The teaching of reading, some considerations

<div>During the past six years as a "General Subjects Teacher" in a Provincial Technical High School with a roll of 700 plus I have observed with misgiving the apparent marked lack of reading ability displayed by the pupils. I have felt continually frustrated in my attempts to teach various subjects by the fact that a preponderance of the pupils are poor readers. Furthermore a considerable proportion of pupils openly resented opportunities to avail themselves of a free choice of reading matter during any silent periods offered to them. Many were content to turn over pages of books or magazines and frequently gave pictures only the most cursory scrutiny.</div>

The teaching of reading, some considerations

<div>During the past six years as a "General Subjects Teacher" in a Provincial Technical High School with a roll of 700 plus I have observed with misgiving the apparent marked lack of reading ability displayed by the pupils. I have felt continually frustrated in my attempts to teach various subjects by the fact that a preponderance of the pupils are poor readers. Furthermore a considerable proportion of pupils openly resented opportunities to avail themselves of a free choice of reading matter during any silent periods offered to them. Many were content to turn over pages of books or magazines and frequently gave pictures only the most cursory scrutiny.</div>

The Effect of Illustrations on the Ability of Children to Draw Inferences While Reading Narrative Texts

<p>Materials used to teach reading in New Zealand schools, as elsewhere, generally include illustrations to help learners develop reading skills. The present research tests the claim that the availability of pictures can hinder rather than help the complex constructive processes of reading and considers whether or not boys are more at risk than girls. It does this by considering how pictures affect the ability of learners to practice making inferences and how the use of pictures in instructional material might be one factor that could affect the development of an ability to integrate the skill of making inferences with the other skills that are performed during reading. The construction of a mental model while reading gives rise to making inferences and depends on the integration of such inferences. This process leads to an enhanced memory of the text and assists comprehension. Four questions were raised: To what extent do 7-9 year old readers draw inferences from pictures rather than text? Is there any difference between male and female readers of this age and in each of these reader groups in how illustrations affect their ability to draw inferences from text? Do pictures hinder 7 -9 year old readers who can decode text well and have a high level of vocabulary knowledge but do not comprehend well (referred to throughout as 'difference poor readers') in their attempts to incorporate general knowledge in their comprehension of text? Do pictures hinder 7-9 year old good readers in the same way? A repeated measures study was designed; 48 children read four stories each, rotated between 4 groups (good readers and poor readers, male and female) so that each story was read with and without pictures. Each child read 2 stories in one condition in the first session and the other 2 stories in the other condition in the second session. The order in which the stories were read was also rotated. The children gave oral answers to questions designed to probe for evidence of inference making after each reading with books open and then re-told the stories with books closed. Results indicated that for these participants, the male difference poor readers were more likely than any in the other groups to make more inferences from the text without the pictures; for some the response also indicated that the nature of their reading experience was profoundly affected. The good readers also tended to make fewer inferences with pictures as did half of the female difference poor readers. The other half seemed to make very few inferences unless pictures were present but these inferences were more influenced by the text than the pictures. These findings suggest that if the aim is to teach comprehension of text then learning materials might be more effective if they did not contain illustrations.</p>

The Effect of Illustrations on the Ability of Children to Draw Inferences While Reading Narrative Texts

<p>Materials used to teach reading in New Zealand schools, as elsewhere, generally include illustrations to help learners develop reading skills. The present research tests the claim that the availability of pictures can hinder rather than help the complex constructive processes of reading and considers whether or not boys are more at risk than girls. It does this by considering how pictures affect the ability of learners to practice making inferences and how the use of pictures in instructional material might be one factor that could affect the development of an ability to integrate the skill of making inferences with the other skills that are performed during reading. The construction of a mental model while reading gives rise to making inferences and depends on the integration of such inferences. This process leads to an enhanced memory of the text and assists comprehension. Four questions were raised: To what extent do 7-9 year old readers draw inferences from pictures rather than text? Is there any difference between male and female readers of this age and in each of these reader groups in how illustrations affect their ability to draw inferences from text? Do pictures hinder 7 -9 year old readers who can decode text well and have a high level of vocabulary knowledge but do not comprehend well (referred to throughout as 'difference poor readers') in their attempts to incorporate general knowledge in their comprehension of text? Do pictures hinder 7-9 year old good readers in the same way? A repeated measures study was designed; 48 children read four stories each, rotated between 4 groups (good readers and poor readers, male and female) so that each story was read with and without pictures. Each child read 2 stories in one condition in the first session and the other 2 stories in the other condition in the second session. The order in which the stories were read was also rotated. The children gave oral answers to questions designed to probe for evidence of inference making after each reading with books open and then re-told the stories with books closed. Results indicated that for these participants, the male difference poor readers were more likely than any in the other groups to make more inferences from the text without the pictures; for some the response also indicated that the nature of their reading experience was profoundly affected. The good readers also tended to make fewer inferences with pictures as did half of the female difference poor readers. The other half seemed to make very few inferences unless pictures were present but these inferences were more influenced by the text than the pictures. These findings suggest that if the aim is to teach comprehension of text then learning materials might be more effective if they did not contain illustrations.</p>

A Large-Scale Investigation of White Matter Microstructural Associations with Reading Ability

Reading involves the functioning of a widely distributed brain network, and white matter tracts are responsible for sending information between constituent network nodes. Several studies have analyzed fiber bundle microstructural properties to shed insights into the neural basis of reading abilities and disabilities. Findings have been inconsistent, potentially due to small sample sizes and varying methodology. To address this, we analyzed a large data set of 690 children ages 5-18 using state-of-the-art neuroimaging acquisitions and processing techniques. We searched for associations between fractional anisotropy (FA) and single-word and nonword reading skills in both typical and poor readers across multiple tracts previously thought to contribute to reading. Consistent with prior studies, FA increased with age across all tracts. There were significant correlations between better reading skills and higher FA in several fiber bundles among poor readers, but fewer and occasionally negative associations among proficient readers. The left superior longitudinal fasciculus and arcuate fasciculus unexpectedly exhibited higher FA within those diagnosed with reading disabilities compared to those without a diagnosis, while their right-hemisphere homologs exhibited higher FA in those with higher reading scores, regardless of diagnostic status. These results suggest a different relation between white matter pathways in children with typical reading ability versus those with reading disabilities.

Cognitive Retroactive Transfer of Language Skills From English as a Foreign Language to Hebrew as the First Language

The study tested whether cognitive retroactive transfer (CRT) of language skills from English to Hebrew takes place; specifically, whether an improvement in linguistic and meta-linguistic skills in English as a foreign language (FL) would lead to an improvement in these skills in Hebrew as the first language (L1). The participants consisted of 124 students in Grade 6 who were randomly assigned to an experimental group or a control group. Each group was further divided into readers with dyslexia, poor readers, and typical readers groups. The experimental group participated in an English intervention program designed for this study. All participants were administered a battery of pre- and post-treatment tests in linguistic and meta-linguistic skills in Hebrew and in English. The findings supported the existence of CRT from skills in English to skills in Hebrew with reference to most of the variables in the domains of reading, writing, and language skills. The improvement in most of the linguistic and meta-linguistic tasks in both English and Hebrew was significantly higher in the experimental group compared with the control group. The innovation of this study was in testing CRT of linguistic and meta-linguistic skills from English to Hebrew. Limitations and direction for future research are discussed.

More than Surviving, Thriving in the Information Age: Reading as a bais for using Information Technology Efficiently

Within recent years, computer technology has revolutionized infomation production, in storage, and information retrieval. Information is available in unprecedented quantity, easily and quickly obtained, often inexpensively. The patterns of work are changing; learning how to learn becomes more necessary than ever for survival. Standard information-handling skills and strategies and a range of technical skills will enhance the chances of success, but reading skills are fundamental. We can learn from the skills exhibited by good readers and good users of infomation; awareness of the habits of poor readers and infomation-users will help us help them cope in an increasingly in-glutted world.