Describes how many students expect reading to be about answering literal-level questions, taking true-false tests, and figuring out what a teacher wants to know. Explains the Six Traits of Reading from Northwest Regional Educational Labs: decoding; building context; comprehending; interpreting; synthesizing; and evaluating. Notes that these sorts…

This case study addressed the meanings two preservice teachers ascribed to four expert strategies used in reciprocal teaching (questioning, summarizing, clarifying, and predicting) and four learning principles upon which reciprocal teaching is built (cognitive apprenticeship, scaffolding, zone of proximal development, and proleptic teaching).…

Describes five writing activities and assignments designed to help students understand the content of social studies and the process of writing. These include student journals, biographical poems, elaborate word games, and creative writing exercises. Illustrative examples relate these to social studies issues. (MJP)

There is evidence to suggest that mature students learn particularly effectively in a problem-solving environment, and that they appear to be especially responsive to analogies and metaphors. Three examples are given of domains where the student has to convert a formulation into an equivalent diagram. Arguably, the process of performing this…

Describes a staff development effort at a small, predominantly Native American elementary school. Staff developers attempted to improve teachers' ability work on reading comprehension, but their development methods were unsuccessful. They realized that they had to match their work with teachers with the school culture and to listen to the teachers…

Interviews Michelle Winslow, a fourth-grade teacher, and Pat Previte, a sixth-grade teacher in Massachusetts. Explains that the two teachers have a common vision for all students: one of engaged, strategic readers who can apply reading skills across all areas of the curriculum. Notes that the pair has transformed their reading instruction by…

Presents a qualitative analysis of a transcript of a critical-thinking reading lesson designed for sixth grade students. The analysis illustrates the relationship between critical thinking and reading comprehension and demonstrates that critical thinking can be promoted in everyday classroom instruction using regular classroom materials. (JD)

The article describes seven methods to help special needs learners improve reading comprehension: the Pre Reading Plan; the six-step survey technique; semantic mapping; story maps; mental imagery; learning logs; and use of question-answer relationships. (DB)

POSSE, an instructional procedure for a reading comprehension curriculum, structures classroom dialogue about text meaning. Students with mild handicaps predict what the story will be about, organize their knowledge, search for the text structure, summarize, and evaluate. POSSE's successful application is dependent upon effective lesson dialogue…

Examines reading comprehension as it applies to the chemistry lab and describes techniques that promote better comprehension of lab materials. Lists four levels of reading to understand: literal, inferential, evaluative, and creative. Notes three methods to teach reading: the reference approach, mapping, and request. (MVL)

Asserts that reading tests can be neither ignored, nor allowed to control the classroom. Describes the teaching of "reading-test reading" as a genre in a first grade literature-based classroom. Presents children's views of the genre and how their understanding of it affects their view of themselves as readers. (SR)

Examines how students use geographical maps in history and social studies textbooks for comprehension purposes. Reports training 32 eleventh graders to use maps as aids in their comprehension of information. Finds a positive impact upon comprehension and learning of the original training passage. (MG)

Explains the details of a method of teaching text structure that proved successful in improving both reading comprehension and summary writing of fifth graders. Reports that students quickly learned how to attend to and remember main ideas from problem-solution passages in their textbooks and how to write summaries. (MG)

Describes the use of a satellite TV "reportage" in a post A-level French language laboratory, and outlines follow-up speaking activities in two small-group classes. The "reportage" helped improve students' comprehension levels, provided speaking opportunities in different contexts, introduced French legal terms, and informed…

Discusses ways that teachers may interact with children over texts in order to emphasize the following components of reading comprehension: understanding the meaning-making purpose of reading and writing; viewing reading as a problem-solving process; and learning to share and extend individual comprehension. (RAE)