Designed to assess the cognitive requirement expected or implied in beginning reading materials and in their instructional suggestions and to determine whether these materials are appropriate to the cognitive development of the children who will use them, this instrument is for use by evaluators with the first reader in a basal series. It directs…

Designed to measure children's abilities to synthesize concepts from several sources, this measure is based on the assumptions that children move from the concrete to the abstract, from specific to generic, and that the ability to synthesize and form new concepts is an important prerequisite to reading comprehension. Each form of the test is…

Suggests 10 classroom-tested activities that improve reading comprehension. (DF)

Following instruction using a stimulus equivalence procedure to teach matching of dictated picture names with printed words, two preschool children were also able to match pictures with printed words, match printed words with pictures, or match printed words with oral names. Results have implications for teaching early reading skills. (Author/DB)

Drawing from research on reading, this paper suggests various methods of stimulating cognition in beginning readers. Defining cognition as the process by which a person gains knowledge, or understands or comprehends, discussion in the paper centers on the following topics: (1) perceptive and cognitive skills; (2) prior experience; (3) knowledge of…

Notes that brain research completed in recent years has shed light on the process of learning to read, then reviews that research and makes suggestions about what it means for instruction. (FL)

A study examined whether environmental logos could be used as tools for beginning reading instruction. Logos are bold, colorfully adorned symbols featuring printed words in design formats that appear on products and advertisng signs. Subjects were 20 preschool children, half of whom were three and one-half years old, and the rest four and one-half…

The readings in this collection were prepared to accompany a report of a series of experiments conducted to determine what information readers, both skilled adults and children beginning to read, use when they read to understand a story. Titles of the readings are are (1) "Oral Reading: Does It Reflect Decoding or Comprehension?" (2)…

A series of experiments were conducted to determine what information readers use when they read to understand a story. The experiments examined both skilled adult readers and children beginning to read. Oral reading was used both because elementary school teachers frequently ask children to read aloud and because oral reading provides an…

Prepared by members of the Institute for Research on Teaching and the Center for the Study of Reading, the papers in this collection examine reading comprehension as an interactive process and explore how comprehension instruction occurs in the complex workplace of the classroom. Specific topics discussed in 20 papers include the following: (1)…

Since an author does not provide all critical information, a text is never fully explicit; it demands that the reader/listener supply missing elements in order to form a coherent and logical whole. A study was conducted to explore both the types of responses urban first grade students made when asked to predict a narrative ending and differences…

Intended for reading educators and researchers, this handbook characterizes the current state of methodology and the cumulative research-based knowledge of reading. The book's three sections cover methodological issues, basic reading processes, and instructional practices. The 25 chapters discuss the following topics: (1) reading research history,…

Intended for teachers, students, and researchers of reading, this book reflects the theories, models, and research generated over the past 10 years on the psychology and pedagogy of reading. Essays in the first section of the book deal with the historical changes in reading research and theory, and the pioneers of reading research. Essays in the…

Drawing upon those aspects of "Becoming a Nation of Readers" directly relevant to classroom teachers, this booklet suggests ideas for classroom practices, based on research, that will improve students' reading achievement. The booklet is organized around five instructional themes: defining reading, reading readiness, beginning reading,…