Appealing to children of all learning abilities, this book provides fun and effective ways to strengthen reading fluency and comprehension; engaging and motivating activities that reinforce word-family concepts; 20 full-page, full-color transparencies of the poems; 17 pages of reproducibles; and independent, small group, whole group, and extension…

The aim of this paper is two-fold: (a) to investigate scaffolding strategies employed by two EFL teachers in the process of instructing more and less proficient learners, and (b) to explore the most effective strategies used by teachers with students. Two elementary school English teachers were invited to take part in this study. Both were asked…

As reading and writing are both language processes, one can assume relationships between them, but the exact nature of these relationships has not yet been determined. While a large body of research has addressed reading comprehension and written production independently, very little investigation has examined the possible relationships between…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a comprehension program integrated with social studies instruction designed for at-risk second graders. The program included instruction in cause-effect text structure, emphasizing clue words, generic questions, graphic organizers, and the close analysis of specially constructed cause-effect target…

There is a growing emphasis in adult basic education on research-based reading instruction. Using Kruidenier's (2002) framework of principles and trends, we describe research-based techniques found during a visit to an adult basic education program. We also describe how the program moved to research-based instruction, and the factors that seem…

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…

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 examines the predictability of Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) reading item difficulty (equated delta) for the three major reading item types: main idea, inference, and explicit statement items. Each item type is analyzed separately, using 110 GRE reading passages and their associated 244 reading items; selective analyses of 285…

Prediction of the difficulty (equated delta) of a large sample (n=213) of reading comprehension items from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) was studied using main idea, inference, and supporting statement items. A related purpose was to examine whether text and text-related variables play a significant role in predicting item…

Replicating research completed in 1986, a study determined the relationship among cognitive laterality, gender, and reading comprehension for African-American students, as well as gender differences in cognitive laterality and in reading comprehension. Subjects, 40 African-American males, 41 African-American females, 12 White males, and 17 White…

A study examined whether implementing reading computer assisted instruction compared to traditional reading instruction will produce more effective comprehension at the elementary school level. Subjects, 30 fifth-grade boys and girls in a low socioeconomic area of Brooklyn, New York, were divided into experimental and control groups. Subjects in…

A study examined how knowledgeable school administrators are about reading programs in their schools and if they are "doing what they are supposed to be doing." Subjects were administrators of 20 elementary schools who completed a 10-page questionnaire entitled "Reading Survey for Administrators." Results indicated that all…

A 9-month naturalistic study of 16 preschoolers' classroom literacy behaviors and a related study of one student's literacy activities at home examined book-related dramatic play as an important part of the children's literacy interactions. Analyses of instances where play was related to the meanings of the books the children had read indicated…

Among the defining features of the whole language philosophy are: an emphasis on reading comprehension and extracting meaning from text; reading and writing across the curriculum; and the use of phonics instruction, subordinate to other methods (cues) of extracting meaning from text. Controversy between professional educators involved in…

This study was conducted to attempt to verify findings from an earlier study by I. M. Lawrence, W. E. Curley, and F. J. McHale (1988) in which differential item functioning (DIF) was examined for females on Reading subscore items from four forms of the Scholastic Aptitude Test-Verbal (SAT-V). The specific focus of this research was on verifying…