Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

A study examined the performance on the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) for first grade students from a rural northwestern school who had received reading instruction via a structured, phonics-based reading program. Specifically, the study compared the performance of (1) three students scheduled for retention because of poor reading progress, (2) three students matched on ability with the retention group by their first grade teachers but reading acceptably, and (3) a random sample of five average readers. All students completed the K-ABC, an individually administered aptitude test that assesses sequential and simultaneous processing ability as well as academic achievement. Results showed that students who had difficulty with reading tended to perform more poorly on the K-ABC than did average readers. The findings suggest that educators need to consider adapting primary reading instruction in relation to cognitive task performance. (The paper contains 21 references and several tables of data.) (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