Several types of help options have been incorporated into reading and listening comprehension activities to aid second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition. Textbook authors, teachers, and sometimes even students may pick and choose which help options they wish to use. In this paper, I investigate the effects of two help options in a multimedia…

Comprehension of text is a strong focus of instruction in general education. Likewise, comprehension of text should be a strong focus of instruction for students with moderate intellectual disability even though they may not be independent readers. Shared story reading is a practice used to access grade-level literature for non-readers. This study…

Psycholinguistics coined the term idiomorph to describe idiosyncratic invented word-like units that toddlers use to refer to familiar objects during their early language development (Haslett & Samter, 1997; Otto, 2008; Reich, 1986; Scovel, 2004; Werner & Kaplan, 1963). Idiomorphs act as "words" because their meanings and phonetic pronunciations…

The purpose of this study was to examine how 28 kindergartners in two half-day classrooms from a rural midwestern school monitored and self-regulated their understanding of texts (fiction and nonfiction) while reading. Three different interviews (fall, early spring, and late spring) were conducted while the children read from one of two…

The goal of the present intervention research was to test whether guided invented spelling would facilitate entry into reading for at-risk kindergarten children. The 56 participating children had poor phoneme awareness, and as such, were at risk of having difficulty acquiring reading skills. Children were randomly assigned to one of three training…

This article summarizes a research study investigating the effects of asking preschool teachers to use a professional development tool to support their planning, implementation, and reflection of vocabulary-rich storybook reading. Findings suggested that not only could teachers use the tool in their planning and reflection but also that use of the…

This article focuses on young children's misinterpretations of storybook illustrations. Examples of misinterpretations drawn from preschool classrooms are presented and analyzed to explain four kinds of confusion that are typically involved. Based on these analyses, the authors argue that young children are capable of the reasoning required to…

This column examines research studies that foster children to explore the relationship between text and images. The collaboration of an engaging picturebook and a good teacher unlocks rich discussion and interaction among the students. Through visual literacy, children are active participants while making meaning and strong connections. The cited…

The purpose of the current study was to characterize and compare the emergent-literacy skills, print interest, and home-literacy environment of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to their peers, as well as to examine the association between children's emergent-literacy skills and their home-literacy environment. Results indicated that…

Purpose: This study had 4 primary purposes: (a) to describe the oral narrative performance of typically developing African American prekindergarten children with commonly used macro- and microstructure measures; (b) to examine the concurrent and (c) predictive relations between narrative performance, spoken dialect use, vocabulary, and story…

Almost nothing is known about the capacity of minimally verbal students with autism to develop literacy skills. Shared reading is a regular practice in early education settings and is widely thought to encourage language and literacy development. There is some evidence that children with severe disabilities can be engaged in adapted shared reading…

Purpose: This study evaluated the feasibility, efficacy, and social validity of a parent-implemented intervention for promoting print knowledge in preschoolers with language impairment. Method: This trial involved 62 children and their parents. Each dyad completed a 12-week intervention program. Parents in the treatment group implemented…

Understanding a story is an active process, whether children have listened to it being read aloud or, when they are older and read it for themselves. When children grasp a story, they (1) attend to what is important; (2) anticipate what is to come; and (3) build meaningful patterns from the many details. These active interactions with a story can…

This article explores what it means to be a competent reader of picture storybooks by examining the abilities of some 4-6-year-olds, who were read stories aloud in class. Jonathan Culler's concept of "literary competence" was used to tease out the children's implicit knowledge of the structures and conventions that enable them to read a work of…

This article presents a content analysis of nine transitional chapter books featuring African American females. Transitional chapter books are geared toward transitional readers--children in grades 2 through 4 who have outgrown predictable books and other types of easy readers but are not ready for more complex novels. The purpose of this study is…