With its focus on evidence-based instruction, the science of reading (SOR) is crucial to ensuring all students unlock strong literacy skills, the foundation for future success. This Spotlight will help readers get up to speed with the latest state initiatives; review a reading comprehension glossary highlighting the key components for success;…

Research has established a connection between print exposure and reading skills. The authors examined the impact of book access on print exposure via a monthly book distribution program. At 10 months of implementation, 170 families enrolled in the Imagination Library Program in Syracuse, New York responded to a survey. Results indicated that…

As a first and second grade teacher at a public, progressive, East Village school, the word assessment is a daily part of the author's life. Assessment means watching and knowing the children in all areas. It is figuring out, as effectively as possible, how their minds and personalities work. Though she has found a place in her teaching for…

In this paper I focus on Read Alouds as a place for exploring the nexus of methodological beliefs and structures, and teachers' stances within a second grade Spanish-English dual-language education setting in New York City. Grounded in sociocultural and semiotic theory, I examined the segment in which the teacher reads from the written text in…

Most research on parental bookreading has focused on mothers reading to their children. This study examined bookreading practices among approximately 800 fathers and mothers in low-income families. We looked at differences and similarities between families where both parents read frequently compared to families where only mothers read frequently.…

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of listening to expository text on first graders' listening comprehension and book choice. The participants for this study included 77 first grade students from four heterogeneous classes at a suburban elementary school in the New York City metropolitan area. During the pretest and…

The present study was designed as non-experimental longitudinal research. This was explanatory research because the researcher sought to explain factors that produced change. The study was a panel or prospective study because the same individuals were studied over a specified period of time. The design included both quantitative and qualitative…

This study examined the effectiveness of Sensory Stories on "circle time" behaviors in preschool children with autism. This single-system ABA design with a convenience sample of four participants consisted of one week for each A phase and two weeks for the B phase. The intervention phase (B) consisted of reading a Sensory Story from one…

Beginning a study of literary sense of place with books about New York City makes sense because both children and adults are likely to be familiar with the city through movies, television, and advertisements, even if they have never been there. By paying close attention to the ways in which authors and illustrators convey a sense of place in these…