This article describes a short-term longitudinal study conducted in low-performing rural primary schools in South Africa. The authors were involved in developing a two-year multimedia reading programme for rural South African children in grades 1-3, and sought to assess key learning outcomes in existing school computer laboratories. The programme…

This article provides an overview of the Autobiography Project, listing the topics of the ten chapters and the targeted skills that accompany them. The authors discuss the purposes of each chapter and describe the methods incorporated to promote the four broad components of literacy. This unit also addresses almost all components of the Common…

This dissertation uses data from the evaluation of a Striving Readers project to examine the associations between levels of implementation of different components of Scholastic's "READ 180" and student achievement as measured on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) reading assessment. The approach was hierarchical linear modeling using…

The "Read Naturally[R]" program is a supplemental reading program that aims to improve reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension of elementary and middle school students using a combination of texts, audio CDs, and computer software. The program uses one of four products that share a common fluency-building strategy: "Read…

The study of "Thinking Reader"[R] is a multisite cluster randomized controlled trial. Ninety-two reading/English language arts teachers from 32 elementary and middle schools were randomly assigned within their schools to either the "Thinking Reader"[R] condition or the comparison condition. The analysis sample consisted of 90…

The ability to read fluently is a critical skill that allows the reader to concentrate on the meaning of the text. It also can contribute to a successful reading experience. However, students with physical disabilities may have difficulty reading fluently due to any number of functional, psychosocial, or environmental factors that can accompany a…

The aim of this research brief was to explore the efficacy of story mapping, with the integration of Kidspiration[C] software, to enhance the reading comprehension skills of story grammar components for elementary-age students. Three students served as the participants, two in third grade and one in fourth, with specific learning disabilities…

This paper outlines the use of the "Writing with Symbols 2000" software to facilitate emergent literacy development. The program's use of pictures incorporated with text has great potential to help young children with and without disabilities acquire fundamental literacy concepts about print, phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, vocabulary…

Eye fixation is a frequent problem that faces foreign language learners and hinders the flow of their reading comprehension. Although students are usually advised to read fast/skim to overcome this problem, eye fixation persists. The present study investigates the effect of using a paper-based program as compared to a computer-based software in…

This study involved an examination of the impact of a self-questioning strategy on the text-reader assisted comprehension skills of six students in grades five through eight with reading disabilities (RD). The purpose of this study was to determine the degree older children with RD comprehend text-reader assisted text that is at or above their…

Approaching reflection from the perspective of a teachable skill set implies that research may inform how to help students reflect. Employing a framework of making connections often used in reading comprehension, this study aimed to characterize how making connections between the service-learning experience (SLE) and prior experiences in similar…

The study reported here investigates collaborative learning at the computer. Ten pairs of students were presented with a series of comprehension questions about Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein or a Modern Prometheus" along with a CD-ROM, "Frankenstein Illuminated," containing the novel and a variety of source material. Five students worked with…

Results of two studies support the contention that teaching metacognitive strategies with the aid of software packages can enhance positive transfer of reading comprehension and writing skills in very able fifth (n=140) and seventh (n=136) grade learners in Israel. Students receiving metacognitive instruction and using writing-skills software…

Three students with behavior disorders who exhibited difficulty with reading in content area courses learned to use a computer program to create cognitive maps of the reading material required for class. Using a modified multiple-probe design across behaviors or stimulus sets, replicated across students, allowed for the evaluation of student…

A study investigated how assistive reading software affected the reading performance of 20 postsecondary students who had attention deficit disorder. The software allowed the students to attend better to their reading, reduce distractibility, read with less stress, and read for longer periods of time. It did not affect comprehension. (Contains…