No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
An Evaluation of an Explicit Read Aloud Intervention Taught in Whole-Classroom Formats In First Grade
Abstract
This study describes an evaluation of a read aloud intervention to improve comprehension and vocabulary of first-grade students. Twelve teachers were randomly assigned to an intervention or comparison condition. The study lasted 19 weeks, and the intervention focused on the systematic use of narrative and expository texts and dialogic interactions between teachers and students delivered in whole-classroom formats. Read aloud intervention lessons included before-, during-, and after-reading components and explicit instruction targeted comprehension and vocabulary knowledge. Teachers in the comparison condition implemented the same amount of read aloud instruction, focusing on strategies they believed would help their students with comprehension and vocabulary. On some, but not all, outcome measures, intervention students at low risk and high risk for language difficulties outperformed comparable students in the comparison group. Implications are discussed.
... Previous vocabulary-oriented research in read-aloud practices, often conducted in preschool or the early grades of primary school, has shown that explicit teaching of vocabulary as a part of readaloud activities is beneficial for students' vocabulary development ( Baker et al., 2013 ;Fien et al., 2011 ;Swanson et al., 2011 ). Similarly, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2022.101121 ...
... It contributes to the body of research in several ways. While previous research has been interested in vocabulary work conducted in isolated activities or in discussions that precede, interrupt, or follow the reading of the book ( Applebee et al., 2003 ;Baker et al., 2013 ;Fien et al., 2011 ;Mascareño et al., 2017 ), we shift the focus to how literary language is negotiated while the participant teacher conducts a whole class reading of a highquality children's book. It follows that this linguistic negotiation is a part of the disciplinary activity of enjoying and appreciating literary texts rather than a predominantly language-focused activity concerned with clarifying and learning the meaning of smaller selection of words. ...
... Previous research has shown the value of explicit teaching of vocabulary as part of read aloud activities ( Baker et al., 2013 ;Fien et al., 2011 ;Swanson et al., 2011 ;Silverman et al., 2013 ). Instead of focusing on the explicit teaching of vocabulary, the present study has contributed to the body of research by high-lighting the various discursive strategies a teacher employed to support the linguistically diverse students' understanding of literary language while reading a children's book. ...
This study illuminates a teacher's discursive strategies for promoting understanding of literary language in a linguistically diverse Swedish classroom. By means of field notes and audio recordings, a Grade 4 teacher's read-aloud of the award-winning picture book The Legend of Sally Jones was documented and analyzed employing concepts from Systemic-Functional Linguistics and Legitimation Code Theory. Combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, the findings show that the teacher used a rich variety of discursive strategies to make specialized terms and literary descriptions available to the students. Apart from using question–answer strategies and commenting on the text in clarifying ways, the teacher made linguistic alterations to either expand or simplify the literary language. The expansive strategies were particularly salient, entailing clarifying paraphrases or subtly infused additions to expand literary meaning. The significance of the strategies to support students’ understanding of literary language and immersion in stories is discussed.
... Read-alouds can improve comprehension and vocabulary knowledge through repeated exposure to texts (Morrow et al., 2009). Vocabulary knowledge has been examined through a think-aloud process with first grade students, and the results showed that repetition enabled stronger vocabulary knowledge and contextual use of words (Baker et al., 2013). In essence, when texts are repeated and discussed, there were more opportunities to hear and use vocabulary words in a variety of contexts. ...
... In essence, when texts are repeated and discussed, there were more opportunities to hear and use vocabulary words in a variety of contexts. As such, listening to and discussing text through read-alouds can support comprehension and vocabulary, as well as student's deep, critical connections with the text (Baker et al., 2013;Horst et al., 2011;Wiseman, 2012). ...
... Nonfiction texts can build up knowledge, support literacy skills, and increase motivation (Kuhn et al., 2015;Ness, 2011). Read-alouds can support reading comprehension, vocabulary learning, and deepen cultural understanding (Baker et al., 2013;Wiseman, 2012). Multicultural nonfiction texts provide a window into the experiences of others related to race, gender, society determined social roles, etc. (Osorio, 2018;Panofsky, 2003). ...
The theme of this year is Educate to Liberate. A reminder to faculty in the field that education and literacy extends beyond the content and courses we teach. As Freire puts it, “Leaders who do not act dialogically, but insist on imposing their decisions, do not organize the people—they manipulate them.” Instead, as literacy educators we should strive to work along with our students, to co-create with them, to learn from them. Freire reminds us too that “the (literacy) teacher is of course an artist...What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for students to become themselves.” Therefore, as literacy educators and researchers, it is our duty to provide access and opportunities for students of all socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds as they navigate their way in our classrooms.
All the articles within this 43rd Yearbook represent a portion of the ses- sions presented at the conference. After a peer-review process for conference acceptance, the ensuing articles underwent an additional two rounds of double- blind peer review before acceptance in the Yearbook. It is our sincere hope that the articles reflect the theme and embolden our practice to Educate to Liberate.
xiii
—JA, AB, KD, & NC
... At the same time, many are reporting the stay-at-home measures are increasing opportunities to strengthen relationships and spend additional time learning (New York Times Learning Network, 2020). The increased interaction during readalouds strengthens vocabulary acquisition in ways that independent reading or traditional read-alouds may not (Baker, Chard, Fien, Park, Otterstedt, 2013;Santoro, Chard, Howard & Baker, 2008). It is important that educators, families and caregivers keep the benefits of interaction in mind as they are engaging in read-alouds. ...
... Students will need guidance as they learn to contribute to an interactive read-aloud, navigate the use of new vocabulary, and construct meaning from text (Baker et al., 2013;Hoffman, 2011;McClure & Fullerton, 2017;Pentimonti & Justice, 2010;Santoro et al., 2008). There are support strategies that teachers and caregivers can employ to support intended learning outcomes both virtually and face-to-face. ...
... Discussion and interactions intended to teach new vocabulary and create common understandings are often modeled through a gradual release of responsibility from the reader to the students (Baker et al., 2013;McClure & Fullerton, 2017;Pentimonti & Justice, 2010;Santoro et al., 2008). Initially, the reader models how to ask questions, make predictions (Baker et al., 2013), verbalize connections within and across other texts (Morrison & Wodarczyk, 2009), and also share personal connections with the story (Jordan, 2015). ...
The interactive read-aloud has long been a practice during early literacy instruction in schools and in homes. Reading aloud to children provides a platform for teachers or caregivers to model meaning-making interactions with text. Students are able to collabo-ratively engage in conversations to create a collective understanding of texts. Interactions during a read-aloud can foster engagement, create meaning, and promote vocabulary acquisition. This article examines current research that supports the use of interactive read alouds to engage learners in meaning-making processes and translates research and theory into practical recommendations for effective interactive read-alouds.
... Narrative skills, according to the multicomponent model of comprehension [25], involve a large range of oral language skills, such as vocabulary knowledge, morphosyntactic skills, inferential abilities, integration of previous knowledge, use of story schemas and metacognitive abilities, that developing hand in hand and interacting with the others have the potential to give rise to individual differences [21,26]. While all these skills support written comprehension, they have received very limited attention in intervention research with beginning readers [27,28] or prereaders [29]. ...
... Our results are in line with the previous literature on interventions targeting oral language skills that show short-term improvement in trained tasks [41,66,67] and in narrative comprehension [19,20]. However, only a few studies reported transfer effects to comprehension standardized tasks and even when generalized effects are reported, moderate to small effect sizes, which range from d = 0.16 to d = 0.29, are detected [52,68], or no effects [28]. Care should be taken in comparing effect sizes when measures of comprehension differ, as significant effects for intervention-based tasks are easier to obtain than effects on general measures of comprehension [20]. ...
... From scientific review emerges that narrative-based interventions for pre-schoolers have typically targeted phonological and phonemic awareness and/or vocabulary, whereas a larger set of broad oral language skills including inferential abilities have rarely been considered [20]. To date, there are few studies showing benefits of narrative-based interventions for oral language skills in addition to vocabulary) in preschoolers [15,43], whereas there are more for school-aged children [28,29]. ...
Socioeconomic disparities increase the probability that children will enter school behind their more advantaged peers. Early intervention on language skills may enhance language and literacy outcomes, reduce the gap and, eventually, promote school readiness of low-SES (Socioeconomic Status) children. This study aimed to analyze the feasibility and effectiveness of a brief narrative-based intervention (treatment vs. control group) aimed to foster broad oral language skills in preschoolers (N = 69; Mean age = 5.5, SD = 4 months) coming from low-SES families. Moreover, it was analyzed whether children’s initial vocabulary mediates the intervention’s responsiveness. Results have shown that children in treatment group obtained greater gains than children in control group in almost all intervention-based measures. There is also some evidence for the generalizability of the intervention to other skills not directly trained during the intervention. Moreover, it was found that children’s initial vocabulary mediates the intervention’s responsiveness showing that children with high vocabulary made greater gains in higher-level components of language comprehension, whereas children with low vocabulary made higher gains in vocabulary. Taken together, our findings suggest that a relatively brief, but quite intensive narrative-based intervention, may produce improvements on broad oral language skills in preschoolers from low-SES backgrounds.
... This article presents the results of a replication study of a read aloud intervention in grade 1. In the original study, students in classrooms randomly assigned to the read aloud treatment condition outperformed students in comparison classrooms on two outcome measures: vocabulary and narrative retell (Baker et al., 2013). On two outcome measures, expository retell and a standardized measure of listening comprehension, differences were not significant. ...
... Converging evidence suggests that activities before, during, and after a read aloud lesson can extend student knowledge of content, their understanding of how text is structured to convey information, and improve their vocabulary knowledge and overall language proficiency (August et al., 2018;Baker et al., 2013;Collins, 2016;Lennox, 2013;Neugebauer, Coyne, McCoach, & Ware, 2017;Silverman, Crandell, & Carlis, 2013;Wasik et al., 2006). For example, August et al. (2018) found that second grade students who received extended vocabulary instruction as part of read alouds significantly increased their depth of vocabulary knowledge compared to students who received typical read aloud instruction with target words inserted in the text. ...
... Active engagement can include activities such as teachers and students discussing what they know about a topic before reading the text, teachers helping students make connections to other read alouds or to experiences in their own lives, and teachers asking inferential questions that can lead to meaningful discussions about the text (Santoro et al., 2016;Collins, 2016;Giroir et al., 2015;Parsons & Bryant, 2016). In summary, strategically balanced teacher-student interactions before, during, and after reading the text appear to be important to improving student understanding of what they hear and build their competence and confidence in forming ideas about book content that they can then explain to others (Baker et al., 2013;Beck & McKeown, 2007). ...
We examine the effects of a read aloud replication intervention designed to improve the vocabulary, comprehension, and expository and narrative language outcomes of first grade students. Thirty-nine first-grade classrooms from 12 schools were randomly assigned to a treatment (n = 19) or comparison condition (n = 20). Teachers in the treatment condition implemented a 19-week set of read aloud lessons during whole-class read aloud time. Read alouds included the systematic use of narrative and expository texts, before-, during-, and after-reading components, the use of teacher-facilitated text-based discourse, and explicit comprehension instruction. Results indicated main effects of treatment on vocabulary knowledge. Exploratory findings indicated a significant interaction effect of treatment and recommended features of read aloud instruction on all outcomes. Specifically, students of teachers in the treatment condition who were rated higher on adhering to recommended features of read aloud instruction had better outcomes on vocabulary, comprehension, and language outcomes on expository and narrative text than treatment teachers who closely followed intervention materials without dynamically adjusting to student responses. We discuss these findings in the context of other read aloud studies, including a previous study that used the same intervention in a different setting and with a less diverse sample of students.
... In shared reading, children participate in reading, learn critical concepts of how print works, get the feel of learning, and begin to perceive themselves as readers (Rasinski & Hoffman, 2003). A study by Baker et al. (2013) explored how dialogic reading lessons could be both systematic and explicit while maintaining the enjoyable nature of the experience for teachers and students. This study confirmed that integrated read aloud routines conducted in whole-classroom settings had a positive effect on higher-order skills (oral language outcomes, phonological awareness, print concepts, comprehension) as well as vocabulary skills (Baker et al., 2013). ...
... A study by Baker et al. (2013) explored how dialogic reading lessons could be both systematic and explicit while maintaining the enjoyable nature of the experience for teachers and students. This study confirmed that integrated read aloud routines conducted in whole-classroom settings had a positive effect on higher-order skills (oral language outcomes, phonological awareness, print concepts, comprehension) as well as vocabulary skills (Baker et al., 2013). ...
... was between the mean scale scores of students (22%) who "often" read aloud in reading class and the mean average scale scores of students (9%) who "always or almost always" read aloud in reading class. This finding is consistent with the findings of studies reviewed for this study (e.g., Lee, 2014, Baker, et al., 2013, Garan & DeVoogd, 2008Delo, 2008;Rasinski & Hoffman, 2003). ...
... Repeated exposure to text. Recent research demonstrates that planning for repeated exposure to the same text provides a beneficial context for language learning and comprehension development for at-risk learners (Baker et al., 2013;Karweit & Wasik, 1996;Nielsen, 1993;Nielsen & Friesen, 2012). Repeated exposure to stories has been linked to incidental language learning and narrative development for native speakers and second language learners (Biemiller & Boote, 2006;Lever & Senechal, 2011;Uchikoshi, 2005;Verhallen, Bus & deJong, 2006). ...
... Rich, extended word instruction. The results of recent vocabulary research with native speakers, ELLs and other second language learners converge on the finding that reviewing target vocabulary within a repeated read-aloud routine, referred to as rich or extended instruction, improves both taught vocabulary outcomes (Beck & McKeown, 2007;Baker et al., 2013;Biemiller & Boote, 2006;Coyne, Simmons, Kame'enui & Stoolmiller, 2004;Neugebauer & Currie-Rubin, 2009;Silverman, 2007a) and untaught vocabulary outcomes (Biemiller & Boote, 2006;Paez, Bock & Pizzo, 2010;Silverman, 2007b). In contrast to embedded instruction, where definitions are provided quickly during the read-aloud, rich or extended instruction is defined as providing "word meanings in student-friendly language, providing multiple examples and multiple contexts, and requiring students to process words deeply by identifying and explaining appropriate and inappropriate uses and situations and creating multiple contexts" (Beck & McKeown, 2007, p. 254). ...
... Although the researchers argue that the direct retelling instruction and repeated practice led to intervention students' gains on the TNL, they do not discuss how future retell instruction needs to be intensified to observe statistically significant gains for this atrisk population. Studies reflecting a more direct and systematic instructional approach including more repetition (Baker et al., 2013;Baker et al., 2014;Coyne et al., 2009), such as those discussed below, may provide insight into improving retelling intervention for at-risk students. ...
Teachers working with young ELLs at risk for literacy underachievement lack research-based practices to maximize the use of picture book read-alouds to accelerate language comprehension outcomes. This study investigated the effects of 8-22 weeks of small group, bilingual repeated read-aloud and retelling intervention, the parallel read-aloud intervention, on Vietnamese ELL kindergarteners’ retelling skills, focusing on the use of story grammar elements and language complexity and productivity. The study was conducted using a multiple-baseline single subject design with 5 subjects. Students’ growth in the overall quality of narrative retelling was assessed weekly using the Test of Narrative Retell (TNR) and their growth in language complexity was simultaneously assessed by transcribing the weekly retell samples to calculate scores for number of diverse words (NDW) and mean length of utterance (MLU) using the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) software. The results supported a moderate intervention effect for overall retelling scores on the TNR and for NDW, which were maintained across most subjects after four weeks without intervention. The major implications of this study relate to differentiating instruction for young ELLs with low English oral proficiency by offering bilingual, repeated read-aloud interventions and using progress monitoring assessments to accelerate their growth with language comprehension in English.
... Literature review on storytelling. A great deal of research has been conducted into the effect of story-reading on improving aspects of children's oral and written language development, such as their vocabulary (Baker et al., 2013;Brabham & Lynch-Brown, 2002;Brett, Rothlein & Hurley, 1996;Fien et al., 2011;Moore, Hammond & Fetherston, 2014;Pullen, Tuckwiller, Konold, Maynard & Coyne, 2010), but much less has looked at the effects of storytelling on language development. What limited research there is on storytelling has shown that storytelling has been associated with improvements in children's developing language and literacy skills, such as vocabulary (Maguire, 1985), fluency (Farrell & Nessell, 1982), story comprehension (Palmer, Harshbarger, & Koch, 2001), and story retelling. ...
... Also, the story-reading intervention group scored significantly better on the vocabulary subtest of the WISC-IV at post-test than the comparison group, and the storytelling group used significantly wider vocabulary in their oral story retellings than both the other groups. These results show the potential benefit of a regular story intervention of reading or telling on children's developing vocabulary; this is congruent with research showing an improvement in children's vocabulary as a result of exposure to regular storytelling (Maguire, 1985), or story-reading (Baker et al., 2013). ...
This study explored whether being told stories by a teacher in school 4 days a week for 10 weeks would lead to improvements in 6- and 7-year-old children’s oral language, written language, and self-perception. We also explored whether these improvements would be greater than those experienced by an active comparison group that was read the same stories from books and a comparison group that continued with their usual classroom literacy practices. We used a quasi-experimental between-participants design: 194 participants took part, and classes (rather than participants) were randomly assigned to intervention conditions. Results showed that the storytelling group retold stories that were significantly longer and used a significantly wider range of vocabulary than both the group that was read the same stories and the comparison group at posttest and 3-month follow-up. The story-reading group scored significantly higher on an oral vocabulary test than the comparison group at follow-up.
... The prescribed intervention has several different components, and both these components and the many details provided for implementing them are all nearly identical to those in a book sharing intervention developed by a different 2002 IES-funded research team for the first grade level (see Baker, Chard, Fien, Park, & Otterstedt, 2013;Santoro, Chard, Howard, & Baker, 2008). These teams are somewhat aware of each other's work (Baker and D. C. Simmons worked together, and have published and submitted a grant together -Baker, personal communication, 2016). ...
... These teams are somewhat aware of each other's work (Baker and D. C. Simmons worked together, and have published and submitted a grant together -Baker, personal communication, 2016). The book curiously does not cite the work of the Baker team, nor do Baker et al. (2013) cite the earlier paper by Gonzales et al. (2011). Given that the interventions are nearly identical, I will explain the nature of the intervention both teams used before focusing more on the intervention as it is presented in Accelerating Language Skills. ...
... Prior linguistically oriented research on read-aloud practices, typically conducted within preschool or early primary school settings, has consistently demonstrated the efficacy of explicit vocabulary instruction as part of read-aloud activities in fostering students' lexical development (Baker et al., 2013;Fien et al., 2011;Swanson et al., 2011). Moreover, Silverman et al. (2013) conducted a study affirming the advantageous impact of extension activities, wherein targeted words from read-aloud sessions were revisited and engaged with across various modalities such as oral discussions, writing, and drawing, thereby augmenting vocabulary acquisition. ...
This study explores how teachers promote literary understanding and language development in Swedish as a second language (SSL) classrooms for Grade 6 students through read-aloud discussions. Addressing a research gap on core SSL curriculum delivery in elementary schools, this investigation observed two experienced teachers over a two-month period. The study draws on reader-response perspectives from Langer and Felski, combined with discursive strategies and Cummins' notion of reading engagement. Through analysis of classroom observations, field notes, and photos, the study examines how teachers use questioning, discussions, and language support strategies to foster students' growth in literary understanding and L2 knowledge.In both classrooms, linguistic aspects appeared to be highly integrated into the reading practices. For example, the teachers commented on the linguistic and aesthetic qualities of literary words. At the same time, the different dynamics of the student groups impacted the teachers’ choice of texts, which affected the possibilities for a deeper understanding of the text; for instance, by perceiving symmetries between the text and knowledge acquired in other teaching areas. The strategies revealed in the present study can potentially be used in other contexts to elevate the quality and status of L2 teaching. In both classrooms, linguistic aspects appeared to be highly integrated into the reading practices. For example, the teachers commented on the linguistic and aesthetic qualities of literary words. At the same time, the different dynamics of the student groups impacted the teachers’ choice of texts, which affected the possibilities for a deeper understanding of the text; for instance, by perceiving symmetries between the text and knowledge acquired in other teaching areas. The strategies revealed in the present study can potentially be used in other contexts to elevate the quality and status of L2 teaching.
... (Tosto et al., 2023) conducted research in the United States, and Yin et al. (2023) in Guangdong Province, China. Cheng's (2023) research is by (Arai & Takizawa, 2024), and research (Baker et al., 2013) is an article review that does not mention a specific country but includes studies from various international contexts. ...
Numerous studies have examined how anxiety affects students in academic
settings. However, there is still a lack of understanding regarding the role of
educators in addressing this issue. This study aims to evaluate the role of "teacher
noticing" in assessing students' anxiety and their involvement in classroom
activities through a systematic literature review. This study uses the Systematic
Literature Review (SLR) protocol, which refers to the PRISMA approach. Data
were obtained from publisher Elsevier (Science Direct) with indexed articles
randomized from Q1-Q3. Thematic analysis of 65 articles from the Scopus
database (2010-2023) revealed three main themes: teachers' observational skills,
student anxiety and engagement interpretation, and teacher responses and
interventions. Findings highlight the importance of teachers' ability to recognize
anxiety indicators, especially in post-COVID-19 distance learning contexts.
Effective strategies include using motivational messages, integrating social
networks, gamification, and mindfulness programs. Key implications involve
developing teacher training programs focused on "noticing," adjusting
educational policies to prioritize students' mental well-being, and implementing
learning strategies that support student resilience.
... For interactive read aloud lessons, the model is different, and more closely influenced by the design used in Questioning the Author (Beck et al., 1996). All teacher support for comprehension comes during the read aloud, with extensive oral interaction through targeted open-ended questioning, content and vocabulary explanations, and think alouds (Baker et al., 2013). In both Shared Reading and interactive read aloud lessons, the teacher brings the segment to closure by discussing the author's text structure choices and updating a shared text structure graphic organizer (Hebert et al., 2016), and students respond to text in writing (Graham & Hebert, 2010). ...
Purpose: In this study, we investigated the effects of a schoolwide program,
Bookworms K-5 Reading and Writing, on student achievement.
Method: The study included seven cohorts of students (N = 8,806) in grades 2–
5 in 17 elementary schools across three school years. We used a comparative
interrupted time-series design, conducting multilevel growth curve models of
Measures of Academic Progress reading scores with up to 10 data points per
student. By modeling each student’s growth curve, including a time by treatment
interaction term, we were able to estimate the change in students’
achievement trajectories corresponding to the implementation of Bookworms.
Results: Results confirm a significant positive impact of Bookworms on
achievement, with gains compounding over time and producing an overall
standardized effect size of .26 by the end of 5th grade. Students who began
third grade with relatively weaker achievement experienced more growth
than those with average achievement, and those with average achievement
experienced more growth than those with the highest achievement.
Conclusion: This study provides evidence that a comprehensive literacy
curriculum that emphasizes high-volume reading of grade-level texts and
the use of evidence-based instructional practices produces positive effects
on student achievement for students with a range of initial reading
achievement.
... Parental involvement in the home literacy environment can serve as an effective way to socialize children towards better emotional social competence before entering school. Children who experience more guided learning interactions with parents have more opportunities to practice positive emotional social behaviors such as paying attention and controlling negative emotions which tend to lead to better social outcomes [34]. Direct parental involvement in activities related to literature at home (for example, reading books together) is directly related to children's social skills [35]. ...
Literacy is an important skill that must be developed by a child for the next level of education, so it must be expected that parents help their children to develop reading habits at an early age. A family has a responsibility to provide rich experiences inside and outside the home that are very important for the development of children's literacy. This study aims to investigate the socio-economic status, home literacy environment, and social skills in early childhood literacy skills. The method used in this study is survey. A number of 120 students from first grade elementary school were recruited as samples. Parents of these children filled out questionnaires in the column of education and income of parents. Home literacy environment consists of literacy fasilities and parents-children activities at home, while social skills are obtained by measuring the ability to improve cooperative relationships, social sensitivity, adaptability, and communication. On the other hand, children's literacy skills are directly assessed by using tests. The research data was collected through questionnaires designed in the form of Likert scale and rating scale. The data is analyzed by using path analysis. The results of the research reveal a significant correlation between the socioeconomic status, home literacy environment, and social skills in literacy. The effect of socioeconomic status, home literacy environment, and social skills give direct positive influence on early childhood literacy skills.
... Several studies have shown that reading aloud and discussing texts are activities that play a key role in language development and reading comprehension (Baker et al., 2013;Cunningham & Zibulsky, 2011;Jönsson, 2007). A child's reading comprehension is dependent on how conversations about texts are conducted. ...
... Across studies, read-aloud has been shown to positively impact student performance in a broad range of ways. In the landmark report Becoming a Nation of Readers, which was based on the work of the U.S. Department of Education Commission and involved a review of ten thousand empirical studies of literacy education, the authors declared "the single most important activity for building knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children" (Anderson et al., 1985, p. 23) and this finding has since been re-substantiated elsewhere (Baker et al., 2013;Santoro et al., 2016). The research on the importance of read-aloud is substantial, compelling, and highly relevant to today's classrooms, but read-aloud for SEL in STEAM classrooms has been under explored. ...
The purpose of this chapter is to show how literacy-based social and emotional learning (SEL) can support students' engagement in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) fields. First, the unique social and emotional capacities needed to excel in STEAM fields are explored through the lens of disciplinary literacies. Then, the authors show how aligning read-aloud with one school's STEAM initiatives allowed a teacher to meet district goals while supporting her students. The authors also demonstrate how her use of practice-based research served a tool to support her reflective thinking as she integrated SEL in her teaching. The chapter concludes with recommendations for teacher educators, school and district leaders, and in-service teachers who wish to engage in the literacy-based integration of SEL across content areas.
... Storytelling has the ability to engage learners personally (Brewster et al., 2002), motivate learners, and spark interest in the subject matter (Wright, 2013). Using storytelling does have positive impacts on child's oral and written language development (Fien et al., 2011;Baker et al., 2013) and through the procedure of storytelling facts as well as vocabulary can be memorized better (Wajnryb, 2003). Lenhart et al. (2018) focused on the impact of story listening on vocabulary acquisition and found that vocabulary was acquired incidentally without any word explanation with a moderate effect (d = 0.37) which was in turn not stable over time (age 3-6) concluding that using only incidental vocabulary training might not be sufficient enough. ...
The number of students learning German as a second language (L2) is steadily increasing. Unfortunately, studies reveal that less-proficient school performance affects a larger proportion of these students and additional behavioral problems can create even greater learning barriers. In order to master a language, the focus is not only on vocabulary, but also on reading, and studies show that multi-component intervention in reading and L2 acquisition is particularly promising. Therefore, this multiple baseline study focuses on a multi-component storytelling intervention on vocabulary, reading, and letter sound fluency of low-achieving first graders with German as L2 with and without behavioral problems (N = 7). The intervention was implemented 3 times a week over a 6-week period. Results show significant large to very large effects on vocabulary and moderate to large effects on letter sound fluency and reading, providing indication for the positive impact of storytelling on multiple aspects simultaneously for the focused sample.
... The roles in early-reading development played by language development were similarly unrepresented (Kendeou et al., 2009;Scarborough, 2001), classroom organization (including whole group, small group, and individual instruction) (Connor et al., 2011;Kuhn, 2005;Taylor et al., 2000), and motivation and engagement (Cartwright et al., 2015;Pressley et al., 2004;Wharton-McDonald et al., 1998), which are linked to access to interesting text and choice (Guthrie et al., 2007;Marinak & Gambrell, 2008). Additionally, exposure to literature through read-alouds contributes to young children's reading ability (Baker et al., 2013;Dickenson & Smith, 1994;Swanson et al., 2011). Although policy has leaned heavily on the NRP (2000) report in the decades subsequent to its publication (Shanahan, 2003(Shanahan, , 2014Calfee, 2013;National Education Association, 2012;Ylimaki, 2005), this additional body of research should also inform early reading instruction. ...
... One way to do this is to draw on knowledge students are developing in other parts of the school day, similar to Ms. Perkins and the Mercury text in the final vignette. Researchers have also highlighted read-alouds as a way to build content and vocabulary knowledge alongside understanding of a variety of text structures (Baker et al., 2013;Wright & Cervetti, 2017). Others have suggested reading thematically related texts (Gelzheiser, Hallgren-Flynn, Connors, & Scanlon, 2014) to build knowledge cohesively over the course of a unit, a practice that has been associated with improved learning outcomes for students (Cervetti et al., 2016). ...
Informational reading instruction plays an important role in early literacy but has traditionally received less emphasis than literary text in elementary classrooms. This mixed‐methods study illuminates trends from observed reading instruction of 77 first‐year elementary teachers, drawing on data from 761 lesson segments scored with the Protocol for Language Arts Teaching Observations, a validated observation protocol. In descriptive analyses, we report on the prevalence of informational lessons across grade levels. Then, we integrate quantitative and qualitative data to describe the quality of informational reading instruction among first‐year teachers. Findings suggest a higher percentage of informational reading lesson segments in early elementary than has been shared in previous studies: 27% of observed reading instruction in grade 1 and 41% of observed reading instruction in grade 2. Quality of informational reading lesson segments varied within and among elements of instruction, with the majority of segments rated as low scoring for strategy use. We use qualitative case sampling to illustrate the characteristics of informational reading instruction across a range of score points. Analysis of lesson segments reveals a range of practices in text‐based instruction, strategy instruction, and representations of content, with the highest quality instruction showing a combination of all three. This study contributes to our understanding of the current landscape of informational reading instruction among first‐year teachers, identifies specific instructional practices that could be the focus of improvement efforts, and weighs in on the debate about strategy instruction versus content instruction.
... Active Reading was developed in 2016 by researchers at a regional community children's literacy initiative charged with uniting families, educators, and community partners to improve children's literacy from birth through Grade 3. The approach incorporates elements of dialogic reading (Whitehurst et al., 1994), rich vocabulary instruction (Beck & McKeown, 2007), and interactive shared reading (Baker et al., 2013) through engagement with three tasks during read aloud: asking questions, building vocabulary, and connecting to the child's world. Tutors ask students questions before, during, and after reading; directly teach general and discipline-specific academic vocabulary words when encountered during reading; and help the child to make connections with their own experiences and prior knowledge, and to other recently read stories. ...
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of 42 hr of reading instruction during summer on (a) reading performance of rising second and third graders (n = 39), who were from low-income families and who read below grade level, and (b) the fall reading outcomes between this group and their nonparticipating peers. The intervention was based on evidence-based practices and included instruction on foundational skills, sentence writing, and shared reading. Classroom teachers were trained as interventionists and provided instruction in small (2:1) groups while older adult volunteers facilitated shared reading one on one. Results indicated statistically significant growth on oral reading fluency (ORF) (d = .89 to d = 1.16) during summer for the intervention group, and significantly higher ORF (g = .34) or accuracy (g = .27) compared to peers. There was no evidence of summer learning loss on tests of phonemic awareness, decoding, word reading fluency, reading comprehension, spelling, or writing for intervention participants. Results underscore the role of summer learning programs in mitigating learning loss for students who read below grade level and are from low-income families.
... Instruction also needs to be intense with respect to increased time to learn new words and multiple exposures of those words (Coyne, McCoach, Loftus, Zipoli, & Kapp, 2009). Along the same lines, Baker, Santoro, Chard, Fien & Park (2013) evaluated the read aloud intervention strategies of twelve 1 st grade teachers during a 19 week study to determine whether read aloud intervention teacher lessons occurring before, during, and after-reading techniques, resulted in an increase of performance among the intervention group. Findings suggest on some measures, the students in the intervention group outperformed students in the comparison group. ...
This mixed methods study examined the vocabulary knowledge and instructional practices of four grade 1 teachers in order to better understand how prepared teachers are to implement the First Grade English Language Arts Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Data collected included an audiotaped semi-structured interview, a teacher survey, video-recorded class vocabulary instruction, researcher field notes, and artifacts of class activities. Findings indicate that teaching experience is not a factor in the level of vocabulary instruction teachers provide. For example, veteran teachers in the analysis rely on traditional spelling tests and basal based vocabulary instruction to teach vocabulary, while the less experienced teachers utilize trade books to guide their instruction. However, veteran teachers provide vocabulary instruction daily, while less experienced teachers did not. Findings suggest that all teachers would benefit from professional learning opportunities related to vocabulary instruction and researchers are encouraged to investigate vocabulary instruction and its alignment to the CCSS with larger sample sizes in other districts and across all grade levels.
... This attention to informational text in the elementary grades is supported by decades of research. Studies have shown that even kindergarten through second-grade students can learn from and about informational text if provided the opportunity (e.g., Baker et al., 2013;Duke & Kays, 1998;Moss, 1997;Pappas, 1993;Reutzel, Smith, & Fawson, 2005;Stahl, 2004;Williams, 2005). A federally commissioned panel on improving reading comprehension in kindergarten through third grade called for educators to teach reading comprehension of informational as well as literary text and to teach specific text structures of informational text (Shanahan et al., 2010). ...
Although assessment of student progress in word reading skills is common, students’ knowledge and skills for comprehending informational text are rarely assessed. Despite research indicating the need for instruction in this area and a growing national understanding of its importance that is reflected in the Common Core State Standards, few formative assessment tools are readily available and used to assess informational text comprehension. In this study, teachers who were randomly assigned to an experimental group were provided with ongoing professional development on how to administer and interpret the newly developed Concepts of Comprehension Assessment in their classrooms. The assessment was designed to help assess and consequently encourage instructional attention to students’ skills for comprehending informational text. Those students in the experimental group showed greater growth on the Concepts of Comprehension Assessment and on a writing task.
A critical tenet of education research is establishing what works. Another is exploring theorized mechanisms of change to help ascertain why academic programs work, for whom, and under which conditions. In other words, unpacking the black boxes of academic programs. This study explored the quality of teachers’ facilitation of (a) scientific investigations and (b) science discourse during and after the implementation of a systematic, explicit second-grade science program (Scientific Explorers-2). Our results demonstrated that relative to comparison classrooms, Scientific Explorers-2 classrooms delivered significantly higher quality scientific investigations. The quality of science discourse and maintenance effects for both measures were not statistically significant, but favored treatment classrooms in each case. Implications for designing science programs that support the delivery of high-quality science instruction that meets the needs of all students, particularly students with or at risk of learning disabilities, are discussed.
This research explores structural relations among the component skills of reading comprehension in Kiswahili. Furthermore, the study examines the relationship between socio‐economic status, home and school language use, and home literacy environment with Kiswahili reading outcomes. The study utilized secondary data from the baseline Tusome Literacy activity implemented in Kenya at scale from 2015 to 2022 by USAID, Research Triangle Institute in collaboration with the Ministry of Education Kenya and other partners. A three‐stage stratified sampling procedure was used to randomly select the schools and students from a sample frame compiled from multiple education databases of public formal and non‐formal schools in Kenya. The final sample comprised 4886 grade 1 and 2 learners who completed a battery of early grade literacy assessment in Kiswahili and a survey of the socio‐economic status (SES), home literacy environment (HLE), and school and home language use. We conducted a regression analysis to examine structural relations among the component skills of reading comprehension and the relationships between the SES, HLE, and early literacy skills. The findings indicate that the component skills are interconnected with the sub‐lexical skills, serving as the building block for the higher‐order skills. Letter sound knowledge, text reading fluency, and listening comprehension predict reading comprehension. Reading stories at home, reading aloud, and silent reading practice at school significantly influences reading outcomes. The mismatch between home and school language and low SES negatively impacts reading outcomes. These findings indicate that systematic and explicit instruction is critical in acquiring literacy skills, particularly for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds.
What learners learn depends not only on what they are taught, but also on how they are taught, their level, their development, their interests, and their background. Choose your teaching methods carefully. Preparing for a unit or course involves a number of pedagogical decisions. Teachers need to specify the following parameters: what is to be learned and how it will be learned; learners' strengths, needs, and interests; common core learnings that can be introduced; and the most effective teaching methods. These decisions are crucial and need to be made with full knowledge of the facts. The aim of teaching infrastructures is to encourage teachers to question their own teaching methods. Reflective evaluation of the effectiveness of strategies, methods, and techniques can help teachers broaden their knowledge and understand how to teach students better. Learning new things and skills about various teaching methods can improve the art of teaching and increase teaching effectiveness.
Providing effective reading instruction to parents with low literacy is imperative due to the significant implications of literacy for children and their families. Adult education programs that teach reading play an important role in improving literacy outcomes for parents who need support. The present study evaluated the effects of a behavioral skills training package (BST) on training adult literacy tutors to implement the steps of BST when teaching parents. Four adult literacy tutors participated in the study along with one parent with low literacy. The primary dependent variable was the percentage of steps of the BST package implemented correctly during tutor training probe measures. Secondary measures were taken on the parent’s performance of each step of the literacy activities on which they were trained. Following the BST session, tutor performance improved when implementing the steps of the BST package with parents and parent confederates during maintenance probes. Treatment acceptability measures suggested high approval for the training package. Results and practical considerations when training adult education tutors are discussed.
This instrumental case study is focused on understanding more about literacy instruction in K‐3 classrooms during the pandemic‐impacted 2020–2021 school year. The study aims to examine (a) how teachers described their literacy instruction before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic; (b) the types of literacy instructional practices teachers implemented across in‐person, virtual, and hybrid modalities; and (c) how teachers' implementation of these practices aligns with research on early grades literacy instruction. Data included classroom video of 25 teachers' literacy instruction, 162 classroom artifacts (e.g., student work samples), and statewide survey responses from 7110 teachers in spring 2020 and 5811 teachers in spring 2021. Teachers reported spending an average of 1 h less per week on literacy instruction in 2020–2021 as compared to a typical pre‐pandemic school year. Despite these reported declines in instructional time, teachers in all modalities were observed implementing literacy instructional practices at comparable rates as they reported prior to the pandemic. However, teachers' implementations of these practices varied widely, with some teachers providing research‐aligned literacy instruction while others did not. This range in quality was evident across modalities, including within the group of teachers providing in‐person instruction. Results from this study challenge existing theories about instructional time and modality that have been posed to explain the pandemic's negative impacts on elementary students' literacy outcomes.
Teaching phoneme awareness to children at risk for early reading difficulties has been recognized as successful in several studies. In this randomized controlled trial (RCT)‐study, we add to this research by optimizing core procedural as well as teaching components in a phonics‐directed intervention and extend the RCT reading intervention research into a semi‐transparent language context. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a novel Swedish intensive phonics program. This randomized controlled pre‐test and post‐test intervention study targeted second‐grade students with early reading difficulties. Students were identified by a repeated screening procedure and allocated to intervention ( n = 34) and control ( n = 34) conditions. A 9‐week intensive phonics‐based program was administrated one‐to‐one, by special education teachers in Swedish mainstream elementary schools. Results show an improvement in the intervention group, compared with the controls on all outcome measures. Findings indicate that the supplementary phonics program, delivered with high intensity, can significantly increase word reading skills and reading comprehension in second‐grade students with early reading difficulties.
In this manuscript we show how readalouds can significantly enrich student vocabulary and comprehension by demonstrating enhancements that will foster student learning and language development. We anchor our examples to empirical evidence demonstrating that the content of a readaloud (i.e., the what we teach) as well as the quality of the instruction (i.e., the how we teach content during a readaloud) are important and necessary to enhance student learning. We use authentic scenarios to illustrate the difference between a readaloud taught with basic instructional fidelity and a readaloud with basic instructional fidelity that was enhanced with features of instructional quality. Specific steps to action before, during, and after a readaloud using examples from a first grade readaloud science unit are provided.
Previous reviews of the nature and consequences of adult-child book reading have focused on seeking impacts of interactive reading on the acquisition of vocabulary and emergent literacy skills. In this systematic review we examined to what extent there has been systematic study of the effects of interactive reading on four less frequently studied developmental outcomes important to children's academic and life prospects: socio-emotional and socio-cognitive (SEL) skills, narrative skills, grammar, and world knowledge. We identified 67 studies of interactive reading that met the inclusion criteria and that examined the targeted outcomes, using either experimental, quasi-experimental, correlational, or single-group intervention methods. We found that studies of effects on grammar and world knowledge outcomes were very sparsely represented; though narrative was often studied as an outcome, the wide variation in conceptualizing and assessing the construct hampered any clear conclusion about book-reading effects. The most robust research strand focused on SEL skill outcomes, though here too the outcome assessments varied widely. We speculate that better instrumented approaches to assessing vocabulary and emergent literacy have led to the persistent emphasis on these domains, despite robust evidence of only modest associations, and argue that work to develop sound shared measures of narrative and SEL skills would enable cross-study comparison and the accumulation of findings. In addition, we note that the various studies implicated different explanatory principles for the value of reading with children: specific interactional features (open-ended questions, following the child's lead, expanding child utterances) or content features (emotion-enhanced books, talk about mental states, science topics), raising another topic for more focused study in the future.
Evidence indicates that well-planned vocabulary interventions can be highly effective in helping students with language-based learning disabilities to develop the necessary vocabulary skills for literacy success. Although many researchers recognize the general importance of attending to psychological factors such as student motivation in developing successful interventions, the role that these factors play in vocabulary interventions designed specifically for students with learning disabilities has not yet been sufficiently considered. In this review, we synthesized the extant literature regarding when and how motivational components are addressed in vocabulary interventions for P–12 students with or at risk for learning disabilities. We found that successful vocabulary intervention programs for this student population most frequently address motivation through the constructs of goal setting and interest. Furthermore, operationalizing terms such as “motivation” (and related constructs) using theories established in the field of educational psychology may allow researchers to develop interventions that have positive, long-lasting impact by encouraging students with learning disabilities to persist at challenging tasks and by enabling them to more clearly see linkages between vocabulary learning and their personal and career goals.
In an extremely complex framework such as the Italian education system, which moves between innovative impulses and a tendency towards conservation, emerges the need to promote teaching practices that make it possible to increase literacy levels from early childhood. This study fits into this panorama, within the broader context of ‘Leggere: Forte! Ad alta voce fa crescere l’intelligenza’, an educational policy promoted by the Tuscany Region in collaboration with the University of Perugia. The purpose of this study is to investigate what emerged from the subjective perceptions of educators and teachers who joined the action-research project, systematically and intensively reading aloud to children aged 0-6 in various educational services, through the analysis of a monitoring tool: an ongoing
semi-structured diary. This study also aims to understand whether the subjective perceptions of educators provide support to the evidence in the literature on the positive effects of reading aloud in the development of pre-school children. The diaries compiled by educators provided important insights with respect to the improvement of different dimensions perceived as related to the practice of reading
aloud: cognitive, emotive-relational, linguistic and interest. Finally, limitations, implications and and future prospects of the present study will be discussed.
Although reading aloud to elementary students is a common practice, few studies have focused on the actual texts read, beyond considerations of fiction versus nonfiction, and few studies have included a line of inquiry exploring teachers’ rationales for text selection. In this mixed-methods study, we pair a content analysis of the reported read aloud titles of over 1000 teachers with interviews of a subset of teachers to understand the rationales behind their choices. For the content analysis, we analyzed the titles for multiple features (e.g., text type, publication year, inclusion in a series, etc.). Results suggest teachers still prefer fiction for read aloud events and the titles read are, on average, 25 years old. Our interviews with 14 teachers revealed that a myriad of factors inform their decisions for selecting the texts that they read in their respective classrooms. Overall, teachers’ reasons tended to focus on instructional, affective, or contextual rationales. Although teachers acknowledged the importance of context and representation, there is an apparent disconnect between what teachers said mattered and what were represented in the analysis of titles. Implications for future research and classroom practices are included.
Poverty and homelessness are often portrayed in children's literature as an individual problem rather than a larger systemic issue involving societal inequities. Children's literature can be used as a means of self-affirmation and as an opportunity for dialogue around social justice issues in the classroom. Through thoughtful planning, identity work, and the use of critical frameworks, educators can evaluate the quality of children's literature, monitor their students' textual experiences, and plan for dialogue to promote change. This intentional planning will help students build a strong sense of self-agency and a broader understanding of how to think critically around improving the overall human condition.
Research has indicated that reading aloud to young students can enhance their foundational reading skills and their reading motivation, but such research has been lacking in African contexts. In this study, we assessed the efficacy of story read‐aloud lessons in improving students’ foundational reading skills in Nigeria. The experiment took place in a cluster randomized trial of 199 schools in Northern Nigeria. In treatment schools, second‐grade teachers conducted weekly read‐aloud lessons as an addition to the core learning curriculum. In control schools, second‐grade teachers implemented only the core curriculum, without weekly read‐aloud lessons. We found that story read‐alouds led to positive effects on listening comprehension, letter sound recognition, nonword decoding, and reading fluency, with effect sizes between 0.17 and 0.33 standard deviations. These outcomes suggest that enhanced student motivation from read‐alouds may enhance text‐based skills. To identify the effects of increased teacher experience on read‐aloud effectiveness, we employed a two‐period difference‐in‐differences approach. We found that increased teacher experience explained between 26% and 51% of the overall read‐aloud effect, depending on the literacy subskill. We also found that the read‐aloud effects coupled with increased teacher experience had an equalizing effect on the reading outcomes of students from divergent home literacy environments.
Le motivazioni di questo libro sono ambiziose: si vuole invitare a utilizzare la lettura ad alta voce come pratica didattica partendo da un'esperienza di rilievo nazionale che è, al contempo, un progetto e una ricerca; si vuole inoltre dare conto degli importan-ti esiti di una ricerca quasi sperimentale che ha raccolto dati rilevanti in ordine agli effetti cognitivi e di comprensione del testo dell'esposizione alla lettura. Una precisazione, per cominciare: qui si parla della lettura di narrativa, fatta in classe per i propri studenti, dall'insegnante, secondo un approccio e un metodo precisi. Altri approcci prediligono, per esempio, il contesto familiare (Aram et al., 2017; Curtis, Zhou, Tao, 2020; Schapira, Aram, 2019). Qui, invece, il metodo è improntato sulla funzione del sistema di istruzione, che è essenziale perché l'opportunità sia estesa a tutti e non contribuisca ad approfondire le differenze legate alla diversità delle pro-venienze socio-economico-culturali. Non si può ignorare, infatti, che la provenienza socio-economico-culturale condi-ziona, di fatto, anche in presenza di un'informazione adeguata sulla rilevanza della lettura, il modo e la continuità con cui si pratica la lettura ad alta voce nel contesto familiare (Chiu, McBride-Chang, 2006). Il metodo proposto poggia sul ruolo, decisivo, degli insegnanti-lettori, sul concetto di progressività dei tempi, sulla lunghezza e complessità dei testi e sulla varietà delle proposte, sull'attenzione posta alla libertà di espressione, commento e interpretazione di tutti i bambini e le bambine, le ragaz-ze e i ragazzi coinvolti. Il tutto con gli studenti al centro. Come ogni azione tesa, realmente, all'empower-ment dei soggetti coinvolti, gli studenti sono infatti punto di partenza e di arrivo di questo approccio: • sono il punto di partenza, perché si avvia l'esposizione alla lettura ad alta voce dai loro tempi di attenzione, dai loro gusti e da storie che rispondano ai loro bisogni; • sono il punto di arrivo, perché le pratiche di lettura ad alta voce in classe sono spazi di condivisione, di co-costruzione di significati, costituiscono materiale "vi-vo" per costruire e valorizzare, al tempo, la loro esperienza, la loro visione del mondo, il loro futuro. Le storie diventano così uno spazio di dialogo con i pari, uno spazio in cui la propria opinione, l'opinione di tutti, assume valore e dignità, nel quale non esiste la "risposta giusta" e tantomeno quella "sbagliata", ma i significati vengono negoziati (Langer, 1986; Tanner et al., 2017).
Continuous reflective practices are a driving agent in allowing educational stakeholders to understand the consistent need for recurring change in P-12 learning settings. In this chapter, school leaders describe how they are supporting teachers and ancillary instructional staff with implementing transformative action-based programs. Four transformative leadership initiative case studies will be described. The authors bring various perspectives of supporting program implementation due to their roles in school districts as an elementary ELL teacher, a teacher coach and math teacher, and a district supervisor of Early Childhood education. The first case study will walk readers through how the infusion of a literacy program was conducted using transformational read-alouds to boost reading engagement and motivation amongst English language learners. Next, a teacher coach and math teacher will share how professional learning communities (PLCs) were utilized to promote collaboration amongst K-5 teachers throughout the implementation of a new core mathematics program. The third case study examines a doctoral student project that provided evidence based professional development on early science inquiry. Finally, a Supervisor of Early Childhood details how teachers were supported with the implementation of a three-tiered instructional intervention designed to aid preschool students with developing kindergarten readiness skills to close an identified transitionary achievement gap between preschool and kindergarten classrooms in the participating school district.
The debate over the science of reading has focused primarily on decoding (i.e., connecting letters and sounds to read words) and whether to use phonics to teach it. However, research on reading has included much more than decoding. Language comprehension, which allows readers to derive meaning from text, is an equally critical component of reading. Research has suggested that explicit instruction on the components of language comprehension—vocabulary and semantics, morphology, and syntax—can support language and reading comprehension. To inform the field on the science of reading as it pertains to language comprehension, in this meta‐analysis of recent language comprehension interventions (n = 43) in U.S. elementary schools, the authors examined whether effects vary depending on participant and intervention characteristics. Findings suggest positive effects on custom measures of vocabulary, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension but not on standardized measures of these outcomes. Results also indicate positive effects for English learners and promise for multicomponent interventions and those that include technology. Much more research is needed on how best to support language comprehension for underserved populations (e.g., students from low‐income backgrounds) and how interventions can be optimized to support generalizable language and literacy outcomes. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
We examine the promise, usability, and feasibility of an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) to improve the vocabulary and language proficiency in science and social studies of Latinx second grade English learners (ELs). Participants were 217 ELs attending English only programs or bilingual programs. Findings from the clustered randomized control trial using a researcher-developed proximal assessment indicated that students who used the ITS significantly improved their vocabulary knowledge of the words taught compared to students in the comparison group (ES = 0.38). Results also indicated that most students enjoyed using the ITS and learning new words. Teachers found the program feasible and beneficial to their students.
We report an analysis of experts’ picturebook recommendations and rationales for read-alouds. Such recommendations are important as experts provide book suggestions to teachers. In this investigation, children’s librarians and children’s literature professors recommended picturebooks as potential read-alouds. Experts also provided selection rationales, resulting in 109 recommendations, 95 unique titles, and preferences for recently published award-winners. Recommended texts were balanced in terms of gender and choices featured characters of color; yet, both groups selected fewer books with authors/illustrators of color, perhaps reflective of trends in publishing. Diverse books were incorporated, but findings indicate the need for increased consideration of diverse texts.
This study investigates the effects and feasibility of an intervention for first grade students at-risk for reading difficulties or disabilities (RD). The intervention was provided by general education classroom teachers and consisted of 15 min whole-class comprehension lessons (Tier 1) and 30 min Tier 2 intervention sessions in word reading, comprehension, and text reading. First grade teachers (n = 21), with 4--5 students at-risk for reading difficulties and potential reading disability, were randomly assigned to treatment or typical practice comparison conditions. Significant, group differences were detected on all measures of word reading, decoding, and fluency. Effect sizes were educationally important for all measures of word reading, decoding, and reading comprehension; however, effects on standardized measures were smaller than those in prior studies with similar students in which intervention was typically provided outside the regular classroom. An exploratory analysis indicated that students at different parts of the pretest and posttest distributions responded more and less positively to the intervention, providing insights that may help guide future revisions. The study provides preliminary evidence of the interventions promise for positively impacting student outcomes.
Research Findings: This study examines the effects of low– and high–cognitive demand discussion on children’s story comprehension and identifies contributions of discussion, initial vocabularies, and parent reading involvement. A total of 70 English learner preschoolers took baseline vocabulary tests in Portuguese and English, were randomly assigned to experimental or control conditions, and were read pairs of books in small groups. In the experimental condition, 1 book per pair was discussed using low–cognitive demand (literal) talk. The other was discussed using high–cognitive demand (inferential) talk. In the control condition, books were read aloud without discussion. All children took story comprehension tests (new literal and inferential questions) following books’ third readings. Findings showed significant effects of discussion on comprehension. Repeated measures analyses indicated significant effects of high-demand discussion on both question types, particularly inferential questions. Regression indicated significant contributions of high-demand discussion beyond English vocabulary and home reading. Practice or Policy: High-demand discussion significantly influences children’s inferential thinking skill, contributes benefits over and above expected impacts of initial vocabulary, and may offer benefits over low-demand talk for literal details. Teachers need not wait to engage young language learners in cognitively challenging discussion.
This article examines the efficacy of a multitiered systemic reading intervention for increasing the intensity and quality of explicit literacy instruction that teachers provide in first-grade classrooms. Schools (j = 16) were randomly assigned to the treatment or comparison condition. In both conditions, teachers (i = 42) provided 90 min of Tier I reading instruction to first-grade students (n = 883). In the treatment condition, Tier I classroom teachers were trained to enhance their core reading instruction by making instruction more explicit and intensive through standardized protocols and ongoing coaching support. At-risk treatment students (n = 240) also received an additional 30 min of Tier II supplemental reading intervention that was highly aligned with Tier I instruction. The focus of this study is on the Tier I portion of the multitiered intervention and the impact of the Tier I Enhancing Core Reading Instruction intervention on teacher practices. Results indicate positive effects of the Tier I intervention on the quality of explicit instruction and the frequency and accuracy of group practice opportunities provided to students.
This study examined the validity of Nonsense Word Fluency as an index of beginning reading proficiency for students in kindergarten through second grade. Validity evidence for Nonsense Word Fluency is addressed in the context of research-based instructional practices implemented on a large scale. Technical adequacy data are presented for all students in participating schools, and separately for English learners and native English speakers. Five cohorts of students participated, with each cohort representing approximately 2,400 students. Results support the use of Nonsense Word Fluency in the early grades to screen students for reading problems and predict early reading proficiency. The use of this measure in reading reform is discussed as well as implications for school psychologists.
This article summarizes the critical findings of recent research syntheses funded by the Office of Special Education Programs and the National Center for Learning Disabilities. The syntheses examined research on higher-order processing and problem-solving, reading comprehension, written expression, and grouping practices associated with improved outcomes in reading for students with learning disabilities. Common principles of instruction are identified across the syntheses. These principles are summarized and illustrated with research-based exemplars of best practice.
The authors evaluated the effect of listening to stories on children's vocabulary growth. Forty-seven children listened to 2 stories read to them in a small-group setting on 3 occasions, each 1 week apart. Target vocabulary items and items assessing generalization to nontarget words were selected, and pre- and posttest multiple-choice vocabulary measures were designed to measure vocabulary gains. In addition, a reading-retelling task was used to measure the subjects' knowledge of target and generalization words. For 1 story, children listened to the reading and were given explanations of target word meanings; for the other, children were not given explanations. The children acquired new vocabulary from listening to stories, with both frequency of exposure and teacher explanation of the target words enhancing vocabulary learning. However, the interventions were not sufficient to overcome the Matthew effect, as the higher ability children made greater vocabulary gains than lower ability children across all conditions.
A theory-based approach was used to investigate the relations among Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) initial skill status in the fall of first grade, NWF growth across the school year, and end-of-year oral reading fluency and reading comprehension (RC) skill. Hypotheses were anchored to Perfetti's verbal effi-ciency theory and the role of automaticity in beginning decoding skill develop-ment. The sample consisted of 3,506 first-grade students in 50 schools. Results indicated a moderating effect of initial skill performance status on the relation between NWF gains and end-of-year reading fluency and RC. Strong, positive relations were found between NWF gains and ORF and RC scores for students who began the year with low to moderate and relatively high decoding skills. For students at the highest end of the distribution (5% of the sample), NWF gains were not associated with ORF or RC scores. In addition, early gains on NWF more strongly predicted reading outcomes than later gains for students at the low end of the initial NWF distribution. Implications for theories of early reading development and for school psychologist practice are discussed. School psychologists increasingly assist school personnel with linking assessment infor-mation to instructional decisions (Baker et al., 2008; Batsche et al., 2005; Gersten & Dimino, 2006). A system of early identification of and interventions for academic problems is central to an assessment-instruction feedback loop (Kame'enui, Simmons, & Coyne, 2000; Rau-denbush, 2008; Torgesen et al., 2001), and early identification for reading depends on measures grounded in a strong theoretical model of early reading development. The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of a pseudoword fluency measure used in the early grades to as-sess students' acquisition of beginning decoding skills, a key ingredient in reading proficiency that has strong theoretical and empirical support (Fien et al., 2008; Good, Baker, & Peyton, 2009).
This is a review of research on thinking aloud in reading comprehension that considers thinking aloud as a method of inquiry, a mode of instruction, and a means for encouraging social interaction. As a method of inquiry, the analysis of verbal reports provided by readers thinking aloud revealed the flexible and goal-directed processing of expert readers. As a mode of instruction, thinking aloud was first employed by teachers who modeled their processing during reading, making overt the strategies they were using to comprehend text. Subsequently, instructional approaches were developed to engage students themselves in thinking aloud. Such endeavors revealed facilitation effects on text understanding. Current efforts to engage students in constructing meaning from text in collaborative discussions seem to indicate a new direction for thinking aloud research, one in which social interaction assumes increased importance.
Integrating comprehension and vocabulary instruction in read‐alouds can help teachers make the very most of class time. The curriculum described illustrates how read‐alouds, when implemented with strategic purpose, can boost learners' vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Specifically, the author presents guidelines for:
selecting texts to encourage “text‐to‐text” and “text‐to‐self” connections
selecting target vocabulary words
promoting text‐based discussions
incorporating comprehension instruction before, during, and after the reading process
Multisite research designs involving cluster randomization are becoming increasingly important in educational and behavioral research. Researchers would like to compute effect size indexes based on the standardized mean difference to compare the results of cluster-randomized studies (and corresponding quasi-experiments) with other studies and to combine information across studies in meta-analyses. This article addresses the problem of defining effect sizes in multilevel designs and computing estimates of those effect sizes and their standard errors from information that is likely to be reported in journal articles. Three effect sizes are defined corresponding to different standardizations. Estimators of each effect size index are also presented along with their sampling distributions (including standard errors).
Read-alouds are a common component of literacy instruction. However, research on the method for providing read-alouds is limited. To determine if there was a common set of implementation practices, the authors examined the read-aloud practices of 25 teachers who were nominated by their administrators as experts. From these data, the authors identified several factors common to read-alouds. The authors then observed 100 additional teachers to determine how common each of these factors were in read-alouds.
This meta-analysis examines to what extent interactive storybook reading stimulates two pillars of learning to read: vocabulary and print knowledge. The authors quantitatively reviewed 31 (quasi) experiments (n = 2,049 children) in which educators were trained to encourage children to be actively involved before, during, and after joint book reading. A moderate effect size was found for oral language skills, implying that both quality of book reading in classrooms and frequency are important. Although teaching print-related skills is not part of interactive reading programs, 7% of the variance in kindergarten children’s alphabetic knowledge could be attributed to the intervention. The study also shows that findings with experimenters were simply not replicable in a natural classroom setting. Further research is needed to disentangle the processes that explain the effects of interactive reading on children’s print knowledge and the strategies that may help transfer intervention effects from researchers to children’s own teachers.
A storybook intervention for kindergarten children that integrates principles of explicit vocabulary instruction within the shared storybook reading experience is described with findings from an experimental study demonstrating the effects of this intervention on the vocabulary development of kindergarten students at risk of reading difficulty. Results indicated that in comparison to students in the control group, students in the intervention with lower receptive vocabulary skills demonstrated greater gains in explicitly taught vocabulary than did students with higher receptive vocabulary. Findings suggest that the explicit teaching of word meanings within storybook readings may help to narrow, or at least halt, the widening vocabulary gap among students.
This study examined the contributions of phonological processing and oral language abilities to reading and reading disabilities in young children. Two approaches were taken. First, 604 participants were divided into good and poor readers on the basis of reading performance in second grade. Reading groups were then compared in terms of kindergarten phonological processing and other language abilities. In a second approach, multiple regression was employed to investigate the relative contributions of phonological processing and oral language abilities in predicting second-grade reading achievement across reading groups. Results indicated that over 70% of poor readers had a history of language deficits in kindergarten. Most of these children had problems in both phonological processing and oral language. Regression analyses further indicated that oral language and phonological processing abilities each accounted for unique variance in reading achievement. These results suggest that language-based theories of reading and reading disabilities must include both phonological processing and oral language abilities.
Reviews recent applied instructional research for students with learning disabilities for the purpose of providing educators and counselors with the background and logic behind the development of current instructional practices. Topics include procedural prompts, scaffolds, cognitive strategies, story grammar, think sheets, anchored instruction, and peer tutoring. (Author/CR)
A sharp increase in the proportion of informational text with the corresponding expansion of cognitive demands and conceptual structures is a widely held explanation for the decline in reading achievement at the fourth-grade level. In this study, differences in the proportion of informational text across the second, third, and fourth grades were examined in order to determine if this perennial explanation for the fourth-grade slump was supported. Available print materials in 15 classrooms (5 per grade) and time spent with texts in written language activities were coded and analyzed by text type following Duke's (2000) data-collection procedures. The proportion of informational text in classrooms was slightly higher in grade 2; in classroom environmental print it was highest in grade 3, followed by grade 4 and then grade 2; in classroom written language activities it showed a marked increase from grades 2 to 3, with that increase sustained in grade 4. Total instructional time with informational text was an average of 1 minute in grade 2 and 16 minutes in grades 3 and 4. The most common instructional activities with informational text were reading to complete a worksheet and round-robin reading. (Contains 6 tables, 5 figures, and 1 note.)
Examines several points supporting the argument for increased emphasis on vocabulary, including: the consequences of an increased emphasis on phonics; limited school promotion of vocabulary development; the sequential nature of vocabulary acquisition; and defining an essential vocabulary for high school graduates. Emphasizes the need for a more teacher-centered and curriculum-structured approach to ensure adequate vocabulary development. (SM)
The effects of an interactive book reading program were assessed with children from low-income families who attended subsidized day-care centers in New York. The children entered the program with language development in standard English vocabulary and expression that was about 10 mo behind chronological age on standardized tests. Children were pretested and assigned randomly within classrooms to 1 of 3 conditions: (1) a school plus home condition in which the children were read to by their teachers and their parents, (2) a school condition in which children were read to only by teachers, and (3) a control condition in which children engaged in play activities under the supervision of their teachers. Training of adult readers was based on a self-instructional video. The intervention lasted for 6 wks, at which point children were posttested on several standardized measures of language ability that had been used as pretests. These assessments were repeated at a 6 mo follow-up. Educationally and statistically significant effects of the reading intervention were obtained at posttest and follow-up on measures of expressive vocabulary. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The authors evaluated the effect of listening to stories on children's vocabulary growth. Forty-seven children listened to 2 stories read to them in a small-group setting on 3 occasions, each 1 week apart. Target vocabulary items and items assessing generalization to nontarget words were selected, and pre- and posttest multiple-choice vocabulary measures were designed to measure vocabulary gains. In addition, a reading-retelling task was used to measure the subjects' knowledge of target and generalization words. For 1 story, children listened to the reading and were given explanations of target word meanings: for the other, children were not given explanations. The children acquired new vocabulary from listening to stories, with both frequency of exposure and teacher explanation of the target words enhancing vocabulary learning. However, the interventions were not sufficient to overcome the Matthew effect, as the higher ability children made greater vocabulary gains than lower ability children across all conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This article reports on 2 studies with kindergarten and first-grade children from a low-achieving elementary school that provided vocabulary instruction by the students' regular classroom teacher of sophisticated words (advanced vocabulary words) from children's trade books that are typically read aloud. Study 1 compared the number of sophisticated words learned between 52 children who were directly taught the words and 46 children who received no instruction. As expected, children in the experimental group learned significantly more words. Study 2, a within-subject design, examined 76 children's learning of words under 2 different amounts of instruction, either 3 days or 6 days. In Study 2, the vocabulary gains in kindergarten and first-grade children for words that received more instruction were twice as large. Student vocabulary was assessed by a picture test where students were presented with pictures that represented different words and were asked to identify which picture represented the word that the tester provided. The verbal test was similar but used a sentence description of a scenario instead of a picture. The instructional implications for which words to teach and how to teach them to young children are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The effects of a book reading technique called interactive book reading on the language and literacy development of 4 yr olds from low-income families were evaluated. Teachers read books to children and reinforced the vocabulary in the books by presenting concrete objects that represented the words and by providing children with multiple opportunities to use the book-related words. The teachers also were trained to ask open-ended questions and to engage children in conversations about the book and activities. This provided children with opportunities to use language and learn vocabulary in a meaningful context. Children who were in the interactive book reading intervention group scored significantly better than children in the comparison group on Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—III and other measures of receptive and expressive language. Book reading and related activities can promote the development of language and literacy skills in young children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Processes Underlying Text ComprehensionTextbase FormationThe Situation ModelSummary
A solid, emerging research base exists to inform how we provide meaningful access to the general education curriculum for students with learning disabilities (LD). For example, the presentation of challenging content to academically diverse learners can be demystified using content enhancement techniques. Additionally, a range of strategies can be taught to enhance reading comprehension and expressive writing abilities. Examples from several lines of research in comprehension and writing are used to highlight the underlying features of these empirically based approaches and to introduce the reader to the history of this expanding body of research.
This study examined the validity of Nonsense Word Fluency as an index of beginning reading proficiency for students in kindergarten through second grade. Validity evidence for Nonsense Word Fluency is addressed in the context of research-based instructional practices implemented on a large scale. Technical adequacy data are presented for all students in participating schools, and separately for English learners and native English speakers. Five cohorts of students participated, with each cohort representing approximately 2,400 students. Results support the use of Non-sense Word Fluency in the early grades to screen students for reading problems and predict early reading proficiency. The use of this measure in reading reform is discussed as well as implications for school psychologists.
Reading First is a federal program with the goal of all children reaching grade-level reading proficiency by the end of third grade, which requires an integrated system of reading instruction and assessments designed to pre-vent reading problems (Reading First, P.L. This work was supported by an Oregon Reading First subcontract from the Oregon Department of Education to the University of Oregon (8948). The original Oregon Reading First grant was made from the U.S. Department of Education grant to the Oregon Department of Education (S357A0020038).
The nature and evolution of intertextuality was studied in 2 urban primary-grade classrooms, focusing on read-alouds of an integrated science–literacy unit. The study provides evidence that both debunks deficit theories for urban children by highlight-ing funds of knowledge that these children bring to the classroom and the sense they make of them and demonstrates how intertextuality in classroom discourse creates learning opportunities as teachers and students interact with texts broadly defined. Changes over time of the various forms of intertextuality emerged in the 2 classes, thereby showing how intertextuality is both an act of discourse and an act of mind. A particular type of intertextuality—event intertextuality—dominated throughout the read-alouds and revealed how hybrid classroom discourse, incorporating both narra-tive and scientific genre features, allowed the emergence of classroom discourse that shared characteristics with scientific language. In this study we focused on intertextual connections made by first-and sec-ond-grade children and their teachers in urban classrooms in the context of the read-alouds of information books in an integrated science–literacy unit on the topic of states of matter and changes of states of matter (especially in the water cy-cle). We explored the nature of intertextuality—the juxtaposing of texts—in two primary-grade classrooms and the ways it evolved over a series of read-alouds by examining instructional discourse beyond individual lessons and conversational COGNITION AND INSTRUCTION, 24(2), 211–259 Copyright © 2006, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
A synthesis and meta-analysis of the extant research on the effects of storybook read-aloud interventions for children at risk for reading difficulties ages 3 to 8 is provided. A total of 29 studies met criteria for the synthesis, with 18 studies providing sufficient data for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Read-aloud instruction has been examined using dialogic reading; repeated reading of stories; story reading with limited questioning before, during, and/or after reading; computer-assisted story reading; and story reading with extended vocabulary activities. Significant, positive effects on children's language, phonological awareness, print concepts, comprehension, and vocabulary outcomes were found. Despite the positive effects for read-aloud interventions, only a small amount of outcome variance was accounted for by intervention type.
Field experiments in the social sciences were increasingly used in the 20th century. This article briefly reviews some important lessons in design, analysis, and theory of field experiments emerging from that experience. Topics include the importance of ensuring that selection into experiments and assignment to conditions occurs properly, how to prevent and analyze attrition, the need to attend to power and effect size, how to measure and take partial treatment implementation into account in analyses, modern analyses of quasi-experimental and multilevel data, Rubin's model, and the role of internal and external validity. The article ends with observations on the computer revolution in methodology and statistics, convergences in theory and methods across disciplines, the need for an empirical program of methodological research, the key problem of selection bias, and the inevitability of increased specialization in field experimentation in the years to come.
This investigation examined the reading outcomes of children with language impairments (LI). A large subsample of children who participated in an epidemiologic study of language impairments in kindergarten (J. B. Tomblin, N. Records, P. Buckwalter, X. Zhang, E. Smith, & M. O'Brien, 1997) was followed into second and fourth grades. Participants' language, reading, and nonverbal cognitive abilities were assessed. Results indicated that children with LI in kindergarten were at a high risk for reading disabilities in second and fourth grades. This risk was higher for children with a nonspecific language impairment (nonverbal and language deficits) than for those with a specific language impairment (deficits in language alone). Children with LI in kindergarten who had improved in spoken language abilities by second and fourth grades had better reading outcomes than those with persistent language impairments. Also, children's literacy knowledge/experience in kindergarten and their initial reading achievement in second grade were good predictors of subsequent reading outcomes.
A sharp increase in the proportion of informational text with the corresponding expansion of cognitive demands and conceptual structures is a widely held explanation for the decline inreading achievement at the fourth-grade level. In this study, differences in the proportion of informational text across the second, third, and fourth grades were examined in order to determine if this perennial explanation for the fourth-grade slump was supported. Available print materials in 15 classrooms (5 per grade) and time spent with texts in written language activities were coded and analyzed by text type following Duke’s (2000) data-collection procedures. The proportion of informational text in classrooms was slightly higher in grade 2; in classroom environmental print it was highest in grade 3, followed by grade 4 and then grade 2; in classroom written language activities it showed a marked increase from grades 2 to 3, with that increase sustained in grade 4. Total instructional time with informational text was an average of 1 minute in grade 2 and 16 minutes in grades 3 and 4. The most common instructional activities with informational text were reading to complete a worksheet and round-robin reading.
Introduction: Simple Ideas about Reading Comprehension. A Framework for Comprehension. Higher-Level Factors in Comprehension. The Linguistic-Conceptual Machinery for Comprehension. Word Identification, Decoding, and Phonological Awareness .Comprehension Instruction. Conclusion: A More General View of Comprehension Development
On Reading Books to Children: Parents and Teachers brings together in one volume current research on adult book reading to children. The authors, drawn from around the world, are key researchers and eminent scholars from the fields of reading and literacy, child language, speech pathology, and psychology, representing multiple perspectives within these disciplines.
Chapters on the effects and limitations of book sharing are integrated with chapters discussing promising programs on storybook research. The reality of reading to children is more complex than it appears on the surface. The authors discuss some effects of and suggestions for reading to children that have emerged from the research. The ideas set forth in this volume will stimulate new lines of research on the effects of storybook reading, as well as refinements of current methods, yielding findings that enrich our understanding of this important arena of literacy development.
To clarify the role of decoding in reading and reading disability, a simple model of reading is proposed, which holds that reading equals the product of decoding and comprehension. It follows that there must be three types of reading disability, resulting from an inability to decode, an inability to comprehend, or both. It is argued that the first is dyslexia, the second hyperlexia, and the third common, or garden variety, reading disability.
The purpose of the two studies reported in this article was to evaluate the effectiveness of extended vocabulary instruction during storybook reading with kindergarten students within a small-group intervention setting. Extended vocabulary instruction is characterized by explicit teaching that includes both contextual and definitional information, multiple exposures to target words in varied contexts, and experiences that promote deep processing of word meanings. In Study One, we compared extended instruction of target words to incidental exposure. In Study Two, we compared extended instruction to embedded instruction (i.e., providing simple definitions within the context of the story). Our findings indicated that extended instruction resulted in greater word learning than either incidental exposure or embedded instruction. Moreover, students maintained much of their understanding of word meanings six to eight weeks after instruction. Implications are discussed in relation to a tri-level approach to vocabulary instruction and intervention for kindergarten students at risk for language and reading disabilities.
Although scholars have called for greater attention to informational texts in the early grades for some time, there have been few data available about the degree to which informational texts are actually included in early grade classrooms, and in what ways. This study provides basic, descriptive information about informational text experiences offered to children in 20 first-grade classrooms selected from very low- and very high-SES school districts. Each classroom was visited for four full days over the course of a school year. On each visit, data were collected about the types of texts on classroom walls and other surfaces, in the classroom library, and in classroom written language activities. Results show a scarcity of informational texts in these classroom print environments and activities—there were relatively few informational texts included in classroom libraries, little informational text on classroom walls and other surfaces, and a mean of only 3.6 minutes per day spent with informational texts during classroom written language activities. This scarcity was particularly acute for children in the low-SES school districts, where informational texts comprised a much smaller proportion of already-smaller classroom libraries, where informational texts were even less likely to be found on classroom walls and other surfaces, and where the mean time per day spent with informational texts was 1.9 minutes, with half the low-SES classrooms spending no time at all with informational texts during any of the four days each was observed. Strategies for increasing attention to informational texts in the early grades are presented. [Note: This article is reprinted in Promisng Practices for Urban Reading Instruction, www.reading.orgpublicationsbbvbooksbk518.] Si bien, desde hace algún tiempo, los investigadores han mostrado la necesidad de prestar mayor atención a los textos informativos en los grados iniciales, se dispone de pocos datos acerca del grado en el que efectivamente se incorporan textos informativos en las aulas de grados iniciales y de la forma en que son utilizados. Este estudio proporciona información básica, descriptiva acerca de experiencias con textos informativos llevadas a cabo con niños de 20 aulas de primer grado seleccionadas de distritos escolares de nivel socioeconómico (NSE) muy bajo y muy alto. Se visitó cada aula durante cuatro días completos en el curso del año escolar. En cada visita se recogieron datos sobre los tipos de textos que aparecían en las paredes del aula y otras superficies, en la biblioteca del aula y en las actividades de lenguaje escrito. Los resultados muestran una escasez de textos informativos en las escrituras del medio y en las actividades; había pocos textos informativos en las bibliotecas de las aulas, pocos textos informativos en las paredes del aula y otras superficies y una media de sólo 3.6 minutos por día dedicados a textos informativos durante las actividades con el lenguaje escrito. Esta escasez fue particularmente aguda en el caso de los distritos escolares de bajo NSE, en los cuales los textos informativos constituían una pequeña proporción en las ya pequeñas bibliotecas de las aulas. Asimismo, era poco probable encontrar textos informativos en las paredes de las aulas y otras superficies, el tiempo promedio por día dedicado a textos informativos fue de 1.9 minutos y en la mitad de las aulas de bajo NSE no se trabajó en ningún momento con textos informativos durante los cuatro días de observación. Se presentan estrategias para desarrollar la atención hacia los textos informativos en los grados iniciales. Obgleich die Wissenschaftler seit einiger Zeit fordern, den informativen Texten größere Beachtung in Anfangsklassen zu widmen, sind nur wenige Daten über das Ausmaß verfügbar, in welchem informative Texte tatsächlich in Anfangsklassen integriert werden und auf welche Weise dies geschieht. Diese Studie liefert gründlich dargelegte Erkenntnisse über die Verwertung informativer Texterfahrungen, die Kinder der ersten Klasse in 20 ausgesuchten Klassenräumen von sehr niedrigen bis zu sehr hohen sozial-ökonomischen {SES=SocioEconomic Status} Schulbezirken machten. Jeder Klassenraum wurde für einen vollen Tag an insgesamt vier Tagen im Verlauf eines Schuljahres besucht. Bei jedem Besuch wurden Daten über die Art der Texte an Klassenraumwänden und anderen Aushangflächen, in der Klassenraumbücherei und bei schriftlichen Klassenraumaktivitäten gesammelt. Die Resultate zeigen einen Mangel an informativen Texten in dieser für Gedrucktes und ähnlicher Aktivitäten vorgesehenen Klassenraumumgebung-es fanden sich relativ wenige informative Texte einschließlich der Klassenraumbücherei, wenig informativer Text an Klassenraumwänden und anderen Flächen, und während der Sprachaktivitäten im Durchschnitt nur 3.6 mit informativen Texten verbrachte Minuten pro Tag. Diese Einschränkung war besonders bei Kindern im unteren SES-Schulbezirk akut, wo informative Texte einen noch weit geringeren Anteil bilden, bei ohnehin kleineren Klassenraumbibliotheken, wobei solche informativen Texte weit weniger an Klassenraumwänden oder anderen Flächen zu finden waren und wo im Tagesdurchschnitt 1.9 Minuten mit informativen Texten verbracht wurden, wobei die Hälfte der niedrigen SES-Klassenräume überhaupt keine Zeit an nicht einem einzigen der vier observierten Tage mit informativen Texten verbrachten. Strategien für eine gesteigerte Bedeutung hin zu informativen Texten in den Anfangsklassen werden dargelegt.
This article summarizes a comprehensive synthesis of experimental intervention studies that have included students with learning disabilities. Effect sizes for 180 intervention studies were analyzed across instructional domains, sample characteristics, intervention parameters, methodological procedures, and article characteristics. The overall mean effect size of instructional intervention was positive and of high magnitude (M = 0.79). Effect sizes were more positive for a combined model that included components of direct and strategy instruction than for competing models. Interventions that included instructional components related to controlling task difficulty, small interactive groups, and directed responses and questioning of students were significant predictors of effect size, and interventions that varied from control conditions in terms of setting, teacher, and number of instructional steps yielded larger effect sizes than studies that failed to control for such variations. The results are supportive of the pervasive influence of cognitive strategy and direct instruction models for remediating the academic difficulties for children with learning disabilities.
Children listen to stories from an early age, and are thus exposed to a rich source of well-formed and well-structured texts. This paper examines the relationship between children's progress in learning to read and their use of specialized linguistic features in retelling stories. The effectiveness of story-retelling is analysed from three per spectives: the use of story structure features, type of recall and the presence of oral and written language features. Children, aged 6 years, are found to include most story structure features in their retellings, though certain types of endings are typically omitted and differences in content are found between good and less skilled readers.
In this article we embed a case study of 1 teacher and her first graders' interactions around information book read alouds within a discussion of the research on reading comprehension instruction and language acquisition. The case study revealed that the comprehension strategies the teacher modeled within the context of the read alouds reflected the same categories as those suggested by more systematic but decontextualized research. We suggest that there may be a developmentally appropriate time to begin formal comprehension instruction and that prior to that an interactive use of informational texts may support a stage to be thought of as comprehension acquisition, which would foster conceptual development, comprehension strategy formation, and text structure familiarity.
For many years, literacy experts have assumed that young children were incapable of comprehending expository text. Recent research, however, suggests otherwise. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the extent to which 20 first graders were able to comprehend expository text as measured through an oral retelling of a children's information trade book. Twenty preservice elementary teachers read aloud the children's trade book, How Kittens Grow, to 20 first graders. After listening to the book, each child drew a picture based upon the book and then retold the information contained therein by using their drawing, the book itself, or their memory. Each retelling was audiotaped, transcribed and assigned a score from 1–5 as indicated by an adapted version of the Irwin & Mitchell (1983) Richness of Retelling Scale. Each paper was scored three times. Eighteen of the 20 children obtained scores of 3 or better on the scale, thus confirming Pappas’ (1991) findings that even young children are capable of comprehending expository text.
This study explored 3- and 4-year-old children's development of scientific vocabulary from participation in repeated interactive read-aloud events and retellings of three informational picture books about light and color, followed by hands-on science activities. Thirty-two children attending a YWCA preschool were matched by age and general vocabulary knowledge and randomly assigned to a retelling or no retelling condition. Repeated measures ANOVA of pretest and posttest scores on a free recall target vocabulary test revealed significantly higher scores for 4-year-olds, those with higher vocabulary knowledge, and those who retold the books. Children used significantly more target words across the three retellings.
Education research is an interdisciplinary effort long characterized by methodological diversity. Why, then, do we hear an urgent call for mixed methods now? Apparently, a recent shift in the applied research agenda has fostered concern that methodological pluralism is at risk. In this article, the author argues that (a) a focus on evaluating the effects of instructional interventions is entirely appropriate given current policy dilemmas; (b) randomized experiments are the gold standard for assessing these effects; but (c) the success of the effort depends on a well-integrated, methodologically diverse research effort. He sketches how diverse methods might be combined and how a healthy scientific community might collaborate to generate adequate funding to support this vital enterprise.
ABSTRACTS
This article explains the creation and validation of the Narrative Comprehension of Picture Books task (NC task), an assessment of young children's comprehension of wordless picture books. Study 1 explored developmental changes among 158 K‐2 children in narrative comprehension and the correlations among children's performance on the NC task and other measures of early reading. There was significant improvement with increasing age on NC task measures. Significant concurrent validity was found between the NC task and oral reading comprehension for readers and between the NC task and several prereading skills for prereaders. Study 2 tested the generalizability of the NC task by giving a sub‐sample of students ( n = 91) two additional picture books using the NC task procedures. Intertask correlations showed that children were consistent on each of the NC task dependent variables across the three books. The same developmental trends by grade and reading ability were evident on all three versions of the task. Study 3 confirmed the generalizability of the NC task across children, books, and testers, and it revealed sensitivity to longitudinal growth in children's comprehension skills. There was little evidence of practice effects influencing NC scores. Study 3 also revealed significant concurrent and predictive validity between NC measures and other assessments of early reading skills such as the Gates McGinitie Reading Test and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. The NC task is a valid quantitative measure of young children's comprehension that is sensitive to developmental changes and adaptable to various books. We discuss how narrative comprehension is fundamental to beginning reading and how the NC task may be used for classroom instruction and assessment.
Interactive models of reading appear to provide a more accurate conceptualization of reading performance than do strictly top-down or bottom-up models. When combined with an assumption of compensatory processing (that a deficit in any particular process will result in a greater reliance on other knowledge sources, regardless of their level in the processing hierarchy), interactive models provide a better account of the existing data on the use of orthographic structure and sentence context by good and poor readers. A review of the research literature seems to indicate that, beyond the initial stages of reading acquisition, superior reading ability is not associated with a greater tendency to use the redundancy inherent in natural language to speed word recognition. Instead, general comprehension strategies and rapid context-free word recognition appear to be the processes that most clearly distinguish good from poor readers./// [French] Les modèles interdépendants de lecture semblent pourvoir une conceptualisation plus précise d'accomplissement de lecture que les modèles strictement du haut au bas et du bas au haut. Lorsqu'ils sont combinés avec une hypothèse de procédure compensatoire (qu'un deficit dans tout procédé particulier causera une plus grande confiance en d'autres sources de connaissance, sans tenir compte de leur niveau dans la hiérarchie de procédure), les modèles interdépendants fournissent un meilleur compte-rendu de données existantes dans l'usage de structures orthographiques et de contexte de phrases par des lecteurs bons et médiocres. Une revue des écrits de recherche semble indiquer que, sa-delà des étapes initiales d'acquisition de lecture, la capacité de lecture supérieure n'est pas associée à une tendance plus vaste d'utiliser l'excédent inhérent dans le langage naturel pour accélerer la reconnaissance des mots. Au lieu, les stratégies de compréhension générale et, de maniére plus importante, la reconnaissance rapide de mots à contexte libre semble être les procédés qui distinguent le plus clairement les bons lecteurs des mauvais./// [Spanish] Modelos de interacción de lectura parecen proveer una percepción intelectual mas precisa de lecturabilidad que los modelos estrictamente conceptuales ("top-down") o de desciframiento ("bottom-up"). Cuando se combinan asumiendo el proceso compensatorio (que el déficit en cualquier proceso resultará en mayor dependencia de otras fuentes de conocimiento, sin consideración de nivel en la jerarquía de procesos), modelos de interacción proveen una mejor enumeración de los datos existentes sobre el uso, por buenos y deficientes lectores, de estructura ortográfica y contexto de oración. Un repaso de la literatura de investigación parece indicar que, más allá de la fase inicial de aprendizaje de lectura, la habilidad superior de lectura no está asociada con una mayor tendencia de uso de la redundancia existente en lenguaje natural para acelerar la identificación de palabras. Por otro lado, estrategias de comprensión general y descifre rápido de palabras de contexto libre parecen ser los procesos que separan más claramente los lectores buenos de los deficientes.
This paper argues that an important aspect of vocabulary development is readers' understanding of the nature of written language. The purpose of the study was to investigate the process involved in acquiring word knowledge from written context. Prereading kindergarten children were read two picture storybooks on three separate occasions (per book) and were then invited to take their turns to “read” the books. Using an ordinal category system developed for the study, three analyses of the three “readings” of each book were made which identified patterns of vocabulary growth. The results showed the ways that children learned lexicogrammatical information incidentally through exposure to written context.
In this article, we examine the contribution of initial skill and slope of progress on alphabetic principle to end of first-grade reading outcomes. Initial skill and slope were measured using DIBELS Nonsense Word Fluency. Reading outcomes were measured at the end of first grade with DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency. Students in Oregon Reading First schools (n = 2,172) and students participating in the DIBELS Data System (n = 358,032), with complete data during the 2004–2005 academic year, were participants. Slope of progress through the first semester of first grade on NWF was a strong predictor of first-grade reading outcomes, especially for students at risk of reading difficulty.
This 8-month qualitative study investigated 3 primary classrooms' implementation of a synthesized approach to comprehension instruction that incorporated vocabulary development, cognitive strategies, and responsive engagement. Three themes emerged, including successes and challenges in (a) the implementation of the separate components of the synthesis approach, (b) the gradual release of responsibility, and (c) the classroom logistics involved in the implementation of the synthesis approach. Teachers became more intentional in vocabulary development, explicit strategy instruction, and the asking of open-ended questions. Students were able to use strategies flexibly and engage in high-level discussions about complex texts. Small-group discussions were initiated, but it was difficult for primary students to lead and sustain productive discussions that enhanced meaning-making.
Examined the reliability, validity, and sensitivity of 3 experimental measures developed to assess 3 areas of early literacy: phonological awareness, vocabulary development, and fluency in letter naming. The measures were designed for repeated use to identify children with difficulty acquiring basic early literacy skills and to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions for these children. Ss were 37 kindergarten and 41 1st-grade children. Results suggest that the measures displayed adequate psychometric properties for kindergarten children who were not yet reading. Reliabilities were moderate to high and evidence was obtained for the criterion-related validity of the measures. Sensitivity of the measures was supported, although further research is needed. As expected, the experimental measures were less useful for 1st graders who were reading well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This article examines the research evidence on the effects of preschool reading practices on young children, with specific emphasis on the effects of school-based programs for young disadvantaged children. The goal of this article was two fold: (1) to assess the research evidence on the effects of preschool storybook reading, and (2) to derive practical suggestions for classroom practitioners on the basis of this research evidence. Studies (
n = 10) that focused on the effects of storybook reading programs and practices on 4- and 5-yr-olds in school settings were selected. The existing studies of the effectiveness of various approaches in reading stories are limited, but they do suggest the importance of four specific, practical guidelines related to group size, rereadings, vocabulary instruction, and teacher interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The impact of a shared-reading program on the narrative skills of children from low-income families was examined. Participants in the study were 4-year-old children (N=123) enrolled in Head Start. Fifty-eight percent of the sample participated in a 30-week shared-reading intervention conducted in Head Start classrooms and homes. The remainder of the sample experienced the regular Head Start curriculum. The shared-reading intervention was found to have a significant effect on children's inclusion of evaluative devices in their narratives. Specifically, children who participated in the intervention program were significantly more likely to include references to internal states of characters and dialogue in their narratives at the end of the Head Start year than children who did not participate in the intervention program. This study adds to the growing experimental literature demonstrating that preschool literacy interventions can have a positive impact on the language skills of children from low-income families.
In recent years, many scholars have called for greater inclusion of expository texts in early schooling. A first step in assessing the wisdom of these calls is to examine what young children actually know, and can learn, about the language of these reputedly-difficult texts. This study provides information about 20 preliterate kindergartners' knowledge of one genre of expository text, information books, at two points in time—in September, when the children first entered kindergarten, and in December, after children had spent 3 months in a classroom in which information books were read aloud on a near-daily basis. Children's pretend readings of an unfamiliar wordless information book in September contained key features of information book language: their December readings contained far greater use of these features, and among more children. These young children's fast-developing knowledge of information book language provides one indication that inclusion of such texts in early schooling may be well-advised.
A randomized experimental design with three levels of intervention was used to compare the effects of beginning reading interventions on early phonemic, decoding, and spelling outcomes of 96 kindergartners identified as at risk for reading difficulty. The three instructional interventions varied systematically along two dimensions--time and design of instruction specificity--and consisted of (a) 30 min with high design specificity (30/H), (b) 15 min with high design specificity plus 15 min of non-code-based instruction (15/H+15), and (c) a commercial comparison condition that reflected 30 min of moderate design specificity instruction (30/M). With the exception of the second 15 min of the 15/H+15 condition, all instruction focused on phonemic, alphabetic, and orthographic skills and strategies. Students were randomly assigned to one of the three interventions and received 108 thirty-minute sessions of small-group instruction as a supplement to their typical half-day kindergarten experience. Planned comparisons indicated findings of statistical and practical significance that varied according to measure and students' entry-level performance. The results are discussed in terms of the pedagogical precision needed to design and provide effective and efficient instruction for students who are most at risk.