Professional learning communities (PLC) are one strategy aimed at facilitating teacher professional development, with a focus on increasing student achievement. This mixed methods study investigated the impact of professional learning on student achievement. A total of 6 teachers and 121 students recruited from the third and fifth grades of a…

This study examined the motivation to read of children in grades two through six. All children in the study were strong in their literal comprehension of narrative text. Some were equally strong in their ability to respond thoughtfully to the text (Blue Group); others struggled to respond to questions requiring them to think about the implications…

This study examined whether a one-to-one laptop program had an effect on the reading-fluency and comprehension scores of fourth- and fifth-grade students over a half-year period. Pre- and post-test scores on the AIMSweb R-CBM fluency and Maze-CBM comprehension tests were collected for 1,048 students attending six diverse, high-poverty elementary…

Several authors have suggested that a teacher's ability to encourage a disposition to read may be linked to their personal reading habits and views of literacy. This study examined the relationship between elementary school teachers' reading habits, knowledge of children's literature, and their use of literacy best practices in the classroom. One…

The purpose of this "Adolescent Literacy Walk-Through for Principals" ("ALWP") is to help principals monitor and support adolescent literacy instruction in their schools more effectively. To meet the goals of improving adolescent literacy in grades four through twelve, principals must be familiar with what literacy instruction…

As part of a diagnosis and tutoring project in an elementary education reading course, a pre-service teacher was encouraged to use an iPad as the vehicle for intervention strategies with a fifth grade struggling reader with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The device not only helped the student focus attention, it facilitated his becoming…

Public school districts in the Mississippi (MS) Delta are under severe pressure to make rapid and adaptable changes in response to the federal legislation No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the MS Plan for Student Achievement: Assessment, Accreditation, and Accountability. These reform Acts require higher student performance standards and new…

The authors reviewed all peer-reviewed studies with participants from preschool to Grade 8 for this meta-analysis of morphological interventions. They identified 22 applicable studies. Instructional effects (Cohen's d) were averaged by linguistic outcome categories (morphological sublexical, non-morphological sublexical, lexical, and supralexical)…

With the inception of No Child Left Behind, educators are required to ensure proficiency for all students in reading and math, but provide no incentive for developing the talents of gifted students (Gentry, 2006b). Implementing differentiation into the classroom can assist educators in providing appropriate instruction for all students…

This article describes instructional practices with blogs in elementary classrooms. Schools need to prepare students for the new literacies required when reading on the Internet; blogging is an easy way to begin. A theoretical rationale for blogging with elementary students is provided. Learning from the examples of successful blogs by elementary…

The author explores how the use of joke books can promote fluency in young readers. One young girl's fluency improved measurably, and her engagement and motivation to read the particular kind of text involved played a significant role. (Contains 2 tables.)

In a professional development project, six teaching practices were posited as necessary for improving affective and cognitive outcomes for identified advanced readers. These practices were identification, organization for instruction, content, instructional strategies, continuous improvement assessment, and ambassadorship. Sixty-one teachers…

This article uses "fibbin" (Fibonacci poems) as an instructional strategy to teaching reading and writing across the curriculum. It describes fibbin from a historical and mathematical perspective and discusses it as an adaptation of the famous Fibonacci sequence to teaching content area material (e.g. science, math, and social studies). This…

The Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) Yearbook, Volume 34, includes papers presented at the annual conference, which have gone through a double peer review process. It also includes the Presidential Address and the keynote addresses given at the conference. For ALER's 55th annual meeting, the Association of Literacy…

"Reading Mastery," one of several curriculum components that constitute the Scientific Research Associate's Direct Instruction curriculum, is designed to provide systematic instruction in English language reading. "Reading Mastery" is a full-year curriculum and is available in two versions, "Reading Mastery Classic"…