The current research used the Proficient Academic Reader (PAR) framework to explore whether reading strategies, task awareness, and motivation predicted college students' literacy skills over and above foundational skills (e.g., decoding, vocabulary). Specifically, the current research investigated the unique contribution of the PAR constructs to…

The current research used the Proficient Academic Reader (PAR) framework to explore whether reading strategies, task awareness, and motivation predicted college students' literacy skills over and above foundational skills (e.g., decoding, vocabulary). Specifically, the current research investigated the unique contribution of the PAR constructs to…

This study explored prior experiences that shaped literacy motivation beliefs among adolescents with learning disabilities (LD). Data included student and teacher interviews, teacher response scales, and classroom observations. Two cycles of analysis, using directed content and thematic approaches, resulted in findings that indicate two types of…

This three-paper dissertation was conducted to explore how motivation and engagement, in addition to cognitive aspects, should be considered in disciplinary literacy instruction and assessment in high school classrooms. The studies, which were based on a five-year collaborative school-university partnership, were conducted to explore the relation…

Within the last decade, state and federal policy makers advanced many reforms to improve the academic achievement of linguistically and culturally diverse students across the country. These leaders embraced a traditional input-output paradigm where policy mandates (input) would lead to positive student achievement (output). This approach fails to…

Seventy-six fifth-year students from low-socioeconomic status backgrounds participated in three different instructional conditions in an intervention study. The first combined strategy training in top-level structuring and interrelated motivational support; the second implemented the strategy training only; and the third was a control condition…

This study examined teachers' beliefs about motivating students to read through the development of a new survey questionnaire. The current investigation reports on initial tests of the scale's reliability and validity. The items for this measure were developed from an engagement perspective to reflect the motivational constructs represented in an…

Could you use a superhero to teach reading, writing, critical thinking, and problem solving? While seeking the answer, secondary language arts teacher Maureen Bakis discovered a powerful pedagogy that teaches those skills and more. The amazingly successful results prompted her to write this practical guide that shows middle and high school…

A challenge facing high school educators is that which includes motivating students to learn, helping students engage in their learning, and providing adolescents the tools that they can use in comprehending the many forms of texts that are presented to them. Many students have access to libraries and technologies yet they do not avail themselves…

Given the narrow scope of primary teachers' knowledge and use of children's literature identified in Phase I of "Teachers as Readers" (2006-2007), the core goal of the Phase II project was to improve teachers' knowledge and experience of such literature in order to help them increase children's motivation and enthusiasm for reading,…

In this study, we explored 3 Grade 4 English Language Learners' (ELLs) perceptions of teacher autonomy-supporting practices in literacy instruction in science. The support of autonomy in literacy classes is central to students' internal motivation for reading. Given that many ELLs are at risk for reading failure, understanding autonomous learning…

Many reading programs today overlook an essential component of literacy instruction--helping children develop an enduring love of reading. This authoritative and accessible guide provides a wealth of ideas for incorporating high-quality children's books of all kinds into K-6 classrooms. Numerous practical strategies are presented for engaging…

The literacy-themed poems in this anthology--reprinted from the premier journal for literacy educators, "The Reading Teacher"--give teachers, literacy coaches, and parents a new way to enhance literacy learning. Use this book to: (1) Integrate poetry into classroom lessons to develop students' lifelong love of reading and writing; (2) Motivate…

Historically, comics have been viewed as a "debased or simplified word-based literacy," explains Dale Jacobs, who considers comics to be complex, multimodal texts. Examining Ted Naifeh's "Polly and the Pirates," Jacobs shows how comics can engage students in multiple literacies, furthering meaning-making practices in the classroom and beyond.

Offering fresh alternatives to common instructional practices that fail to get results, this accessible, highly practical guide highlights ways to motivate middle school students while enhancing content-area learning. Each chapter features an enlightening case study of a teacher whose current strategies are not supported by research; describes…