What affects moment-to-moment motivation to read? Existing reading motivation questionnaires are trait-based and not well suited to capturing the dynamic, situational influences of text or social context. Drawing on the decision science literature, we have created a paradigm to measure situational enjoyment during reading. Using this paradigm, we…

"Science of reading" is a term that has been used variously, but its use within research, policy, and the press has tended to share one important commonality: an intensive focus on assessed reading proficiency as the primary goal of reading instruction. Although well intentioned, this focus directs attention toward a problematically…

This study investigates the effects of the text difficulty of extensive reading materials on the reading comprehension and reading motivation of English as a foreign language (EFL) vocational high school students in Taiwan. Two experimental groups were assigned, on an individual basis, to read graded readers at either one level below ('i-1') or…

Many teachers feel that students should not struggle with text; instead, they should read easier texts in order to learn from them and make adequate growth in reading. In turn, teachers might use easier or leveled texts as a solution or a graphic novel or multimodal version to differentiate text reading and to motivate and engage reluctant…

Reading comprehension requires thoughtful interactions between the reader, the text, and the author. The author may assist the reader in building meaning by creating purposefully crafted conversations that are organized into predictable patterns also known as patterned books. In this article, three predictable patterns found within children's text…

When students create personal connections with literature during whole-class discussion, they make sense both of text and of their life experiences. In this article, the author shares tips that help students make text-to-self, text-to-world, and text-to-text connections. She offers classroom examples to illustrate how conversations that encourage…

We conducted a mixed methods study to evaluate motivation among 20 fourth-grade students who struggle with reading and writing prior to and after receiving either self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) instruction for expository reading comprehension or SRSD instruction for expository reading comprehension plus informative writing. We…

As reading professionals and former middle school teachers, we believe it is essential for teachers to select books thoughtfully, understand the relationship between book selection and student motivation and engagement, and realize the importance of classroom instruction during the reading of literature. Teachers strive to help middle school…

This report describes an individualized literacy intervention program that was developed for a fifth grade boy who struggled with reading. Based upon informal assessment and evaluation procedures, the following literacy strategies were taught within a one-to-one instructional setting: Repeated Readings, Personal Vocabulary Journal, Phonemic…

This article is based on a qualitative study that explored the impact reading had on the lives of two female students who attained exemplary results in their final year of high school. The reading practices of these two high achieving students provided data rich information. Both students were academically successful in completing their Victorian…

This study examined the motivation to read of children in grades two through six. All children in the study were strong in their literal comprehension of narrative text. Some were equally strong in their ability to respond thoughtfully to the text (Blue Group); others struggled to respond to questions requiring them to think about the implications…

In this article, the author talks about "Developing Early Literacy," the report of the National Early Literacy Panel. The panel, which consisted of nine experts, was convened by the National Institute for Literacy to synthesize the research on the development of literacy from birth through age 5. Over the eight years of their work, only 190…

Drawing on his "crisis of confidence" in reading academic texts as a graduate student, Vacca explains that self-efficacy--a belief in one's ability to succeed--provides the key to struggling readers' ability to comprehend texts outside their comfort zone. Self-efficacy and comprehension are interrelated. If students believe they have a good chance…

In this investigation, we examine the availability of text elements over the course of reading a text. We describe the Landscape model (van den Broek, Young, Tzeng, & Linderholm, 1999) that captures, in one theoretical framework, multiple cognitive processes during reading and the resulting fluctuating activations of text elements. To demonstrate…

Examines the skills and abilities needed to interact with text on the Internet. Proposes that the Internet provides opportunities for interacting with new text formats, reader elements, and activities. Notes that it also expands and influences the sociocultural context in which a student learns to read. Considers the implications of a broader…