bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Three Factors in Reading Ability: Reanalysis of a Study by Cunningham, Stanovich, and Wilson
Authors: Carver Ronald P.
Published: December 2009

Cunningham, Stanovich, and Wilson (1990) tested college students and concluded from their 22 measures that three factors were needed to explain individual differences in reading ability; one of these factors was called Word Recognition. Their data have been reanalyzed to determine whether there is any support for the three individual difference factors advanced in rauding theory—called rauding accuracy level (AL), rauding rate level (RL), and rauding efficiency level (EL). A factor analysis of their nine variables that measured reading ability yielded two factors; one was readily identified as AL because its highest loadings were on vocabulary and listening tests, and the other was readily identified as RL because its highest loadings were on measures of reading rate. When a single factor fit was forced upon these data, the resulting factor was readily identified as EL because the highest loadings were on measures of general reading ability such as reading comprehension and efficiency. It appears that individual differences in almost all measures of reading ability can be explained by regarding AL and RL as correlated subfactors of general reading ability, EL. The Word Recognition factor found by Cunningham et al. appears to be a rate factor, called rauding rate level, RL.
Proficient and Less Proficient Comprehenders' Strategy use for Different Top-Level Structures
Authors: Kletzien Sharon Benge
Published: December 2009

This study examined proficient and less proficient high school comprehenders' use of strategies as they read three passages with different top-level structures: collection, causation, and comparison. Subjects were 24 tenth and eleventh graders who were divided into proficient and less proficient comprehenders based on results of standardized comprehension tests: proficient comprehenders scored above the 70th percentile; less proficient comprehenders below the 50th percentile. Content area passages were used with the proficient comprehenders and were revised for the less proficient comprehenders so that the passages would be the same relative difficulty for both groups. Results indicate that both groups of readers used similar strategies: rereading, previous knowledge, inference, reading subsequent text, utilizing author's structure, relating to the main idea, and focusing on key vocabulary. Use of inferences was more valuable than other strategies on the collection passage, and use of author's structure was more valuable on the causation passage than on the other passages for the proficient comprehenders. Proficient comprehenders differed from less proficient comprehenders in their greater use of previous knowledge on the collection passage and their greater use of vocabulary strategies on the causation and comparison passages. Implications for instruction are addressed.
The Effect of Teaching Approach on Third-Grade Students' Response to Literature
Authors: Many Joyce E. , Wiseman Donna L.
Published: December 2009

This study examined effects of teaching approaches on students' responses to three picture books. One hundred and twenty third-grade students were randomly assigned to treatments: literary analysis, literary experience, and no discussion. The literary-analysis approach focused on identifying and critiquing literary elements; the literary-experience approach centered on having students live through and react to the storyline. Teaching approach affected the content of students' subsequent efferent and aesthetic responses, with subjects from the literary-analysis group more likely to focus on the identification of literary elements in free written responses. Subjects from the literary-experience group wrote responses indicating more involvement in the story world, described similarities between characters and real people, and treated literature more as an aesthetic experience than a lesson or an object to be studied. Subjects who had no discussion on the stories were more likely to simply retell the story.
The Nature of Talk about Three Types of Text during Peer Group Discussions
Authors: Leal Dorothy June
Published: December 2009

This study investigated first-, third-, and fifth-grade children's talk about three types of text during peer group discussions. The researcher read aloud, and children discussed, a storybook, an information book, and an informational storybook to 54 children in groups of 6 students each (18 at each grade level). Children's utterances were then coded for five categories: the source of information used, manner of topic maintenance, acknowledgement given to the preceding utterance, thinking form used, and textual element in focus during the utterance. Results indicated significant grade level and/or text type differences for each category investigated and revealed that older students were more collaborative, drawing more often on peer information, participating in longer group discussions, and making more confirming and challenging responses. When discussing the informational storybook children stayed on topic longer, used speculation twice as often, relied on peer information more often, and were more likely to discuss related extra-textual topics.
Young Children's Reading Behaviors in Various Classroom Contexts
Authors: McIntyre Ellen
Published: December 2009

This is a study of classroom context and how it shapes children's beginning reading behaviors. Three first-grade children were observed and tape-recorded twice weekly during reading instruction for the first 10 weeks of school. Patterns of reading behaviors emerged through a constant comparison of conditions under which each of the behaviors occurred. The three children in this study learned to interpret the various classroom reading contexts and their responses reflected the conditions of each. The salient conditions included: (a) the instruction, (b) the implicit and explicit rules for functioning within that context, (c) the texts the children read, and (d) the physical and affective characteristics of the context. The differences in the contexts were often quite subtle, yet children followed instructional foci and read accordingly. It was evident that some behaviors occurred across contexts, whereas others did not. For example, children did not transfer many of the skills they were able to employ during the direct instructional settings to unguided reading time. Implications for theory and practice are offered to explain the reading behaviors of the young children.
Whistle for Willie, Lost Puppies, and Cartoon Dogs: The Sociocultural Dimensions of Young Children's Composing
Authors: Dyson Anne Haas
Published: December 2009

No greater challenge currently faces the schools than articulating what a literacy curriculum for sociocultural diversity might look like. And yet the literature on young school children's composing has dealt only peripherally with this issue. In this theoretical essay, the author argues that, even for young children, composing of both oral and written texts (i.e., planning, responding, revising) is a distinctly sociocultural process that involves making decisions, conscious or otherwise, about how one figures into the social world at any one point in time. Drawing on data from an ethnographic project in an urban school, she allows young children's composing processes sociocultural depth and breadth by highlighting variation in the kind of oral and written language genres a child uses, in the kinds of discourse traditions a child draws upon, and in the kind of relationships a child author enacts with others. The author concludes with a discussion of the implications of a sociocultural perspective on young children's composing for literacy teaching and learning.
Becoming Literate in a Preschool Class: Literacy Development of Hearing-Impaired Children
Authors: Rottenberg Claire J , Searfoss Lyndon W.
Published: December 2009

A qualitative study of emergent literacy of preschool hearing-impaired children was conducted to discover how the children learned about literacy within a school setting. Seven preschool hearing-impaired children participated in the study. Descriptive and interpretive field notes from ongoing observations of the children constituted a primary data source. Additional data sources included drawing and writing samples from the children and interviews with the teacher and parents. Grounded theory principles were used to analyze the data. The major finding was that the children, through literacy, found a way to learn about the hearing world and, more importantly, to be a part of it.
What Teachers do when the Textbook is Tough: Students Speak Out
Authors: Schumm Jeanne Shay , Vaughn Sharon , Saumell Linda
Published: December 2009

The primary purpose of this study was to examine middle and high school students' views of instructional practices teachers may use to facilitate reading of difficult textbooks. One thousand eight hundred nineteen students (776 middle school and 1,043 high school) completed the Student Textbook Adaptation Evaluation Instrument (STAEI). The STAEI consists of a list of 33 textbook adaptations for students to rate in terms of their preference and perceptions of teacher use of the adaptations. A secondary purpose of the study was to compare lower and higher achieving students' responses on the STAEI. To address this purpose, a subset of the initial cohort of students (120 lower achieving and 120 higher achieving) was selected. Results indicate a difference between students' perceptions of the desirability of textbook adaptations (high) and their perceptions of the frequency of use of these adaptations in the classroom (low). Students do not feel they are being exposed to the types of instructional adaptations they need. This is particularly true among high school students and higher achieving students. Discussion focuses on the disparity between student preferences and prevailing practices in secondary school classrooms, as well as the role of students' perceptions in teacher decision making.
A Causal Model of Sentence Recall: Effects of Familiarity, Concreteness, Comprehensibility, and Interestingness
Authors: Sadoski Mark , Goetz Ernest T. , Fritz Joyce B.
Published: December 2009

This study presents and tests a theoretically derived causal model of the recall of sentences. One group of undergraduate students rated 40 sentences about historical characters for content familiarity, concreteness, comprehensibility, and interestingness. A second group read the sentences and provided written recalls immediately after reading and again after five days. Using predictions derived from schema theory and from dual coding theory, a causal model was derived that identified familiarity and concreteness as causes of comprehensibility; familiarity, concreteness, and comprehensibility as causes of interestingness; and all the identified variables as causes of both immediate and delayed recall. Path analysis procedures indicated that concreteness strongly affected comprehensibility and recall, and that both concreteness and familiarity affected interestingness. The results suggest support for a dual coding theory account of sentence comprehension and recall.
A Psychogenetic Perspective on Children's Understanding about Letter Associations during Alphabet Book Readings
Authors: Yaden David B. , Smolkin Laura B. , MacGillivray Laurie
Published: December 2009

This study examined two preschoolers' understandings about letter associations during repeated alphabet book read alouds with their parents from a Piagetian perspective. Data for the present investigation was excerpted from a larger study in which six preschoolers, ages 3 1/2 to 4 1/2, read seven picture storybooks and two alphabet books three times each in a multiple baseline design over approximately a 30-day period. Applying the principles of Piaget's clinical or inquiry method, a qualitative analysis of the two children's responses to their parents' prompts or use of the formulaic phrase “—– is for —–” showed that neither one associated representative letters with the beginning sounds of names or other appropriate words. Letters were either associated indiscriminately with objects in the pictures or with words in the oral dialogue, irrespective of their beginning sounds. A psychogenetic theory of alphabet book reading is postulated where children first associate letters with any pictured object, then with selected words in the oral text, and only later with initial sound segments. Implications for research and practice regarding the slow evolution of metalinguistic differentiation at the phoneme level and the influence of genre on parent-child discourse are offered.
Why Teachers Select Specific Literacy Assignments and Students' Reactions to Them
Authors: Miller Samuel D. , Adkins Treana , Hooper Mary Louise
Published: December 2009

This study evaluated the literacy assignments elementary teachers use in their reading and language arts instruction, the reasons why they use a particular assignment, and how students react to different assignments. The project was initiated by teachers (three third-grade and three fourth-grade) and their principal because they believed students failed to see how various reading and language arts skills were related to one another, had difficulties applying such skills whenever they had to read or write lengthy prose, and did not want to complete assignments unless they received extrinsic rewards. Furthermore, teachers said teaching was no longer as satisfying as it had been in previous years. To evaluate their concerns we examined whether their literacy assignments included those characteristics that foster student learning and motivation and we interviewed the teachers and principal about why they believed teaching was no longer as satisfying as it had once been. Interviews indicated that teachers and the principal believed accountability pressures to increase standardized achievement test scores strongly influenced their school's reading and language arts instruction. Teachers said they attempted to raise students' scores by emphasizing the standardized achievement test skills. To maximize skill coverage, teachers said they avoided literacy assignments that required the reading of lengthy texts, sophisticated writing, and lengthy discussions. Evaluations of their literacy assignments confirmed their statements; students seldom completed classwork which required sophisticated writing or reading. Student interviews showed that they were bored with these assignments or did them because they expected extrinsic rewards. Whenever they completed a more complex literacy assignment (i.e., those that required the writing of single or multiple sentences or paragraphs), students said they were challenged and enjoyed learning for learning's sake. Discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for school improvement studies and students' learning and motivation.
The Acquisition of Morphology: Learning the Contribution of Suffixes to the Meanings of Derivatives
Authors: Nagy William E. , Diakidoy Irene-Anna N. , Anderson Richard C.
Published: December 2009

This study explored the development of students' knowledge of the meanings of 10 common English suffixes. A test was constructed to assess students' knowledge of the contribution of suffixes to the meanings of derivatives. Students were asked to choose which of several sentences correctly used a suffixed word. The suffixed words consisted of novel combinations of familiar stems and suffixes (e.g., butterless). Students were also tested on parallel items using familiar nonsuffixed words. The test was administered to 630 fourth-grade, seventh-grade, and high school students. Knowledge of the meanings of common English suffixes was found to undergo significant development between fourth grade and high school. Even in high school, however, there were some students who showed little knowledge of the meanings of these suffixes. The test identified students who have particular difficulties with English suffixes, and thus it has potential as a diagnostic tool.
The Concurrent Development of Spelling and Decoding in Two Different Orthographies
Authors: Geva Esther , Wade-Woolley Lesly , Shany Michal
Published: December 2009

The hypothesis that differences between first language (L1) and second language (L2) reading and spelling profiles could be accounted for by lack of proficiency in the L2 or differences in orthographic complexity was explored in a longitudinal study of 45 children acquiring reading and spelling skills concurrently in English (L1) and Hebrew (L2). The children were tested in Grades 1 and 2 on literacy measures in both languages. Neither of these explanations alone sufficed to explain the development of reading and spelling in the two languages. The less complex Hebrew orthography facilitated subjects' decoding performance, but failed to maintain that facilitation in spelling. Depressed second language effects were apparent in spelling but not in decoding, which actually favoured the subjects' L2. Developmental findings showed that, despite L1-L2 differences in orthographic complexity and language proficiency, the profiles of emergent spelling in both languages are strikingly similar. The rate of acquisition of conventional spelling, however, differentiates L1 from L2 performance.
Merging the Simple View of Reading with Rauding Theory
Authors: Carver Ronald P.
Published: December 2009

The Simple View of reading was merged with rauding theory by advancing a revision, called Simple View II. The original Simple View, described by Hoover and Gough (1990), has several inconsistencies between theoretical concepts and how concepts are measured. These inconsistencies were illuminated and clarified by using constructs from rauding theory. The resulting Simple View II focuses on how individual differences in reading level (called rauding accuracy level, AL) are almost entirely a function of word recognition level (called pronunciation level, PL) and listening comprehension level (called auditory accuracy level, AudAL). An analysis of data collected from 61 students in Grades 3–5, indicated that all of the reliable variance in AL was probably accounted for by PL and AudAL, thus providing strong support for Simple View II. Furthermore, the reading level of students in GE units (e.g., Grade 5) could be predicted highly accurately by simply averaging (a) their level of word recognition in GE units (e.g., Grade 3) and (b) their level of language comprehension in GE units (e.g., Grade 7). When Simple View II is merged with rauding theory, the result is a theoretical framework which includes interrelationships among all of the important constructs involved in reading ability, for students in Grade 1 through college.
That's News to Me: Readers' Responses to Brief Newspaper Articles
Authors: Goetz Ernest T. , Sadoski Mark , Fatemi Zhaleh , Bush Rebecca
Published: December 2009

The present study extended the exploration of readers' imaginative processes (i.e., spontaneous imagery and emotional response) to a new genre of texts: newspaper articles. A corpus of 50 articles was collected from a well-defined population of naturally occurring texts (i.e., articles with one or more subheadings and three to five paragraphs before the first subheading from the international section of the New York Times). The articles, reduced to titles and datelines and the text down to the first subheading (100–180 words), were randomly divided into sets of 25 which were used in two experiments. Undergraduates rated their response to the story (e.g., familiarity, interest, comprehension, imagery, emotional response) on 6-point Likert-type scales. In both experiments, ratings on all scales demonstrated high reliability and considerable variability across stories. As in previous studies with literary texts and feature journalism articles, imagery and affective responses (i.e., emotional response, story interest) were moderately to strongly related, and both were related to comprehension. Neither general topic nor story familiarity was related to comprehension.
Toward a Social Constructivist Reconceptualization of Intrinsic Motivation for Literacy Learning
Authors: Oldfather Penny , Dahl Karin
Published: December 2009

This conceptual essay critiques current understandings of children's motivation for literacy learning, and argues for a reconceptualization of motivation that centers on the learner as agent in the social construction of meaning. The essay is illustrated with vignettes and examples drawn from two ethnographic studies conducted in whole-language classrooms. Both studies investigated children's perspectives of their own literacy learning processes and their constructs of themselves as readers and writers.
A Content Analysis of Reading Methods Texts: What are we Told about the Nonnative Speaker of English?
Authors: Bernhardt Elizabeth B.
Published: December 2009

This paper focuses on how second-language children are portrayed in reading and language arts methods textbooks and in practice-oriented reading and language arts journals. Seventy-five textbooks and three journals published between 1980 and 1992 were examined for (a) their labelling of second-language children, (b) their use and application of second-language research, and (c) their instructional strategies. Although there is a high probability that inservice and preservice teachers have had some contact in professional fora with issues in second-language reading, professional writings do not provide a thorough discussion of second-language learners that reflects the current knowledge base.
Including Both Time and Accuracy in Defining Text Search Efficiency
Authors: Symons Sonya , Specht Jacqueline A.
Published: December 2009

Factors related to efficiency in a textbook search task were examined. Previous definitions of search efficiency have used time as the only index in defining efficiency. The present study used a definition that included both time and accuracy. One hundred and twenty-nine university students searched for answers to eight low-inference questions in an earth science textbook and were administered the verbal section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Time and accuracy involved distinct processes; accuracy was related to verbal competence. Measures of planning and extracting information accounted for 59% of the variance in search efficiency. Both accuracy and rate need to be included in defining text search efficiency.
Differential Effects of Whole Language and Traditional Instruction on Reading Attitudes
Authors: McKenna Michael C. , Stratton Beverly D. , Grindler Martha C. , Jenkins Stephen J.
Published: December 2009

This article reports a three-part study comparing the effects of whole-language practice versus traditional basal instruction on children's reading attitudes. In Experiment 1, children in two whole-language elementary schools (Grades 1–5, N=485) and children in two traditional schools (Grades 1–5, N=433) responded to the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS). Although significant main effects of grade level and gender were observed, there was no main effect of instructional approach. The possibility that whole language had been too broadly defined was addressed in a second study. In Experiment 2, Bergeron's (1990) definition was used to identify a third whole-language school, meeting more specific criteria. All students in Grades 1–5 ( N=713) were compared with the original basal group. Only the recreational ERAS subscale was administered because of the inapplicability of certain items of the academic subscale to the new whole-language setting. As before, no main effect of approach was observed, nor was any interaction of approach with other factors significant. Experiment 3 involved follow-up structured observations of two first-grade teachers in the second whole-language school. The attitude means of these teachers' classes differed significantly. Although the two teachers exhibited many similarities, notable differences emerged that warrant further study in order to examine a possible causal relationship between practice and attitude. Important differences in practice within a general whole-language philosophy may affect reading attitude differentially.
Importations in Preschoolers' Emergent Readings
Authors: Elster Charles
Published: December 2009

Emergent readers draw on a variety of information sources, most notably book illustrations and memory for text that has been read aloud by adults. The present study examines material imported into emergent readings—material that is not contained in the original written text of a book—as evidence of the types of information emergent readers use. Emergent readings of three different books were collected from 33 preschool children after they had heard the stories read repeatedly in class. Imported information in emergent readings was identified, classified, and counted. Results showed four sources of nontext importations in the emergent readings: material from illustrations, from prior read-aloud sessions, from personal experience and background knowledge, and from other texts. Furthermore, readings that were closest to the original text language and content contained the most, rather than the fewest, importations, suggesting that importation of nontextual information is not an indicator of immature emergent reading. Emergent readers' integration of visual and nonvisual sources of information highlights the continuity from emergent to alphabetic reading. A call is made for further research on importations in emergent and alphabetic reading.
English-as-a-Second-Language Reading Instruction in the United States: A Research Review
Authors: Fitzgerald Jill
Published: December 2009

The purpose of this review is to characterize research and portray findings on English-as-a-second-language (ESL) reading instruction in the United States. The spectrum of research on ESL reading instruction in the United States might best be characterized as having considerable breadth, but little depth. However, some tentative themes emerged. Among the most important statements that could be made were the following. First, some broad classroom parameters were discerned: Students may work mainly in small groups, stressing word recognition and oral reading; typical instructional discourse patterns may be incompatible with common home-discourse patterns; and teachers may work with lower ESL groups in different ways and stress lower level skills even more as compared to higher ESL groups. Second, research contributed little clarification on issues surrounding the role and timing of native-language reading instruction and ESL reading instruction for ESL reading achievement. Third, instruction targeting specific student knowledge, such as vocabulary knowledge, background knowledge, and text-structure knowledge, was generally effective. Fourth, there was a paucity of information about important issues related to ESL reading in teacher materials.
Effect of Phoneme Awareness Instruction on the Invented Spelling of First-Grade Children: A one-year Follow-Up
Authors: Tangel Darlene M. , Blachman Benita A.
Published: December 2009

In an earlier study (Tangel & Blachman, 1992), low-income, inner-city children who received 11 weeks of instruction in kindergarten in phoneme awareness produced invented spellings at the end of kindergarten that were rated developmentally superior to those of control children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the invented and standard spelling of these same children in February and May of first grade. During first grade, the treatment children participated in a reading program that continued to emphasize phoneme awareness and the alphabetic code. In February of first grade and May of first grade (the end of the second year of the study), treatment children significantly outperformed the control children on measures of invented and standard spelling. A reliable scoring system had been created to evaluate the invented spelling of the kindergarten children (Tangel & Blachman, 1992). For this study, the scoring system was expanded to evaluate later developing spelling patterns. As with the original scale, the expanded scale was found to be highly reliable using either correlation or percent of agreement. In addition, a reliable scoring system was developed to rate the developmental sophistication of responses (e.g., allowing partial credit for phonetically correct responses) on a measure of standard spelling.
Metaphors and Learning New Text
Authors: Gallini Joan K. , Seaman Michael A. , Terry Suzanne
Published: December 2009

In this study, we investigated the influence of metaphors on text processing. Sixty-two graduate students were randomly assigned to three conditions that varied in the degree of explicitness provided between a metaphor and new information, both presented in the text. Differences in comprehension and overall number of ideas recalled were trivial among the three groups. In addition, there was a lack of total change in recall over time. However, a significant effect was found for the time by group interaction. In addition, both type of idea (main and minor, and metaphoric-linked and non-linked) by group interactions were significant, with the metaphor groups recalling more. Text supplements, such as metaphors, can direct the reader's attention to certain types of ideas.
Growth of a Functionally Important Lexicon
Authors: Zechmeister Eugene B. , Chronis Andrea M. , Cull William L. , D'Anna Catherine A. , Healy Noreen A.
Published: December 2009

The vocabulary size literature currently provides a rather pessimistic view of the role for direct instruction in increasing vocabulary size. A major reason for this pessimism revolves around estimates of the total number of words that individuals know and, hence, the number of words that would have to be taught in order to affect significantly normal vocabulary growth. When vocabulary size is expressed in terms of the number of functionally important words in the lexicon, however, estimates of vocabulary size are dramatically reduced. We adopted as a definition of functionally important words the list of main entries found in a moderate-sized, yet comprehensive dictionary of the English language. Using a dictionary-sampling method and multiple-choice testing of word knowledge, we estimated the lexicon size of junior-high students, college students, and older adults. The results lead us to suggest that there may yet be a role for direct instruction in affecting lexicon size of functionally important words.
Graphic and Phonological Processing in Chinese Character Identification
Authors: Ju Daushen , Jackson Nancy Ewald
Published: December 2009

A backward-masking procedure was used to examine the effect of graphic, phonological, and graphic-and-phonological information on Chinese character identification. Twenty-two Mandarin-speaking Taiwanese graduate students were asked to write down lists of paired characters presented sequentially in a tachistoscope. Analysis of variance performed on the target identification accuracy scores indicated that graphic information plays an essential role in Chinese character identification. Within the same time frame, phonological information, whether activated alone or in conjunction with graphic information, does not enhance the accuracy of identification. The present findings are discussed in relation to those of Perfetti and Zhang's (1991) Chinese character study and Perfetti, Bell, and Delaney's (1988) English word study.
The Relationship between Wide Reading and Listening Comprehension of Written Language
Authors: Hedrick Wanda B. , Cunningham James W.
Published: December 2009

This study was the first to examine the relationship between wide reading and listening comprehension in the first language. It answered two questions concerning this relationship. First, higher levels of wide reading were associated with stronger listening comprehension ability. Second, there was indirect evidence to suggest that wide readers may be increasing their listening comprehension ability. One hundred and twenty fourth graders were measured on general language ability, estimated amount of wide reading, and reading-related language ability. A hierarchical regression logic was used to isolate the relationship between wide reading and reading-related language development. Further research that more directly investigates the relationship between wide reading and reading-related language development is called for.
Low-Income Children's Literacy Interpretations in a Skills-Based and a Whole-Language Classroom
Authors: Freppon Penny A.
Published: December 2009

This descriptive study investigated two groups of low-income, urban children who had whole-language instruction during their kindergarten and first-grade years. These 17 children were studied previously for those 2 years in their separate schools. The current investigation focused on the general academic success of the two groups and on eight, focal learners' interpretations. In one school, a group of children made a transition to a skills-based/traditional second grade (the Transition Group). In a different school, a group of children continued in a whole-language second grade (the Continuing Group). The children were observed in their classrooms throughout the school year. Data collection included field notes, audio- and videotaping, teacher and parent interviews, and pre- and postmeasures. Findings indicated that the Transition Group had the academic skills necessary for success in the skills-based second grade and that the Continuing Group also succeeded in the whole-language second grade. Differences between the two groups showed that the focal children in the Transition Group experienced a change in their interpretations or sense making patterns and a loss of literate behaviors. Differences in writing favored the focal children in the Continuing Group. Generally, there were no between-group differences in reading growth and no statistical differences on pre- and posttests.
Using Audiotaped Books to Extend Classroom Literacy Instruction into the Homes of Second-Language Learners
Authors: Blum Irene H. , Koskinen Patricia S. , Tennant Nancy , Parker E. Marie , Straub Mary , Curry Christine
Published: December 2009

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether home-based repeated reading with an audio model is a significant supplement to the literacy instructional program of second-language learners. It was hypothesized that beginning first-grade readers who spoke English as a second language would benefit from having daily access to repeated reading in their home environment. To provide this access, books that had been shared in school were given to students for daily home use. After home rereading routines were established, students were then given a tape recorder and audiotapes to accompany these books. This enabled students to hear the English storybook as they followed along looking at the printed text. Of specific interest in this study was the effect of repeated reading with an auditory model on first-grade students' reading fluency and self-monitoring behavior. Also of interest was the effect of this school/home reading activity on student reading motivation and behavior. This 19-week study employed a single-subject reversal design (ABA) with multiple baselines across individuals. Home-based repeated reading of books (A/Baseline) was compared to the home reading of books with audiotapes (B/Intervention). The study involved a single subject and four replications. Results from this study indicate that all five participating second-language learners received substantial benefit from the opportunity to practice reading books
Connections between First- and Second-Language Reading
Authors: Brisbois Judith E.
Published: December 2009

This study builds upon previous research examining the relationship between first-language (L1) reading, second-language (L2) knowledge, and L2 reading. The unique contributions of L1 reading, L2 vocabulary, and L2 grammatical skill to L2 reading scores are investigated along with whether or not the contributions differ by course level. Subjects included 131 students (88 beginners and 43 upper level) enrolled in French at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Data were analyzed using multiple regression. Two programs were run for each subject group because L1 reading was measured using two different tests—recall protocols and the comprehension portion of the Nelson Denny Test. All of the independent variables contributed significantly for beginners, but did so for the upper level subjects only when L1 protocols were used as the reading measure. Typically, L1 reading contributed substantially, particularly for the upper level group, supporting Cummins's (1981) Hypothesis. This study demonstrates the importance of L1 reading and L2 knowledge to L2 reading comprehension.
Literacy and Cerebral Palsy: Factors Influencing Literacy Learning in a Self-Contained Setting
Authors: Mike Dennis G.
Published: December 2009

This study was conducted as an ethnography of one self-contained classroom at a school for children with cerebral palsy. The five students were severely multiply disabled, exhibiting differing degrees and combinations of physical, visual, speech, hearing, and perceptual impairments. All were diagnosed as having severe reading disabilities. The purpose of the study was to describe and explain those factors that impacted on literacy learning within this setting. Data collection involved nonparticipant observation, interviews with teachers and administrators, videotape analysis and examination of student records. Factors identified as facilitating literacy learning were (a) the room as a text-rich environment, (b) the latitude often given students to govern their own literate behavior, (c) the regularly conducted storyreading sessions, and (d) the constructive use of computers. Factors identified as hindering literacy learning were (a) restriction of instructional time, (b) overreliance on individual instruction, and (c) lack of student literate interaction.
Context Availability and the Development of Word Reading Skill
Authors: Schwanenflugel Paula J. , Noyes Caroline R.
Published: December 2009

The influence of word meanings on lexical processing in 2nd-, 3nd-, and 5th-grade high- and low-skill readers was examined. Two experiments examined the relationship between semantic correlates of word concreteness (specifically, rated imageability and context availability) and lexical processing speed and accuracy. Rated context availability was a significant predictor of lexical decision times and word reading accuracy beyond nonsemantic factors. However, context-availability effects were larger in young and low-skill readers. Thus, the ability to retrieve the meanings of low-context-availability words easily is an important component in the development of skilled reading.
Reading for Success in a Tenth-Grade Global-Studies Class: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Hinchman Kathleen A. , Zalewski Patricia
Published: December 2009

This study explored the reading-related perspectives of participants in a 10th-grade global-studies class. Conducted according to the qualitative research traditions associated with symbolic interactionism, it was a collaboration between a university-based reading education specialist and the class's teacher. Data were collected and analyzed inductively according to the constant comparative method. The students and teacher shared understandings about the constitution of classroom activities; however, their opinions about what it meant to be successful in these settings differed. For the teacher, reading to understand was most important. For students, it was getting an adequate grade. We conclude that there is a need for more understanding of students' purposes for reading and the ways in which these purposes affect the results of their efforts. Likewise, teachers need to craft instruction that responds to these understandings.
Reader-Based and Teacher-Centered Instructional Tasks: Writing and Learning about a Short Story in Middle-Track Classrooms
Authors: Newell George E.
Published: December 2009

This study describes how and what 2 classes of middle-track 10th-graders wrote and learned when their teacher employed reader-based and teacher-centered instructional tasks for discussing and writing about a short story. The students wrote an analytic essay in response to the story and completed 3 posttests of story understanding. Retrospective interviews of 4 case-study students were analyzed to examine the students' thinking and reasoning, and to explore their perceptions of the ground rules and teacher expectations as they wrote analytically about the story. The reader-based tasks enabled the students in developing both textual and experiential knowledge about and a thoughtful stance toward the short story. These patterns suggest why the reader-based tasks permitted students to attain significantly higher posttest scores than did the teacher-centered tasks. Reader-based tasks to reading and writing may enable teachers to rethink literature instruction in classrooms with middle-track students.
Lifetime Influences on the Literacy-Related Instructional Beliefs of Experienced High School History Teachers: Two Comparative Case Studies
Authors: Sturtevant Elizabeth G.
Published: December 2009

This paper presents and compares case studies of the literacy-related instructional beliefs of two high school history teachers who had been teaching for over 20 years in the same urban, highly multicultural high school in the eastern United States. Data were collected through extended autobiographical interviews with teachers, 20 sequential days of classroom observation, classroom and district documents, and shorter interviews with students and supervisors. The teachers' beliefs about including literacy-related activities in their instruction are described, and past and recent influences on these beliefs are analyzed and compared. Results include that the teachers' beliefs were strongly affected by personal relationships with trusted school colleagues, other teacher-friends, early role models, and students. Implications for teacher development programs and research are suggested.
Four Fourth Graders Thinking Aloud: An Investigation of Genre Effects
Authors: Kucan Linda , Beck Isabel L.
Published: December 2009

This study investigated 4 developing readers' processing of text by asking them to think aloud as they read 5 narratives and 5 expository texts over the course of a school year. Five general categories of processing were identified: paraphrasing, questioning, elaborating, hypothesizing, and monitoring. The reading of narratives was compared to the reading of expository texts. While reading narratives, students hypothesized a greater percentage of the time, and while reading expository texts, they elaborated a greater percentage of the time. When reading narratives, students made more inferences, predictions, and interpretations, which seemed to be based on a developing synthesis and integration of incoming text information. When reading expository texts, students focused more on personal knowledge and experiences, providing commentary about or creating comparisons in response to details and more local text information. Students were also asked to provide a summary. Student summaries differed by genre, with narrative summaries including a greater percentage of important ideas than the summaries of expository texts which, like the students' on-line processing, focused more on local text information.
“‘Cause You Talkin’ about a Whole Person”: A New Path for Schooling and Literacy in Troubled Times and Spaces
Authors: Quint Sharon
Published: December 2009

Hey, the school yard is a good place to hang with all kind. I belong to a gang and I make a little cash on the side, if you know what I'm sayin'. I can't read so good but that ain't my fault. I used to go to school every day. I be sittin' at some desk that too short for my knees to bend and the chair too high for the desk. I tell the teacher and she tell me to be quiet. So I be quiet just sittin' there lookin' at the back of somebody's head.

The teacher be sayin' something' about the way the Mayflower people survive and the kind a tent the Indian live in. What am I supposed to do about it? The buildin' I live in don't have heat or hot water so the Indian tent ain't no different except it be cooler in summer.

One day the teacher say to write a paper about how life be different from the time a the early settlers, so I do. The next day she give it back to me with a red pen mark all over it. She say she want me to learn to speak English. I thought I was. I thought I be sayin' somethin' about how hard life is for me just like it be for the Mayflower people. I got to deal with the freezin' winter and no food and people hackin' and coughin' in my face at home. I got to deal with attacks from other gangs, you know.

The only thing I learned that day is how to look like a fool in front of the class who be laughin' when the teacher read my paper out loud. I never went back after that. So what? School never teach me how to live today and I don't care how they live a hundred year ago … The only thing school teach me is how to feel stupid and I got my father for that.
Multi-Site Comparison of the Effects of Success for all on Reading Achievement
Authors: Smith Lana J. , Ross Steven M. , Casey Jason
Published: December 2009

This study investigated the effects of the Success for All (sfa) program on elementary school students' reading achievement in 4 cities. The purpose was to conduct an independent examination of the program's effectiveness separate from the program's developers and from the school district in which it was first implemented. The research framework employed a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design with nonequivalent but systematically matched groups. Results indicated greater achievement for students in sfa classes at 3 of the sites, especially for students achieving below the 25th percentile, relative to students in control classrooms at all 4 sites. However, sfa effects were not as strong and consistent as those obtained in the original studies. This research suggests that sfa can be implemented in sites geographically removed from the developers and apart from their direct supervision, but that continual monitoring and support of the program's quality is needed to ensure success over time.
Situated Learning and Methods Coursework in the Teaching of Literacy
Authors: Mosenthal James
Published: December 2009

This study investigates the learning of a preservice student, Penny, in a field-based, literacy methods course that I taught. At issue was the nature of Penny's situated learning. Using course products, field notes, and interview data, I analyzed Penny's work with a reading group in terms of episodes that she identified as salient in her term-long participation in a classroom. Findings indicated that what counted as Penny's situated learning was how she saw the use of certain literacy practices to be appropriate in the situation of her work, and how she saw her instructional decisions to be a means for achieving her emerging standards for good teaching. It was Penny's capacity to consider use, appropriateness, and purpose in a real-world context that was the strength of her situated learning.