The author describes what happened when he and his students spent a day with Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." By reentering the novel and moving along with it, the students pushed at or pushed away some academic boundaries, and re-discovered the fun and power of reading.

J. C. Ziegler, C. Perry, and M. Zorzi (2009) have claimed that their connectionist dual process model (CDP+) can simulate the data reported by S. O'Malley and D. Besner. Most centrally, they have claimed that the model simulates additive effects of stimulus quality and word frequency on the time to read aloud when words and nonwords are randomly…

The present study aimed to examine the quality of the classroom literacy environment in early childhood special education (ECSE) classrooms, as well as the relations between the classroom literacy environment and children's gains in print knowledge. To address these aims, the present study described the classroom literacy environments of 28…

Researchers have indicated that many children from Asian countries have the experience of learning English prior to school at home or at private institutes. The Taiwanese government promotes informal and play-based teaching of English in the home if the parents would like their young children to learn English prior to formal instruction. This…

Researchers widely recommend storybook reading for promoting the early language and literacy of young children. By listening to stories, children learn about written syntax and vocabulary and develop phonological awareness and concepts of print, all of which are closely linked to learning to read and write. Teachers usually know a read-aloud…

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effect of small-group instruction on the vocabulary and comprehension of first-grade students identified with low language and low vocabulary skills. Overall, 102 first-grade students scoring below the 50th percentile on relational vocabulary were blocked by classroom, matched according to…

This study reviewed published literature to determine the level of evidence for using shared story reading to promote literacy. Shared story reading was defined as a practice used to access age-appropriate literature through reader-listener interaction in which a story is read aloud and student interaction with the reader and the story is…

A formative experiment investigated how two strategies aimed at increasing the quality and quantity of language interactions could be integrated into a preschool classroom. Strategies for enriching language interactions were introduced during book sharing, semi-structured group activities, and mealtimes. Mixed methods revealed factors that…

The lecture has been much maligned as a pedagogical form, yet it persists and even flourishes today in the form of the podcast, the TED talk, and the "smart" lecture hall. This article examines the lecture as a pedagogical genre, as "a site where differences between media are negotiated" (Franzel) as these media coevolve. This examination shows…

The purpose of this research study was to investigate the learning of print concepts (PCs) by preschool children at risk for literacy problems using an experimental treatment: explicit, non-evocative print referencing. Children from low socio-economic status (SES) families have been determined to be at-risk for literacy learning problems including…

Teachers are influential in motivating and improving attitudes towards reading. This article reports on an investigation of eight teachers of 10- to 12-year-old students from five New Zealand schools and the strategies they used to improve attitudes to reading. Each school had been identified as implementing effective reading programmes by a panel…

This qualitative study addresses the question "Does the use of storytelling motivate English language learners to engage in literacy practices more, or in a better way, and if so, how?". Storytelling of cultural tales related to fifth grade students' home cultures was introduced to provide a prompt for resultant student discussion and…

Although mental imagery's positive role in reading comprehension is clear, the means of introducing imagery to young readers is comparatively vague. Mental imagery's very nature, being nonverbal, invisible, and often unconscious, results in a mismatch with standard instructional practices. Verbal explanations of nonverbal phenomenon fall short.…

This study examined the effects of the age of acquisition (AOA) and semantic transparency on the reading aloud ability of a Chinese dyslexic individual, TWT, who relied on the semantic pathway to name characters. Both AOA and semantic transparency significantly predicted naming accuracy and distinguished the occurrence of correct responses and…

Both content area teachers and reading teachers often see oral reading in epic proportions, as a hero in the struggle for the best way to motivate students to read. This article briefly reviews the reasons that are commonly given for supporting the use of oral reading in the classroom. The author then provides a rationale for opposing traditional…