The learning gap between intermediate students on grade level and those below grade level continues to grow. Intermediate students with below-grade-level reading comprehension skills struggle with informational texts and across-content material. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore parent and teacher perceptions of…

The authors examined the strength of literature circles in developing background knowledge--an acknowledged sticking point in the development of understanding for middle graders--with a special focus on the literature circle role of "investigator," where it is student initiative and not teacher direction that guides comprehension. Observing…

Frequently, when assigned to read, intermediate and middle grade students engage in a mindless encounter with the text. Or, try as they may to focus and gather information, they're mostly confused and not sure how to repair the breakdown in their meaning-making. With the new focus on close reading--and on engaging students with more rigorous…

Nearly 90% of intermediate and middle school students from low-income families in the United States are not proficient in reading. This action research project used a quasi-experimental design to determine the effectiveness of a multi-component reading intervention program for students in grades four through eight at Mother of Sorrows Catholic…

Serious reading problems exist among middle school learners as evidenced by declining national reading scores and increased dropout rates. In response to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) expectations in reading, several experts have promoted a scripted repeated reading strategy such as readers' theater as a possible approach to improving student…

This book provides classroom-tested methods for engaging struggling middle grade readers--even those who appear to have given up--and fostering their success. The emphasis is on constructing respectful, encouraging learning environments that incorporate students' diverse literacies, cultural interests, and prior knowledge and skills into…

Special education teachers working in intermediate grades and in middle school grades face many challenges as they teach both developmental reading skills and subject matter material. Not only must they deal with the increased vocabulary and domain demands of teaching informational text, they must also handle the needs of students who have not yet…

Using structural equation modeling the authors evaluated the contribution of morphological awareness, phonological memory, and phonological decoding to reading comprehension, reading vocabulary, spelling, and accuracy and rate of decoding morphologically complex words for 182 4th- and 5th-grade students, 218 6th- and 7th-grade students, and 207…

A study determined the relationship between life stress and reading comprehension test scores on the IOWA Tests of Basic Skills. Subjects, 41 middle-school students attending Lincoln School in Garwood, New Jersey, were surveyed as to the amount of life stress prevalent in their lives. In addition, the Iowa scores for reading comprehension were…

This study examined middle school students' reported awareness of strategic approaches they used when they had difficulty reading science text. Student responses indicated that they used text and social context to resolve comprehension difficulties but that they were largely unaware of the use of prior knowledge for the same purpose. (SM)

This study investigated the effectiveness of color coding, accomplished by highlighting, used to help students differentiate between exact meaning (explicit information) and implied meaning (implicit information) in both narrative (short story) and expository texts. Subjects were 78 sixth-grade students randomly enrolled in four language arts…

Describes the Rapid Retrieval of Information technique used with middle school students in order to satisfy students' desire to read aloud, achieve a purpose from oral reading, and teach adult silent reading patterns. Focuses on the strategy of oral rereading to answer a question, prove a point, or provide an example from the text after silent…

This report describes a program designed to increase students' knowledge in the science content area utilizing reading comprehension strategies. The targeted population consisted of grade 6 middle school students in a growing urban community in eastern Iowa. The students demonstrated poor comprehension of their science textbook. Data also revealed…

Reading instruction for the middle school disabled reader must vary from the way it has been taught in the student's past. Experiences using theme reading, poetry, scavenger hunt instruction cards, newspapers, and trade materials which form complete thought units prevent the reading task from becoming the isolated skills instruction of the past.…

Research supports that drama should be an integral part of the elementary and secondary curriculum. Utilizing drama strategies enriches learning in the reading program, the literature program, and the areas of oral language development, nonverbal communication, vocabulary development, listening skills, thinking skills, and creative writing. Yet,…