Reading skills are considered an important lever for success in school and active participation in society. They are positively associated with reading motivation, reading self-concept, reading frequency, and behavioral engagement in reading (e.g., time, effort), variables that tend to decline as students move from elementary to secondary school.…

Teaching elementary students how to read is undeniably crucial, yet a substantial number of children encounter difficulties despite early interventions (NCES, 2022). Cross-age tutoring, a pedagogical approach that pairs older students with younger peers, emerges as a cost-effective solution that brings academic and social benefits to both the…

This case study investigates how teachers supported below-level readers who made reading comprehension gains in a virtual reading clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data sources included case reports, lesson plans with reflections, and recorded instructional sessions for 10 participants--5 teachers and 5 students. All student participants were…

This paper provides an in-depth exploration of reading engagement, a complex construct that encompasses cognitive, behavioral, and emotional dimensions. Drawing from social cognitive theory, the study examines how individual abilities, motivational beliefs, and environmental factors influence reading engagement. It identifies key strategies for…

Implementing literature circles in K-12 classroom provides students opportunities to take ownership of their learning. Teachers can maximize students' learning through social justice practices. Providing students equitable access to resources where they choose, collaborate, create, and communicate in safe spaces is conducive to students' cognitive…

An increase in curated lists of books focused on race, bias, equity, and privilege has begun tasking teachers with examining and identifying diversity within their own classroom libraries. As purchasing new books is not always feasible, teachers can look to the culturally authentic books already in their possession to help extend conversations…

In this essay, we reinterpret critical literacy through our engagement with structured word inquiry (SWI). By reflecting upon our experiences within a literacy practicum for educators earning their reading specialist certification, we demonstrate how SWI can provide students and educators with opportunities to transcend the limitations of a scope…

This article discusses the impact of a professional learning activity called the Principals as Literacy Leaders (PALL) program on the capacity of school leaders to engage, involve, and support teachers and their school communities to develop a shared moral purpose for making their school more effective in assisting students to become more able…

The long-standing research to practice gap and increased interest in scientific literacy instruction has contributed to the oversimplification of what is deemed as foundational skills in US early literacy classrooms. Invoking a homing pigeon metaphor, this article describes the distilling of decades of reading research into a message being…

A grassroots movement of parents who fear that their children's reading struggles are going unrecognized at school has led to dyslexia laws in all but three states in the U.S. The current study was undertaken to provide data relevant to this topic by characterizing the reading profiles of 71 children referred for testing at a center specializing…

This pilot study was an explanatory mixed-methods design to examine whether teachers changed instructional practices after adopting a new curriculum material to support the response to intervention (RTI) framework. In coordination with one rural school district which had implemented instructional intervention practices, the researcher observed…

This study examined reading tutors' interpretation of reading progress-monitoring graphs. A think-aloud procedure was used to evaluate tutors at two points in time, before and after a year of service as an AmeriCorps reading tutor. During their service, the reading tutors received extensive training and ongoing coaching. Descriptive results showed…

The essential guide to the science behind reading and its practical implications for classroom teaching in primary schools. Teaching children to read is one of the most important tasks in primary education and classroom practice needs to be underpinned by a secure foundation of knowledge. Teachers need to know what reading entails, how children…

The demand for confident reading teachers is greater than ever before. To guarantee successful reading instruction, teachers across the nation are being trained in the science of reading, which focuses on explicit instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Large reading initiatives are tirelessly working on…

English Language Learners (ELLs) in North Carolina do not achieve reading proficiency in the primary grades, resulting in a continuous achievement gap between ELLs and their non-ELL peers on state and federally mandated reading assessments. The variance in academic outcomes suggests that the linguistic and educational support ELLs need to…