This mixed-methods study combined the use of qualitative, comparative case study methods with other data analysis procedures to investigate an afterschool enriched reading program for academically gifted students who had also been identified as talented readers. The Schoolwide Enrichment Model-Reading Framework (SEM-R) was used to provide…

As a result of the Reading First Program of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the view of reading has narrowed. Individual state's Reading First professional development programs, and hence reading teachers across the United States, have spent the six years since the funding of the program in 2002 focusing beginning and developmental reading on…

Reading fluency has been identified as a key component in reading and in learning to read. Moreover, a significantly large number of students who experience difficulty in reading manifest difficulties in reading fluency that appear to contribute to their overall struggles in reading. In this article we explore the nature of effective instruction…

The theme for the 58th annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) was Bridging Cultures Through Literacy. In the first section of the Yearbook, Parker Fawson's presidential address captures the unique nature of ALER and its role in his professional development, and then moved beyond to capture the changing…

Learning disabled students with lack of fluency in oral reading may be helped to experience a "feel" for fluency through any of six alternative reading techniques: (1) imitative reading, (2) repeated readings, (3) radio reading, (4) phrase reading, (5) paired reading, and (6) neurological impress method. (CL)

Examines use of humorous literature with children who are reluctant readers. Presents a rationale for using humorous literature to aid in developing word recognition and reading fluency. Follows with descriptions of various types of humor found in children's trade books; suggests ways to motivate children to participate in repeated readings.…

Demonstrates how engaging, effective oral fluency practice can be part of daily reading instruction and how such instruction and practice can help to develop independence and understanding in silent reading. Describes how the approach includes explicit teacher modeling and teacher-guided time for group and independent oral and silent reading…

Repeated reading has gained popularity as a technique for helping students achieve reading fluency. It is widely implemented and can be used for students with and without disabilities. Repeated reading has several components that make it more efficient. This article shares those components and provides a framework for setting up and using repeated…

We are delighted at the range of issues raised in the commentaries. The breadth and scope of these serve to make obvious the need for an effective evidence base across languages if we are to optimize the teaching of reading. Our psycholinguistic grain size theory clearly did not pay sufficient attention to the role of morphology in decoding, nor…

The authors report 1-year follow-up data from 215 English language learners with reading difficulties who received a supplemental first grade reading intervention in the language of their core reading instruction. The researchers provided no intervention or boosters in second grade. The Spanish study revealed significant differences favoring…

This study examined the effects of a supplemental early reading intervention on the beginning literacy skills of 12 kindergarten/first-grade urban English language learners (ELLs). The Early Reading Intervention (ERI; Simmons & Kame'enui, 2003) was the instructional intervention used with all students. A multiple-baseline design across…

This article discusses whole language and phonics approaches to teaching L1 reading. It argues to bring these two perspectives together under an integrated approach to better teach second language reading. The article offers an integrated lesson plan with adaptable activities and techniques that show how to apply the integrated approach.

Extended time on high stakes testing is the most sought out accommodation for individuals with learning disabilities. This accommodation is necessary for many individuals with learning disabilities for a variety of reasons, but often for individuals who have ongoing difficulties with reading fluency. For many students with reading based learning…

Over a quarter of 8th-grade students and more than one-third of 4th graders do not read well enough to understand important concepts and acquire new knowledge from grade-level text. For students with learning disabilities, the numbers are more troubling. This article describes features of evidence-based instruction for students who continue to…

Due to the great interest of practitioners on reading fluency in first language (L1) and second language (L2) English classroom settings, fluency has become a hot topic. A number of studies have suggested that an extensive reading (ER) program can lead to improvement of L2 learners' reading rate; however, studies about high school students are…