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The first part of this report reviews an extensive series of studies concerned with the reciprocal teaching of comprehension fostering and monitoring strategies--an instructional method in which an adult teacher and a group of students take turns leading a dialogue aimed at revealing the meaning of the text. The studies reviewed indicate that after extensive exposure to these reading dialogues, poor readers improve, not only in their contribution to the dialogues, but also in their independent comprehension performance in the laboratory, in the classroom, and on standardized tests. The report then describes comparisons of reciprocal teaching with other viable teaching methods, including modelling, direct instruction, and practice. In addition, a description is provided of attempts to hand the procedures over to a variety of teachers, experienced, inexperienced, and peer tutors, as well as mapping modifications needed to ensure that the method survives under the pressures of actual classroom conditions. Finally, the report describes how to use reciprocal teaching dialogues with young and slower learners to improve both reading and listening comprehension. (Author/HOD)

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