Although unevenly distributed, many Australian classrooms are increasingly diverse and include young people from a wide variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds, young people who speak many different languages and dialects of English. These diverse classrooms offer rich and exciting teaching and learning opportunities and require innovative…

Reading comprehension is a fundamental skill that all individuals should have. A foundation of reading set in children's early years is integral to proper growth and development. Parents or guardians should spend quality time reading to their children at home prior to children attending school. Teachers should construct language arts programs,…

One potential advantage of e-books is that unlike traditional books, preschoolers can read independent of an adult by using the audio narration feature. However, little research has investigated whether children comprehend a story's content after using an e-book with audio narration. The current study compares preschoolers' comprehension of an…

In this article, we describe how books addressing social-emotional topics can be used by teachers of young children during class read-alouds to enhance students' social-emotional development. Teachers of young children typically choose books for class read-alouds based on curriculum topics and student interest; however, they may not be aware of…

This study examined the influence of classroom pedagogic reading practices and out-of-school practices in explaining why the reading attainment of Hong Kong Grade 4 students was superior to that of their counterparts in Taiwan in the 2006 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. Analyses of scores from 9,301 students (4,712 from Hong Kong…

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of a program that offered sustained strategic reading instruction on reading abilities of third and fourth graders. The study was conducted among 1,469 children from 40 schools in the Netherlands. Schools were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. Multilevel…

Since the National Reading Panel presented its 2000 report, systematic and explicit strategy instruction has been featured in the scope and sequence chart of basals, the lesson plans of guided reading groups, and the headlines of workshop brochures. Sticky note responses have become a classroom staple, and teacher read-alouds are now synonymous…

Improving reading rate can be difficult for poor readers. In this experiment, we investigated the impact of improvement in reading rate on other aspects of reading, including word recognition, decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension. Poor readers in Grades 2 or 4 (N = 123) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: practice reading text at their…

The purpose of this article is to propose a conceptual foundation for early literacy instruction for students with severe developmental disabilities. The two primary outcomes in the conceptual model are (a) enhanced quality of life through shared literature and (b) increased independence as a reader. Guidelines are offered for promoting shared…

This article presents the results of qualitative research into how middle school students experience school reading. Students from grades 4 through 8 from four different schools were asked individually to draw and then to talk about specific times of their choice when they were and were not engaged in learning. The combined method of drawing and…

Explains the relevance of reading-comprehension research for classroom teachers, discussing how knowledge of the world and active engagement with ideas in the text influence comprehension and looking at how to develop both these capabilities. Four sections discuss the power of background knowledge, reading aloud and discussing literature with…

Examines the content of the pamphlet "What Works: Research about Teaching and Learning." Asks (1) what it means to say it is "drawn from""Becoming a Nation of Readers"; and (2) whether the editors are guilty of political chicanery with reading research, as some have argued. (RS)

Outlines five variations of the Directed Reading Thinking Activity that can help students become independent readers of narrative text. (NKA)