Veteran teacher Rachel Harbison used vivid stories to involve kindergartners in sociodramatic play to motivate reading acquisition. Children learned through staged events that a mischievous Word Queen had planted "tricks" in the alphabet (i.e., the irregularities in English spelling) to prevent children from learning to read. The…

This study explores the efficacy of the Waterford Early Reading program (ERP) for teaching kindergarten and first grade students' early reading concepts. Students attended 3 elementary schools in Alabama. The treatment group used the software program whereas the control group did not use the software. Analyses revealed a significant treatment…

A study was conducted at a community college in northeast Alabama to determine how the format of developmental English courses impacted student withdrawal rates and final grades. The two course formats examined were online/hybrid and face-to-face courses. Data were obtained from a 4-semester time frame: fall 2012, spring 2013, summer 2013, and…

This study addressed whether prior successes with educational interventions grounded in the theory of successful intelligence could be replicated on a larger scale as the primary basis for instruction in language arts, mathematics, and science. A total of 7,702 4th-grade students in the United States, drawn from 223 elementary school classrooms in…

One of the most common characteristics prison inmates typically share is unsuccessful educational experiences including dropping out of school, repeating grades, and not gaining basic literacy skills. The most recent National Assessment of Adult Prison Literacy Survey (NAAPLS) by the U.S. Department of Education indicates that large disparities in…

Despite the importance of literacy skill training for incarcerated youth, a very limited number of empirically based research studies have examined reading instruction in correctional facilities. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Fast ForWord computer-assisted reading program improved the reading and spelling abilities of…

As concern over teenagers' reading and writing skills mounts, an Alabama high school shows how to teach literacy in every subject. When Buckhorn joined the reading initiative, its teachers and top administrators attended the state's two-week summer workshop, and were inspired by its vision of literacy instruction across the content areas. But they…

Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI) is a multiyear effort to implement a scientifically based approach to reading instruction in all schools with grades K-3. Since 1998, using a process of continuous evaluation and improvement, the Alabama Reading Initiative has fashioned a multilayered professional development system that now trains and supports…

The purpose of this work is to examine using interactive videoconferencing (IVC) to provide preservice teachers with a model of exemplary reading instruction to transfer their learning and implement effective reading instruction. The program was facilitated by university professors and carried out though frequent interactions between preservice…

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two adult basic reading programs, Direct Instruction Corrective Reading Decoding and Laubach Literacy, on the reading achievement of incarcerated male adults (n = 27) in an Alabama prison. Participants were tutors and students taking part in a reading tutoring program at the facility. The…

A higher education development team consisting of four professors of reading at two universities designed a set of lessons for possible use in helping teachers or preservice teachers develop strategies to produce effective comprehension skills of elementary students. These techniques were first used with undergraduate candidates and then revised…

Describes the Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI), which bases teacher professional development designed to improve student reading achievement on reading research. Members of the ARI reviewed the research and called for a balanced approach to reading instruction that focuses on the individual needs of each child. Explains how the ARI Plan is being…

The aim of this study was to determine whether the "Frequency with which parents read to their children, Preschool Exposure" and the initial "Age" that students "who are economically at-risk" were first exposed to significant literacy activities at home or in a preschool setting affected their reading grades.…

Reports results of a survey that examined the role of school library media specialists in Alabama public schools in promoting reading growth, assisting classroom teachers, and teaching reading skills. Comparisons of ideal and actual responsibilities are made, and academic preparation of media specialists in the area of reading is discussed. (LRW)