Reports on a program for the improvement of reading skills of children whose scores were below the 50th percentile on the reading subtest of the Stanford Achievement Test. Concludes that, in general, the program helped poor readers improve their reading skills. (SRT)

Picture books are useful tools for teaching many abstract and complex concepts of the social studies at the elementary level. They allow students to develop visual literacy through sustained viewing time necessary for exploration, critique, and reflection on the images portrayed. Numerous examples of picture books are presented to support such…

Visual evaluation techniques provide the kinesiologist with a method of evaluating physical skill performance. The techniques are divided into five categories: (1) vantage point; (2) movement simplification; (3) balance and stability; (4) movement relationships; and (5) range of movement. (JN)

When Chinese adults tried to name the color of characters which represented conflicting color words, they showed greater interference than did English speaking readers of the same task in English. This effect cannot be attributed to bilingualism. There may be fundamental differences in the perceptual demands of reading Chinese and English.…

A longitudinal study examined the performance of 50 African American children (ages 4-6) from low- and middle- income homes on a reading comprehension test. Preliminary results indicate two measures predicted later reading comprehension for children from low income homes, use of complex syntax and shape matching. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Notes the importance of positive human interactions and experiences on child development, and describes seven developmental areas crucial to early brain development. Suggests ways to enhance young children's development of emotional intelligence, social skills, motor skills, vision, language acquisition, vocabulary, and thinking skills. (TJQ)

Discussion of comprehension and attention processes of children viewing television programs highlights a study that was conducted to examine the potential impact of sound effects on children's visual orientation to television programs which varied in the rate of program pace. Results for four treatment groups of preschool children and fourth…

Through seriation, verbal seriation, and conservation tasks, investigated blind, partially sighted, and sighted children's understanding of quantity. Subjects were 81 children equally dispersed through these 3 groups. Age range was 4 to 17 years. Found similarity in concept acquisition among three groups that extended beyond quantity conservation…

Discussion of the educational system for black children in South Africa focuses on a project that was developed to teach map skills to elementary students. Topics addressed include unqualified teachers and the need for teacher training; producing affordable instructional materials; and spatial and visual perception skills. (Contains 12…

Discusses variables in the systematic decision-making process for selecting appropriate reading media for students with visual impairments. The article describes a two-phase process for selecting print or braille media. It examines an objective procedure for determining the relative effectiveness of print media, illustrating the procedure with…

Examined how exposure to a program of fractal computer graphics affected the perceptual sensitivity of sixth-grade students (n=197) to the natural visual environment. MANCOVA analysis of collected data and students' written responses to questions indicated that environmental perceptual sensitivity was higher for subjects exposed to fractal images.…

Tested the hypothesis that obese women (n=155) compensate for the prejudice of others. Results supported the hypothesis that obese women who were aware of the need to compensate for their partners' reactions to their appearance were able to do so. (JBJ)

Draw-a-Person (DAP) samples from 108 adolescents and adults with mental retardation were scored using Naglieri's cognitive and emotional disturbance scoring systems. Visual-motor skills emerged as the best predictor of DAP cognitive scores, more predictive than intelligence. Findings suggest caution in using DAP as an index of intelligence or as a…

Background: Psychophysiological measurement of processes related to social behavior may be valuable for research on individual differences and subgroups among children with autism spectrum disorders (Coleman, 1987; Dawson, Klinger, Panagiotides, Lewy, & Castelloe, 1995; Modahl et al., 1998). In particular, recent research and theory suggests that…

Photovoice is an educational action research tool that embraces visual communication through photography and allows for individualization. In this article, the author describes how a visual teaching method known as photovoice led to improved engagement with peers and learning materials for two young boys with autism. The author also describes how…