A review of recent ERIC materials concerned with textbooks, prose learning, and learning strategies, to determine factors that contribute to learning from textbooks. (DD)

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)

Describes a 7-step 10-second previewing technique designed to increase reading comprehension of textbooks. Notes that the technique is adaptable to students at all levels. (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)

Reviews the revised edition of the Test of Reading Comprehension (TORC). Finds the test to be an interesting and unique approach to the assessment of reading comprehension. Notes that the test is consistent with current philosophies related to the nature of reading comprehension. (RS)

Argues that educators have the intent and the means to develop students who can reason and reflect across all content areas. Outlines three principles involved in teaching critical thinking. (RS)

Maintains that, despite their guilt about books they "ought to" be reading, teachers can trust themselves to guide their own reading in worthwhile ways. Offers a personal example of how reading books leads to more books. (SR)

Discusses the dramatic demographic changes which have profoundly altered the reading programs in many New Zealand schools. Notes that more than a thousand schools and preschools teach bilingually or run immersion programs in a language other than English (such as Maori or Samoan). Suggests that reading is best taught in the language spoken at home…

Muses over how many books bought are actually read. Reflects on factors involved in the decision not merely to buy books but to read them. Notes that some people maintain that most of what is actually read is pap. Wonders whether reading teachers should pay more attention to what people read, as well as how people read. (SR)

Discusses teaching strategies to present the two most basic ways of organizing information about a steady state phenomenon: pictorial knowledge models and diagrammatic knowledge models. Presents ways of organizing these types of information according to known points of reference and observation. (SR)

Presents a teaching strategy which uses points of reference (or basic underlying concepts) to help students understand definitions, descriptions, and comparisons/contrasts, and models its use. Notes that understanding the importance of points of reference is one of the first steps in the technique called "knowledge modeling." (SR)

Concludes that the readability levels of textbooks can be done rapidly and accurately by computer. (RB)

There is a lot of printed material on television (such as titles, subtitles, disclaimers, and commercial messages); and reading professionals should use this material in reading instruction. (MKM)

Describes nine steps in developing a structured overview for teaching the mathematical vocabulary necessary to understanding and working specific word problems. (MKM)

Describes how to construct behavioral objectives based upon psycholinguistic reading processes. (MKM)