Responds to a response to an article in this issue concerning the effectiveness of Reading Recovery. Remains steadfast in assertion that alternative explanations exist for the findings reported in the original article. (RS)

Shows that both middle school and high school students improved in reading and writing as a result of a 55-day program which used newspapers and newspaper-based instruction as classroom supplements to traditional reading materials. (SR)

As students who have difficulty in acquiring the basic processes in reading are significantly disadvantaged in later schooling, there is a need for effective interventions for young at-risk students. Reading Recovery is the most widely known and extensively promoted intervention for young struggling readers. However, serious reservations have been…

The main objective of the overall Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI) was to help the classroom teacher acquire the key reading diagnostic strategies (e.g., Cooter, 2003; Desimone, 2009; Garet et al., 2001; Timperley & Phillips, 2003) relevant to K-1 struggling readers (e.g., Desimone, 2009; Garet et al., 2001; Guskey, 2002; Joyce &…

Noting that 80% of children will learn to read no matter what method is used to teach them, this information sheet offers a brief overview of research on reading impairments undertaken at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The information sheet first describes the casualties of mild and severe reading…

This report describes a process for increasing primary students' reading comprehension skills through the use of a guided reading program. The targeted population consisted of primary students in a northwest suburban area of a large city in the Midwest. The problems of poor reading comprehension scores were documented through the use of the…

This nine-week study examined the effect of the Accelerated Reader program on the reading comprehension scores of third grade students in a socio-economically disadvantaged area of West Virginia. Two separate third grade classes, with different teachers, but within the same school, participated in this study. The experimental group of students was…

This report discusses a program to increase student self-esteem in order to improve student reading achievement. The targeted population consisted of students in grades first, second, and third. The study took place in the northwestern suburbs of a large metropolitan area in Illinois. The problems of low self-esteem and low reading achievement…

Examines the reading skills of children who have deficient decoding skills in the years following the first grade and traces their progress across 20 sessions of a decoding skills intervention called Word Building. Presents results in terms of the consequences of not fully engaging in alphabetic decoding during early reading experience, and the…

Examines the effects of adding a repeated reading intervention in the context of the "Corrective Reading Decoding Strategies B2" program on the oral reading fluency of three alternative middle school students for practiced and nonpracticed passages. Concludes that the repeated reading had positive effects for practiced passages but not…

Finds (1) significant increase in reading rate and comprehension as the number of repeated reading increased; (2) students trained to segment sentences read faster and scored higher in comprehension than students given intonation training but not to a statistically significant degree; and (3) no interaction between repeated readings and…

This study evaluated the effects of individually administered story mapping instruction on the reading comprehension of four upper-elementary school students with behavioral disorders. Story mapping instruction improved students' abilities to comprehend narrative text, especially their understanding of story settings, problems, and major events.…

Shares examples of explicit teacher talk to demonstrate its influence on learners: encouraging positive reading behaviors, thinking metacognitively, and using meaning as well as sounding out words. Describes teacher talk that (1) promotes struggling readers' understandings and control in reading; and (2) that empowers novice teachers and thus…

Discusses research, and strategies and activities for vocabulary development, grouped into five areas: knowing words, morphology, the use of context, the role of definitions in understanding words, and the size and growth of vocabulary. Outlines questions for metalinguistic awareness that can help engage students in word learning. Offers 10…

Describes the characteristics of hyperlexia (ability to decode words but not to understand what was read) in a diagnostic case study of a 14-year-old mentally handicapped girl. Uses a learner-centered, literature-based approach over an 18-month period. Notes that her reading and writing competency and attitudes improved steadily. (RS)