Spanish-dominant bilingual students in grades 2-5 were tutored 3 times per week for 40 minutes over 10 weeks, using 2 English reading interventions. Tutoring took place from February through April of 1 school year. One, Read Well, combined systematic phonics instruction with practice in decodable text, and the other, a revised version of Read…

Increasingly, elementary schools across America are adopting prereferral intervention models that follow a structured problem-solving consultation process to reduce referrals to special education and to improve student academic outcomes. One feasible and affordable systems-level solution for a school that must deliver reading interventions of high…

Three studies evaluated Tier 1 early intervention for handwriting at a critical period for literacy development in first grade and one study evaluated Tier 2 early intervention in the critical period between third and fourth grades for composing on high stakes tests. The results contribute to knowledge of research-supported handwriting and…

This publication is designed to help accomplish one of our most pressing challenges--teaching children how to read and how to learn by reading. Washington's school reform efforts focus on setting clear, high expectations for what students should know and be able to do. The Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs) articulate the state's…

The lesson described in this article provides a wonderful opportunity for fourth graders to integrate reading and writing into a visual art experience. After an exploration of books, students create an artist's book that uses language as respiration. Through this lesson, students explore and understand prospective content for works of art.

We examined the influence of reading strategy instruction on self-efficacy, interest, and comprehension by 4th-graders from at-risk environments. Previous research indicates that reading strategy instruction can improve reading comprehension; however, few studies have examined the link between strategy instruction and self-efficacy and interest in…

Based on a proven instructional model distilled over years of research, this book focuses on five essential pedagogy standards for guiding teaching practice in classrooms with diverse students, including English learners. Providing key indicators for each standard along with the theoretical rationale and "best practice" strategies, the book offers…

Over the past four years, educators and researchers from the University of Connecticut have worked with urban high-poverty schools to implement an alternative reading instruction program called the Schoolwide Enrichment Model in Reading (SEM-R). Based on Renzulli's Enrichment Triad Model, the SEM-R works through planned enrichment experiences to…

This paper addresses the controversial issues of improving the reading skills of young learners through technology-assisted reading programmes. On reporting the results of primary school learners from grade 2 to grade 7 who participated in a computer-based reading programme for seven months, we try to answer the critical questions of whether…

This article describes findings from a classroom-based action research project conducted by two in-school teachers, a literacy coach and a 4th grade teacher, implementing a new integrated literacy and social studies curriculum and the changes they made in curricular practices and beliefs over a three-year period of time. A university professor…

The authors used a new multidimensional coding scheme to assess student learning engagement during 3 Grade 4 reading lessons. Students in 3 classes--2 in which students received integrated reading-science instruction and 1 in which they received traditional instruction--demonstrated moderate to high engagement in learning. However, students in the…

The integration of socially responsible online citizenship into the pedagogical practices in the elementary classroom is challenging, but necessary. Online activities, such as writing letters to political leaders or communicating with an expert on a community issue, offer students the opportunity to improve their writing skills while advancing…

An observational study of reading instruction, using the MS-CISSAR protocol, was conducted in general education classrooms, resource classrooms, and self-contained special education/deaf education classrooms in Grades 1 through 4 in public schools within the tri-state area of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Participants were 24 students who…

This action research report describes a program to increase students' reading comprehension and fluency through the use of guided reading. The targeted population consists of second and fourth grade students in a northwest suburban area of a large city located in the Midwest. The problems of low reading comprehension and fluency scores were…

Of the 1,828 grade 6 students who received accelerated instruction outside of the regular classroom, 27% participated in both reading and math interventions. Of the 1,872 grade 7 students who participated in accelerated instruction outside of the classroom, 26% participated in both reading and math interventions. The overall state test results for…