Adolescents spend a significant portion of the day on digital devices, yet we know very little about their out-of-school reading practices. While screen recording technology allows researchers to record and view videos of digital reading, the majority of studies exploring digital reading limit participants' reading to researcher-selected texts and…

12 teachers were interviewed and observed as they engaged students in close reading. We analyzed their responses and instruction to determine the scaffolds that were used as well as the contingency teaching plans they implemented when students were unable to understand the text.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how literature discussion affects middle school struggling readers. The focus was on 16 middle school struggling readers in a rural Title I school in the southeastern United States. Findings indicated that (a) literature discussion increased student enjoyment of reading, and (b) students…

Although scholars have long advocated the use of informational texts in the primary grades, gaps and inconsistencies in research have produced conflicting reports on how teachers used these texts in the primary curriculum, and how primary students dealt with them during instruction and on their own (e.g., Saul & Dieckman, 2005). Thus, to add…

The purpose of this study was to explore how three struggling, sixth grade readers experienced an after-school program designed to increase their affective and cognitive reading performance. Research in the areas of vocabulary acquisition, reading strategy development, discussion of text, time spent reading, engagement, and reader self-perception…

This theme issue of the NCREL's (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory's) "Learning Point" focuses on how reading engages children. The cover story article is an interview (Marianne Kroeger and Stephanie Blaser) with Mary Foertsch, from NCREL, on what types of innovative strategies teachers employ to help students become engaged readers. A…