Despite strong theoretical and empirical evidence suggesting that word meaning knowledge plays a critical role in word reading, interventions for students with word reading difficulties and disabilities frequently target word reading instruction in isolation. This article connects reading theory to practice by describing one approach to integrate…

Responding to recent challenges to Clay's Running Records (2019) and their analysis using a three-cueing system, the author examines this reading assessment from an additive perspective of both bottom-up and top-down orientations of reading instruction. Endorsing their inclusion among classroom reading assessments, the author navigates the tension…

Reading connected text--that is, multiple sentences related to each other-- requires greater skill than reading isolated words. To read and understand connected text, students must quickly recognize words, integrate what they are reading with their background knowledge, and monitor their comprehension. This document provides a summary of…

Tablet devices, as assistive and instructional technologies, can be highly effectual pedagogical tools with multifaceted benefits, such as the ability to integrate multimedia and the ability to track student progress over time. The unique value of particular assistive and instructional technologies explains, in part, why they are more widely used…

The idea of process based writing has been in vogue since the seventies in which students compose essays in drafts and are able to reflect on past weaknesses and strengths. The teacher's role in facilitating this reflection is often referred to as "error correction." In ESL, the effectiveness of this role has been under debate because teachers…

This paper describes a project involving EFL learners in synchronous electronic discussions. The output of the students' interactions was analyzed qualitatively to uncover the main linguistic and interactional features. It was observed that the students' discussions contained a large number of spelling, usage, and grammatical errors, an almost…

Elementary teachers Fay and Whaley share anecdotes of how carefully listening to English language learners read--and discussing with them their errors and confusions--helps teachers better analyze such students' true language and reading abilities. They discuss the importance of spending time talking individually with each child learning to read…

Constructivism refers to a collection of educational practices that are student-focused, meaning-based, process-oriented, interactive, and responsive to student personal interests and needs. In contrast, instructionism refers to a collection of educational practices that are teacher-focused, skill-based, product-oriented, non-interactive, and…