We examined the relations of inference, vocabulary, decoding, short-term memory, and attentional control to reading comprehension and mathematics performance for first-grade students in the US (N = 83). The students were composed of 75% Hispanics, 15% Whites, and 6% Asian Americans. Students' performance on mathematics and reading comprehension…

We examined the longitudinal contribution of awareness of inflections and derivations to reading comprehension in Arabic, a morphologically rich language, among 734 second graders. Morphological awareness, phonological awareness, word decoding and reading comprehension tasks were delivered at the beginning and at the end of the school year.…

Purpose: Our aim was to investigate isolated and combined effects of speech-shaped noise (SSN) and a speaker's impaired voice quality on spoken language processing in first-grade children. Method: In individual examinations, 53 typically developing children aged 5-6 years performed a speech perception task (phoneme discrimination) and a listening…

This paper aims to explore the incorporation of embedding items within reading passages as an effort to improve assessment equity, student experience and performance, and engagement within a universal design framework. Reading comprehension items placed within text rather than at the end may remove measurement of confounding constructs such as…

This study used eye-tracking to examine whether extraneous illustration details--a common design in beginning reader storybooks--promote attentional competition and hinder learning. The study used a within-subject design with first- and second-grade children. Children (n = 60) read a story in a commercially available Standard condition and in a…

Reading difficulties in school are very challenging for teachers due to many different reader subtypes in one and the same class. Moreover, there are few easy-to-use tools enabling teachers to assess reading ability. According to the Simple View of Reading (Hoover and Gough in "Reading and Writing", 2(2), 127-160, 1990), efficient…

School closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns about increases in educational inequality. We examined the magnitude of the impact of the first school closure for vulnerable student groups in particular. This study was conducted among 886 Grade 3-5 students in the Netherlands in schools serving a high percentage of students from…

The present study examined the mediating role of text reading fluency in reading comprehension in English and Kiswahili utilizing longitudinal data from 628 first- and second-grade children from multilingual contexts in Kenya. We employed path analysis to explore the mediating role of text reading fluency on decoding and reading comprehension in…

Cognitive flexibility (CF) is an executive function component related to the ability to flexibly shift amongst multiple incompatible perspectives or descriptions of an object task. However, whether CF enhances the narrative discourse comprehension of students with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during surface semantic meaning…

This randomized controlled trial with first- and second-grade students is the first experimental study addressing long-running disagreements about whether primary grade students should develop transcription and oral language abilities before learning to compose. It is also the first study at these grade levels to teach close reading (using science…

Purpose: The study aimed to examine whether oral reading prosody--the use of acoustic features (e.g., pitch and duration variations) when reading passages aloud--predicts reading fluency and comprehension abilities. Method: We measured vocabulary, syntax, word reading, reading fluency (including rate and accuracy), reading comprehension (in Grades…

This paper explores how primary teachers might be prepared through their pre-service training to feel more confident to include engineering in their teaching. Prompted by concerns about young people's lack of interest in STEM subjects and careers, engineering is gradually gaining visibility in the primary curriculum in several forms, particularly…

Direct instruction is required in the use of different comprehension skills in order to advance students' ability to independently comprehend texts. Being able to make connections is an important reading comprehension strategy which allows students make meaning of what they are reading. The aim of the current study was to investigate the…

Background: Children in India are among the lowest performing students on international reading comprehension and writing assessments. Oral language instruction may improve these literacy outcomes. Aim: This pilot study investigated whether a multi-tiered system of language support (MTSLS) improved oral narrative language comprehension, reading…

Questioning skills are significant competencies that English teachers must possess in teaching reading narrative texts. These competencies include the ability to create various levels of questions and strategies. This study aimed to investigate the teachers' competence in making question levels, strategies, and teachers' and students' responses…