Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

Two studies examined certain aspects of discourse analysis to determine their value in classroom use. The first study explored the relationships among information recalled as assessed by informal reading inventory comprehension questions, unaided retelling, and schema based retelling. Subjects were 15 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students who read two passages each--one at the fourth grade level of readability and the other at their individual grade level. The results showed that using descriptive schema to analyze unprompted retelling bore a reasonable relationship to standard methods of evaluating comprehension. The second study examined the difficulties of first and second language learners in the comprehension of six types of propositions as defined by P. D. Pearson and D. D. Johnson. The study involved 160 seventh grade students, who were divided into groups according to their reading level and by whether they spoke English at home. Results suggested that continued reading assistance should be given to English-as-a-second-language students in order to bring them to the levels of proficiency of their English-speaking peers. (FL)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert