Inference-making is a central element of successful reading comprehension, yet provides a challenge for beginning readers. Text decoding takes up cognitive resources which prevents beginning readers from successful inference-making and compromises reading comprehension. Listening does not require any decoding and could therefore offer a less…

Although both theory and research assert the importance of a reader's self-concept, we lack a nuanced understanding of the underlying subcomponents of reading self-concept as they relate to achievement and whether this relationship might differ for developing readers. In the present study, we examined the reading self-concepts of nearly 500 4th…

This article asserts that a carefully administered informal reading inventory (IRI) provides important information on low-achieving readers that is "not" provided by an end-of-grade standardized reading test. Using case studies of students' IRI performance, we address the concept of instructional level and the necessity of teaching low…

Research Findings: Anthropomorphized animal characters have been associated with negative influences on educational outcomes for young children, for example story comprehension and prosocial learning from moral tales. In this study we investigate how character realism and moral theme influence young children's recall of the story content. Retells…

Reading is one of the most important skills that students learn in elementary school. The problem addressed in this study is the decrease in proficiency of reading comprehension when primary grade students are assessed using a digital device to read and respond to instead of reading a text from a paper-based test. The purpose of this study is to…

Because word problems present mathematical information through a scenario, they are language-intensive and require mathematical and reading comprehension skills to solve them. In addition, they are linguistically complex, which makes them challenging for all learners, especially multilingual learners. Given the rising number of dual-language…

This matched-sample study investigates the use of a wide range of texts of varying--and often challenging--complexity to promote fluency for students experiencing below grade level achievement. We designed a repeated-reading protocol called 'Read Like Us', and performed a pilot implementation in small groups with third- and fourth-grade students…

A recent survey aimed at identifying the most popular current programs used to teach reading found that one common feature of all the top sellers was that they organize their teaching around leveled books. Other recent surveys show that teaching reading with leveled books is on the increase and that teachers believe it is endorsed or supported by…

In the United States, literacy rates vary between socio-economic groups, and this reading gap is also a common feature in the education systems of OECD member states. To help address this reading gap previous research has identified a number of teaching strategies that have a positive impact on student learning outcomes, including the use of peer…

A critical review was conducted to determine the influence background knowledge has on the reading comprehension of primary school-aged children. We identified twenty-three studies that met our criteria and focused on the links between background knowledge and reading comprehension of children in the mid to late primary years. Review findings…

In this study we investigated word-problem (WP) item characteristics, individual differences in text comprehension and arithmetic skills, and their relations to mathematical WP-solving. The participants were 891 fourth-grade students from elementary schools in Finland. Analyses were conducted in two phases. In the first phase, WP characteristics…

Prompted by the advent of new standards for increased text complexity in elementary classrooms in the USA, the current integrative review investigates the relationships between the level of text difficulty and elementary students' reading fluency and reading comprehension. After application of content and methodological criteria, a total of 26…

This study examined how comprehension-based silent reading rate (CBSRR) is affected by grade, genre, and text position. Second and fourth graders read 2 grade-specific passages (one narrative, one informational) in 4 sections, each followed by 4 comprehension questions. Analyses of rate with a criterion level of comprehension showed higher…

Reading comprehension instruction may be critical for students to learn from social studies text, particularly for students who are not yet proficient in reading. Understanding factors that correspond to high levels of student engagement during text-based social studies instruction appears particularly important. Data were collected from 50…

The sentences in texts are far more complex and diverse than those that children commonly encounter in oral language. This raises interesting questions as to whether the understanding of some sentence types might be more important than others in children's reading comprehension. Accordingly, we examined the relation between children's reading…