Do children with better reading competence read more, or do avid readers increase their reading competence? This highly relevant question has been discussed for many years, yet conclusive results are rare. Previous studies suffer from small sample sizes or omitted variable bias, rendering their findings questionable. We provide new insight using…

In this meta-analysis, the authors synthesize results from 44 (quasi-)experimental studies on informational and narrative text structure interventions involving students in grades 4-6 in regular school settings. Findings show that text structure instruction had positive immediate effects on students' reading comprehension but that effect sizes…

Students with limited vocabulary knowledge are at high risk for reading comprehension difficulties. Previous studies have found that teaching morphology may support vocabulary growth. In the present study, the authors aimed to replicate and extend these findings by investigating both immediate and long-term transfer effects to untaught words and…

Research syntheses have demonstrated that morphological instruction can improve the literacy skills of poor readers and spellers. However, studies have used a wide variety of training methods. Questions remain about what type of morphological instruction is most effective and under which circumstances. In this study, we conducted a randomized…

The purpose of this mixed-methods experimental study was to investigate the effects and social validity of a text structure intervention for reading and writing in upper elementary grades. Fourth- and fifth-grade teachers (N = 11) in three elementary schools were randomly assigned to implement the text structure intervention or a comprehension…

Students are expected to comprehend and produce increasingly complex texts in upper elementary school, and academic language and literacy skills are considered critical to meeting these expectations. Notions of academic language are also controversial and require careful deliberation when applied to traditionally minoritized populations, including…

Teachers who are knowledgeable about the basic structure of the English language incorporate this knowledge into their instruction. In this study, the authors explored a similar relation between knowledge of print exposure and planning for a grade 5 classroom. The personal reading experience (print exposure) of 106 preservice teachers was measured…

The online reading, writing, and communication practices of students have been of significant interest to literacy researchers and teachers throughout the last several years, as insights into what students are currently doing in and outside of school can inform what they can be expected to know and be able to do in digital environments. Yet,…

This study examined the hypothesis that assisted writing during reading improves reading comprehension. The hypothesis was derived from sociocognitive and constructivist theory and research and implemented in the form of a curricular intervention called Writing Intensive Reading Comprehension after its main feature of bringing together reading…

Core reading programs provide the curriculum and guide the instruction for many classroom teachers. The purpose of this study was to conduct a curriculum analysis of comprehension instruction in the five most widely used core reading programs. The recommended comprehension instruction in grades 3, 4, and 5 was examined to answer four questions:…

Reports from research and the larger educational community demonstrate that too many students have limited ability to comprehend texts. The research reported here involved a two-year study in which standardized comprehension instruction for representations of two major approaches was designed and implemented. The effectiveness of the two…

This study investigated the effects of different versions of Web-based instruction focused on text structure on fifth- and seventh-grade students' reading comprehension. Stratified random assignment was employed in a two-factor experiment embedded within a pretest and multiple posttests design (immediate and four-month delayed posttests). The two…

Finds an immediate and delayed effect of morphemic and contextual analysis instruction for lesson words; an immediate effect of the instruction for transfer words; no evidence the instruction enhanced students' text comprehension; and students were generally just as effective at inferring word meanings when the instruction was provided in…

Reports on a study designed to determine the effects of preteaching vocabulary of differing levels of importance to a text using two different methods of instruction on children's comprehension of basal stories. Concludes that, in general, the results supported the growing evidence for the "direct effect" of instruction on children's text…

Supports the hypothesis that, with time held constant, children instructed to build relationships between text and their knowledge and experience and among the different parts of a text comprehend that text better than do children who are not so instructed. (AEA)