Background: Oral language has long been acknowledged as a prominent influence on children's reading development. Here, we examine the intersecting contribution of two prominent aspects of oral language - phonology and morphology. We explore this interface by examining contributions from the two dimensions of phonology - phonemic and prosodic - of…

In this dissertation, I present the findings from the implementation of an informational text reading comprehension intervention. Using a single-case multiple baselines across participants' experimental design, I examined results from three small heterogeneous groups of three to four students during the literacy block in a suburban fourth-grade…

This action research study aimed to improve reading with understanding in a lower primary classroom in Fiji. Five emergent readers were selected through an examination of class running records. Peer observation, student worksheets, and class running records were utilized to collect data. The data analysis revealed that when teachers implement…

Educators are increasingly aware of the role of classroom talk in cultivating students' language knowledge, which in turn supports their skilled reading comprehension. The result has been greater attention to teacher talk moves that transform class discussions into opportunities for language learning. However, less focus has been placed on the…

This study examined the extent to which kindergarten Spanish reading affected English reading growth trajectories through fourth grade among nationally representative Spanish-speaking bilingual students (N = 312) in the United States and whether the association varied by students' English oral proficiency. Multilevel growth curve analyses revealed…

Purpose: Fourth grade typically involves shifting the instruction from "learning to read" to "reading to learn," which can cause students to struggle. However, early reading intervention guided by assessment has demonstrated effectiveness in preventing later reading difficulties (RD). This study presents a classification and…

Nearly 30 years ago, Chall, Jacobs, and Baldwin (1990) introduced the "fourth-grade slump" to describe the unexpected deceleration of reading skills between first and fourth grades among children growing up in poverty and low-income households. Advances in our understanding of reading development and how race, racism, or other forms of…

Nearly 30 years ago, Chall, Jacobs, and Baldwin introduced the fourth-grade slump to describe the unexpected deceleration of reading skills between first and fourth grades among children growing up in poverty and low-income households. Advances in our understanding of reading development and how race, racism, or other forms of discrimination are…

In the context of early algebra research and as part of a classroom teaching experiment (CTE), we investigated fourth grade (9- to 10-year-old) students' justifications of how they performed tasks involving the functional relationship y = 2x. We related their written justifications (part of the task) to the task characteristics, which included…

Las Americas Middle School is a newcomer program within Houston Independent School District (HISD) that serves students in Grades 4 through 8 who have been in the U.S. for less than one year. As a non-zoned school of choice, Las Americas has no attendance boundary, meaning that students and families must opt to enroll in the school. This brief…

The effects of transcription skills, comprising both spelling and handwriting fluency, on sentence writing among young Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners were evaluated and compared to those of reading and oral language using a one-year longitudinal study design. Various writing models postulated that transcription skills are essential in…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the types of spelling errors made by children with mild to moderate hearing loss (CMMHL) compared with children with typical hearing (TH) and to determine if types of spelling errors were related to linguistic or audiologic factors. CMMHL and TH completed measures of spelling, spoken language, speech…

Purpose: The language load within mathematics test items can lead to inaccuracy in assessing "Orang Asli" pupils' mathematical ability due to their struggle in comprehending the academic language. This study aims to determine the validity of using test accommodations in the form of oral academic language and oral native language when…

This study examined the amount and types of narrative instruction (i.e., story comprehension, oral storytelling, and story writing instruction) that general education English language arts teachers provide to students in grades 1 through 4. The research team conducted 121 approximately 30-minute classroom observations. Educators were asked to…

This study examined the amount and types of narrative instruction (i.e., story comprehension, oral storytelling, and story writing instruction) that general education English language arts teachers provide to students in Grades 1 through 4. The research team conducted 121, [approximately]30-minute classroom observations. Educators were asked to…