Concludes that elementary school students had difficulty understanding main ideas of social studies passages and were significantly less skilled at this task than at completing main idea workshops. Suggests that the worksheet approach to social studies is insufficient and that direct instruction using textbooks is needed. (FL)

Discusses the importance of improving students' visual perception as a way of improving their literary perception. Describes visual perception exercises that can be used in the English classroom. (EL)

Describes a study which compared a traditional approach to second language vocabulary instruction with the semantic field approach, which is based on the association between five related words and a key word that could be mentally substituted in context. Findings lend support to the use of the semantic field approach. (SED)

The ReQuest procedure, designed to teach students to raise questions independently, has many components that lend themselves to solving some of the problems faced by the teacher of juvenile delinquents. (HOD)

Describes the uses and benefits of reciprocal teaching, a strategy that promotes both comprehension of text and comprehension monitoring. (HOD)

Presents a direct instruction approach to reading comprehension that stresses the use of three forms of knowledge--declarative, procedural, and conditional. Offers a sample lesson demonstrating the application of this approach for teaching a comprehension skill, and concludes with a discussion of how comprehension skill instruction in commercial…

Discusses three principles that characterize effective vocabulary instruction (contextual and definitional information, active processing, and multiple exposures) and describes how these principles can be used to modify and improve existing methods of teaching word meanings. (HOD)

Analyzes and compares the content of four reading journals for the years 1973 and 1983 on eight categories of comprehension instruction and three categories of comprehension follow-up and reveals an increase in the number of articles focusing on comprehension issues and practices. (DF)

Argues that, in the high school classroom, it may appear that much is being learned, but in the minds of pupils there is often considerable confusion as to the meaning of what they have read. Reports on a study that explored the nature of that confusion and discusses what can be done. (RBW)

Presents a case study in which an adult student with prediction strengths needed graphophonic skills. Discusses two remedial strategies. (FL)

Describes a teaching approach that helps second language learners develop enough confidence to use comprehension strategies proven effective with native language students. (AEA)

Described are four techniques for improving student reading skills, particularly comprehension and vocabulary expansion, in ethnic studies classes. The techniques involve the use of oral research reports, diagrams, cartoons, and multisensory demonstrations. (Author/DB)

Do students often struggle with difficult novels and other challenging texts? Do they think one reading of a work is more than enough? Do they primarily comprehend at a surface-level, and are they frequently unwilling or unable to discover the deeper meaning found in multi-layered works? Do teachers feel that they are doing more work teaching the…

This inservice professional development module, part of the Alabama Reading Initiative, presents research summaries, notes for presenters, and activities. The Comprehension Strategies module explains the process of building comprehension in readers so that they read for meaning and understanding. There are six interferences to comprehension that…

This inservice professional development module, part of the Alabama Reading Initiative, presents research summaries, notes for presenters, and activities. The Comprehension Strategies module explains the process of building comprehension in readers so that they read for meaning and understanding. There are six interferences to comprehension that…