Reading comprehension is an essential skill for learning in general and in science classes. Problems with reading comprehension might hinder students' participation in learning science. Text in science includes specific language features that distinguishes it from narrative text, so should reading instruction be part of teaching science? The…

This dissertation study investigated the comparability of reading comprehension of narrative and persuasive text by applying a convergent parallel mixed method design. Participants were middle school students (Grades 6 - 8, N=6). The purpose of the study was to address a gap in reading comprehension research about how students comprehend narrative…

Background: Writing is a particularly demanding activity, which poses unique motivational challenges for students. Despite the wealth of research on the relation between writing motivation and writing performance, little is known about the role of students' writing frequency in writing motivation and writing performance. Aims: We aimed to: (1)…

Revisions in writing aim at text improvement. Literature has shown that revision activity differs between novice and experienced writers. Our ultimate goal is to understand how children and adolescents develop the capacity to shift perspectives from language producer to language recipient -- a prerequisite ability to successful revision. In this…

Learning in data-rich environments has been a focus of learning sciences research since the inception of the field, with increasing interest in the ways learners "narrate data." This article examines the narration of data from the perspective of "learning on the move," identifying mobilities of data, and of the narratives in…

This article examines the narrative structure used by Israeli history teachers in their lessons. The investigation makes use of the analytical tools of narratology, employing the constitutive narratological distinction between "fabula" and "szujet." It becomes clear that the narrative structure which teachers of history…

We evaluated the narrative and expository writing samples of 12 adolescents with language-learning disabilities (LLD) in Grades 6 to 12 for elements of microstructure (e.g., productivity, grammatical complexity) and macrostructure (genre-specific text structure elements) using an experimental measure. Writing samples were elicited with…

Drawing upon philosophical virtue theory (Kreeft, 1986; MacIntyre, 1984; Meilander, 1984; Pieper, 1966), as well as its growing psychological support (Peterson & Seligman, 2004; Vitz, 1990), we designed a pilot intervention for a small group of adolescents in an academic day-treatment program at a juvenile justice center. J. K. Rowling's…

This study examined the relationship of different measures of syntactic complexity with rated quality for two genres of text produced by middle school students. It was hypothesized that different measures would be associated with distinct aspects of syntactic complexity; words per clause with greater use of structures more typical of expository…