This conceptual paper addresses fluency instruction and assessment for students with or at risk for reading disabilities. Although a multidimensional construct, fluency tests more often have been limited to measuring students' reading rate and accuracy. The reasons for this are explained as well as how fluency tests have influenced classroom…

This article discusses use of a multicomponent intervention to develop the reading skill and performance of grades 4 to 8 students identified with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Reading intervention targets for this population are vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Reading intervention elements involve explicit vocabulary…

This study set out to design and implement an approach to Tanakh education that would help students become expert decoders of the Biblical Hebrew text as they became expert interpreters of it. The goal, following existing, research-based best instructional practices from literacy, was to create a curriculum in which language skills and meaning…

The use of technology in the field of education makes the educational process more efficient and motivating. Technological tools are used for developing the communication skills of students and teachers in the learning process increasing the participation, supporting the peer, the realization of collaborative learning. The use of technology is…

The primary objective of this special issue is to synthesize results from recent reading fluency research endeavors, and to link these findings to practical uses of reading curriculum-based measurement (R-CBM) tools. Taken together, the manuscripts presented in this issue discuss measurement work related to new metrics of indexing student reading…

Strategic grouping can transform reading instruction in the middle grades from a hit-or-miss learning experience to a targeted, responsive one. This book features a practical and field-tested model for small-group differentiated reading instruction in Grades 4-8. Jennifer Berne and Sophie C. Degener offer a clear, detailed discussion of how to…

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…

The purpose of this article is to provide teachers, tutors and parents with an effective and enjoyable approach to practicing reading fluency, increasing comprehension and encouraging the joy of reading, based on the theories and methods of Sally L. Smith. This method can be applied and adapted to individual student's needs. Sally Smith, the…

In January 2008, the school-wide data for Alice Birney Middle School in North Charleston, South Carolina were concerning. According to the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Reading data, 40% to 48% of the students fell below the 25th percentile at each grade level. The authors realized that these students were not all undiagnosed special…

English teachers share the blame for the lack of imaginative responses from students to the texts they bring to students, given their penchant for focusing on the most technical elements of literature rather than on its emotional resonance. In classrooms, teachers often concentrate too heavily on what Janet Allen calls the "products" of their…

The purpose of this "Adolescent Literacy Walk-Through for Principals" ("ALWP") is to help principals monitor and support adolescent literacy instruction in their schools more effectively. To meet the goals of improving adolescent literacy in grades four through twelve, principals must be familiar with what literacy instruction…

Reading depends on the speed of visual recognition and capacity of short-term memory. To understand a sentence, the mind must read it fast enough to capture it within the limits of the short-term memory. This means that children must attain a minimum speed of fairly accurate reading to understand a passage. Learning to read involves "tricking" the…

This technical report describes the development of progress monitoring measures in the area of Reading Comprehension. Measures were developed for grades 6 through 8. Twenty alternate forms of each measure were created. Passages were written by graduate students and reviewed by the lead author, as well as teachers and panels of graduate students.…

The purpose of this practice brief is to provide schools, districts, and states with background knowledge about best practices for older students who struggle to read. It focuses on the reading skills that adolescents need to more fully access content-area curricula and, in turn, secure a productive future. The authors define adolescent reading as…

The authors acted on their belief that familiarity with text and repeated readings of it would help students with fluency, comprehension, and confidence. They assembled a list of "cuttings" excerpts of full-length books from which seventh-grade students could choose to prepare a public reading. After working alone, in pairs, and reading for a…