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A Summary Of Studies Related To The Effect Of Question Placement On Reading Comprehension, Katherine D. Wiesendanger, Ellen D. Birlem, John Wollenberg

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Most reading specialists would agree that the sole justification for the various decoding instruction in reading is to prepare the student for extracting meaning from the written symbol (Tinker and McCullough, 1962). The pronunciation of words without understanding their meaning is of little use to anyone. Therefore, the development of the processes by which meanings become associated with symbols must be provided for in any reading program (Bond & Tinker, 1973). According to Strang (1969), the mature reader must not only understand the literal meaning of a passage, but also interpret the author's statements, make critical judgments, inferences and evaluations, …

The Language Experience Approach: A Transition From Oral To Written Language, Don Richgels

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

A language experience approach to the teaching of beginning reading makes use of the valuable resource of children's speaking ability. But more importantly, it also cultivates metalinguistic ability and eases the child's transition between two very different forms of language, utterance and text.

Expanding Children's Vocabulary, Frederick A. Duffelmeyer

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This article describes an instructional technique for expanding children I s vocabulary which embodies the learning principle above. The technique is used during the "Skill Development" stage of a basal reading lesson, and presupposes the introduction of new words during the "Preparation for Reading" stage. It will be presented in terms of a planning phase, a teaching phase, and an application phase.

Reading Horizons Vol. 23, No. 1

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Complete issue of Reading Horizons volume 23, issue 1.

Pattern Books: An Activity For Beginning Reading Instruction, Elaine G. Wangberg

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The Pattern Book activity to be described can provide a means of introducing and reinforcing high frequency vocabulary within a Language Experience Approach. With this activity the teacher selects a high frequency word (or a few words) which a small group of students or an individual student does not know. These words may come from the students' self-selection, from student' dictation, from a word list or from a basal pre-primer. The teacher then thinks of a common pattern in which the word(s) might appear.

What To Do Until The Readiness Workbooks Arrive!, Patricia Cunningham, James W. Cunningham

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

On a brisk October morning, Ms. Kind arrived at school early. "Are those readiness workbooks here, yet?" she asked Ms. Leeder, the principal. "Not yet," Ms. Leeder replied, "but they should be here any day now." "I hope so," responded Ms. Kind. "This morning I noticed how much the leaves have turned. The school year is moving right along. Since the school system's goal this year is to have all children ready to begin reading instruction by the time they complete kindergarten, and my children have such a long way to go, I had better get started soon." "Well, they're …

Creativity And The Reading Specialist: Some Observations From Research Data, Mark E. Thompson

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The term creativity is frequently used by educators to identify behavior that is different or novel when compared to conventional modes of conduct. This creative behavior usually is the ability to be imaginative and original in handling words, ideas, or materials. For reading specialists, an understanding of creative behavior may provide insight into certain reading problems.

Direct Instruction Of Comprehension: What Does It Really Mean?, Gerald G. Duffy, Laura R. Roehler

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

There is little to debate regarding the validity of findings which suggest that instruction focusing directly on the task of learning to comprehend will result in greater and more consistent achievement than incidental, spontaneous and/or oblique instruction. Within this framework, however, the term "direct instruction" can mask a multitude of qualitatively divergent classroom styles. To illustrate, we will briefly describe a study in which two second grade teachers. each reflecting the characteristics associated with direct instruction. provided noticeably different kinds or reading and language arts instruction for their students. With this study as a basis, we will then offer some …

Integrating The Language Arts For Primary-Age Disabled Readers, Robert F. Busch, Patricia W. Jenkins

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Children who attended the University of Missouri Child Study Clinic had an opportunity to participate in a program of reading instruction based upon a theory of the reading process developed by Kenneth S. Goodman. Goodman viewed reading as a meaning seeking process which has two characteristics. One is that the reader is attempting to get at meaning. The second is that he or she is using whole language to do so (Brenner, 1976). This whole-language comprehension-centered approach to the teaching of reading is rooted in the belief that children learn to read in as natural a way as they learn …

The Dr-Ta: Avoiding Common Pitfalls, Jane L. Davidson

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) described by Stauffer (1969, 1980) is currently being used by many classroom teachers at all levels of instruction. The DR-TA is a procedure which improves students' reading-thinking skills by encouraging students to establish their own purposes for reading.

The superiority of the DR-TA is well established (Stauffer, 1976), and teachers who use the strategy effectively indicate that students do increase their abilities to reason while reading. However, elements of the DR-TA are being distorted or misused by some teachers who may then wonder why children don't seem to respond "like they're supposed to." Some suggestions …

Reading: What Is It? What's Required?, Mary Jane Gray

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

What is the task of the reader who is immersed in the act of reading? The importance of understanding this task has been recognized and given increased emphasis in recent years. For those engaged in the preparation of reading teachers, it has become apparent that they must help these future teachers to see that their choice of materials and teaching procedures should stem from an understanding of the task faced by the reader. To obtain an indication of whether or not future teachers did recognize the importance of basing their choice of procedures and materials on their view of the …

The Selection And Use Of Games And Activities, Thomas A. Rakes, Sondra K. Kutzman

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

There is a useful place for educational games and creative activities in the classroom if a teacher is willing to be selective in the type and utilization of such experiences. The following checklist and annotated resources are intended for those who use such experiences to 1) reinforce existing or newly taught skills or concepts; 2) improve social interactions among youngsters; 3) provide circumstances for student-directed learning; and 4) bring an enjoyable alternative to learning in the classroom.

Books For The Youngest Readers, Karla Hawkins Wendelin

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Parents are advised to read to their children frequently and to begin when the children are quite young. The following books are some recent offerings that are especially appropriate for sharing with pre-school readers.

A Comparison Of Syntactic Structures In First-Graders' Oral And Written Language, Linda Lehnert

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

If an elementary program included writing activities from the beginning of first grade, migpt students' written language be as syntactically complex as their oral language? A review of the literature found no study in which a comparison of syntactic features had been made between first-graders' oral and written utterances. The purpose of the present study, therefore, was to compare the same subjects' oral and written language samples. Using T-unit analysis, 19 first-graders' oral and written language samples were compared to determine similarities and differences in specific syntactic structures.

Referential Questioning: A Strategy For Enhancing The Reader-Text Interaction, Karen D. Wood, John E. Readence, John A. Mateja

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

What follows is a rationale for the use of the Referential Questioning strategy. Question types are described and examples provided.

Organizing For Diagnostic Instruction In A Reading Lab, Rona F. Flippo

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The College of General Studies' Development Center, University of South Carolina, opened its doors for the first time in the fall of 1978. The Center was to provide diagnostic-prescriptive services to all freshmen who were enrolled in GSTD 121, "Effective Reading," as well as to all other General Studies students who wished to improve their reading skills.

Redundancy And Readability, Alice S. Horning

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Redundancy is, in itself something of an unknown quantity, and a number of researchers have been experimenting on it (Horning, 1979). Several years ago, H. J. Hsia, a Texas Tech communications theorist, clarified several different types of redundancy, providing important insights into the ways in which these different types of redundancy contribute to readability (Hsia, 1977). Hsia's research helps to isolate some of the unknown elements in readability, and these elements look as if they have the potential to bond neatly to the textual analysis system proposed in great detail by Walter Kintsch of the University of Colorado (Kintsch, 1974). …

Author Index

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Index to authors in volume 22.

Article Index

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Index to articles in volume 22.

Reading Horizons Vol. 22, No. 4

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Complete issue of Reading Horizons volume 22, issue 4.

Beginning Readers' Perceptions Of Reading And Reading Instruction, Beverly Swanson

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The purpose of this paper is to briefly review relevant research concerned with the child's perception of reading, and to examine possible reasons for the confusion.

Getting Started In The Fall: Organized Reading Instruction, James F. Baumann

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Based upon data from the preceding year, the teachers form reading groups, hand out the basals, and jump right into reading instruction. There are several disadvantages, however, in initiating a reading program in this manner. First, records indicating prior placements may not be accurate predictors of current placements: past reading group assignments themselves may have been inaccurate, and/or children may have regressed ( or possibly progressed) in reading ability over the summer. Second, teachers need time to get to know each individual child and his/her reading strengths and weaknesses before determining an instructional level and assigning him/her to a reading …

Et Tu, Judy Blume: Are The Books Girls Choose To Read, Sexist?, Jon Shapiro, Geraldine Snyder

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The decade of the 1970' s could be characterized as period of feminine consciousness, a period of concentrated awareness of social and economic imbalances and injustices, which led to thorough examinations of educational materials. Sexism was discovered to be rampant, though perhaps not unexpected, throughout reading materials intended for young people. Many studies examined the frequency of appearance of male and female characters, which a majority focused on sex role stereotyping.

Motivation And The Adolescent Reader, Anne Troy

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

We propose the integration of literary materials and the skill builders of basic reading will do much to improve the teaching of reading and the level of achievement.

Measureable Effects Of A Read-Aloud Program, Roslind C. Hooper, Victoria Chou Hare

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The following report demonstrates that reading aloud to first-grade children impacts not only on their experiential backgrounds but also on their language-appropriate behaviors, in ways which are easy to measure. In the study to be described, both traditional and novel means of measuring program gains are utilized to marshall still more empirical support for reading aloud to children.

Helping Children Construct Meaning: Comprehension Strategies That Work!, Barbara Johnson

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

There has been widespread concern that students in today' s educational system are not comprehending what they read. Reading comprehension can be taught (Durkin, 1978-79; Pearson & Johnson, 1978); however, Durkin reports that almost no comprehension instruction was found in grades three through six. Less than 1% of classroom time was spent on direct instruction in reading comprehension. Durkin further reports that an adequate definition of reading comprehension instruction could not be found in research reports or other educational publications. Lack of comprehension instruction may be due to the fact that teachers have not acquired an adequate understanding of reading …

Using College Reading Assignments To Improve Reading/Thinking Skills, Rose Yesu Jacques

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The purpose of this study was to determine whether instruction in certain critical reading skills would improve the overall reading ability of college freshmen. The skills of recognizing assumptions, reasoning deductively, interpreting, drawing inferences, and evaluating arguments were the critical reading skills chosen for inclusion in this study. Besides the primary purpose cited, the procedures used in this study provided opportunities to investigate related questions.

An Analysis Of Published Informal Reading Inventories, Larry A. Harris, Jerome A. Niles

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Believing that IRIs have genuine value in a comprehensive diagnostic program if used properly, we decided it would be useful to examine a number of the commercially prepared IRIs currently available for the purpose of comparing them and describing their unique features for teachers.

The 'Virtues' Of Round Robin Reading, Timothy C. Standal, John C. Towner

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The goal of education is preparation for life. The goal of literacy training is preparation for education, not just formal education but life-long education, education in the broad sense. School practices which contribute to this process of education for life should be widely accepted, even applauded. But they aren't, or at least, not all of them are.

Reading Horizons Vol. 22, No. 3

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Complete issue of Reading Horizons volume 22, issue 3.