We conducted a randomized field trial to test an academic vocabulary intervention designed to bolster the language and literacy skills of linguistically diverse sixth-grade students (N = 2,082; n = 1,469 from a home where English is not the primary language), many demonstrating low achievement, enrolled in 14 urban middle schools. The 20-week…

We conducted a randomized field trial to test an academic vocabulary intervention designed to bolster the language and literacy skills of linguistically diverse sixth-grade students (N = 2082; n = 1469 from a home where English is not the primary language), many demonstrating low achievement, enrolled in 14 urban middle schools. The 20-week…

Connectives (e.g., although, meanwhile) carry abstract meanings and often signal key relationships between text ideas. This study explored whether understanding of connectives represents a unique domain of vocabulary knowledge that provides special leverage for reading comprehension, and whether the contribution of knowledge of connectives to…

This study investigated the effectiveness of the S.P.I.R.E.® reading intervention program for struggling readers in grades 2-10. Specifically, the study examined the program's impact on students identified as English Language Learners (ELL) and Special Education students. Seventy-five students from the Whitehall City School District (Ohio)…

"Reading Recovery[R]" is a short-term intervention that provides one-on-one tutoring to first-grade students who are struggling in reading and writing. The supplementary program aims to promote literacy skills and foster the development of reading and writing strategies by tailoring individualized lessons to each student. Tutoring is…

Genetic and environmental relations between vocabulary and reading skills were explored longitudinally from preschool through Grades 2 and 4. At preschool there were strong shared-environment and weak genetic influences on both vocabulary and print knowledge but substantial differences in their source. Separation of etiology for vocabulary and…

This article examines how 3 sixth-grade social studies teachers increased struggling readers' participation in text-based discussions and changed how they applied reading comprehension strategies. Students worked in small groups with peers who read above, on, or below grade level but shared similar beliefs about themselves as readers. Discussion…

This paper reports research that investigated parental support for children's reading of English in an inner-city school in the developing country context of an Indian city, Ahmedabad. Children had oral proficiency in the regional language but were beginning to acquire conventional forms of literacy in English. Sociocultural mediation theory…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relative effects of the single-focus interventions (vocabulary and comprehension) and the streamlined multi-component model. The program of research included a development and pilot phase, an initial experimental study and a follow-up study to further refine and test the model. Results presented here…

Reading First has been implemented in Nebraska since the 2004-5 academic year. In two rounds of funding and participation, schools have transformed the way they trained their teachers, measured student progress, and taught. This transformation is one of the hardest tasks in education and it has taken the considerable dedication of school personnel…

Nineteen kindergarten children were pretested on readiness and blending tests and randomly assigned to a control or experimental group to determine if auditory blending skills were teachable and important in a beginning reading program. Following instruction in sequencing and blending sounds, the experimental group gained significantly in both…

To test the effectiveness of the cloze procedure for developing comprehension skills in reading at the intermediate level, 189 sixth graders were divided into small groups or asked to work independently during this reading program, which lasted five weeks. The materials were presented both as cloze materials and in unmutilated form, followed by…

A study investigated the relationship between attendance and reading ability and the difference in attendance or reading ability attributed to gender or race. The measuring instrument was the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests. An interracial group comprised of 33 students, 18 males and 15 females, was placed in a semester-long reading improvement…

Results of the Gates-Macginitie Reading Test for sixth graders are summarized. Tables include information for each subtest concerning mean scores, percentile ranks, grade equivalent scores, and standard scores. The level of achievement in this survey was lower than that of previous surveys. (MS)

A highly reproducible scale of difficulty of word identification tasks was identified for both good and poor readers: consonant-vowel combinations and short vowel words were learned first. Long vowel words, special rule words, and nonsense words were more difficult. Reading instruction should parallel this sequence since it follows learning…