Discusses a study that shows that young children were not consistently able to find the main idea in nonverbal material. Suggests that children at grade three might effectively respond to instruction in finding the main idea and that children in grade five should have little difficulty with this task. (TJ)

Suggests that the form of note-taking has less significance than the process which goes along with effective note-taking, namely, thinking, summarizing, reciting, and reviewing. (TJ)

A framework developed to describe effective vocabulary instruction suggests that teaching methods can be described by the types of information they provide and the types of processing they require. (FL)

Suggests using short story instruction as a way to foster a heightened awareness of the inferential process. (TJ)

Discusses Jean Piaget's information-processing model of cognitive development. (FL)

Examines Frank Smith's analysis of the reading process with respect to comprehension, specifically, his assertion that during the reading process, comprehension of meaning precedes word identification. Discusses the implications of Smith's analysis for the teaching of reading. (JM)

Contends that Jean Piaget's theories may be helpful in three areas of reading instruction: (1) when reading instruction should begin and how it should proceed, (2) the effect of the mature reader's cognitive development on comprehension, and (3) how the theories can help to refine reading theory. (FL)

Reviews a line of research in which the readability of basal reader stories is assessed through a comparison of traditional and story grammar-based indices. Presents implications for the measurement of readability and the preparation of basal reader stories. (FL)

Suggests that to promote concentration, teachers must put active "thinking" ways of reading into the hands of students. (FL)

Reports on a study that explored the thinking of children in three distinct age groups about written and oral communication. (FL)

Explains how a teacher taught his class the value of skimming in developing reading comprehension. (FL)

Argues that Piagetian theory does not support the use of a code-breaking approach to teaching children to read prior to the advent of concrete operations. Suggests that primary instructional emphasis with these children should be placed upon the meaning-getting aspects of reading. (FL)

Presents a study in which college students were asked to read or listen to material and to take or not to take notes. Reports that readers remembered more material than listeners and that note taking helped listeners but did not help readers. (TJ)