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The disparity between male and female career-bound students' abilities to read, comprehend, and use written information is a problem for high schools and their feeder middle grades. A primary reason for the difference is that teachers and administrators expect too little of male students. Educators need to recognize the importance of communication in the workplace and further study and take steps to raise all students' reading skills. This research brief seeks to answer three basic questions: (1) How well do male career-bound students at "High Schools That Work" (HSTW) read? (2) Which school and classroom experiences are associated with improving the reading achievement of male students? and (3) How can middle grades teachers and high school teachers improve students' reading skills and academic and technical achievement? The brief first presents the 1998 HSTW data on male students' reading achievement. It then outlines some factors associated with higher reading achievement and enumerates some strategies for improving students' reading achievement. The brief states that all teachers can use the 3-part PAR (Preparation, Assistance, and Reflection) lesson framework to engage students in reading. It also provides an example of using PAR to increase reading skills in a career/technical course and describes several reading-to-learn instructional strategies. The brief advocates providing staff development to improve reading instruction in content areas. (NKA)

Presents a read-aloud from Mark Twain's "Life on the Mississippi" and describes its use (and class activities for it) in algebra and geography classes. (SR)

The learning package is intended for students in grades 9-12, and may also be used with junior high school students. Prepared for independent study use in consumer education courses, the package gears learning activities around a list of specific resource materials. A teacher's section outlines: statement of idea, learning objectives, instructional approach, identification of learners, and a bibliography of seven resource materials used. An evaluative pretest, pretest key, and posttest are presented. The section for student use includes: a pretest; eight learning objectives; and four lessons, each with constitutent (topic), objectives, instructions, learning activities, and a self-test, with answer key. A student evaluation form is included. It is stated that for the consumer-student to realize that every family must set its own limits and plan spending, he must have some knowledge of a family budget. (LH)