Education Commons^™

Modern Vs. Traditional: Comparing Reading-Level And Strategy-Based Small Groups In Primary Grades, Abigail Tosch, Jenna Andriakos

Michigan Reading Journal

The reading-level-based approach for literacy instruction is commonly found in the classroom. However, this approach has not been reaching the needs of all students in the classrooms often enough. Teachers should meet the students where they are. The purpose of this study was to determine which method, reading-level-based grouping or strategy-grouping, was more beneficial for student comprehension growth. Students from 1st- and 2nd-grade, small-group Tier 2 reading intervention in 2 different elementary schools were given a grade-level pre- and post-reading passage and asked comprehension questions. Results were compared between the 2 approaches conducted by the primary investigators, and it was …

What Are The Disciplinary Literacy Complex Texts And Comprehension Habits Of Mind In Elementary (K-6)?, Stephanie Buelow, Charlotte Frambaugh-Kritzer

Literacy Practice and Research

This article spotlights complex texts and the comprehension habits of mind that elementary students may encounter across the disciplines of visual arts, performing arts, science, social studies, and mathematics.

A Structured Literacy Approach To Support Striving Readers In Secondary Grades: Meaningful Transactions Through Morphological Awareness And Fluency Building, Samantha Bart-Addison, Robert A. Griffin

Georgia Journal of Literacy

A high school English teacher and a university literacy professor provide secondary teachers with structured literacy strategies to support striving readers in the middle and high school grades. The authors present strategies that can be utilized with diverse texts across learning contexts. As a structured literacy approach, morphological awareness and prosodic fluency are emphasized to foster deeper, more meaningful transactions between students and texts. An example of a full structured literacy lesson is also provided that includes multiple strategies and is based on a gradual release model with guided and independent reading cycles. Applicable strategies for delivery of these skills …

Writing For Comprehension: How Does Writing Influence Informational Reading Comprehension In The Elementary Classroom?, Tori Golden Hughes, Roya Q. Scales, W. David Scales

Literacy Practice and Research

This quantitative study was conducted through a school and university partnership. Data from benchmark reading assessments and writing rubrics were gathered over five weeks in a third-grade classroom in the rural mountains of the southeastern United States. Results indicate student growth in reading comprehension and writing. Findings confirm the positive correlation between reading and writing, which suggests integrating explicit reading and writing instruction supports students’ reading comprehension. Based on these findings, we suggest ways teachers can improve reading comprehension skills, blend reading and writing instruction, and pique student interest through an informational writing unit.

Teaching Students To Comprehend Cause And Effect Text Structure, Jennifer A. Knight, Angela R. Child

Michigan Reading Journal

Teaching students text structure in expository text is important for comprehension. Text structure is complex and varies depending on the author’s focus. Cause and effect is one of the more difficult text structures for students to read and understand. This article demonstrates how to explain and teach cause and effect text structure for deep analysis and summarization of expository text.

Cultivating The Strategy Of Summarizing Sequential Expository Text: Scaffolds And Supports For The Intermediate Grades, Jennifer M. Green, Jennifer Holman

Literacy Practice and Research

Fourth-grade students in the United States have notoriously experienced a fourth-grade slump in reading. This persistent trend has led researchers, school leaders, and teachers to seek ways to improve comprehension of expository text. Summarizing is a complex strategy that requires students to analyze, condense, and express information in their own words. This action research project explored the impact of three techniques (cloze summaries, graphic organizers, and paraphrasing) on students’ ability to summarize sequential text in writing. Explicit instruction led to marked growth in students’ ability to write summaries of expository text.

Educator Researched Methods And Interventions That Increase Below Level Readers’ Fluency And Comprehension, Shawnee Knott, Shannon Tovey

Georgia Journal of Literacy

A student walks into a classroom multiple grades below grade level and already on day one that student is behind and will most likely be behind their entire school year. Many teachers are faced with this scenario year after year. Students entering their classrooms unprepared for the on-level content they need to be on. Reading below grade level is just the beginning of the learning gap that exists in today’s classrooms. Teachers work hard to close that gap, but by upper elementary is it too late? What can teachers do to help these students grow and become successful learners?

This …

The Effectiveness Of Cooperative Learning In The Reading Classroom, Amelia Tankersley, Joshua A. Cuevas

Perspectives In Learning

This research examined the effectiveness of specific methods of cooperative learning on reading comprehension, motivation, and attitudes. The study implemented Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) and the Jigsaw method in a rural public elementary school and included 60 participants from 3rd grade reading classes. One group used the CSR method to read information on four different topics while the other group read information on the same topics using the Jigsaw method. After controlling for initial attitudes, motivation, and global reading comprehension, the results indicated that neither of these methods led to greater gains in these areas than the other. However, when …

The Effects Of Lexia Phonics Based Reading Software On First Graders' Lexia Comprehensive Reading Scores, Paula Snider

The Corinthian

The research conducted in this paper provides information about using computer software to remediate reading skills in first grade. The pre- and posttest is the Lexia Comprehensive Reading Test (2001). This research was conducted in a first grade classroom with 22 students of which half were in the experimental group. Students were matched using Lexia Comprehension Reading test scores and randomly divided into the two groups. The experimental group used the Lexia Phonics Based Reading Program (2004) for 30 minutes a day 3- 4 times a week to build upon individual needs. After one month, the posttest was administered. The …