are outlined. (Author/CT)

Investigated whether Frederiksen and others (1985) multiletter recognition program improved speed, accuracy, and recognition of multiletter units. Found increased perceptual coding skills for 9- and 10-year olds in the training group compared to those in the control group. Results suggest that future research should focus on generalization of…

Measures of working memory capacity and measures of word knowledge were used as predictors of three measures of reading skills in 95 undergraduates. Vocabulary size and speed of accessing it were independent of word knowledge. Reading comprehension, reading speed, and text inferencing ability were independent measures of reading skill. (SLD)

Investigated role of word identification skills, text phrasing, auditory analysis, and digit-naming speed on oral reading fluency and expressiveness of poor and average fifth-grade readers. Found that poor readers were less fluent and expressive than average readers; parsing contributed to fluency in average but not poor readers; and digit-naming…

Extensive research on reading in a first language has shown the critical role fluency plays in successful reading. Fluency alone, however, does not guarantee successful reading. Cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies and schemata that readers utilize also play important roles in constructing meaning from text. Most research, however,…

The primary aim of the current study was to identify the strongest independent predictors of reading comprehension using word reading, language and memory variables in a normal sample of 180 children in grades 3-5, with a range of word reading skills. It was hypothesized that orthographic processing, receptive vocabulary and verbal working memory…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether naming speed makes a contribution to the prediction of reading comprehension, after taking into account the product of word decoding and listening comprehension (i.e., the Simple View of Reading; [Gough, P.B. & Tunmer, W.E. (1986). "Remedial and Special Education 7," 6-10]), and…

Three experiments investigated the extent to which children of various intellectual abilities rely on speech-related processes in working memory. Subjects consisted of 16 learners with mental retardation (MRLs) in grades 5-9 and 16 nondisabled learners (NLs) in grades 2-3, matched in word recognition skills. The independent variable within each…

This study attempted to assess the relationship between misreading of high-frequency words and utilization of semantic and syntactic cue systems. A 250-word passage from a second-grade basal reader was altered in two ways: in one condition, the sentences were randomly ordered, and, in the other, the words were randomly ordered. Twenty-four fourth…

The first section of this two-part collection of articles contains six papers and their discussions read at a symposium on Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading. The papers cover the linguistic, perceptual, and cognitive components involved in reading. The models attempt to integrate the variables that influence the perception, recognition,…

A high versus low rationale approach in teaching reading to grade-7 students was tested. The high rationale included using a traditional basal series approach that emphasized the ability to identify "the reasons why of how to read" through rules or formulas. The low rationale approach deemphasized rules and formulas except as the need…

Reports an investigation of the effectiveness of "Speedway: The Action Way to Read" in increasing the reading rate and efficiency of adult readers. (FL)

Seven visually handicapped adolescents, literate in braille but with little or no visual reading experience, were trained in letter and word recognition by closed circuit television for two weeks. All subjects increased their visual reading speed; in some cases, visual reading speed surpassed that of braille. (SJL)