The growing popularity of graphic novels for younger readers is hard to miss. This article provides specific ways to think about, recognize, and teach with multimodal texts that leverage student interest. In this English language arts unit, we taught a sixth-grade class how to read and comprehend the complex design elements common to the graphic…

This article discusses use of a multicomponent intervention to develop the reading skill and performance of grades 4 to 8 students identified with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Reading intervention targets for this population are vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Reading intervention elements involve explicit vocabulary…

Purpose: In this discussion as part of a response to Catts and Kamhi's "Prologue: Reading Comprehension Is Not a Single Activity" (2017), the authors provide selected examples from 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-grade texts to demonstrate, in agreement with Catts and Kamhi, that reading comprehension is a multifaceted and complex ability. The…

When dividing one fraction by a second fraction, invert, that is, flip the second fraction, then multiply it by the first fraction. To multiply fractions, simply multiply across the denominators, and multiply across the numerators to get the resultant fraction. So by inverting the division of fractions it is turned into an easy multiplication of…

This article reports on the development of an online dynamic approach for assessing and improving students' reading comprehension of science texts--the dynamic assessment for reading comprehension of science text (DARCST). The DARCST blended assessment and response-specific instruction into a holistic learning task for grades 5 and 6 students. The…

In the era of globalization, the trend towards learning Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) has become increasingly popular worldwide. The increasing demand in learning CFL has raised the profile of the Chinese proficiency test (CPT). This study will analyze in depth the inadequacy of current CPT's utilizing the common European framework of…

The purpose of this report is to describe the technical qualities of the 2018-2019 operational administration of the English language arts/literacy (ELA/L) and mathematics summative assessments in grades 3 through 8 and high school. The ELA/L assessments focus on reading and comprehending a range of sufficiently complex texts independently and…

The purpose of this report is to describe the technical qualities of the 2018-2019 operational administration of the English language arts/literacy (ELA/L) and mathematics assessments in grades 3 through 8 and high school. New Meridian, in coordination with multiple states and vendors, developed an alternate form of the summative assessment to…

This companion volume to "Collaborative Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension," which covered lower grades, completes the educational arc by focusing on adolescent readers in grades 6-12. Drawing on the most current standards from the American Association for School Librarians (AASL) as well as cutting-edge research, this straightforward…

We describe activities created to help student participants in Project ITEAMS (Innovative Technology-Enabled Astronomy for Middle Schools) develop a deeper understanding of picture elements (pixels), image creation, and analysis of the recorded data. ITEAMS is an out-of-school time (OST) program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) with…

This article discusses the flexible nature of the gradual release of responsibility (GRR) as a frame for inquiry-based science instruction. Given the mandate for the use of text-supported learning (Common Core Standards), the GRR can be used to allow students to learn as scientists as they collaboratively develop testable questions and experiments…

Numerous research studies prove that wide reading improves children's comprehension, background knowledge, vocabulary, fluency, and writing. The author, a sixth-grade language arts teacher, describes the classroom conditions and instructional practices that encourage wide reading and increase her students' reading motivation such as choice in…

The article describes a successful intervention program in developing inferential comprehension in a sixth grader. Steve (pseudonym) was proficient in word reading, was able to detect explicit information while reading, but struggled with linking textual information to yield integral ideas. After 10 weeks of working with Steve on word analogies,…

Improving youth science comprehension in the United States is imperative to reverse current trends in student achievement and to meet an expected shortage of scientists in the future. This lag in achievement scores and need for future scientists is a problem. One challenge is to link inquiry-based learning and experiential education with…

We describe an inquiry-based course in physics and chemistry for preservice K-8 teachers developed at California State University Fullerton. The course is one of three developed primarily to enhance the science content understanding of prospective teachers. The course incorporates a number of innovative instructional strategies and is somewhat…