Notes that English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers have been carefully nurturing student ability to produce language, while neglecting the receptive side of learning. Proposes that increased amounts of reading should be assigned at all levels of ESL programs. Suggests ways to restructure programs and to teach reading and vocabulary…

Describes a summer reading program that requires each high school student to read one carefully chosen background work, not a textbook, for each course to be taken in the fall. Sample titles in mathematics, science, and art are provided. (SJL)

Presents a strategy to improve students' comprehension of content material by having them read, discuss, and give written responses to items pertaining to short content texts. (MG)

Describes a teaching exercise in an undergraduate psychology course in which students read a book with unconventional perspectives on the field of study. Maintains that the activity develops critical reading and thinking skills by confronting students with controversial views. Identifies some of the books selected to fit the criteria of this…

The Monte Carlo Quiz (MCQ), a single-item quiz, is so named because chance, with the roll of a die, determines (a) whether the quiz is administered; (b) the specific article, chapter, or section of the assigned reading that the quiz covers; and (c) the particular question that makes up the quiz. The MCQ encourages both punctual completion and deep…

Conversation is a basis for critical thinking. It is the thread that ties together cognitive strategies and provides students with the practice that becomes the foundation for reading, writing, and thinking. In recent years, proficient reader research has yielded information about what good readers do as they comprehend text. This article provides…

In the process of collecting assessment data in the author's introductory sociology course, he made a startling and disappointing discovery. For the most part, students simply were not bothering to read the basics version of the introductory survey textbook that he assigned. This discovery presented him with two related challenges. First, he had…

"Amistad," the story of a group of Mende people illegally brought to the United States from West Africa in 1839, was taught to a group of 90 eighth grade students. To learn about the "Amistad," these eighth graders visited a replica of the ship, read a nonfiction account of the Amistad story, and viewed the Steven Spielberg…

Designed for all incoming international students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, this handbook answers questions and offers information and strategies that can be used to make their transition into the U.S. system easier. It explains the expectations, norms, and procedures of the U.S. educational system. The handbook is divided into…

A study examined students' metacognitive response to ambiguous literacy tasks to determine the relationship between that response and academic achievement. Subjects were 11 students chosen from a fifth-grade classroom in a small, urban school serving a predominantly black, middle class neighborhood. Two literacy tasks were identified as ambiguous:…

A study sought to describe the nature of teacher and student behaviors related to textbook reading assignments at the secondary school level, and to explore the relationship between the amount of time secondary school teachers devoted to specific assignment-related behaviors and students' subsequent performance on the assignments. The sample…

Examples are presented of worksheets designed to help students prepare for discussions of literature in terms of the language, plot, and literary aspects of a particular work. All examples are from an introductory course in German literature. Benefits of using such worksheets include increased students comprehension and class participation. (LMO)

Describes a lesson design facilitating students' comprehension of human beliefs and behaviors indigenous to foreign cultures, and making culturally implicit meanings explicit to learners in a different culture. Involves teachers and learners through reading and discussion of a story introduced with an advance organizer. (RS)

Steps for teachers to follow in improving reading comprehension among students are presented. Three main levels of reading are identified and basic reading skills necessary for a mature reader are outlined. (Author/DB)

This paper outlines a large urban community college's first attempt at implementing a common book program, in which all members of a campus read a designated work of literature. An overview is provided of the first-year experience, along with ideas for overcoming obstacles, involving faculty and staff, and obtaining sponsors. The paper gives the…