International comparative measures show that South Africa has extremely low standards in reading. A variety of programmes aimed at boosting reading have been developed, however, the effectiveness of these programmes is unclear. Prior reviews of effective reading instruction practices have focused almost exclusively on learners whose first language…

Elementary school students are often placed into groups with peers of similar reading ability for leveled guided reading instruction. Through this practice, students are differentially exposed to reading skills, strategies, and texts that are presumed to match their reading ability. This widespread practice is problematic given that (1) current…

Decades of research offer important understandings about the nature of comprehension and its development. Drawing on both classic and contemporary research, in this article, we identify some key understandings about reading comprehension processes and instruction, including these: Comprehension instruction should begin early, teaching word-reading…

In this invited Viewpoint, Sharon Walpole tracks her thinking about feasible, effective, small-group differentiated instruction. She acknowledges political pressures and the focus on science of reading. She describes the attractiveness and feasibility of guided reading. She then identifies some salient criticisms of the assessments, texts, and…

There is considerable concern that many adolescents do not attain the writing competence needed to be successful in school, their personal lives, or the workplace. Ensuring that students acquire this competence is a basic responsibility of schools. In order to meet this objective, teachers need access to effective practices for teaching writing.…

Supporting the wide range of readers in secondary disciplinary classrooms can involve a number of helpful scaffolds and instructional routines, and the role of "reading purpose" may be particularly important. Research suggests that reading purposes impact reading processes and outcomes, and also that disciplinary experts have…

While there is a considerable body of research demonstrating benefits of book reading, the quality and depth of engagement children experience while reading is essential to ensure positive reading experiences and outcomes. In this article we describe four dimensions of reading engagement: behavioral, cognitive, affective, and social, illustrating…

In 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that learning to read is a fundamental human right and failure to provide appropriate education for students with reading disabilities is discriminatory (Moore v. British Columbia, 2012). In Ontario, Canada's most populous province, the Human Rights Commission's inquiry in 2022 found the province's…

This study investigates the predictors of reading proficiency among 15-year-old Romanian students using data from the PISA 2018 assessment. For many years, a significant proportion of students have not met the basic proficiency level in reading, as measured by PISA. Previous research indicates that family background is the strongest predictor of…

This study aims to examine teachers' perspectives on the possibility of developing students' thinking and expression skills through teaching techniques. The study adopts correlational research design. The study participants consisted of 412 primary school teachers. The chi-square test results show that there is a linear relationship between the…

Research has documented that socio-economically disadvantaged students (SEDSs) lag behind in reading when compared with their counterparts from privileged backgrounds. Although well-designed instructional interventions could improve students' reading achievement, what is still unknown is which pedagogical approach could improve the reading of…

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a large-scale assessment of 15-year-old students' achievements in three broad areas: Reading, science, and mathematics. PISA results are widely used in discussions on various educational aspects, such as educational policy, quality of education, and teaching methods. Although PISA started…

Reviewing the literature is an important part of academic work, as it helps readers see what has come before, what has and has not worked, and situates the author's place in the ongoing discussion. Accepting this view, extensive reading literature often points to Day and Bamford (1988) as identifying Kelly (1969) as crediting Palmer (1921) as the…

The purposes of the study were 1) to examine the effectiveness of the KWL plus mind mapping learning management on Thai grade 9 students' reading comprehension and 2) to study the participants' satisfaction with the KWL plus mind mapping learning management. The study employed a one-group experimental design, with 25 students from a public school…

Reading comprehension is contingent upon the integration of various reading skills, including word reading, reading fluency, and comprehension strategies. Students who encounter challenges in both word reading and reading comprehension present an opportunity for growth across multiple reading-related domains. Recent intervention data, as…