The importance of establishing effective literacy/reading skills at an early age, preschool to early elementary, is well known and accepted among educators. For students whose heritage language is not English, the influential factors of cultural relevance and parent/family involvement for the acquisition of these fundamental skills are…

All but seven U.S. states have laws that govern some aspects of dyslexia screening, intervention, or teacher training in public schools. However, in the three states that mandate child-level reporting, data indicate lower than expected rates of dyslexia identification when compared with commonly accepted dyslexia prevalence rates. To better…

This study was designed to examine the effects of an intervention program aimed at improving reading, spelling, and vocabulary skills through linguistically explicit instruction in morphological awareness. Sixteen children, diagnosed with language impairment, participated in this study. Instruction for the experimental group focused on increasing…

This article presents a critical review of the literature surrounding the potential impact of undiagnosed and untreated vision impairment on reading development in the early years of primary school. Despite pre-school screening programmes, it is still possible for children to enter school with undiagnosed, uncorrected vision impairments. This can…

A study was conducted to determine the impact of the use of audiobooks with struggling readers in a school library audiobook club. The participants met weekly in the school library with the school librarian and researchers to discuss audiobooks and make reading recommendations to their peers. Standardized test data as well as pre- and post-study…

For the last several years ago, Arkansas has served incarcerated juveniles in facilities of 485 beds through fourteen juvenile detention centers located in rural as well as urban areas throughout the state. Six years ago a web-based educational program was piloted in one of the juvenile detention centers in northwest Arkansas. The program was…

Developmental reading students respond positively to poetry. This genre engages them and intimidates less than prose. Reading poetry aloud further improves their reading skills because students feel compelled to increase their knowledge and abilities and to pay closer attention to the text when they are required to perform. Videotaping…

Describes the Arkansas Comprehensive School Reform Model, which focuses on staff development and a collaborative support system for teaching reading in the elementary grades. Reports that preliminary results indicate an average increase of at least 20% on standardized testing scores for students in model classrooms. (NB)