Presents numerous suggestions for effective and efficient meetings, including: deciding on the meeting's purpose and outcome; preparing and sending out an agenda before the meeting; starting meetings on time; using a variety of strategies for reaching decisions and solving problems; and compiling and distributing minutes as soon as possible. (RS)

Provides a chart to be used with the Dale-Chall Readability Formula to simplify computation of readability level. (MKM)

Suggests standards for hiring reading specialists. (MKM)

Presents the second annual International Reading Association's annotated listing of 30 newly published trade books, selected by students in middle, junior, and senior high schools throughout the United States. Includes bibliographic data, information about paperback editions, and price information for each selection. (MM)

Discusses a document structure called "nested lists" which allows an increased amount of information to be presented in a fixed amount of space while also maintaining its usability. (RS)

Summarizes the history of Newspaper in Education (NIE) Week. Notes that NIE curriculum ideas for the 1988-89 school year focus on critical thinking skills, and are available through local reading councils or newspapers. (MM)

Discusses ways to use bar charts and line graphs to present comparative information in a flexible manner. Includes activities designed to review how the different characteristics of charts and graphs relate to different document structures. (RS)

Argues that graphs and charts are cases of document structures introduced in previous columns: combined lists, intersecting lists, and nested lists. Explores pie charts and various aspects of bar charts as they relate to other document structures presented in this series. (RS)

Suggests free or inexpensive resources available for inservice reading programs. (DD)

Discusses the use of Informal Reading Inventories (IRIs) in evaluating reading performance. Notes that although the IRI provides an in-depth evaluation of reading behavior, it should be used in conjunction with other information to assess reading ability. (MM)

Presents a computerized readability scoring system that allows for the calculation and comparison of several formulas with no corresponding increase in teacher effort. (FL)

Discusses the range of response modes and formats associated with forms. (RS)

Considers two characteristics of forms: uses and functions and information sources/types. (RS)

Presents brief annotations of the 31 books chosen most often by middle, junior, and senior high school students. Notes that problem novels abound and that romantic fiction, sports, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, and nonfiction are included. (RS)

Elucidates five guidelines to be considered by administrators and teachers as they cooperatively attempt to hire qualified reading professionals. Includes a checklist for the recruitment of qualified reading professionals. (SR)