First, second, and third grade students were asked to draw inferences after reading stories written by themselves, by peers, and by adults. The 70 subjects were divided into groups of slow-inaccurate, slow-accurate, and fast-accurate readers. After reading each type of story, they responded to six questions requiring text-based inferences.…

First-graders taught reading by phonics or language experience approach were compared on their ability to orally decode lists of words identified as either real or nonsense words. The two groups did not differ in overall correct responses, nor were their strategies influenced by the "real/nonsense" directions. (SJL)

Children in first, second, and third grades were subjects in a study that investigated how well they drew inferences after reading their own dictated stories, peer-dictated stories, and adult-written stories. Results showed they inferred better if they dictated the story themselves or if they were accurate decoders. (HOD)

This report, the summary of a series of conferences on reading research, identifies two main theories about the nature of reading: (1) reading as translation, wherein printed symbols are translated into an approximation of oral language, so that the capabilities for understanding speech can be applied to written language, and (2) reading as an…

Discusses how interactive, whole class techniques (using a student-generated Big Book adaptation of "Corduroy") improved the reading skills of high risk first grade readers. Describes several activities, including sight word strategies, decoding techniques, and word processing, and suggests 27 Big Books for use with these activities. (MM)

A study investigated ways of establishing links between different methods of reading instruction, children's conceptualizations of the reading process, and children's actual reading behavior. Two instruments were used to assess the relationships between the three variables: a revised version of "The Reading Miscue Inventory" and…