Finds that the reader's purpose for reading (read-to-do or read-to-recall) partially determines what type of mental representation is stressed during comprehension. Finds that the processing of procedural text is codetermined by the participants' purpose for reading and type of text (narrative versus list-like) as well as the text structure (as…

Investigates the relationship between phoneme segmentation ability and the development of orthographic representations. Finds that children who were most well equipped to perform phoneme segmentation tasks acquired the new reading vocabulary significantly faster than those who were less phonemically aware. Provides strong support for the thesis…

Examines the correlates of spelling impairment in children with histories of early speech sound disorders. Reveals that children with preschool speech sound and language problems become poorer spellers at school age than did children with preschool speech sound disorders only. Concludes that familial aggregation of spelling disorders suggests a…

Assesses the role of the onset-rime structure in visual word recognition. Finds experiments 1 through 3 showed no evidence for the importance of onset-rime in children (2nd through 6th graders) or adults; experiment 4 with adults found onset-rime structure is important in oral reading. Suggests the onset-rime structure may be an important unit in…

Addresses life-span developmental relations between naming and reading speed. Finds word-reading speed and naming speeds of colors and pictures increased into mature adulthood, but for letter and number naming, asymptotes were reached at around 16 years of age. Supports the theory that describes reading recognition development as a domain-specific…

Notes that a modest linear relation was found between visual contrast sensitivity across the broad range of word-reading skill in a population of children with higher word-reading tended to have higher contrast sensitivity. Suggests that the modest shared variance between word reading and contrast sensitivity may be due primarily to environmental…

Examines the hypothesis that early auditory temporal processing deficits cause later specific reading disability by impairing phonological processing. Suggests that auditory temporal deficits in dyslexics may be associated with dysphasic-type symptoms observed by Tallal and her colleagues in specific language-impaired populations, but do not cause…

Presents principles for using informational books in kindergarten, principles consistent with the increasing emphasis on content learning in kindergarten and with developmentally appropriate practice. Cites studies that suggest that response to informational text is not beyond the abilities of kindergarten students. (SG)

Explores the validity of the debate on the locus of the word-length effect. Controls two confounding variables: neighborhood size and different perceptual availability between inside and outside letters in a long word. Finds when the two variables were controlled, the word-length effect vanished. (NH)

Considers how the reading-level match design has become a widely-used tool for investigating the possible direction of the relation between particular skills and word reading ability: cause or consequence. Outlines an analogous method for identifying candidate causes of reading comprehension failure, the "comprehension-age match design."…

Investigates the direction of young children's reading comprehension skill in association with their ability to draw inferences and explores possible sources of inferential failure. Finds that the ability to make inferences was not a by-product of good reading comprehension, rather that good inference skills are a plausible cause of good reading…

Critiques the work of leading reading researcher, Reid Lyon, who is the Director of Research at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), raising concerns about the following issues: "valid" and "reliable" science; the alphabetic principle; the naturalness of learning to read; neuroimaging of reading; and the political…

The founders of the family academy developed a powerful curriculum for struggling readers. The element of the powerful program that was born from research, from experience and from staying carefully attuned to young children is presented.

Through a discussion of research that examines a plethora of variables involved in second language (L2) reading comprehension, the present study attempts to examine and analyze the statistical procedures utilized in studies of this nature. A review of recent research from the past five and a half years from four leading scientific journals of…

This is a compilation of two separate reports on international literacy research from France and Argentina. In the reports from France, research correspondent Jacques Fijalkow detailed three research projects that included the following: (1) A description of adult literacy skills; (2) An investigation of how study-abroad students were integrated…