In 3 experiments, I investigated the role of verbal behavior development in reading and spelling sight words. I evaluated effects of different interventions for reading and spelling sight words and establishing the transformation of stimulus function across word reading and spelling. In Experiment 1, I evaluated the effects of 3 interventions on…

Reading proficiency levels among elementary-aged students in the United States have been alarmingly unsatisfactory for decades. The absence of basic foundational reading skills will induce struggles in every other subject area, causing students to feel exhausted, defeated, and fall behind. Intervention can be successful when instruction is…

Teachers in any discipline where reading matters should practice a robust scaffolding pedagogy to teach critical reading, in contrast to the more common but less direct approaches that often leave students to learn or not learn these skills themselves. In this essay, I describe how to adapt established methods for teaching writing (including…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to analyze the effect of a literacy program on general music students in the fourth grade within an urban public school district in Northeastern Illinois. Two fourth grade classes, instructed by two different licensed music teachers, received the treatment program of one Lyrics2Learn…

This study compared 2 units of analysis for assessing acquisition mastery during sight word instruction for 3 participants. The unit of analysis refers to the specific performances that criteria are applied to, either sets of stimuli or individual operants. In the Set Analysis condition, we applied the acquisition-performance criterion to the…

Dyslexia is a reading disability affecting a large number of people worldwide. People with dyslexia have at least normal levels of intelligence, yet they nevertheless have significant difficulties with reading. Dyslexia is known to have genetic causes; however, some researchers believe that there are also environmental factors at play.…

In a quasi-experimental study, kindergarten teachers taught children mnemonic stories to orient the confusable letters "b" and "d." In the first week's stories, intervention teachers introduced the left-to-right sequence of features for these letters with "the bat hits the ball" and "a dime rolls up to a…

In a world of immersive behaviors, why not immerse students in words, vocabulary, and language to improve their reading skills. Reading immersion will improve the learners' reading skills and comprehension across the curriculum in all subjects. Many strategies could be pulled from various immersion techniques used in other areas to employ reading…

In a world of immersive behaviors, why not immerse students in words, vocabulary, and language to improve their reading skills? Reading immersion will improve the learners' reading skills and comprehension across the curriculum in all subjects. To employ this reading immersion, several strategies could be pulled from various immersion techniques…

This paper aims to contribute to the discussion of a multiliteracies approach to online inquiry reading. After presenting the key principles of this theory, I focus attention on an online platform acknowledged for its learning aims -- TED-Ed -- as an empirical basis for researching the practicability of such an approach. An original lesson…

While mathematics and reading instruction share an emphasis on vocabulary, strategies may seem in conflict. Use the strategies presented here for connecting new learning to previous knowledge and experiences and providing meaningful paths for students' vocabulary development in the mathematics classroom.

Reading tutoring is a traditional technique to support the development of young readers. One relatively popular method of tutoring involves pairing a lower level reader with a higher level reader to synchronously read connected text aloud. We use the term Synchronous Paired Oral Reading Techniques (SPORT) to describe a family of related methods…

The Science of Teaching Reading (STR) has burgeoned nationally and changed the requirements for Texas Teacher Education Programs (TEPs), causing researchers to fear that the focus on foundational skills will limit attention given to writing, and the reading-writing relationship in particular. The present content analysis investigates literacy…

Background and Aims: Students with intellectual disability benefit from high-quality instruction in reading and mathematics. Methods: This Theoretical Paper outlines the need for effective, evidence-based instructional practices for this population and the potential for observation research to inform such advancements. We report our systematic…

Background: The delivery of effective, evidence-based early reading instruction depends partially on teachers' knowledge about reading acquisition, development and pedagogy. Research shows that teachers often perform poorly on measures of reading-related knowledge, often cited as one explanation for a gap between reading research and classroom…