We compared the effects of different "mastery" criteria and doses on the acquisition and maintenance of sight words for 4 second graders with and without disabilities. First, we replicated Set Analysis and Operant Analysis conditions where participants were taught sight words in 20-trial (4 operants, 5 opportunities) sessions.…

In elementary school, an important goal of reading instruction is to enable children to read most words automatically by sight so that they can focus on learning from and enjoying what they are reading. But becoming a strong reader takes several years. Parents and caregivers need to know if a child is making good progress in learning to read.…

Although many studies have shown the efficacy of using flashcard interventions to increase sight-word reading, very few have investigated ways to increase sight-phrase reading. In the current study, a concurrent multiple-baseline across students design was used to examine the effects of a tablet-based flashcard intervention on the acquisition of…

This study measured the effectiveness of sight word practice using flashcards and the growth results were compared based on presentation formats when administered to a group of second grade students. The data were later disaggregated to compare the success rates of each platform among three different subgroups within the test population, based on…

The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of goal setting as a motivator for kindergarten students in learning grade-level sight words. This study was conducted over a 6-week period in two Midwestern kindergarten classrooms. The participants in the experimental group were trained in self-setting goals and participated in…

The Strategic Incremental Rehearsal (SIR) intervention, a modified version of Incremental Rehearsal, is an efficient flashcard procedure that has demonstrated effectiveness on sight word acquisition for children who exhibit reading difficulties. However, to date, the procedure has not been evaluated with children identified with a reading…

Discrimination of reversible mirrored letters (e.g., d and b) poses a challenge when learning to read as it requires overcoming "mirror invariance," an evolutionary-old perceptual tendency of processing mirror images as equivalent. The present study investigated "when," in reading development, mirror-image discrimination…

In the current study, investigators examined the effects of an instructional reading package consisting of shared reading and systematic instruction (e.g., task analysis, system of least prompts, visual supports, and native language support) in a small group setting on percentage of correct consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words for three…

Automation of frequently used words is a key component in the development of reading fluency. However, acquiring fast word recognition skills is a serious challenge for many children in their early years of formal education. Lagging word recognition leads to general reading problems, as fluency is a vital prerequisite for text comprehension.…

Few previous studies have directly linked the contribution of phonological awareness (PA) and rapid automatized naming (RAN) to the development of phonological processing and orthographic processing in reading. These studies are predominantly cross-sectional and focus on reading development predictors, with relatively little emphasis on spelling…

Assessing a student's acquisition rates (ARs) is a reliable way to determine how many new words should be taught in one lesson without reducing retention. Exceeding a student's AR can result in frustration and problem behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of AR on the off-task behavior of kindergarten students while…

Little is known about the content and quality of reading instruction provided to students with intellectual disability. This study aimed to describe the reading instruction provided to students with intellectual disability who were not yet readers in self-contained elementary classrooms. The teachers of 24 classrooms participated in the study.…

Sight word learning occurs in most early elementary classrooms. Some kindergarten students face the prospect of learning up to 100 sight words, and many teachers feel pressure to ensure that students know lists of words by the year's end. The authors offer five assertions about sight word learning to direct teachers and administrators toward the…

Adapted alternating treatment designs were used to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of two computer-based sight-word-reading interventions among three elementary school students with an intellectual disability. Each intervention provided 30 stimulus--response--stimulus--response learning trials. One intervention included fixed 3-s response…

Recently, there has been growing concern about how to most effectively support the literacy development of beginning and struggling readers with regard to helping them learn to effortlessly identify the huge number of words that proficient readers ultimately learn to read with automaticity. Some, noting the critical importance of phonics…