Describes the experiences of a junior high English class as they read Larry McMurty's novel "Lonesome Dove" and watched the television miniseries based on the novel. Discovers that the relationship between the reader and the written word is similar to that between the viewer and the film. (RS)

Reviews nine studies in the area of audience awareness and social cognition. Notes that these studies provide an interesting, though extremely incomplete, picture of the relationship between social-cognitive abilities and writing performance. (MG)

Reports on an investigation of whether or not persuasive writers actually can engineer a match between their stylistic and organizational intentions and their readers' perceptions of those elements of a text. Finds that a consistent writer/reader perceptual match can be achieved. (MS)

Lists four characteristics of strategic readers: establishing goals, selecting appropriate strategies, monitoring comprehension, and displaying a positive attitude toward reading. Discusses how these characteristics provide readers with the necessary skills to profit fully from the reading process. (MG)

Proposes an end to the "Great Debate" in reading instruction between the proponents of data-driven approaches and proponents of concept-driven approaches by offering two major principles of reading instruction. Explores characteristics of each approach and the danger of overemphasizing either aspect of reading. (MG)

Uses Martin Jamison's "Rivers" to illustrate a reader-response approach to poetry. Describes the process of students creating their own "poems," while analyzing the author's poem. Concludes that this approach encourages the necessary personal connection required for poetic involvement. (JAD)

Effective classroom implementation of the cloze procedure to teach second language reading depends on careful text selection, preparation, and presentation by the language teacher. Effective teaching of this technique helps students to develop reading strategies and reading comprehension. (CB)

Compares discourse between an adult and children as they make meaning of and respond to text and pictures. Finds the adult used a non-directive format during discourse about pictures and a question-response format during conversation about text. Finds that the adult initiated the majority of exchanges about text. (RS)

Reappraises conventional distinctions between oral-like and literate-like discourse, particularly Tannen's distinction between involvement focus and message focus. Treats message as an embodiment of involvement, and cohesion as an aspect of a developing writer-reader relationship. Offers speculations for rethinking "literate…

Asserts that students' reading comprehension is enhanced by sharing personal text interpretations through social interaction in the reading classroom. Presents three lessons which encourage sharing and extending text comprehension by exploring text meaning through art; by developing a Readers Theatre script; and by shifting question-asking…

Examines undergraduate students' imaginative processes (i.e., spontaneous imagery and emotional response) to newspaper articles. Finds that, as in previous studies with literary texts and feature journalism articles, imagery and affective responses (i.e., emotional response and story interest) were moderately to strongly related. Finds that both…

Investigates the relationship between the relative difficulty of passages and the number of unknown words in passages. Finds little support for the theory that free reading results in large vocabulary growth. Calls into question the practice of devoting large amounts of classroom time to free reading if the purpose is to increase vocabulary or…

Describes an assignment in writing documentation that turns the classroom into a laboratory for usability testing, giving students a clear sense of the reader responding to their text. (SR)

Suggests focusing historical narratives explaining composition's emergence and search for an identity by concentrating on the changing face of rhetoric within institutional settings. Investigates the cultural history of the term "process." Explores what the unacknowledged cultural values "process" bring to reading and writing and the…

Describes a model procedure for integrating direct instruction in story structure with reader response to literature in two settings: traditional storybook read-aloud sessions and nontraditional HyperCard computer sessions. (SR)