The main purpose of vocabulary instruction is to enhance and support reading comprehension. This goal spans across the grade levels and different disciplines and is supported by a plethora of research. In recent years, a great deal of needed attention has been finally given to academic vocabulary and disciplinary literacy. To contribute to this…

In tactile illustrated books, the reader has to explore the tactile picture in order to interpret its meaning and to associate it with the text content. As is the case with sighted children, tactile illustrations could be beneficial for language and literacy development of visually impaired children (that is, those with blindness or low vision),…

This study examined associations between classroom-level reading fluency, comprehension, interest in reading, and teaching practices. Participants were 466 children from 21 classrooms. Reading fluency and interest were assessed at the beginning and end of Grade 1, reading comprehension at the end of Grade 1. Teaching practices were observed with…

In this article, we provide some comments on the simple view of reading (SVR), now some 30 years after its initial proposal and empirical work (Gough & Tunmer, 1986; Hoover & Gough, 1990). We begin with an overview of what the SVR is as a conceptual model, as well as what it is not. We follow this with comments, in turn, on three papers…

In this research, reading texts in science textbooks of 3-8th grades were analyzed in terms of some variables. As these texts were analyzed, the units where these texts took place in the textbooks, contents of the texts, supporting the texts by some visual materials, specifying sources and naming the texts were taken into consideration. Moreover,…

One of the strongest instructional interventions documented in educational literature is the use of feedback to influence learning outcomes. However, there is lack of empirical research specifically pertaining to the use of multimedia in the feedback message. The purpose of this research was to test whether organizational pictures and modality as…

In some narratives one world is embedded within the main world of the story, which we refer to as the base world, and elements from one world can cross over into the other. This study explored the conditions in which readers perceive character crossover as being likely to occur. Participants read stories that set up the potential for a character…

This article investigates how test-takers change their strategies to handle increased test difficulty. An adult sample reported their test-taking strategies immediately after completing the tasks in a reading test. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling specifying a measurement-invariant, ability-moderated, latent transition…

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multi-level framework designed to prevent academic failure and remediate areas of deficit. It is a framework to support students for whom generally effective practices have been insufficient. Its inclusion in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; U. S. Department of Education, 2004) identified…

This study was conducted to determine how useful students' prior performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) is in helping to identify students who are likely to struggle on the subsequent year's FCAT, if intervention is not provided. Specifically, the authors wanted to determine how students are likely to perform on the…

Background knowledge is a strong predictor of reading comprehension; yet little is known about how different types of background knowledge affect comprehension. The study investigated the impacts of both domain and topic-specific background knowledge on students' ability to comprehend and learn from science texts. High school students (n = 3650)…

The purpose of this nested and layered case study was to explore the experiences of students participating in a reading to dog program. Ten student participants (nine were struggling readers) were enrolled in a sixty minute per week, ten-week reading to dog program. Participants completed a motivation to read interview and an informal reading…

This article summarizes findings from a two-year randomized control trial, focusing on a subset of 194 fourth graders with reading comprehension scores at or below the 15th percentile. Students in the treatment condition received an average of 94 daily 30-min sessions of small group intervention implemented with fidelity by well-trained research…

Research suggests that promoting metacognitive awareness can increase performance in, and learning from, intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs). The current work examines the effects of two metacognitive prompts within iSTART, a reading comprehension strategy ITS in which students practice writing quality self-explanations. In addition to comparing…

Research suggests that promoting metacognitive awareness can increase performance in, and learning from, intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs). The current work examines the effects of two metacognitive prompts within iSTART, a reading comprehension strategy ITS in which students practice writing quality self-explanations. In addition to comparing…