This paper examines an under-studied component of deep vocabulary knowledge, affective meaning, which is used to convey attitudes. Two affective dimensions, evaluation and potency, are examined to determine whether they influence the vocabulary choices of native speakers of American-English in describing interpersonal interactions. In Experiment…

Researchers have hypothesized four levels of instructional dialogue and claimed that teachers can improve children's language development by incorporating these dialogue levels in their classrooms. It has also been hypothesized that enhancing children's early language development enhances children's later reading development. This…

This study describes the interactions of three adult-child reading partnerships in a program that matches corporate volunteers with "at risk" students for weekly hour-long story reading sessions. Using discourse analysis within a sociocultural framework, the researcher identified variation in the way these partners were constructing the act and…

Previous studies have identified the features of preschool programs that correlate with positive outcomes for low-income children, but the impact of economic integration has not been studied. This study compares the receptive language growth of two groups of children from low-income families. One group of children (N=35) attended economically…

An experimental study was conducted comparing the effects of dual language, or two-way immersion (TWI) and monolingual English immersion (EI) preschool education programs on children's learning. Three-and four-year old children were randomly assigned by lottery to either a newly established TWI Spanish/English program or a monolingual English…

The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a district-wide professional development effort based on a modified Ramp-Up Program, designed to help high school teachers improve the reading skills of their students. Ramp-Up is a two-year course that seeks to accelerate the learning progress of entering high school students who…

This volume examines the ramifications of individual differences in therapy outcomes for a wide variety of communication disorders. In an era where evidence-based practice is the clinical profession's watchword, each chapter attacks this highly relevant issue from a somewhat different perspective. In some areas of communication disorders,…

Expanded captions are designed to enhance the educational value by linking unfamiliar words to one of three types of information: vocabulary definitions, labeled illustrations, or concept maps. This study investigated the effects of expanded captions versus standard captions on the comprehension of educational video materials on DVD by secondary…

This study was conducted over ten weeks with fifty three 5 to 6 year-old kindergarteners from economically disadvantaged homes learning French as a second language. The read-aloud strategy consisted of two teachers reading storybooks to children and explaining unfamiliar words. The teachers engaged children in meaningful discussions about the…

This executive summary describes results of the "Reading First Impact Study: Interim Report." The report presents preliminary findings from the Reading First Impact Study, a congressionally mandated evaluation of the federal government initiative to help all children read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. The No Child…

Because of the substantial impact on outcomes for children, states and school districts across the country are addressing issues surrounding early learning opportunities and school readiness for young children. Full-day kindergarten plays an important role in both. Colorado has made significant investments in full-day kindergarten as a means of…

Prepared by teachers in a summer course, this handbook presents brief descriptions of various aspects of reading instruction and related lesson plans and class activities. Sections of the handbook discuss readiness, word recognition, word meaning/vocabulary, comprehension, and reading in the content areas. The handbook also offers brief…

In a discussion of second language vocabulary teaching and learning, the premise is that vocabulary development from context should not be used as a teaching strategy exclusive of other methods, such as direct teaching through word pair translation; rather, these approaches should be seen as complementing each other. Several arguments in favor of…

This teacher's manual is a resource to assist teachers in expanding and refining their repertoire of teaching strategies and to guide them in instructional planning and decision making when teaching reading in the content areas. The manual does not prescribe a particular style of teaching--it is of value to teachers as they consider their…

This workbook offers a variety of quick language activities that are designed to develop grade 2-4 students' associative-reasoning and problem-solving skills. The activities in the workbook cover vocabulary development, classifying, sequencing, following directions, and word recognition. Sections of the workbook are Categories; Ordering;…