The dissertation Reading Texts or ”Reality” investigate teachers use of interpretive communities in teaching literature in secondary school. It discusses how different learning outcomes generates from three interpretory frames for reading. Teachers can be looked upon as critics when they show unexperienced readers why and how they read an interprete literary texts. In their teaching,they don´t relate only to their students but also to thier own conception of subject matter and to a broader discourse in society that deals with questions of why and how we read literature. Following voices of the discourse are included in the study: eight teachers, curriculum texts, a journal for the profession and a journal för scholors. Teachers combine several aims in their teaching of literature. They use literature to discuss life, gender and problems related to young people, text as faction. But, they also try to teach their students about narrathology and how to understand and interpretate fictional texts, text as fiction and a world of signs. The curriculum, however, means that literature is read only to gain knowledge about the world,oneself and other people. A contradiction is that one of the criterias for assement includes knowledge of texts and methodology from the academic subject. One of the other voices in the discourse, a journal for scholors, talk about the literary texts but very seldom about teaching the texts. Another voice, a journal for teachers in Swedish, follows the curriculum closely and discusses reading literature as a way to get knowledge of the world. Research in subject matter didactics can investigate teaching, relate different aims to different outcomes and show possibilities for teaching literature and reading comprehension. If we choose only one interpretive community, we get one kind of reading comprehension.If we combine two in a complex teaching strategy, we extend learning and reading comprehension of our students.

The aim of this study is to investigate what the grade in mathematics tells us about the pupil’s general academic success in other school subjects in Sweden’s compulsory school. What proficiency, except mathematical skills, does a high grade in mathematics indicate? First an inventory of the official arguments for school mathematics was conducted. The inventory shows that the arguments generally can be classified into two main classes: i) utilitarian arguments and ii) cultural arguments. In addition to these two main groups the debate also includes more remote and indirect arguments: iii) the transfer argument and iv) the selection argument .If the two last arguments are valid it is assumed that the so called indication hypothesis should be true: that pupils who succeed in mathematics also will achieve high grades in other school subjects. A statistical analysis was conducted of the grades data for the approximately 124,000 pupils who completed compulsory school in Sweden 2006. The analyses provide support for the indication hypothesis. Those pupils who manage to achieve the highest grades in mathematics often achieve high grades in other school subjects as well. This applies to both the purely theoretical and to the more practically oriented subjects. In the last phase of the study it was assumed that a possible explanation for the results could lie in the reading comprehension hypothesis; that pupils who are successful in mathematics in their ninth year of compulsory school also have good reading comprehension. This hypothesis was tested with data from the pupils’ results in the reading comprehension test that was included in the national exam in Swedish in 2006. The results provided strong support for the hypothesis. Pupils with high final grades in mathematics also have good reading comprehension. However the reverse did not apply. A good result in the reading comprehension test was not a reliable predictor of a high final grade in mathematics.

本研究旨在探討利用SQ3R閱讀策略應用在閱讀教學活動，對國小四年級學生閱讀理解能力及語文表達能力的影響，並根據研究結果提出閱讀教師對於學童閱讀策略教學之改善建議，提供國小教師日後進行閱讀教學之參考。 本研究採準實驗研究法、觀察法、問卷分析法及訪談法，以兩班國小四年級學生為研究對象，一班為接受SQ3R閱讀策略教學之實驗組學生，一班為接受傳統閱讀教學之控制組學生，兩班學生皆由研究者採用「閱讀理解-文章與試題範例」一書及PIRLS閱讀理解試題範例中擇取其中三篇文章為教材，進行為期十週共二十堂之實驗教學課程，在教學前後，對研究對象實施前測、後測、延後測，藉以了解學生閱讀理解能力是否有顯著的差異。 依據資料分析與研究結果，歸納出以下結論： 一、 運用「SQ3R閱讀策略」教學對國小四年級學生閱讀理解能力有顯著的影響。 二、 運用「SQ3R閱讀策略」教學對國小四年級高程度與中程度閱讀理解能力學生的閱讀理解能力有顯著的影響。 三、 運用「SQ3R閱讀策略」教學後，學生語文理解、運用及表達能力有顯著的進步。 最後，根據研究結果，提出對國小老師進行閱讀教學及未來研究之建議。 / The purpose of this study attempted to realize the impacts on reading comprehension and language expression for the fourth grade students of elementary school by using SQ3R reading strategies. According to the results, the suggestions were proposed as the reference for improving reading instruction strategies for elementary school teachers. This study used a quasi-experimental research method for observation the variations of reading comprehension on fourth grade students,The questionnaires and depth interview methods were pursued for a systematic realization of opinions from the students. In this study two classes were random sampling for survey A class of experimental group students accepted SQ3R reading strategy instruction, the other class students accepted the traditional teaching (control group). This study proceeded 10-weeks and chose 3 articles as prior-test, post-test, and delay test for analyzing the progress of students. The articles were chose from "Reading comprehension - articles and sample questions" and “PIRLS reading comprehension question examples”. The results were summarized as follows: 1. Reading comprehension of fourth grade students had a significant advancement under SQ3R reading strategies teaching. 2. SQ3R reading strategies teaching for improving reading comprehension were significant difference between high and low level students. 3. Reading comprehension, vocabulary usage, and language expression of testing students had significant progress under “SQ3R reading strategies teaching”.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a controversial test administration alteration, the read-aloud alteration, in which text (passages and questions) is read aloud to the student on a reading comprehension test. For students whose disabilities impair their skill in decoding text and reading fluently, accessing text to demonstrate their comprehension can be significantly impeded. Using a quasi-experimental design, this study examined whether the comprehension scores for students with disabilities with certain characteristics improved with the read-aloud alteration. Participants were fourth-grade Georgia public school students (N=664) enrolled during the 2005-2006 school year, with and without disabilities, who were administered the third-grade Reading Criterion-Referenced Competency Test under either the read-aloud or standard administration condition. A 20-question survey was completed for each special education student who participated by the educator most familiar with the student’s educational program. Several moderator variables, such as reading achievement as measured by an external criterion (the reading comprehension subtest of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills), the degree of the student’s disability, as rated by the teacher, and individualized educational program features such as the presence of a decoding objective and time spent in the general education classroom, were investigated. These moderator variables were hypothesized to help better identify students with disabilities who might need and benefit from the read-aloud alteration. Students given the read-aloud alteration achieved higher raw score gains on the posttest than those assessed under the standard condition regardless of their disability status (students with or without disabilities). No interactions were identified between the moderator variables studied and test condition, with the exception of testing condition (standard / read loud) and reading skill (below average, average, or above average). Regardless of disability status, students who were provided the read-aloud alteration and were classified as having below average reading skills on the norm-reference ITBS had higher gain scores than their peers.

This study focused on the integration of book arts in a fifth grade classroom. As an art teacher turned regular education teacher I was interested in the effects of integrating art into the area of reading. The curriculum unit consists of two lessons in which the students were invited to use books arts as a means of expression and comprehension. The lessons correlated with the novel Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry. The results include my observations and reflections as a practicing elementary teacher.

The aim of this study is to investigate how fiction in English is taught in Swedish Junior High Schools with the present syllabus as a focus. I compare the present syllabus with the previous one in order to observe what changes English language teaching has undergone in regards to the teaching of fiction. Seven English teachers from different parts of Sweden discuss what role fiction has in their classroom, why they teach fiction and how the teaching of fiction is realized in practice. The reading literacy and frequency of reading are also analyzed in contrast with the increased consumption of technology. The results were consistent with research and statistics as presented in this study. The notion of students as individuals with individual needs and interests was consistent among the informants as was the awareness of the necessity of introducing reading as an everyday activity in the compulsory school.

This project examined whether the executive functions of set maintenance and switching, as assessed by neuropsychological testing, were predictors of set maintenance and switching within a more ecologically valid task that used metacognitive strategies during reading comprehension tasks as a framework for evaluation. Gaze times to key words during reading were used as an indirect measure of strategy use. A few significant relationships were found between set maintenance and set switching on the neuropsychological measures and the strategy learning and application tasks. Participants were more likely to switch to appropriate strategies in a situation in which they were given free choice of strategies to use, and in which characteristics of the text pulled for the use of a particular strategy. In contrast, participants were less consistent with expected strategy use when they had just learned a strategy and were asked explicitly to apply it to a text that did not pull for use of a particular strategy. Factors such as visual scanning, motor speed, working memory, and passage comprehension affected the relationship between executive functions and the more ecologically valid task.

Teachers’ personal practical knowledge is the knowledge of teachers which is principally known and produced by teachers themselves. Greatly inspired by Meijer, Verloop and Beijaard (1999), this study uses a questionnaire and an interview to continue the line of their investigation. The study aims to describe and illustrate the content of 13 teachers’ personal practical knowledge about teaching reading comprehension to non-English majors at a university in China. The study is also to examine similarities (shared knowledge) and differences in teacher knowledge, and potentially relevant background variables in it. As a result, detailed information about these teachers’ personal practical knowledge about teaching reading comprehension has been found. Meijer et al. (1999) could not find shared knowledge by investigating teachers from different schools. In this study, by investigating teachers from the same school, shared knowledge could not be found either. Thus, by comparing these teachers’ personal practical knowledge, they can be classified into three groups: subject-matter-oriented, student-oriented and student-learning-oriented teachers. Each group is illustrated by describing one teacher’s knowledge as a typical example. Moreover, six potentially relevant background variables are discussed in this study. By matching the six background variables to the responses of these teachers, three patterns in potentially relevant background variables have been developed: professional-growth teachers, student-centered teachers, and authority-maintaining teachers.

TEM-8 (Test for English Majors, Band 8) is a large-scale nationwide standard test for English majors in China. It has been increasingly recognized in China and has already become one of the criteria for judging English teaching and learning in China. It is necessary to pay more attention to its development. Meanwhile, reading comprehension is regarded as vitally important in acquiring a language. It is worthy investigating how to measure reading comprehension ability accurately and properly in language testing and whether reading comprehension in TEM-8 can reflect the test-taker’s reading ability. This thesis analyzes the content validity of the reading comprehension part of TEM-8 from 2008 to 2010 in terms of the new framework of task characteristics revised from Bachman and Palmer’s framework (1996: 49), and in accordance with The Teaching Syllabus for TEM-8 and The 2004 Test Syllabus for TEM-8. This study has shown that TEM-8 reading comprehension part has relatively high content validity, basically corresponding to the requirements in the teaching syllabus and test syllabus. However, there are some deficiencies influencing the content validity of TEM-8, such as limited test method, limited data recources and time. Key words: TEM-8, Reading Comprehension, Content validity

Sammanfattning För att dagens elever ska kunna möta de krav som samhället ställer på läskunnighet behöver de kunna ta till sig innehållet i det de läser med god läshastighet och förståelse och de behöver kunna reflektera kring det lästa. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att ta reda på hur ett antal elever upplever hur deras reflektionsförmåga och läsförståelse påverkas av att arbeta med skönlitterära texter och textsamtal utifrån en metod som kan kallas reflekterande läsning och skrivning. Anledningen till detta är att jag vill ta reda på om arbetssättet passar att implementera över lag i den skola jag arbetar för närvarande.                       Genom en litteraturgenomgång av språkets betydelse för människans utveckling, läs- och skrivutveckling, några olika didaktiska metoder och kvalitativa intervjuer med sex elever i år 9 redogör jag i detta examensarbete för hur man didaktiskt kan arbeta för att utveckla elevernas reflektionsförmåga och läsförståelse. Jag tar också upp svårigheter och kritik som framförts om den didaktiska metoden. Resultatet visar att fem av de sex eleverna upplever att de blivit bättre på att reflektera kring skönlitterära texter och att dessa reflektioner kan leda till en bättre förståelse för det lästa. Utifrån det resultat jag fått fram och den litteratur jag läst, anser jag att metoden, med några små justeringar, går att implementera från förskoleklass och uppåt.   Nyckelord: reflekterande läsning och skrivning, läsförståelse, reflektionsförmåga / Abstract In order to meet the requirements on reading acquisition of today’s society, students must know how to understand what they read and keep up their reading speed. They also need to know how to reflect upon what they are reading. The purpose with this examination is to find out how a number of students experience their ability to reflect upon fiction and how their reading comprehension is being improved by reading fiction and working with book talks through a didactic method called reflective reading and writing. The reason for doing this is that I would like to find out whether this method is suitable to implement at the school where I am working at the present.                       By studying literature about the importance of language to man’s development, reading and writing acquisition, some different didactic methods and interviewing six students in year 9, I report in this examination on how you can work didactically to develop the students’ ability to reflect and their reading comprehension. I also report on difficulties with and critique on the method. The result shows that five of the six students experience a better ability to reflect upon fiction and that these reflections can lead to a better reading comprehension of the texts they have read. From the gained result and the literature I have studied, I am of the opinion that this method, with some adjustments, can be implemented as early as from pre-school class.   Keywords: reflective reading and writing, reading comprehension, ability to reflect