This article describes an unexpected playground experience that occurred between the author, a reading educator and former middle grades teacher, and his six-year-old granddaughter. The experience became the inspiration and impetus to provide an introduction to, and a rationale for, the concept of text clusters to middle grades teachers. The…

Although much research exists on digital reading, confusion about literacy terminology persists. Inspired by a recent article in "Reading Research Quarterly," the authors explore a multifaceted heuristic of digital reading developed by Julie Coiro. The heuristic, which offers a way to systematically organize, label, and define complex…

Abstract When he returned to Amsterdam in spring 1945, Otto Frank discovered that not one but two versions of his daughter's diary had survived the Holocaust: the three notebooks of so-called version A and the revision of that diary on loose sheets of paper, called version B. Other texts also survived, including a notebook Anne titled "Tales…

This conceptual paper addresses fluency instruction and assessment for students with or at risk for reading disabilities. Although a multidimensional construct, fluency tests more often have been limited to measuring students' reading rate and accuracy. The reasons for this are explained as well as how fluency tests have influenced classroom…

This manuscript describes the current debate about the use of leveled readers during literacy instruction. Some experts claim that leveled readers are overused in classrooms, at the expense of more complex texts. As a result, students may lack exposure to sophisticated vocabulary and varied text structures. In contrast, other experts assert that…

Engaging students in the reading process is challenging when they are unable to connect to texts. It is important to provide inclusive and diverse texts (IDTs) in the language arts curriculum. To promote a positive reading experience, all students need to read IDTs with non-stereotypical depictions of girls, women, people of Color, and more. This…

New strategies come along all the time, but these strategies matter little if educators are not sure why they are using them or what the desired outcome is. Quality literacy instruction should be rooted in effective foundational practices. Text-dependent questions offer a foundation for literacy practices that support students' comprehension,…

We face constant choices about how we read. Educators must select classroom materials. College students weigh their textbook options. Parents make decisions for their children. The digital revolution has transformed reading, and with the recent turn to remote learning, onscreen reading may seem like the only viable option. Yet selecting digital is…

This paper documents the impact of home libraries on academic achievement, economic success, and health. It summarizes research that shows how children without access to reading materials at home are more likely to suffer learning losses when out of school and how home libraries are one of schools' and communities' best tools to combat learning…

This article offers examples of K--6 classroom texts as vehicles for teaching the Black Historical Consciousness principles as encouragement for teaching Black histories long beyond Black History Month. The framework for Black Historical Consciousness (BHC), which outlines eight principles that provide support for teaching through Black lives and…

Artificial intelligence is the simulation or development of reasoning and other human-like cognitive abilities by computers. Currently, there is limited exploration of applications of artificial intelligence tools for teaching reading to children in the early childhood and elementary grades, including how artificial intelligence might be used to…

There is an increasing trend in course design for reading and writing classes to include multimodal texts such as comics, television programs, music videos, and social media posts on course syllabi. Often the practice is justified by arguing that students need to develop critical literacy skills and multiliteracies and that these popular texts are…

The ability to comprehend informational texts is critical to students' academic success in a range of content areas. However, informational texts pose challenges to the reading comprehension of adolescents with or at risk for learning disabilities (LD). One such challenge is the use of multiple text structures in a single text. Text structure…

I present a sampling of picture books with a focus on three peritextual features in particular: dust jackets, case covers that are different from the dust jackets, and endpapers. First, I briefly highlight scholarship related to peritextual features, followed by a description of four picture books with these three peritextual features, and…

This paper proposes a new theoretical framework for reading instruction in second/foreign language classrooms. The theoretical framework introduced in this paper is called the Schematic Information-Processing (SIP) model of reading comprehension and is a combination of video-based instruction and various reading comprehension theories, models, and…