This study explores literature reading and reception of narrative texts among Swedish middle school students. Through a written assignment and a think-aloud protocol, students' comprehension and interpretation of narrative texts are investigated. The study shows that Swedish middle school students tend to focus mainly on the plot. The main…

Motivation in reading is very important for engaging learners in reading activity which can affect better reading comprehension. However, without motivation in reading can affect the worst reading comprehension. Therefore, motivation in reading needs to be constructed first by the teachers. This study examined whether intrinsic and extrinsic…

In writing science summaries, student writers frequently borrow language fragments from source texts. While taking a text's ideas verbatim is commonly considered a failure in writers' expected use of their own words or even plagiarism, imitating "linguistic chunks" from skilled speakers is also an effective practice in language…

In writing science summaries, student writers frequently borrow language fragments from source texts. While taking a text's ideas verbatim is commonly considered a failure in writers' expected use of their own words or even plagiarism, imitating "linguistic chunks" from skilled speakers is also an effective practice in language…

This study tested whether writing skills, knowledge, motivation, and strategic behaviors (within the context of robust writing instruction) each made a statistically unique contribution to predicting fifth-grade students' (123 girls, 104 boys) composition quality and length on a persuasive writing task involving source material, after variance due…

A core tenet of the model of domain learning is that learning is shaped by cognitive and motivational forces. In writing, these catalysts include learners' knowledge, motivation, strategic behaviors, and skills. This study tested this proposition at two time points (Fall and Spring) with 179 fifth-grade students (52% were girls), examining if…

Extant research indicates culturally relevant literature (CRL) is linked to increased reading comprehension and interest in reading for Latinx students as well as other student groups. Current research also shows CRL can support home literacy instruction, facilitate writing instruction, foster sociopolitical awareness, underpin behavior…

The capability of reading comprehension is one of the essential skills for learning different topics, and has been recognized as a challenging objective in the Chinese curriculum. In this study, a concept mapping-based summarization strategy was incorporated into flipped learning to improve students' reading comprehension. The participants of the…

This study, using a mixed methods design, examined the use of a photograph-based model to improve students' language and writing skills. Classes were assigned to receive the photograph-based intervention (experimental) or to receive the regular language-based curriculum (control). Both second and fifth grade students in the experimental group…

Helping struggling readers to learn history content in middle school can be difficult due to heavy reading demands. In this study, researchers taught poor readers with and without disabilities in eighth grade to generate main idea statements; create, compare, and contrast paragraphs; and identify cause and effect relations, along with relevant…

Helping struggling readers to learn history content in middle school can be difficult due to heavy reading demands. In this study, researchers taught poor readers with and without disabilities in 8th grade to generate main idea statements, create compare and contrast paragraphs, and identify cause and effect relationships, along with relevant…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of a writing intervention on the writing and reading achievement of middle school students. Specifically, this study was concerned with 6th grade students who were exposed to a writing intervention and those 6th grade students who were not exposed to a writing intervention with regards to…

As students progress through school they spend more time reading to obtain information. Reading to learn can be a struggle for any student, but it tends to be a bigger obstacle for students with disabilities. Using text-to-speech applications and extensions is one way to assist students with disabilities who struggle to independently complete…

This study explores the possibilities for learning content that might accompany the use of an historically accurate graphic novel as part of a language arts instructional unit. During a 6-day unit, 16 sixth grade students engaged in graphic novels in ways that support comprehension, both in the context of a graphic novel text set and a specific…

In this experimental study, 151 middle school students explored 3 historical controversies, first reading and discussing primary source documents in groups, then writing arguments on their own. Students were either randomly assigned to an experimental condition, using argumentative schemes and critical questions as guides during discussions, or to…