Kelly Johnson introduces a series of lessons that incorporate literacy, observation, botany, history, place studies, writing, and art, with a long-term eco-literacy goal of connectedness and a conservation ethic. Johnson's initial idea to use Beatrix Potter as a model in the Lower Elementary classroom came after extensively researching…

In this article, John Macalister draws attention to the fact that the term "extensive reading" can have multiple meanings. It has been used to include breadth of reading and time spent reading, as well as both amount of new reading and amount of text read. It is, therefore, perhaps unsurprising that teachers can hold differing views as…

This discussion piece continues the discussion forum on extensive reading (ER) from the April 2015 issue of "Reading in a Foreign Language." In that forum, a number of the discussions were concerned with the principles of ER (Day & Bamford, 2002) in implementing ER. Our discussion also concerns the principles; we examine ER programs…

This article describes the efforts of a U.S. History teacher to directly teach word meanings using the "robust vocabulary instruction" (RVI) approach, because research supports this method as a way to improve vocabulary knowledge for a range of students, including adolescents reading below grade level (i.e., struggling readers) and…

One of the most frequent problems in reading comprehension is the difficulty in making inferences from the text, especially for students with mild disabilities (i.e., children with learning disabilities or with high-functioning autism). It is essential, therefore, that educators include the teaching of reading strategies to improve their students'…

Repeated readings (RR) is an evidence-based instructional technique in which students read the same text multiple times. Currently, little is known about how effects of RR may differ based on students' achievement levels. Eye tracking provides a means for closely examining instructional effects because it permits measurement of subtle changes that…

This exploratory case study considered the opportunities for print literacy learning within multimodal ensembles that featured art, singing and digital media within the context of an intergenerational programme that brought together 13 kindergarten children (4 and 5 years) with seven elder companions. Study questions concerned how reading and…

Career and Technical Education (CTE) centers offer an opportunity for students to engage in authentic reading and writing activities. In many states, "embedding" English and math credits (i.e., allowing students to earn traditional core subject credits in the context of their CTE programs) has become a popular trend. This article reports…

Given that teacher professional development is a part of teachers' professional lives and given that billions of dollars have been invested in teacher professional development, this dissertation advocates for research that studies teacher learning and the conditions under which they learn, as an equally important component of studying the impact…

Reading skills are the key building blocks of a child's formal education. Yet, the national statistics on literacy attainment are profoundly distressing: two out of three American fourth graders are reading below grade level and almost one third of children nationwide lack even basic reading skills. This study reports on an evaluation of the…

The purpose of this phenomenological bound case study was to explore the effect of acquiring sight words on reading fluency and comprehension skills for early literacy learners during a summer reading camp at one elementary campus in south Texas. Study findings indicated that through prescribed learning experiences with sight words that included…

Reading instruction has historically been deemphasized for students in special education, and the limited research on this topic reveals that sight word vocabulary is most commonly taught in special education classrooms (Browder, Wakeman, Spooner, Ahlgrim-Delzell, Algozzine, 2006). However, successful reading instruction must target the five…

As close reading assessment becomes ubiquitous in secondary education, so too does our interest in new literacies. Though online reading may seem to be at cross purposes with "on paper" close reading, this author suggests how the two may successfully intersect. The close reading initiative at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School in…

When teachers engage student confidence in discerning visual metaphor and when they make students aware of their skills, they can teach them how to transfer the reading of the visual to the reading of text. This article details some activities for facilitating that transfer. Engaging and challenging visual activities can lead to an enhanced…

Common Core English Language Arts Standards and changing technologies have shifted the ways students and teachers select and read text. Reasons for the lack of digital literacy implementation in instruction are due to the large amount of choices available without sufficient background information on how to critically evaluate literacy…