A common pitfall is the assumption that the teaching of reading in the content areas is an esoteric mystery to be solved only by the reading specialist. The teacher of a content area should guide his students in the application of basic skills and study methods to the materials used. A second pitfall is the assumption, often made by the unskilled…

Reading comprehension was compared in 20 adult illiterates, 20 low-achieving students in grade two, and 21 low achievers in grade four. Results indicated similar processing difficulties in all three groups. Readers were weak in constructing meaning beyond a clause unit, and did not differentiate processing for narrative versus expository material.…

Indicates that use of two microcomputer word recognition programs led to substantial increases in word recognition/decoding skills and to substantial improvements in comprehension at the word and proposition/sentence level, but to no improvement at the passage level. (NKA)

Analysis of research involving reading comprehension ability in a second language shows that problems with illocutionary force, logical connectors, and modifiers indicate that many students are either unable to draw on a culturally appropriate memory schema for reading comprehension or have preconceived notions about word meaning that prevent them…

The speed and accuracy of skilled and less skilled first-grade readers were assessed in the fall and spring. Children read random lists of words and coherent paragraphs. Poor decoding skills, rather than an inability to use content to facilitate word recognition, caused the poor performance of less skilled readers. (Author/BS)

Electronic books, often electronic versions of popular children's illustrated books, have the same words and illustrations as their printed versions, but also can read aloud individual words, phrases, and stories, can pronounce individual syllables in a word, and can provide animated clues to word meanings by animating and labeling selected…

Addressing current research on the foundational skills of reading for the state of Alaska, this booklet is designed to get the most current information available about how children learn to read into the hands of everyone who can help children learn and grow as readers. It outlines previously researched core abilities including phonemic awareness,…

Verbal coding and listening comprehension ability differed among skilled and less skilled readers in second, third, and fifth grades. As verbal coding speed increased, comprehension skill became the more important predictor of reading skill. Apparently, verbal coding processes, which are slow, inhibit other reading processes. (Author/CP)

Examined validity of test battery, organized by theoretical framework of levels of language processing and production, at end of kindergarten and first grade. At end of kindergarten two levels of oral language (pnonemic and lexical) and at end of first grade three levels of oral language (phonemic, lexical, and text) were correlated with word…

This study of the effectiveness of the Project Success Summer Program found that the eight-week program improved dyslexic adults' (n=63) reading and spelling scores in five areas. Results indicated that training in phonological skills improved decoding skills and that passage reading rates and individual word reading rates best predicted…

Determined that emergent literacy activities that experts identified as appropriate to instructional materials were not prominent in basal text materials. Found small differences between meaning- and decoding-oriented material in literary quality, letter-sound correspondence, and word identification. (BC)

Four approaches to the investigation of connections between language by hand and language by eye are described and illustrated with studies from a decade-long research program. The four approaches support a model in which language by hand and language by eye are separate systems that interact in predictable ways. (Contains references.) (CR)

This study compared the use of two supplemental balanced and strategic reading interventions that targeted the decoding, fluency, and reading comprehension of upper-elementary and middle school students with reading disabilities (RD). All students had significant delays in decoding, fluency, comprehension, and language processing. Two comparable,…

Children with developmental speech/language impairments are at higher risk for reading disability than typical peers with no history of speech/language impairment. This article reviews the literacy outcomes of children with speech/language impairments, clarifying the differential risk for three groups of children: speech production impairments…

The paper outlines a framework for the development of reading that shows it is heavily dependent upon spoken language processes. Within this view, reading difficulties can follow from difficulties with speech processing (decoding problems) or from broader language processing impairments (comprehension problems). The paper describes the literacy…