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Letter From The Editor, Karen F. Thomas

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

A letter from the editor,

Addressing Reading Underachievement In African American Boys Through A Multi-Contextual Approach, Terry Husband

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Much has been written about reading disparities between African American males and other student groups. Interestingly, the majority of this scholarship focuses on African American males at pre-adolescent states of development and beyond. To date, relatively little has been documented relative to improving reading outcomes in African American males in early childhood and elementary contexts. The purpose of this article is to present a multi-contextual framework for improving reading outcomes in African American boys in P-5 contexts specifically. I conclude with a discussion of three important commitments that teachers and administrators must be willing to embrace in order for these …

New Authors, New Books, And New Horizons, Barbara A. Ward, Terrell A. Young

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Enersen, Adele. (2012). When my baby dreams. New York: HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray. 48 pages, $14.99, ISBN: 978-0-062-07175-0.

Lewis, Caron. (2012). Stuck with the blooz. Illus. by Jon Davis. New York: Harcourt Children’s Books. 40 pages, $16.99, ISBN: 978-0-547-74560-2.

Ashley-Hollinger, Mika. (2012). Precious Bones. New York: Delacorte. 344 pages, $16.99, ISBN: 978-0-385-74219-1.

Dias Lorenzi, Natalie. (2012). Flying the dragon. Illus. by Kelly Murphy. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge. 240 pages, $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-580-89434-0.

Krumwiede, Lana. (2012). Freakling. Watertown, MA: Candlewick Press, 320 pages, $15.99, ISBN: 978-0-763-65937-0.

Palacio, R.J. (2012). Wonder. New York: Random House, 313 pages, $15.99, ISBN: 978-0-3758-6902-0.

Andrews, Jesse. (2012). Me …

Article Index

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Index to articles in volume 52.

The Metalinguistic Protocol: Making Disciplinary Literacies Visible In Secondary Teaching And Learning, Kerry G. Mcarthur

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Concerns about adolescent literacy continue to be highlighted in regards to the challenges of reading and learning from academic text. Recent efforts to address these concerns have led to an examination of the disciplines and their specialized ways of thinking and using language. In this article I discusses a metalinguistic protocol in a think-aloud process as a framework to use in university content area literacy courses with secondary preservice teachers to examine the language and thinking as it is used in the disciplines of knowledge and to address the implications of disciplinary literacies for teaching and learning in secondary schooling.

Exploring Bilingual Books With Five Chinese First Graders: Children’S Responses And Biliteracy Development, Ran Hu, Xiaoning Chen, Xiuping Li

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This qualitative case study examines how five Chinese first graders responded to bilingual English/Chinese picture books and how bilingual books used during an eight-week study session impacted their bilingual and biliteracy development. Reader response and socio-cultural theories were the theoretical perspectives that underpin this study. Four bilingual picture books were selected for the five participating Chinese children to read during an eight-week period. The researchers specifically sought answers to two questions: (1) How do Chinese children respond to the bilingual books? (2) What impact do the bilingual book study sessions have on children’s bilingual and biliteracy development? The findings suggested …

Reading Horizons, Vol. 52, No. 1

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Complete issue of Reading Horizons volume 52, issue 1.

Author Index

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Index to authors in volume 52.

The Professional Development Practices Of Two Reading First Coaches, Charlotte A. Mundy, Dorene D. Ross, Melinda M. Leko

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

To establish job-embedded, ongoing professional development recent policies and initiatives required that districts appoint school-based coaches. The Reading First Initiative, for example, created an immediate need for coaches without a clear definition of coaches’ responsibilities. Therefore, the purpose of this case study was to investigate how two Reading First coaches interpreted and enacted their professional development responsibilities. Cross-case analyses identified similarities and differences in coaches’ enactments. Findings revealed that while each coach engaged in similar professional development responsibilities (e.g. modeling, observing, and classroom walkthroughs) their approach to these responsibilities differed — collaborative versus expert driven. These differences in approaches indicate …

Building Conceptual Understanding Through Vocabulary Instruction, William H. Rupley, William Dee Nichols, Maryann Mraz, Timothy R. Blair

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Instructional design is an integral part of a balanced approach to teaching vocabulary instruction. This article presents several instructional procedures using research-based vocabulary strategies and explains how to design and adapt those strategies in order to reach desired learning outcomes. Emphasis is placed on research-based principles that guide effective vocabulary instruction and on the importance of incorporating vocabulary instruction into all phases of the reading lesson framework--before, during, and after reading (Blair, Rupley, & Nichols 2007; Vacca, Vacca, & Mraz 2011). Vocabulary instruction should encourage students to make associations and accommodations to their experiences and provide them with varied opportunities …

Author Index

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Index to authors in volume 51

Great Books For Late Summer Reading, Terrell A. Young, Barbara A. Ward

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

For decades now, reading experts have expressed concern that the competence gained by struggling readers during the academic year is lost during the summer months. While academic enrichment and remediation programs can reduce that loss, one of the best practices to build better readers is by having them read during breaks from school. At least one study clearly supports this suggestion. In his study of 1,600 elementary students in the mid-Atlantic area, researcher James Kim (2009) found that regardless of previous achievement level or race or socioeconomic level, children who read more books performed better on reading comprehension tests in …

Reading Horizons Vol. 51, No. 4

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Complete issue of Reading Horizons volume 51, issue 4.

Café Culture: Promoting Empowerment And Pleasure In Adolescent Literacy Learning, Brandi Gribble Mathers, Amanda J. Stern

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The 160 third, seventh, and eleventh-graders involved in this study agreed, almost unanimously, that reading was“important.” Participants cited the empowering benefits of reading as they justified this opinion. However, with regards to the enjoyment of reading, fewer middle and high school participants reported “liking” reading than their elementary counterparts and fewer reported reading in their free time.

One solution to this dilemma involves providing adolescent students with a context devoted solely to pleasure reading. In doing so, educators can look to an institution that boasts both an historical link to literate culture and current-day pop culture appeal: the coffeehouse. When …

From The Editor, Karen F. Thomas

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

A letter from the editor.

Article Index

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Index to articles in volume 51.

Reading Horizons Vol. 51 No. 3

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Complete issue of Reading Horizons volume 52, issue 2. December 2011/January 2012. Last issue edited by Allison Baer.

Revitalizing Tier 2 Intervention With Graphic Novels, Linda Smetana, Dana L. Grisham

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The authors explore the practice of incorporating graphic novels in a Tier 2 Response To Intervention (RTI) program for five elementary-aged struggling readers in an urban school. Using a formative experiment framework, the study found that graphic novels provided a vehicle for the application of word recognition and fluency strategies learned in the RTI intervention program. In addition, graphic novels were used to develop students’ vocabulary and comprehension skills and resulted in increased progress for students’ fluency as measured by DIBELS. Since graphic novels are not grade level specific, they are appropriate for readers across grades. As a genre, graphic …

The Allure Of Animals, Terrell A. Young, Barbara A. Ward

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Books that feature animals seem to have an almost universal appeal for young readers. Whether they are domesticated creatures such as cats and dogs that are part of many families’ lives or animals in their natural habitats in the wild, there is simply something intriguing or endearing about their behavior and personalities. A few years ago, young readers couldn’t get enough of the story of a friendship that sprang up between a 130-year-old Alhambra tortoise in Kenya and a baby hippo, marooned after the 2004 tsunami in Asia. Readers of all ages reacted powerfully to their story, told by a …

A Mixed Method Study Of The Effectiveness Of The Accelerated Reader Program On Middle School Students’ Reading Achievement And Motivation, Suhua Huang

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The mixed-method explanatory research design was employed to investigate the effectiveness of the Accelerated Reader (AR) program on middle school students’ reading achievement and motivation. A total of 211 sixth to eighth-grade students provided quantitative data by completing an AR Survey. Thirty of the 211 students were randomly selected to participate in semi-structured interviews and classroom observations over the course of a semester and the selected students’ AR pretest and posttest scores were collected to provide quantitative data. Constant analyses using the content comparative method led to the identification of important themes related to the review of students using the …

At-Risk Preschool Children: Establishing Developmental Ranges That Suggest At-Promise, Lea M. Mcgee, Alanna R. Dail

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The Early Reading First (ERF) program provided grants to transform preschools into centers of education excellence with the ultimate goal of preventing later reading difficulties (No Child Left Behind Act of 2001). The intent of ERF grants was to provide preschoolers with the necessary cognitive, early language, and literacy skills for success in kindergarten (United States Department of Education, 2007). Programs that received ERF funds were required to monitor children’s progress in specific literacy and language skills (i.e., automatic recognition of alphabet letters, knowledge of the conventions of print, understanding of phonemes and letters, and use of increasingly complex vocabulary) …

From The Editor, Allison L. Baer

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Editor stepping down. Introduction to Reading Horizons volume 51 issue 3.