The false claims about reading and reading instruction made by the 2000 National Reading Panel (NRP) are presented. Sufficient evidences to challenge all the claims made by NRP are also highlighted.

You would think that the sound of school bells ringing out in dismissal would be a happy one to the ears of students anxious to go home after a long day in classes, but many are finding the work is just beginning after the final bell. Homework may be nothing new, but lately the vast amounts coming home in the book bags and backpacks of students of…

Recent consensus documents are reviewed to define research-based practices in early reading instruction. Examples of professional development that incorporates research-based practices are provided, with particular reference to the Texas Reading Initiative and the authors research project in Houston and in Washington, DC. Data relating gains in…

This paper describes two tests designed to find out whether children would be helped in their reading by the use of word and letter spacing that was looser or tighter than commonly used default values. In each test, 24 six-year-old children were asked to read aloud in a classroom; the realistic, high-quality test material was set using a range of…

Teachers can link the isolated components of a balanced literacy program by helping students make focused connections in reading and writing throughout the day. The authors share how two teachers made such connections through components of author's craft. They conclude with an extensive list of minilesson topics designed to improve students'…

Parental involvement (broadly defined as including both natural parents and other significant adults) has been consistently shown to produce positive results in students' literacy achievement, and there is widespread agreement among parents and school personnel about the value of parental involvement in education. However, educators do not…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the response of kindergarten students at-risk for reading failure to a two-tiered vocabulary intervention delivered in the context of a shared storybook reading activity employing rich and robust vocabulary instruction. Rich vocabulary instruction is defined as explicit vocabulary instruction in which…

As a follow up to the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) national studies of how well elementary teachers are prepared to teach reading and mathematics, NCTQ looked at preparation in both subjects in all undergraduate teacher preparation programs in Wyoming. This report evaluated Wyoming's undergraduate elementary teacher preparation…

This Evidence Based Education (EBE) request focused on research-supported vocabulary interventions for middle elementary students. Limited vocabulary is an important factor in underachievement of children in disadvantaged homes. Children with larger vocabularies find reading easier, read more widely, and do better in school (Lubliner & Smetana,…

The United States federal government, through the No Child Left Behind Act, is holding schools accountable for students' proficiency on academic standards. However, standards-based curriculum and instruction, along with school-based support and remediation programs, are not enough to help 100 percent of students to reach proficiency. It is…

The current investigation studied the effects of a computer software program of the oral reading fluency and comprehension of eight, first grade students. These students were identified as being either "at-risk" or "some-risk" for reading failure on the DIBELS oral reading fluency winter benchmark assessment. A multiple probe…

This article describes how Balgowlah North Public School, a co-educational government primary school situated in metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia undertook a whole-school cultural transformation with a particular focus on moving beyond the teaching of English by focusing principally on literacy with a heavy emphasis upon…

The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study is to explore English reading instruction in elementary schools in China under the revised curriculum in 2001. Eleven English teachers in three elementary schools in Beijing participated in this study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, field observations, and documents. The…

Eight first-grade students with either internalizing or externalizing behavioral risk factors participated in a supplemental reading intervention for 30 min per day. The intervention package consisted of three main components: instruction in word recognition, fluency, and appropriate behavior. A multiple-baseline design was employed to assess…

Williams syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by deletion of approximately 25 genes on chromosome 7q11.23. Children with the syndrome evidence large individual differences in both broad language and reading abilities. Nevertheless, as a group, children with this syndrome show a consistent pattern characterized by relative…