This study investigated relationships among the reading fluency, word recognition, language background, and reading achievement in second through fifth graders. Among the 250 students sampled, 70% were within word pattern (WWP) spellers. These WWP stage spellers were remarkably similar in reading, regardless of grade and Limited English Proficient…

Assessments of oral reading rate in words correct per minute (WCPM) have proliferated in elementary classrooms. This study explores the similarities and differences among students at the end of second grade who demonstrate low WCPM. Using latent profile analysis, readers with low WCPM compared to peers were identified (n = 2,191) from a state-wide…

Within a developmental framework, this study compared the predictive validity of three DIBELS tasks (phoneme segmentation fluency [PSF], nonsense word fluency [NWF], and oral reading fluency [ORF]) with that of three alternative tasks drawn from the field of reading (phonemic spelling [phSPEL], word recognition-timed [WR-t], and graded passage…

A quasi-experimental study examined effects of a 10-week word structure intervention with fourth-grade students. During daily 10-15-minute practice periods, students worked individually with mobile apps focused on specific aspects of word identification. Pre- and post-treatment assessments showed no differences in rate and accuracy of oral reading…

This study examined the relationship among word reading efficiency, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension for adult English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Data from 185 adult Chinese EFL learners preparing to take the Test-of-English-as-a-Foreign-Language[TM] (TOEFL[R]) were analyzed in this study. The participants completed a…

A one-year longitudinal study was performed to test the hypothesis that children's word-specific learning of regular words is a causal determinate in their understanding and use of simple correspondence rules in reading and spelling. Kindergarten and first-grade children were asked to read and spell real words and matched pseudowords in three…

Uses mixed-case words as a prime in the priming task in order to investigate the locus of an orthographic spelling check, based on the assumption of the phonological recoding hypothesis. Indicates that the orthographic spelling check distinguished the normal-case and the mixed-case in a later stage of word recognition, not in an early stage. (SG)

Compares childrens' ability to read words printed in their own invented spelling with their ability to read the words correctly spelled. Finds that children responded similarly to invented and correct spellings and that there was a small tendency to gradually respond more accurately to standard spellings from first to third grade. (RS)

Describes a teaching strategy--word sorting--that helps students to develop more accurate and automatized word recognition and spelling ability. Describes a series of word categorization activities in which students compare and contrast various word features or properties. (MG)

Investigates whether a computer-based word study method, emphasizing automaticity of response, would improve students' word recognition, spelling, and oral reading performance. Finds support for a verbal efficiency theory of reading, in which the key to developing reading efficiency is developing word recognition that is automatic. (RS)