Describes the process of reading the hypertext read-only file "WOE" (included on a disk with this journal) in which voices, memories, influences, and the process of text production all converge, rejecting the objective model of reality as the great "either/or" and embracing, instead, the "and/and/and." (SR)

Integrating comprehension and vocabulary instruction in read-alouds can help teachers make the very most of class time. The curriculum described illustrates how read-alouds, when implemented with strategic purpose, can boost learners' vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Specifically, the author presents guidelines for: (1) selecting…

This research study had two purposes, (a) to design and develop a Web-based learning environment that supports the use of a set of reading strategies, and (b) to investigate the impact of this Web-based learning environment on readers' "memory" and "understanding" of an instructional unit on the human heart (Dwyer &…

Three experiments, using text designed to suggest two causal interpretations, examined second and fourth graders' recognition of interpretive ambiguity. Found that older children were more likely than younger children to report two interpretations, with initial interpretations reflecting the most recently encountered causal information. Second…

This article considers the role of reader characteristics in processing and learning from informational text, as revealed in think-aloud research. A theoretical framework for relevant aspects of readers' processing and products was developed. These relevant aspects included three attentional foci for processing (comprehension, monitoring, and…

Responds to "A Symposium on the Usefulness of Literacy Research" in the same issue of this journal. Maintains that Alan Purves totally misreads the author's theory of reading approaches. Explains that "efferent reading" and "aesthetic reading" are not discrete categories but terms on a continuum. (TB)

Argues that the accidents of reading a hypertext (changing your destination, forgetting your point of departure, or getting lost along the way) are not the effects of inappropriate cues, misinterpreted reference or poor design, but the general condition of the hypertext as text, amplified by the narrative turns of the link. (SR)

This brief article uses a weaving metaphor to address the relationship between braille and reading, with prior knowledge (the warp threads) interacting with reading content (the weft threads) by means of braille (the shuttle). Reading is seen to be an interactive process between reader, text, and the context of the reading situation. (DB)

This paper presents a model delineating attributes which enable a literate reader to successfully participate in a pluralistic society. The paper outlines the model as building upon and defining the traditional skills and schema views of reading comprehension which include maturity, attitudes, dispositions, intellectual abilities, knowledge, and…

Discusses ways in which reader response journals can be useful as a teaching method. (SRT)

Studied text interpretation in four experiments with second and fourth graders, manipulating several story variables. Found that both groups were skilled at providing two text interpretations, although second graders were more likely than fourth graders to use extra-story information in their second interpretations. Subjects' first interpretations…

Presents the first part of a six-part series reporting on a research project to investigate how students make sense of a text, what disempowers meaning making, what empowers meaning making, how readings might be meaningfully assessed, and how readers might be empowered in classrooms. Invites readers to join in the investigation. (SR)

Discusses how seeing relationships between past texts and the current text influences reading comprehension. Shows how teachers can expand the scope of meanings students construct by (1) organizing texts in ways that promote relationships such as complementary texts, conflicting texts, controlling texts, synoptic texts, and dialogic texts; and (2)…

In this article, we discuss the use of eye movement data to assess moment-to-moment comprehension processes. We first review some basic characteristics of eye movements during reading and then present two studies in which eye movements are monitored to confirm that eye movements are sensitive to (a) global text passage difficulty, and (b)…

Written in the tradition of Studs Terkel, this book presents oral histories of 77 diverse readers (from avid to infrequent readers) about how reading affects their lives. Sprinkled throughout the book are narratives of nationally recognized personalities, such as Maxine Hong-Kingston, Robert MacNeil, Gloria Steinem, Linus Pauling, Julie Harris,…