Examines evidence on error rate in classroom tasks. Claims the usual interpretation of a negative relationship between error rate (especially in oral reading errors) and reading achievement as meaning that low error rates lead to reading growth may be mistaken. Suggests oral errors cause tension, which increases attention and instigates deeper…

Observation of native Hebrew speakers who read Hebrew and English texts suggested that there is a powerful affective factor which completely blocks the reading in English of some students and severely limits the comprehension of a considerable number of others when they meet difficulties in the foreign language texts. (Author/CB)

Examination of cognitive prerequisites for the acquisition of reading skills identified two kinds of conceptual representations of language activities--functional and technical concepts. English-as-a-second-language students can transfer these concepts to second-language literacy, but attention must be given to orthographic coding principles of…

Five- and nine-year olds' (N=80) television viewing and program recall in response to learning instructions were examined. Instructions affected visual-emphasis program segments only; visual orientation and cued recall increased in younger children; and free recall and cued recall were enhanced in older children. (Author/BS)

Describes a schema-theoretic view of how analogies enhance students' prior knowledge; reviews some of the recent studies using analogies to assist students' comprehension of science text; and illustrates the use of an analogical study guide in biology. (HOD)

Describes a teacher modeling technique whose purpose is to form a comprehensive approach to modeling metacognitive strategies through direct explanation of the reading comprehension process. (HOD)

Outlines a teaching strategy in which students use graphic organizers plus options guides to increase their success on higher-level thinking tasks. (DF)

Describes a "Talents Unlimited" program, based on the work of Calvin Taylor, that was used successfully in a class of fifth-grade remedial readers. Includes some of the activities devised by members of the class. (FL)

Concludes that an age change in the differential retention of relevant and irrelevant information, when questions are known beforehand, is not necessarily contingent upon a similar age change in attention allocation, as measured by the recorded viewing time. (FL)

Describes a study that explored third- and sixth-grade students' ability to comprehend main ideas after reading natural expository passages taken from their social studies textbooks. Concludes that the children had much difficulty comprehending the passages' main ideas. Offers suggestions for content area teachers to improve reading comprehension.…

Argues that J. R. Kendall and J. Hood have not clearly demonstrated that contextual strategies play a significant role in the ability of some disabled readers to understand passages, as well as or better than other students, although they read with less word recognition accuracy. (HOD)

Investigates the order in which dispositional and situational information is considered. Results indicate that perceivers are flexible in their inference processes: they are able to draw either dispositional or situational inferences initially. Greater understanding of the mechanisms and determinants of social judgments has important implications…

Think cards, consisting of students' written verbalizations of reading comprehension strategies presented by the teacher, make students aware of the need for using strategies during the reading process and aid them in keeping track of alternative strategies. The paper illustrates incorporation of think cards into a reading lesson involving the…

Explores the thinking strategies or "inner languages" children employ when they read and write. Finds merging of different patterns of thought in most children, which varied with the task at hand. Proposes that teachers structure time and space according to children's varied needs. (MS)

Fifty-six field-dependent and 55 field-independent students in grades 6 through 8 were assessed on reading comprehension tasks varying in memory load and cognitive restructuring requirements. Field-independent readers outperformed field-dependent readers on tasks with high memory demands and requirements for efficient restructuring. (SLD)