The present study builds upon established best practices in narrative comprehension instruction by redesigning a story map, to retain the benefits of text structure instruction, while also facilitating students to reach deeper levels of character-based comprehension. Framed in reader response theory, dual coding theory, and developmental theories…

Current standards push for elementary students to have text-based and text-centric discussions of what they read. This study explored what bilingual third-grade students talked about during small-group text-based discussions of informational texts. The author conducted a qualitative analysis of 10 video-recorded discussions, five of books matched…

The author explored text difficulty for third-grade bilingual students reading below grade level. In six small-group discussions, students read and discussed informational texts matched to their reading levels, and in six other sessions they read and discussed texts one year ahead of their reading levels. The alternating treatment design and…

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a pilot study conducted in a graduate action research class that sought to investigate the impact of multicultural literature experiences on third-grade students' ability to make empathetic connections in their writing and discussions about literature. Conducted as participant action research, five…

The merits of decentralized small groups has been questioned in literature and by practicing teachers; thus this study shows the academic and identity work children do as they attempt to make meaning in these spaces. This study explores the affordances and drawbacks of decentralized small group discussion contexts in a multiage (3rd/4th) grade…

Transaction circles weave together elements of guided reading and literature circles in an open conversational structure that supports students as agentive learners. Discourse within these circles utilizing digital informational texts assist in the development of democratic practices even in a time when federal mandates limit curricula and…

The purpose of the present study was to develop an instrument to measure reading during in-school independent reading (ISIR). Procedures to establish validity and reliability of the instrument included videotaping and observing students during ISIR, gathering feedback from literacy experts, establishing interrater reliability, crosschecking…

Many childhood educators are attempting to shift from the dominant "recitation" format of discussions found in today's classrooms. This study draws on reader response, and sociocognitive and sociocultural theories to investigate children's perceptions of social skills and leadership moves after participating in small-group discussions of…

The first part of the present paper deals with the analysis of the literary theory and linguistic background of the reader-response method, respectively with the presentation of the process of composition and its psychological components. The reader-response textual interpretation method can take several different approaches of literary theory,…

This article describes a qualitative study of discussion patterns within guided reading groups in a struggling metropolitan school. The study involves analysis of reader response to literature through discussion within teacher-led and student-led contexts. Transcripts of discussions surrounding texts, teacher interviews, and student surveys were…

In 2007, the United Animal Nations (UAN) launched the Humane Education Ambassador Readers (HEAR), an innovation that focused on mitigation of animal suffering through education. In the HEAR program, adult volunteers read carefully selected story books to children in grades 3-6 in schools or other educational settings, and hold discussions with the…

This study examined the motivation to read of children in grades two through six. All children in the study were strong in their literal comprehension of narrative text. Some were equally strong in their ability to respond thoughtfully to the text (Blue Group); others struggled to respond to questions requiring them to think about the implications…

Drawing on data associated with an investigation of classroom read alouds and discussions of children's literature, this article conceptualizes the reading aloud and discussions of picturebooks as an "interpretive space" for elementary grade students' exploration of visual images and written text. Analyzing the types of responses…