Research indicates the need to further examine the dimensions of reading motivation. A clear theoretical basis is necessary for conceptualizing reading motivation and considering contextual differences therein. The present study develops and validates the SRQ-Reading Motivation, a questionnaire measuring recreational and academic reading…

This study describes the development and validation of the Extract the Base test (ETB), which assesses derivational morphological awareness. Scores on this test were validated for 580 monolingual students and 373 Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) in third through fifth grade. As part of the validation of the internal structure,…

This comparative case study investigated the implementation of an empowerment model for struggling readers that utilized the Internet as a context for reading, writing, and communicating in 3 different classroom contexts. Through student-centered techniques, such as flexible grouping and peer teaching, we designed Internet Reciprocal Teaching to…

Literacy instruction for students with significant intellectual disabilities traditionally emphasizes isolated skills instruction focusing on sight words and basic vocabulary. Recent research suggests these students benefit from high-quality instruction that includes comprehension and storybook reading. This study examined the effect of a…

This study examines the effect of a comprehensive literacy-coaching program focused on enacting a discussion-based approach to reading comprehension instruction (content-focused coaching [CFC]) on the quality of classroom text discussions over 2 years. The study used a cluster-randomized trial in which schools were assigned to either CFC or…

Preliminary efficacy data are reported for a research-based reading intervention designed for struggling readers in high school. PHAST PACES teaches (a) word identification strategies, (b) knowledge of text structures, and (c) reading comprehension strategies. In a quasi-experimental design, 268 intervention and 83 waiting list control students…

Science IDEAS is an evidence-based model that reflects interdisciplinary research findings that support the integration of literacy (e.g., reading comprehension) within science instruction in grades K-5. Presented is a framework for planning integrated science and literacy instruction in which six elements (hands-on investigations, reading,…

Proponents of Processing Instruction (VanPatten, 2005) claim that learners benefit most when presented with both referential and affective structured input activities. Following a classic pretest-posttest design, the present study investigates the role of these two types of activities on the learning of the Spanish subjunctive. Groups differed…

Reading fluency has attracted the attention of reading researchers and educators since the early 1970s and has become a priority issue in English as a first language (L1) settings. It has also become a critical issue in English as a second or foreign language (L2) settings because the lack of fluency is considered a major obstacle to developing…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of the use of children's literature and DVD films on EFL adult language learning. A total of 89 non-English majors enrolled in two Freshman English classes participated in the study. The study employed a quasi-experimental, pretest/posttest comparison group design. The participants in the…

In this research, parents and children participated in a comprehensive book reading intervention designed to improve children's literacy. Over eight weeks during the summer, children in the intervention condition were encouraged to read one book weekly and parents were trained to foster reading comprehension. Forty-eight Grades 3 and 5 children…

To investigate the construct validly of a section of a high stakes test, an exploratory factor analysis using principal components analysis was employed. The rotation used was varimax with the suppression level of 0.30. Eleven factors were extracted out of 35 reading comprehension items. The fact that these factors emerged speak to the construct…

The acquisition of reading skills of 100 monolingual English and 100 bilingual Zulu-English third-grade learners was investigated by measuring their phonological and reading skills. Little research exists on how the presence of a spoken-only Zulu (L1) could influence the English (L2) reading acquisition process. PA tasks were correlated with…

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the effects of a multi-year implementation of the Science IDEAS model on (a) the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) achievement growth in Reading Comprehension and Science of grade 3-5 students receiving the model, and (b) the transfer effects of the model as measured by ITBS Reading…

Progress monitoring refers to a system of ongoing data collection on academic skills of interest. Short samples of student performance are collected on a regular basis, and the scores from these short samples of performance are graphed to create a picture of student progress. Teachers can use the graphed student performance as they make…