Research Findings: Shared book reading is important for children's early literacy development. Although there is an increasing number of dual language learners, few studies have examined families' shared book reading practices in their two languages. The current study examined Hispanic parents' beliefs and practices during shared reading in…

In this quasi-experimental study, 608 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students explored 5 historical investigations. In the experimental condition, teachers used a cognitive apprenticeship model to teach students historical reading and writing strategies. Comparison teachers used the same materials to deliver a business-as-usual form of…

Novice special education teachers have become an integral part of the public and private school systems throughout Pennsylvania. This mixed-methods research study explored the expertise and preparedness of current novice special education teachers. A combination of an electronic survey questionnaire and phone and face-to-face interviews were…

The purpose of this case study was to understand how students use reading strategies to help them comprehend informational text. Eighteen adolescent, developing readers who participated in a Reading Edge intervention at a suburban junior high school in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania answered interview questions, and 14 students met the…

Explicit reading strategies help low-knowledge readers make the inferences necessary to comprehend expository texts. Self-explanation is a particularly effective strategy, but it is challenging to monitor how well a reader is applying self-explanation without requiring the reader to externalise the self-explanations being generated. Studies have…

This mixed methods action research study explored how students reacted to using literature circles to enhance their knowledge and understanding of reading nonfiction text as compared to students using guided reading. This study showed a minimal improvement for students participating in the literature circle group in overall understanding of…

Encouraging relaxed and playful interaction over stories naturally fosters language interaction and both preliteracy [hereafter (pre)literacy skills] and literacy without anxiety. Reading for pleasure is valuable for young hearing children -- we know that, it is among the most beloved family rituals. In this article we argue that reading for…