Researchers have documented a "summer reading setback" where an achievement gap between proficient and struggling readers expands during the summer. This research focuses on 20 rising sixth graders who participated in a summer independent reading initiative using Nook digital readers. Using a qualitative exploratory design and content…

Reading instruction often does not focus on appealing to student interests, offering choice, or responding to the needs of advanced readers. In this experimental study, we examined the effects on achievement of an instructional approach involving choice, differentiated instruction, and extensive, supported, independent reading, with corresponding…

The Internet is having a profound impact on the literacy practices of today's students. Acknowledging the complex processes associated with reading online, the Survey of Online Reading Attitudes and Behaviors (SORAB) was created to further our understandings in this area. A factor analysis revealed the instrument included five factors that…

In this study, I used individual growth modeling methods to examine the English word-learning trajectories of adolescent students (N = 278) whose parents speak English at home (n = 210) and those whose parents speak a language other than English (n = 68). Sixth- (n = 130) and seventh-grade (n = 148) students attending an urban middle school took…

Learning about certain scientific topics has potential to spark strong emotions among students. We investigated whether emotions predicted students' attitudes after engaging in independent rereading and/or rereading plus discussion about Pluto's reclassification. Fifth and sixth grade students read a refutation text on Pluto's reclassification.…

Teachers, parents, and librarians are constantly looking for methods and materials that engage students as readers and motivate them to increase the time they spend reading. In this article we describe findings from a study of middle schoolers' magazine reading habits that gave us a close look at the power of magazines as supplemental supports for…

This article provides a statistical analysis of the reading gains observed at one American school in the Caribbean that was using Accelerated Reader. It provides an estimate of the number of hours students needed to read to advance their reading performance an additional year. The authors estimate how much Accelerated Reader contributed to the…

The "Into Thin Air" unit, based on the book by Jon Krakauer, was designed as an interdisciplinary unit for a small group of academically gifted sixth-grade students. It included hands-on, minds-on activities that would immerse students in the scientific, social, and personal struggles people face while attempting to climb the world's tallest…

Research suggests that independent reading outside of school is a strong indicator of school and reading success. However, studies also suggest that student recreational reading significantly decreases in the middle school years. This article explores some of the reasons adolescent students choose to read independently or are reluctant to do so.…

Mostly low-income African American and Hispanic teens (N = 192) were tested in (a) passage comprehension, (b) vocabulary ability, (c) cloze task performance, and (d) listening comprehension in the spring and vocabulary in the fall. Students were surveyed about reading (a) narrative, (b) expository, (c) teen culture, and (d) online texts.…

This study models improving classroom reading instruction through valid assessment and individualized metacomprehension. Individualized cognitive profiles of Woodcock-Johnson III cognitive abilities correlated with reading comprehension were used during classroom independent reading for judgments of learning, feedback, self-reflection, and…

When a child has an extensive knowledge of vocabulary, it is most likely from extensive reading, regardless of whether the reading is from comic books, magazines, or a recommended reading literature list. Teachers who are always trying to find the best strategies for teaching literacy skills such as reading comprehension, vocabulary development,…