Purpose: We examine the content, context, and management of literacy learning opportunities in a large, diverse sample in the US and whether these opportunities were differentiated by children's oral language and decoding skill levels. Method: A total of 1,404 children in 153 preschool-through-third-grade classrooms were observed for several…

This exploratory study builds upon extant reading development studies by identifying discrete groups based on reading comprehension trajectories across first grade. The main goal of this study was to enhance the field's understanding of early reading comprehension development and its underlying subcomponent skills, with the intent of better…

By nurturing early literacy skills, we invest in young minds, building a strong foundation for lifelong learning, communication, and success. This Spotlight will help you evaluate research on early literacy gains from tutoring; analyze what experts say makes a strong early reading law; learn how reading on screens can worsen comprehension for…

Purpose: This study investigates the effects of an integrated oral language and listening comprehension intervention for early elementary students with ASD. Methods: Students (n = 43) were randomly assigned to intervention or control comparison conditions, with intervention students receiving instruction in small groups of 3 or 4. Groups were led…

In this study, the authors examine how emergent bilingual second graders collaboratively constructed textual understandings, a phenomenon they call "intercomprehending," by building on each other's contributions and positioning their ideas in relation to peer ideas. The study traces the interrelationships of the utterances of emergent…

The "Read Naturally"[R] program is a supplemental reading program that aims to improve reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension of elementary and middle school students using a combination of texts, audio CDs, and computer software. The program uses one of four products that share a common fluency-building strategy: "Read…

Learning to read marks a critical transition in a child's educational trajectory that has long term consequences. This dissertation analyzes how California's current policies in beginning reading instruction impact two critical conditions for creating opportunity--access to qualified teachers and rigorous academic curriculum--by examining the…

This article is a discussion of the importance of using student resistance to inform and change teacher practice. The authors relate two narratives of practice, one of which takes place in a constructivist second-grade classroom in Ontario, and a second that takes place in a preservice classroom in California. In the first, a student uses the…

The study examined whether preschoolers who were exposed to a media-rich literacy curriculum had better early reading skills than preschoolers who were exposed to a media-rich science curriculum. The study randomly assigned 80 preschool classes to incorporate either a media-rich literacy curriculum or a media-rich science curriculum. The final…

This study of 1,338 Spanish-speaking 1st graders examined contextual effects of bilingual programs on reading comprehension and the effect of language of instruction within these contexts. The study included 128 classrooms in 32 schools located in border Texas and in urban Texas and California. These classrooms used either English immersion or…

Since the late 1980s, reading reform efforts in California and Texas have led to changes in beginning reading textbooks. This article examines the effects of these policies on the task that current (2000/2001) texts pose for beginning readers. I begin by reviewing trends in textbooks over the past 80 years and continue by identifying cognitive and…

This article evaluates 2 technology applications for teaching beginning reading. One, embedded multimedia, involves brief phonics and vocabulary videos threaded through teachers' lessons. The other, computer-assisted tutoring, helps tutors with planning, instruction, and assessment. An experiment in 2 high-poverty, high-minority Success for All…

In its current adoptions of reading series for the elementary grades, California has chosen literature-based programs rather than the more traditional basal readers. A study investigated whether the contents of such readers for grades K-3 truly consist solely of literary selections, since it is well-recognized that quality books carry heavy…

Traces research citations noted in advocacy and policy documents to their original sources to determine whether use of"decodable text" in early reading instruction is research-based. Researchers could locate no reliable, replicable research to support policy assertions that using decodable text, as defined in California and Texas policy…

Suggesting that the contention that phonemic awareness must be taught directly and that children need explicit systematic instruction in phonics is less of a scientific "fact" than an exercise in political persuasion, this book presents the story of the political campaign that is taking place to change the minds of Americans about how…