This study sought to explore and describe the extent to which research based practices were employed for cultivating an environment that fostered reading motivation in self-contained classrooms for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). To accomplish this, a descriptive multiple case study design was employed in which data were…

Silent reading and book discussion about books read for pleasure can increase reading frequency and support the strengthening of student engagement in the beneficial practice of recreational reading. However, little is known about children's attitudes toward and experiences of these pedagogical activities. Qualitative findings from 47 children…

This study investigated the relationship between student performance on behavioral measures (reading, language, and executive function) and reading comprehension while reading with and without text-to-speech (TTS) accommodations. Twenty-nine children with reading difficulties ages 8 to 12 years completed a battery of reading, language, and…

Spoken English has a stress-alternating rhythm that is not marked in its orthography. In two experiments, the authors evaluated whether stylistic alterations to print that marked stress pulses fostered the rendering of rhythm (experiment 1) and stress (experiment 2) during silent reading. In experiment 1, silent readers rated the helpfulness of…

We compared three methods for increasing reading amount and reading self-efficacy among L2 learners. (1) We required a word-target group to read at least 2,500 words a week outside class. (2) We required a sustained silent reading (SSR) group to do (a) in class SSR for 15 minutes every week, and (b) to read one book per week. (3) We required a…

Having used sustained silent reading (SSR) to motivate reluctant readers in secondary level classes, Steve Gardiner uses the writing equivalent of SSR with secondary students who he wants to motivate and strengthen as authors. He describes the masterpiece assignment he devised and uses with students. Students work all school year on an extended…

Despite increasing attention on literacy-based approaches to foreign language instruction (e.g. Allen & Dupuy, 2013; Barrette, Paesani, & Vinall, 2010; Byrnes, 2005; Kern, 2004; Magnan, Murphy, & Sahakyan, 2014) the communicative approach's emphasis on oral proficiency continues to shadow reading practices. Although research findings…

This column explains three ways that teachers can improve reading test performance. Basically, the idea is that instead of teaching students to respond to particular question types as is typical of test preparation despite the ineffectiveness of this practice, it is better to teach students to read the test passages more effectively. Three…

The progression of silent reading rates and reading comprehension were examined among Japanese university students (N = 55) over one academic semester. Participants were divided into three quasi-experimental groups. The first group practiced a combination of timed reading and repeated oral reading with attention paid to chunking and prosody. The…

This article presents the findings of a two-year qualitative study of electronic reading device use with high school sophomores, most of whom self-identified as reluctant or struggling readers. Electronic readers were used primarily in one weekly fifty-minute class period, during silent sustained reading, wherein students chose freely their texts.…

Despite the popularity of mobile reading devices, many studies have indicated that small screens restrict information transmission, adversely affecting reading performance on mobile devices. Moreover, mobile reading typically occurs in different reading contexts. Therefore, suitable text display type for mobile reading in different reading…

This study examines the efforts of student volunteers to motivate participation in a school-wide Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) program at a large urban high school. The researcher recruited a group of twenty student volunteers to visit classrooms and implement activities aimed at motivating their peers to read during SSR. Such activities help…

Recent investigations challenge the construct validity of sustained silent reading tests. Performance of two groups of post-secondary students (e.g. struggling and non-struggling) on a sustained silent reading test and two types of cloze test (i.e. maze and open-ended) was compared in order to identify the test format that contributes greater…

This action research project investigated the effects of daily teacher read-alouds on first graders' ability to sustain silent reading for an extended length of time. Students' enjoyment of silent reading was also investigated. The data on ability to sustain silent reading was collected from timed silent reading experiences, and a pre and post…

Although the field of school psychology currently calls upon practitioners to implement evidence-based interventions to address reading deficits, the literature base is limited and inconclusive when it comes to effectiveness of reading interventions at the high school level, especially with older adolescents with reading disabilities. The current…