Topic: Factors Contributing to Learning to Read.

10-second review: “Cultural background, home environment, intelligence, experience, sensory equipment, physical condition. level of aspiration, instructional material and teaching procedures.” p. 285.

Title: “Using Psycholinguistic Knowledge to Improve Secondary Reading.” NA Mavrogenes. Journal of Reading (January 1975), 280-286. Publication has since been replaced by the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy by the International Reading Association (IRA).

Quote: “But in the final analysis it is the teacher who makes the difference…. He must understand the learner, the nature of reading and the procedures for teaching and apply that knowledge; he can fill in gaps in background, environment and experience…and can inspire and motivate.” p. 285.

Comment: And the method that should be primarily used to involve all these factors is the directed reading assignment: build background knowledge about the topic; pre-teach unfamiliar vocabulary; survey the chapter—title, sub-title, first paragraph, first sentence of each intermediate paragraph, final summarizing paragraph—establish purpose by the students’ raising questions about what they are about to read, read to answer the questions, discuss the answers to the questions and the students then apply what they have learned from reading the chapter. RayS.