WorldWideScience

Sample records for grade reading ability

  1. Cognitive Abilities Underlying Reading Accuracy, Fluency and Spelling Acquisition in Korean Hangul Learners from Grades 1 to 4: A Cross-Sectional Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Hyun-Rin; Uno, Akira

    2015-08-01

    The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the cognitive abilities that predict reading and spelling performance in Korean children in Grades 1 to 4, depending on expertise and reading experience. As a result, visual cognition, phonological awareness, naming speed and receptive vocabulary significantly predicted reading accuracy in children in Grades 1 and 2, whereas visual cognition, phonological awareness and rapid naming speed did not predict reading accuracy in children in higher grades. For reading, fluency, phonological awareness, rapid naming speed and receptive vocabulary were crucial abilities in children in Grades 1 to 3, whereas phonological awareness was not a significant predictor in children in Grade 4. In spelling, reading ability and receptive vocabulary were the most important abilities for accurate Hangul spelling. The results suggested that the degree of cognitive abilities required for reading and spelling changed depending on expertise and reading experience. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Investigation of basic cognitive predictors of reading and spelling abilities in Tunisian third-grade primary school children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batnini, Soulef; Uno, Akira

    2015-06-01

    This study investigated first the main cognitive abilities; phonological processing, visual cognition, automatization and receptive vocabulary in predicting reading and spelling abilities in Arabic. Second, we compared good/poor readers and spellers to detect the characteristics of cognitive predictors which contribute to identifying reading and spelling difficulties in Arabic speaking children. A sample of 116 Tunisian third-grade children was tested on their abilities to read and spell, phonological processing, visual cognition, automatization and receptive vocabulary. For reading, phonological processing and automatization uniquely predicted Arabic word reading and paragraph reading abilities. Automatization uniquely predicted Arabic non-word reading ability. For spelling, phonological processing was a unique predictor for Arabic word spelling ability. Furthermore, poor readers had significantly lower scores on the phonological processing test and slower reading times on the automatization test as compared with good readers. Additionally, poor spellers showed lower scores on the phonological processing test as compared with good spellers. Visual cognitive processing and receptive vocabulary were not significant cognitive predictors of Arabic reading and spelling abilities for Tunisian third grade children in this study. Our results are consistent with previous studies in alphabetic orthographies and demonstrate that phonological processing and automatization are the best cognitive predictors in detecting early literacy problems. We suggest including phonological processing and automatization tasks in screening tests and in intervention programs may help Tunisian children with poor literacy skills overcome reading and spelling difficulties in Arabic. Copyright © 2014 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. First-grade cognitive abilities as long-term predictors of reading comprehension and disability status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuchs, Douglas; Compton, Donald L; Fuchs, Lynn S; Bryant, V Joan; Hamlett, Carol L; Lambert, Warren

    2012-01-01

    In a sample of 195 first graders selected for poor reading performance, the authors explored four cognitive predictors of later reading comprehension and reading disability (RD) status. In fall of first grade, the authors measured the children's phonological processing, rapid automatized naming (RAN), oral language comprehension, and nonverbal reasoning. Throughout first grade, they also modeled the students' reading progress by means of weekly Word Identification Fluency (WIF) tests to derive December and May intercepts. The authors assessed their reading comprehension in the spring of Grades 1-5. With the four cognitive variables and the WIF December intercept as predictors, 50.3% of the variance in fifth-grade reading comprehension was explained: 52.1% of this 50.3% was unique to the cognitive variables, 13.1% to the WIF December intercept, and 34.8% was shared. All five predictors were statistically significant. The same four cognitive variables with the May (rather than December) WIF intercept produced a model that explained 62.1% of the variance. Of this amount, the cognitive variables and May WIF intercept accounted for 34.5% and 27.7%, respectively; they shared 37.8%. All predictors in this model were statistically significant except RAN. Logistic regression analyses indicated that the accuracy with which the cognitive variables predicted end-of-fifth-grade RD status was 73.9%. The May WIF intercept contributed reliably to this prediction; the December WIF intercept did not. Results are discussed in terms of a role for cognitive abilities in identifying, classifying, and instructing students with severe reading problems.

  4. Academic Reading ability of first-year students: what's high school ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Both groups were administered a pre-test and post-test of academic reading ability. The dependent variable was academic reading ability and the independent variables were matric grade and prior exposure. Two measures of reading ability were used, namely a reading comprehension and a cloze passage. An analysis of ...

  5. A test of the effect of advance organizers and reading ability on seventh-grade science achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Underhill, Patricia Annette

    The use of advance organizers was first introduced by Ausubel in his learning theory of meaningful learning. Subsequent research focused on the efficacy of advance organizers. Although, earlier research produced inconclusive results, more recent research suggests advance organizers do facilitate recall. However, the bulk of the research focused on older subjects (students in high school and college and adults). Prior research did not consider that a subject's reading ability may affect the effectiveness of an advance organizer. The purposes of this study were to investigate whether (1) an advance organizer facilitates both immediate and delayed recall, (2) the reading ability of students and the type of pre-instructional material they receive effect recall, and (3) reading ability has an effect on recall with younger students. Seventy-five seventh-grade students were divided into three groups. One group received a written organizer, one group received a graphic organizer, and one group received an introductory passage before reading a learning passage. After completing the reading passage, all subjects received an immediate posttest. Fourteen days later, subjects received the same posttest incorporated in an end-of-the-chapter test. Results of the study indicate the following: (1) no significant difference in immediate and delayed recall of learning material between students who received a written organizer, a graphic organizer, or an introductory passage, (2) there was a main effect for time of testing and a main effect for reading ability, and (3) there was not an interaction between reading ability and the type of pre-instructional material. These findings did not support previous research.

  6. The Relations between Early Working Memory Abilities and Later Developing Reading Skills: A Longitudinal Study from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nevo, Einat; Bar-Kochva, Irit

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the relations of early working-memory abilities (phonological and visual-spatial short-term memory [STM] and complex memory and episodic buffer memory) and later developing reading skills. Sixty Hebrew-speaking children were followed from kindergarten through Grade 5. Working memory was tested in kindergarten and reading in…

  7. Colorado Student Assessment Program: 2001 Released Passages, Items, and Prompts. Grade 4 Reading and Writing, Grade 4 Lectura y Escritura, Grade 5 Mathematics and Reading, Grade 6 Reading, Grade 7 Reading and Writing, Grade 8 Mathematics, Reading and Science, Grade 9 Reading, and Grade 10 Mathematics and Reading and Writing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colorado State Dept. of Education, Denver.

    This document contains released reading comprehension passages, test items, and writing prompts from the Colorado Student Assessment Program for 2001. The sample questions and prompts are included without answers or examples of student responses. Test materials are included for: (1) Grade 4 Reading and Writing; (2) Grade 4 Lectura y Escritura…

  8. Effects of Phonological Abilities and Linguistic Comprehension on the Development of Reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Jong, Peter F.; van der Leij, Aryan

    2002-01-01

    Examines specific effects of phonological abilities and linguistic comprehension on the development of word-decoding ability and reading comprehension, respectively, of 141 Dutch children from the end of first grade to the end of third grade. Finds that partly different determinants underlie the development of word-decoding ability and reading…

  9. [Developmental changes in reading ability of Japanese elementary school children--analysis of 4 kana reading tasks].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Tomoka; Inagaki, Masumi; Gunji, Atsuko; Yatabe, Kiyomi; Kaga, Makiko; Goto, Takaaki; Koike, Toshihide; Wakamiya, Eiji; Koeda, Tatsuya

    2010-01-01

    Five hundred and twenty-eight Japanese elementary school children aged from 6 (Grade 1) to 12 (Grade 6) were tested for their abilities to read Hiragana characters, words, and short sentences. They were typically developing children whom the classroom teachers judged to have no problems with reading and writing in Japanese. Each child was asked to read four tasks which were written in Hiragana script: single mora reading task, four syllable non-word reading task, four syllable word reading task, and short sentence reading task. The total articulation time for reading and performance in terms of accuracy were measured for each task. Developmental changes in these variables were evaluated. The articulation time was significantly longer for the first graders, and it gradually shortened as they moved through to the upper grades in all tasks. The articulation time reached a plateau in the 4th grade for the four syllable word and short sentence reading tasks, while it did so for the single mora and four syllable non-word reading tasks in the 5th grade. The articulation times for the four syllable word and short sentence reading tasks correlated strongly. There were very few clear errors for all tasks, and the number of such errors significantly changed between the school grades only for the single mora and four syllable word reading tasks. It was noted that more than half of the children read the beginning portion of the word or phrase twice or more, in order to read it accurately, and developmental changes were also seen in this pattern of reading. This study revealed that the combination of these reading tasks may function as a screening test for reading disorders such as developmental dyslexia in children below the age of ten or eleven years old.

  10. The Elementary School Students’ Mathematical Problem Solving Based on Reading Abilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wulandari, R. D.; Lukito, A.; Khabibah, S.

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this research is to describe the third grade of elementary school students’ mathematical problem in solving skills based on their reading abilities. This research is a descriptive research with qualitative approach. This research was conducted at elementary school Kebraon II Surabaya in second semester of 2016-2017 academic years. The participants of this research consist of third grade students with different reading abilities that are independent level, instructional level and frustration level. The participants of this research were selected with purposive sampling technique. The data of this study were collected using reading the narration texts, the Ekwall and Shanker Informal Reading Inventory, problem solving task and interview guidelines. The collected data were evaluated using a descriptive analysis method. Once the study had been completed, it was concluded that problem solving skills varied according to reading abilities, student with independent level and instructional level can solve the problem and students with frustration level can’t solve the problem because they can’t interpret the problem well.

  11. Examining the core: relations among reading curricula, poverty, and first through third grade reading achievement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crowe, Elizabeth Coyne; Connor, Carol McDonald; Petscher, Yaacov

    2009-06-01

    Policy changes at the federal and state level are endeavoring to improve student achievement at schools serving children from lower-SES homes. One important strategy is the focus on using evidence-based core reading curricula to provide a consistent framework for instruction across schools. However, rarely have these curricula undergone rigorous comparative testing. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the effects of six core reading curricula on oral reading fluency growth, while appraising whether these effects differ by grade level and for children living in lower socioeconomic (SES) households. Over 30,000 students in first through third grade Florida Reading First classrooms comprise this academically and economically diverse cross-sectional. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was used to model latent growth curves for students' reading fluency scores over the school year. Growth curves revealed differences across curricula as well as between students of lower and higher SES, suggesting that reading fluency growth trajectories for curricula varied depending on student SES and grade level. Findings indicate that while there are similarities among curricula, they sometimes differ in their ability to promote reading skill growth. Differences by grade level and SES were also detected. However, many of these differences were small. Implications for the use of curriculum as a conduit for improving reading instruction are discussed.

  12. Content, format, gender and grade level differences in elementary students' ability to read science materials as measured by the cloze procedure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Richard L.; Yore, Larry D.

    Present instructional trends in science indicate a need to reexamine a traditional concern in science education: the readability of science textbooks. An area of reading research not well documented is the effect of color, visuals, and page layout on readability of science materials. Using the cloze readability method, the present study explored the relationships between page format, grade level, sex, content, and elementary school students ability to read science material. Significant relationships were found between cloze scores and both grade level and content, and there was a significant interaction effect between grade and sex in favor of older males. No significant relationships could be attributed to page format and sex. In the area of science content, biological materials were most difficult in terms of readability followed by earth science and physical science. Grade level data indicated that grade five materials were more difficult for that level than either grade four or grade six materials were for students at each respective level. In eight of nine cases, the science text materials would be classified at or near the frustration level of readability. The implications for textbook writers and publishers are that science reading materials need to be produced with greater attention to readability and known design principles regarding visual supplements. The implication for teachers is that students need direct instruction in using visual materials to increase their learning from text material. Present visual materials appear to neither help nor hinder the student to gain information from text material.

  13. Working memory, intelligence and reading ability in children

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Jonge, P.; de Jong, P.F.

    1996-01-01

    The dimensions of working memory in children and the relationships between working memory capacity, reasoning and reading ability were investigated. Simple and complex span tests were administered to 280 grade four, five and six elementary school children. Simple span tests were hypothesized to

  14. Paragraph-reading comprehension ability in Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Che-Ming; Lee, Li-Ang; Chao, Wei-Chieh; Tsou, Yung-Ting; Chen, Yen-An

    2015-06-01

    1) To investigate different aspects of paragraph reading in Mandarin-speaking students with cochlear implants (CIs) and the factors associated with unfavorable outcomes, and 2) to understand the replaceability of a paragraph-reading test with a sentence-reading test. Cross-sectional, case-controlled study. Fifty-three students with CIs (aged 11.0 ± 1.4 years) and 53 grade- and gender-matched children with normal hearing (NH) participated in the study. A paragraph-reading comprehension test was conducted. Sentence and word reading, speech perception, language skills, and child/family characteristics were examined. An unfavorable paragraph-reading outcome was defined as a score lower than one standard deviation below the NH mean. The CI subjects had significantly worse paragraph-reading comprehension than did the NH controls (P = 0.017, d = 0.54). Their performance in grades 5 to 6 was not significantly higher than of those with NH in grades 2 to 4. The CI children's abilities to understand semantics (P = 0.012) and syntax (P = 0.020) significantly fell behind the NH controls in grades 2 to 4, and the lag continued in grades 5 to 6 (P = 0.039, P = 0.002, respectively). Grade and sentence reading were independently associated with unfavorable paragraph-reading outcomes (R(2)  = 0.453). The optimal sensitivity and specificity of the sentence-reading test in identifying unfavorable paragraph-reading outcomes were 90.9% and 90.0%, respectively (area under the curve = 0.923). Specialists should pay attention to CI students' development of different reading skills. Paragraph-reading tests enable a multidimensional evaluation of reading competence. Use of sentence-reading tests is suggested only as a tool for preliminary screening for basic reading capacities. 3b. © 2014 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

  15. Readability and Reading Ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Benjamin D.; Stenner, A. Jackson

    This document discusses the measurement of reading ability and the readability of books by application of the Lexile framework. It begins by stating the importance of uniform measures. It then discusses the history of reading ability testing, based on the assumption that no researcher has been able to measure more than one kind of reading ability.…

  16. Effects of working memory and reading acceleration training on improving working memory abilities and reading skills among third graders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nevo, Einat; Breznitz, Zvia

    2014-01-01

    Working memory (WM) plays a crucial role in supporting learning, including reading. This study investigated the influence of reading acceleration and WM training programs on improving reading skills and WM abilities. Ninety-seven children in third grade were divided into three study groups and one control group. The three study groups each received a different combination of two training programs: only reading acceleration, WM followed by reading acceleration, and reading acceleration followed by WM. All training programs significantly improved reading skills and WM abilities. Compared with the control group, the group trained with only the reading acceleration program improved word accuracy, whereas the groups trained with a combination of reading and WM programs improved word and pseudo-word fluency. The reading-acceleration-alone group and the WM-program-followed-by-reading-acceleration group improved phonological complex memory. We conclude that a training program that combines a long reading acceleration program and a short WM program is the most effective for improving the abilities most related to scholastic achievement.

  17. The Contribution of Morphological Knowledge to 7th Grade Students' Reading Comprehension Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mokhtari, Kouider; Neel, Joanna; Matatall, Abbey; Richards, Andrea

    2015-01-01

    In this study, we examined the role of morphology, an important yet largely understudied source of difficulty, in reading ability among 7th grade students in one junior high school in the southwestern United States. We sought to find out how much variance in reading ability is accounted for by these students' morphological knowledge, and whether…

  18. Maximizing Reading Narrative Text Ability by Probing Prompting Learning Technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wiwied Pratiwi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research was to know whether Probing Prompting Learning Technique can be used to get the maximum effect of students’ reading narrative ability in teaching and learning process. This research was applied collaborative action reEsearch, this research was done in two cycle. The subject of this research was 23 students at tenth grade of SMA Kartikatama Metro. The result of the research showed that the Probing Prompting Learning Technique is useful and effective to help students get maximum effect of their reading. Based on the results of the questionnaire obtained an average percentage of 95%, it indicated that application of Probing Prompting Learning Technique in teaching l reading was appropriately applied. In short that students’ responses toward Probing Prompting Learning Technique in teaching reading was positive. In conclusion, Probing Prompting Learning Technique can get maximum effect of students’ reading ability. In relation to the result of the reserach, some suggestion are offered to english teacher, that  the use of Probing Prompting learning Technique in teaching reading will get the maximum effect of students’ reading abilty.

  19. The relationship between different measures of oral reading fluency and reading comprehension in second-grade students who evidence different oral reading fluency difficulties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wise, Justin C; Sevcik, Rose A; Morris, Robin D; Lovett, Maureen W; Wolf, Maryanne; Kuhn, Melanie; Meisinger, Beth; Schwanenflugel, Paula

    2010-07-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine whether different measures of oral reading fluency relate differentially to reading comprehension performance in two samples of second-grade students: (a) students who evidenced difficulties with nonsense-word oral reading fluency, real-word oral reading fluency, and oral reading fluency of connected text (ORFD), and (b) students who evidenced difficulties only with oral reading fluency of connected text (CTD). Participants (ORFD, n = 146 and CTD, n = 949) were second-grade students who were recruited for participation in different reading intervention studies. Data analyzed were from measures of nonsense-word oral reading fluency, real-word oral reading fluency, oral reading fluency of connected text, and reading comprehension that were collected at the pre-intervention time point. Correlational and path analyses indicated that real-word oral reading fluency was the strongest predictor of reading comprehension performance in both samples and across average and poor reading comprehension abilities. Results of this study indicate that real-word oral reading fluency was the strongest predictor of reading comprehension and suggest that real-word oral reading fluency may be an efficient method for identifying potential reading comprehension difficulties.

  20. Readability, Reading Ability, and Readership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kern, Richard P.; And Others

    This paper presents data describing large differences between the reading difficulty levels of printed materials used in certain military occupational specialties (MOSs) and the relatively lower reading ability levels of men assigned to these MOSs. Initial data explore the relationship between reading ability and utilization of printed materials…

  1. Improving reading in the primary grades.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duke, Nell K; Block, Meghan K

    2012-01-01

    Almost fifteen years have passed since the publication of the National Research Council's seminal report Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, which provided research-based recommendations on what could be done to better position students in prekindergarten through third grade for success in grade four and above. This article by Nell Duke and Meghan Block first examines whether specific key recommendations from the report have been implemented in U.S. classrooms. They find that recommendations regarding increased access to kindergarten and greater attention to and improvement of students' word-reading skills have been widely adopted. Others have not. Vocabulary and comprehension, long neglected in the primary grades, still appear to be neglected. Contrary to the report's recommendations, attention to building conceptual and content knowledge in science and social studies has actually decreased in the past fifteen years. In other words, the easier-to-master skills are being attended to, but the broader domains of accomplishment that constitute preparation for comprehension and learning in the later grades--vocabulary knowledge, comprehension strategy use, and conceptual and content knowledge--are being neglected. Near stagnation in fourth-grade students' comprehension achievement is thus unsurprising. The authors then turn to research and reviews of research on improving primary-grade reading published since 1998, when Preventing Reading Difficulties was issued. They discuss several instructional approaches identified as effective in improving word-reading skill, vocabulary and conceptual knowledge, comprehension strategies, and reading outside of school; they discuss advances in interventions for struggling readers, and in whole-school literacy reform. Duke and Block then identify three key obstacles that have prevented widespread adoption of these best practices in teaching reading. The first obstacle is a short-term orientation toward instruction and

  2. The Relation of Age and Reading Ability to Memory Processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marrach, Alexa; Fireman, Gary

    This study examined the relation of reading ability, age, and familiarity to iconic and short-term memory processing and how the familiarity of the stimuli affects recall. A total of 10 children in grades 2 through 6 and 10 adults were shown novel abstract forms, words, and non-words varying in order of approximation to English, for 50 msec., 500…

  3. Reading Abilities and Strategies: A Short Introduction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Feng

    2010-01-01

    This paper gives a short analysis of reading abilities and reading strategies. Much research has been done to investigate the nature of reading, though it's had to exactly define reading abilities and strategies. Different kinds of readings are discussed in this paper and distinctions are made between first language reading and second or foreign…

  4. Training Grade R teachers to impart visual perceptual skills for early reading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christelle Andrich

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Visual Perception is the mind’s ability to interpret or give meaning to what is seen with the eyes (WCED 2006. Grade Reception Phase (R teachers, of five and six year-old learners, need to impart Visual Perceptual Skills (VPS during visual training for pre-reading. These prereading activities in Grade R support early reading progress in Grade 1, which is critical for improving basic literacy and numeracy education in South Africa. A quality Grade R programme which can deliver these visual training outcomes depends on a progressive model for effective pre- and in-service professional development of teachers. A model implemented via academic-governmental collaboration. This article seeks to describe and recommend best practices of such professional development. The recommendations are based on an overview of the current Grade R professional development landscape, a brief exposition of the Subject Content Knowledge (SCK of VPS, a document analysis of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS curriculum and, finally, a case study with a discourse analysis involving four Grade R teachers.

  5. Subgrouping Poor Readers on the Basis of Individual Differences in Reading-Related Abilities

    OpenAIRE

    Catts, Hugh W.; Hogan, Tiffany; Fey, Marc E.

    2003-01-01

    The present study investigated the use of the Reading Component Model to subgroup poor readers. A large sample of poor readers was identified in second grade and subgrouped on the basis of relative strengths and weaknesses in word recognition and listening comprehension. Although homogeneous subgroups were not identified, poor readers could be classified into four subgroups that differed significantly in reading-related abilities. Further analyses showed that poor readers' strengths and weakn...

  6. Relationship between Reading/Writing Skills and Cognitive Abilities among Japanese Primary-School Children: Normal Readers versus Poor Readers (Dyslexics)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uno, Akira; Wydell, Taeko N.; Haruhara, Noriko; Kaneko, Masato; Shinya, Naoko

    2009-01-01

    Four hundred and ninety-five Japanese primary-school children aged from 8 (Grade-2) to 12 (Grade-6) were tested for their abilities to read/write in Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji, for their size of vocabulary and for other cognitive abilities including arithmetic, visuo-spatial and phonological processing. Percentages of the children whose…

  7. [Reading ability of junior high school students in relation to self-evaluation and depression].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamashita, Toshiya; Hayashi, Takashi

    2012-01-01

    Guidelines for the diagnosis of reading disorders in elementary school students were published recently in Japan. On the basis of these guidelines, we administrated reading test batteries to 43 Japanese junior high-school students from grade two. The reading test consisted of single sounds, single words, and single sentences. We evaluated the reading speed and the number of reading errors made by the test takers; their performance was compared with the normal value for elementary school students in grade six, as stated in the guidelines. The reading ability of the junior high-school students was not higher than that of the elementary school students. Seven students (16.3%) were found to have reading difficulties (RD group) and they met the criterion for diagnosis of reading disorder as per the guidelines. Three students had difficulties in reading single sounds and single words, but they faced no problems when reading single sentences. It was supposed that the strategies used by the students for reading sentences may have differed from those used for reading single sounds or single words. No significant differences were found between the RD and non-RD group students on scores of scholastic self-evaluation, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms. Therefore, reading difficulty did not directly influence the level of self-evaluation or depression.

  8. A predictive study of reading comprehension in third-grade Spanish students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Escribano, Carmen; Elosúa de Juan, María Rosa; Gómez-Veiga, Isabel; García-Madruga, Juan Antonio

    2013-01-01

    The study of the contribution of language and cognitive skills to reading comprehension is an important goal of current reading research. However, reading comprehension is not easily assessed by a single instrument, as different comprehension tests vary in the type of tasks used and in the cognitive demands required. This study examines the contribution of basic language and cognitive skills (decoding, word recognition, reading speed, verbal and nonverbal intelligence and working memory) to reading comprehension, assessed by two tests utilizing various tasks that require different skill sets in third-grade Spanish-speaking students. Linguistic and cognitive abilities predicted reading comprehension. A measure of reading speed (the reading time of pseudo-words) was the best predictor of reading comprehension when assessed by the PROLEC-R test. However, measures of word recognition (the orthographic choice task) and verbal working memory were the best predictors of reading comprehension when assessed by means of the DARC test. These results show, on the one hand, that reading speed and word recognition are better predictors of Spanish language comprehension than reading accuracy. On the other, the reading comprehension test applied here serves as a critical variable when analyzing and interpreting results regarding this topic.

  9. Reading comprehension and reading related abilities in adolescents with reading disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghelani, Karen; Sidhu, Robindra; Jain, Umesh; Tannock, Rosemary

    2004-11-01

    Reading comprehension is a very complex task that requires different cognitive processes and reading abilities over the life span. There are fewer studies of reading comprehension relative to investigations of word reading abilities. Reading comprehension difficulties, however, have been identified in two common and frequently overlapping childhood disorders: reading disability (RD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The nature of reading comprehension difficulties in these groups remains unclear. The performance of four groups of adolescents (RD, ADHD, comorbid ADHD and RD, and normal controls) was compared on reading comprehension tasks as well as on reading rate and accuracy tasks. Adolescents with RD showed difficulties across most reading tasks, although their comprehension scores were average. Adolescents with ADHD exhibited adequate single word reading abilities. Subtle difficulties were observed, however, on measures of text reading rate and accuracy as well as on silent reading comprehension, but scores remained in the average range. The comorbid group demonstrated similar difficulties to the RD group on word reading accuracy and on reading rate but experienced problems on only silent reading comprehension. Implications for reading interventions are outlined, as well as the clinical relevance for diagnosis.

  10. [Relationship between clinical symptoms and Hiragana reading ability in children with difficulties in reading and writing:usefulness of a clinical-symptoms-checklist].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kita, Yosuke; Kobayashi, Tomoka; Koike, Toshihide; Koeda, Tatsuya; Wakamiya, Eiji; Hosokawa, Torn; Kaga, Makiko; Inagaki, Masumi

    2010-11-01

    We investigated the clinical symptoms of children with developmental dyslexia (DD) and evaluated the relationship between these symptoms and their Hiragana reading abilities. In order to detect the clinical symptoms of DD, we newly developed a clinical-symptoms-checklist (CL), which consisted of a total of 30 yes/no questions regarding symptoms linked to reading (15 questions) and writing (15 questions). Subjects were 98 Japanese school grade (1 to 9) children, aged 6 to 15 years old, with normal intelligence confirmed by the Wechsler Intelligence Test for Children (WISC-Ill) and they were divided into 2 groups according to their diagnosis. Twenty four children diagnosed as developmental dyslexia consisted the DD group, and the remaining 74 children were grouped in the non-DD group. CL showed significant construct validity (pHiragana reading ability of articulation time in all Hiragana reading tasks (pJapanese children.

  11. Effects of Metalinguistic Awareness on Reading Comprehension and the Mediator Role of Reading Fluency from Grades 2 to 4

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Liping; Wu, Xinchun

    2015-01-01

    Purpose This study examined the contribution of metalinguistic awareness including morphological awareness, phonological awareness and orthographical awareness to reading comprehension, and the role of reading fluency as a mediator of the effects of metalinguistic awareness on reading comprehension from grades 2 to 4. Methods Four hundred and fifteen elementary students in China mainland were administered a test battery that included measures of morphological awareness, phonological awareness, orthographical awareness, reading fluency, reading comprehension and IQ. Hierarchical regression and structural equation models (SEM) were used to analyze the data. Results Morphological awareness uniquely explained 9%, 10% and 13% variance of reading comprehension respectively from grade 2 to grade 4, however, phonological awareness and orthographical awareness did not contribute to reading comprehension; Reading fluency partially mediated the effect of morphological awareness on reading comprehension in grades 2-4. Conclusions These findings indicated that reading fluency and morphological awareness should be facilitated in the Chinese instruction. Morphological awareness played an important role in Chinese reading and affected reading comprehension in grades 2 to 4; Reading fluency was a significant link between morphological awareness and reading comprehension in grades 2-4. PMID:25799530

  12. Classroom Quality and Student Engagement: Contributions to Third-Grade Reading Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Ying; Connor, Carol McDonald; Tompkins, Virginia; Morrison, Frederick J.

    2011-01-01

    This study, using NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development longitudinal data, investigated the effects of classroom quality and students’ third-grade behavioral engagement on students’ third-grade reading achievement (n = 1,364) and also examined the extent to which students’ third-grade behavioral engagement mediated the association between classroom quality and children's reading skills. SEM results revealed that controlling for family socio economic risk and students’ first-grade reading achievement, classroom quality significantly, and positively predicted children's behavioral engagement, which in turn predicted greater reading achievement. Higher levels of children's behavioral engagement were associated with higher reading achievement. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. PMID:21779272

  13. Pupil's motivation in the 3. grades for required reading and The Reading Badge

    OpenAIRE

    Logar, Renata

    2013-01-01

    Reading is extremely important for pupils and their development. The pupil with reading habits riches his vocabulary and gaining knowledge. On the other hand the pupil through reading entry into the world of imagination and stories. Major role in motivating students to read have parents and teachers. In this graduation thesis I was interested in how third grade teachers motivate their pupils to read. In doing so, I was focused mainly to reading for required reading and The Reading Badge. ...

  14. Strategic Reading Groups: Guiding Readers in the Middle Grades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berne, Jennifer; Degener, Sophie C.

    2012-01-01

    Strategic grouping can transform reading instruction in the middle grades from a hit-or-miss learning experience to a targeted, responsive one. This book features a practical and field-tested model for small-group differentiated reading instruction in Grades 4-8. Jennifer Berne and Sophie C. Degener offer a clear, detailed discussion of how to…

  15. Differentiation practices in grade 2 and 3 : Variations in teacher behavior in mathematics and reading comprehension lessons

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ritzema, Evelien S.; Deunk, Marjolein I.; Bosker, Roel J.

    2016-01-01

    This study focused on the differentiation practices of second- and third-grade teachers in mathematics and reading comprehension lessons. Preconditions for differentiation, classroom organization, and how teachers dealt with students of different ability levels were investigated through

  16. Comparison of Reading Comprehension Skill of Students with Severe to Profound Hearing Impairment from Second up to Fifth Grade of Exceptional Schools with Normal Hearing Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryam Jalalipour

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Reading is known as one of the most important learning tools. Research results consistently have shown that even a mild hearing impairment could affect the reading skills. Due to the reported differences in reading comprehension skills between hearing impaired students and their normal hearing peers, this research was conducted to compare the differences between the two groups. The other aim was to find any changes in the reading ability of hearing impaired group during elementary school. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional (descriptive–analytic one in which reading comprehension ability of 91 students with severe and profound hearing impairment (33 girls and 58 boys from 2nd up to 5th grade of exceptional schools were compared with 50 2nd grade normal hearing students in Ahvaz, Iran. The first section of Diagnostic Reading Test (Shirazi – Nilipour, 2004 was used in this study. Then the mean reading scores of hearing impaired students in each grade was compared with control group using SPSS 13 with Mann Whitney test. Results: There was a significant difference between average scores of hearing impaired students (boys and girls in 2nd to 5th grade with normal hearing students of 2nd grade (P<0.001. Reading comprehension scores of students with hearing impairment in higher grades had improved slightly, but it was still lower than that of the normal hearing students in the 2nd grade. Conclusion: It appears that reading comprehension skill of students with significant hearing impairment near the end of elementary school years becomes weaker than normal hearing students in the second grade. Therefore, it is essential to find and resolve the underlying reasons of this condition by all professionals who work in the field of education and rehabilitation of these students.

  17. Neurophysiology in preschool improves behavioral prediction of reading ability throughout primary school.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maurer, Urs; Bucher, Kerstin; Brem, Silvia; Benz, Rosmarie; Kranz, Felicitas; Schulz, Enrico; van der Mark, Sanne; Steinhausen, Hans-Christoph; Brandeis, Daniel

    2009-08-15

    More struggling readers could profit from additional help at the beginning of reading acquisition if dyslexia prediction were more successful. Currently, prediction is based only on behavioral assessment of early phonological processing deficits associated with dyslexia, but it might be improved by adding brain-based measures. In a 5-year longitudinal study of children with (n = 21) and without (n = 23) familial risk for dyslexia, we tested whether neurophysiological measures of automatic phoneme and tone deviance processing obtained in kindergarten would improve prediction of reading over behavioral measures alone. Together, neurophysiological and behavioral measures obtained in kindergarten significantly predicted reading in school. Particularly the late mismatch negativity measure that indicated hemispheric lateralization of automatic phoneme processing improved prediction of reading ability over behavioral measures. It was also the only significant predictor for long-term reading success in fifth grade. Importantly, this result also held for the subgroup of children at familial risk. The results demonstrate that brain-based measures of processing deficits associated with dyslexia improve prediction of reading and thus may be further evaluated to complement clinical practice of dyslexia prediction, especially in targeted populations, such as children with a familial risk.

  18. Is rapid automatized naming related to reading and mathematics for the same reason(s)? A follow-up study from kindergarten to Grade 1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georgiou, George K; Tziraki, Niki; Manolitsis, George; Fella, Argyro

    2013-07-01

    We examined (a) what rapid automatized naming (RAN) components (articulation time and/or pause time) predict reading and mathematics ability and (b) what processing skills involved in RAN (speed of processing, response inhibition, working memory, and/or phonological awareness) may explain its relationship with reading and mathematics. A sample of 72 children were followed from the beginning of kindergarten until the end of Grade 1 and were assessed on measures of RAN, general cognitive ability, speed of processing, attention, working memory, phonological awareness, reading, and mathematics. The results indicated that pause time was the critical component in both the RAN-reading and RAN-mathematics relationships and that it shared most of its predictive variance in reading and mathematics with speed of processing and working memory. Our findings further suggested that, unlike the relationship between RAN and reading fluency in Grade 1, there is nothing in the RAN task that is uniquely related to math. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. What Can Readers Read after Graded Readers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    McQuillan, Jeff

    2016-01-01

    Nation (2014) concluded that most of the vocabulary one needs to read challenging texts in English can be acquired incidentally through voluminous reading. This study examines possible texts that second language (L2) readers can use to move from controlled-vocabulary materials such as graded readers, which go up through approximately the…

  20. Validation of a Supplemental Reading Intervention for First-Grade Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Case, Lisa Pericola; Speece, Deborah L.; Silverman, Rebecca; Ritchey, Kristen D.; Schatschneider, Christopher; Cooper, David H.; Montanaro, Elizabeth; Jacobs, Dawn

    2010-01-01

    This experimental study was designed to validate a short-term supplemental reading intervention for at-risk first-grade children. Although substantial research on long-term supplemental reading interventions exists, less is known about short-term interventions. Thirty first-grade children were randomly assigned to intervention or control…

  1. Examining oral reading fluency among Grade 5 rural English Second Language (ESL learners in South Africa? An analysis of NEEDU 2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim Draper

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The ability to read for meaning and pleasure is arguably the most important skill children learn in primary school. One integral component of learning to read is Oral Reading Fluency (ORF, defined as the ability to read text quickly, accurately, and with meaningful expression. Although widely acknowledged in the literature as important, to date there have been no large-scale studies on ORF in English in South Africa, despite this being the language of learning and teaching for 80% of ESL students from Grade 4 onwards. We analyze data provided by the National Education and Evaluation Development Unit (NEEDU of South Africa, which tested 4667 Grade 5 English Second Language (ESL students from 214 schools across rural areas in South Africa in 2013. This included ORF and comprehension measures for a subset of 1772 students. We find that 41% of the sample were non-readers in English (<40 Words Correct Per Minute, WCPM and only 6% achieved comprehension scores above 60%. By calibrating comprehension levels and WCPM rates we develop tentative benchmarks and argue that a range of 90-100 WCPM in English is acceptable for Grade 5 ESL students in South Africa. In addition we outline policy priorities for remedying the reading crisis in the country.

  2. EARLY READING ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS: ABILITIES AND PROCESSES INVOLVED

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Cláudia de Souza

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates the following early reading assessment instruments: “Bateria de Recepção e Produção da Linguagem Verbal” (SCLIAR-CABRAL, 2003a and “Teste de Competência de Leitura de Palavras e Pseudopalavras” (SEABRA; CAPOVILLA, 2010. The main research goal is to analyze in each one of these reading assessment instruments some of the multiple cognitive processes and basic low-level abilities involved in reading. In this sense, decoding, word recognition, lexical access, syntactic and textual processing, and comprehension are the cognitive processes taken into account. With regard to the basic reading abilities, accuracy and fluency (rhythm, prosody and speed are considered. The results indicate that each one of the analyzed reading assessment instruments assesses different aspects of the reading processes and abilities, mainly through off-line measures. ScliarCabral’s assessment battery allows the researcher or the teacher to evaluate the following processes: perception of the grapheme opposition in minimal pairs of words and in sentences, difficulties in sentence processing, skills in decoding the graphemic-phonemic relationship, and textual comprehension. In its turn, the reading assessment instrument proposed by Seabra e Capovilla allows one to evaluate student’s reading development level, by classifying the kind of processing as logographic, alphabetic or orthographic.

  3. Reading Instruction That Increases Thinking Abilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Cathy

    1991-01-01

    Analyzes the effects of eight reading and writing lessons designed to increase adolescent thinking ability. Finds that the lessons increased thinking abilities and scholastic achievement of middle school students. Notes that the lessons positively affect students' self-esteem and communication skills. (RS)

  4. Involving Parents in a Summer Book Reading Program to Promote Reading Comprehension, Fluency, and Vocabulary in Grade 3 and Grade 5 Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pagan, Stephanie; Sénéchal, Monique

    2014-01-01

    In this research, parents and children participated in a comprehensive book reading intervention designed to improve children's literacy. Over eight weeks during the summer, children in the intervention condition were encouraged to read one book weekly and parents were trained to foster reading comprehension. Forty-eight Grades 3 and 5 children…

  5. Exploring the association between visual perception abilities and reading of musical notation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Horng-Yih

    2012-06-01

    In the reading of music, the acquisition of pitch information depends primarily upon the spatial position of notes as well as upon an individual's spatial processing ability. This study investigated the relationship between the ability to read single notes and visual-spatial ability. Participants with high and low single-note reading abilities were differentiated based upon differences in musical notation-reading abilities and their spatial processing; object recognition abilities were then assessed. It was found that the group with lower note-reading abilities made more errors than did the group with a higher note-reading abilities in the mental rotation task. In contrast, there was no apparent significant difference between the two groups in the object recognition task. These results suggest that note-reading may be related to visual spatial processing abilities, and not to an individual's ability with object recognition.

  6. Grade differences in reading motivation among Hong Kong primary and secondary students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Kit-Ling

    2009-12-01

    Most previous studies in Western societies have demonstrated a general decline in school motivation. However, it is not clear whether motivational decline occurs uniformly for all students. The moderating effects of individual and cultural differences on students' motivational decline need to be further explored. This study aimed to examine the grade differences in students' reading motivation, including self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and social motivation, in a Chinese educational context. Grade by gender and grade by school-average achievement interactions were also checked to explore the role of individual differences in students' motivational changes. A total of 1,794 students (860 boys and 934 girls) volunteered to take part in this study, of whom 648 were Grade 4-6 students from 11 primary schools, 627 were Grade 7-9 students from 12 junior secondary schools, and 519 Grade 10-11 students from 6 senior secondary schools. A Chinese version of the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (CRMQ) was administered to all participants during regular class periods by their teachers. Reliability analyses and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were first undertaken to assess the psychometric quality of the CRMQ. Then, multisample CFA was conducted to examine whether the factor structure of the CRMQ was equivalent across students at different grade levels. Grade differences in various reading motivation constructs as well as grade x gender and grade x school-average achievement interactions were examined using multiple-indicator-multiple-causes modelling. The findings of this study supported the reliability and the factor structure of the CRMQ in measuring the reading motivation of Chinese students at different grade levels. The factor pattern of the CRMQ was invariant across primary, junior secondary, and senior secondary students in multisample CFA. As far as the scores on the four reading motivation constructs were concerned, students scored

  7. Analysis of primary school children's abilities and strategies for reading and recording time from analogue and digital clocks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boulton-Lewis, Gillian; Wilss, Lynn; Mutch, Sue

    1997-09-01

    Sixty-seven children in Grades 1-3 and 66 children in Grades 4-6 were tested for their ability to read and record analogue and digital times. The children in Grades 4-6 were asked to describe their strategies. A sequence of time acquisition was proposed, based on a recent theory of cognitive development and the literature. This was: hour, half hour, quarter hour, five minute, and minute times. Times after the hour would be more difficult and digital times would be learned sooner. The sequence was confirmed for Grades 1-3; irregularities occurred in Grades 4-6. Some implications are drawn for the teaching of time.

  8. Effect of the SQ4R Technique on the Reading Comprehension of Elementary School 4th Grade Elementary School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basar, Murat; Gürbüz, Mehmet

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study is to examine the effect of SQ4R (Survey, Question, Read, Reflect, Recite, Review) technique of the reading comprehension ability of elementary school 4th grade students. The sampling was constituted by 57 students from two different branches of the Ataturk Elementary School in the center of Usak region during the 2nd…

  9. Predicting English Word Reading Skills for Spanish-Speaking Students in First Grade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Páez, Mariela; Rinaldi, Claudia

    2006-10-01

    This article describes the word reading skills in English and Spanish for a sample of 244 Spanish-speaking, English-learning (hence, bilingual) students in first grade and presents a predictive model for English word reading skills. The children in the study were assessed at the end of kindergarten and first grade, respectively. Data were gathered with 3 subtests of the Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery and a researcher-developed phonological awareness task. Results showed that, on average, children's English word reading skills were similar to monolingual norms whereas their Spanish word reading skills averaged 1 SD below the mean. English vocabulary, English phonological awareness, and Spanish word reading skills in kindergarten were found to be significant predictors of English word reading skills in first grade. Educational implications for screening language and reading skills and promising areas for targeted instruction for this population are discussed.

  10. Guided Reading in First-Fourth Grade: Theory to Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaffner, Jacqueline; Johnson, Kary; Torres-Elias, Annette; Dryden, Lisa

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of collaborative efforts between a large metropolitan school district and the school of education at an area urban university. A reading clinic, in which university students conducted small guided reading group lessons with elementary students reading below grade level, was established through…

  11. Verbal working memory and reading abilities among students with visual impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Argyropoulos, Vassilios; Masoura, Elvira; Tsiakali, Thomai K; Nikolaraizi, Magda; Lappa, Christina

    2017-05-01

    This study investigated the relationship between working memory (WM) and reading abilities among students with visual impairment (VI). Seventy-five students with VI (visually impairment and blindness), aged 10-15 years old participated in the study, of whom 44 were visually impaired and 31 were blind. The participants' reading ability was assessed with the standardized reading ability battery Test-A (Padeliadu & Antoniou, 2008) and their verbal working memory ability was assessed with the listening recall task from the Working Memory Test Battery for Children (Pickering et al., 2001). Data analysis indicated a strong correlation between verbal WM and decoding, reading comprehension and overall reading ability among the participants with VI, while no correlation was found between reading fluency and verbal WM. The present study points out the important role of verbal WM in reading among students who are VI and carries implications for the education of those individuals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Examining the Reading of Informational Text in 4th Grade Class and Its Relation with Students' Reading Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Dan; Beecher, Constance; Cho, Byeong-Young

    2018-01-01

    Being proficient in independently reading and writing complex informational text has become a need for college and career success. While there is a great deal of agreement on the importance of the reading of informational text in early grades and teachers are encouraged to increase amount of the reading of informational text in early grades, few…

  13. Predicting Word Reading Ability: A Quantile Regression Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    McIlraith, Autumn L.

    2018-01-01

    Predictors of early word reading are well established. However, it is unclear if these predictors hold for readers across a range of word reading abilities. This study used quantile regression to investigate predictive relationships at different points in the distribution of word reading. Quantile regression analyses used preschool and…

  14. Extensive Graded Reading in the Liberal Arts and Sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poulshock, Joseph

    2010-01-01

    For this research, learners did extensive graded reading (EGR) with traditional graded readers, and they also interacted with short graded stories in the liberal arts and sciences (LAS). This study describes the purpose and format of the LAS stories used by hundreds of university students and adult learners in Japan. It summarizes the results of…

  15. Validation of a Supplemental Reading Intervention for First-Grade Children

    OpenAIRE

    Case, Lisa Pericola; Speece, Deborah L.; Silverman, Rebecca; Ritchey, Kristen D.; Schatschneider, Christopher; Cooper, David H.; Montanaro, Elizabeth; Jacobs, Dawn

    2010-01-01

    This experimental study was designed to validate a short-term supplemental reading intervention for at-risk first-grade children. Although substantial research on long-term supplemental reading interventions exists, less is known about short-term interventions. Thirty first-grade children were randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions. Students in the intervention received 16 hours of instruction. Analyses of pre- and posttest data and growth measures suggest that short-term sup...

  16. A Quantitative Evaluation of an Ability-Grouped Literacy Program in the Elementary Grades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Portales Blair, Lidiana

    2017-01-01

    National assessments have shown that the majority of students in the United States cannot read at grade level by fourth grade. These results are alarming because students who are not proficient readers by third grade suffer long-term consequences and are more likely to drop out of high school. Feeling pressure to improve reading outcomes, schools…

  17. Gender effects on phonological processing and reading development in Northern Sotho children learning to read in English: A case study of Grade 3 learners

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    Carien Wilsenach

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Gender differences in reading development are a global phenomenon, with girls typically performing better than boys. Some studies have reported gender differences favouring girls in reading comprehension in South Africa, but little systematic evidence exists about gender differences in the cognitive-linguistic abilities that underlie reading development. This study investigated the effect of gender on phonological processing and reading development in Northern Sotho–English bilingual children. Grade 3 learners who received their literacy instruction in English were tested on various phonological processing and reading measures. Phonological awareness was assessed using phoneme isolation and elision tasks. Phonological working memory was assessed using memory for digits and non-word repetition tests while rapid automatised naming was tested using rapid letter, rapid digit, rapid object and rapid colour naming tasks. Reading achievement was assessed with various word reading tasks and with a fluent reading task. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed that gender had a significant effect on the phonological processing and reading abilities of Northern Sotho– English bilingual children. Girls performed significantly better than boys on all the reading measures, as well as on some aspects of phonological processing. The findings provide behavioural evidence in support of biological theories of gender differences, in that girls seemed to have developed some of the cognitive-linguistic skills associated with reading before boys. The girls also coped better with tasks that required increased cognitive processing. This study suggests that sex differences in reading development cannot be ignored in South Africa and need to be addressed in future curriculum development.

  18. Nystagmus Does Not Limit Reading Ability in Albinism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dysli, Muriel; Abegg, Mathias

    2016-01-01

    Purpose Subjects with albinism usually suffer from nystagmus and reduced visual acuity, which may impair reading performance. The contribution of nystagmus to decreased reading ability is not known. Low vision and nystagmus may have an additive effect. We aimed to address this question by motion compensation of the nystagmus in affected subjects and by simulating nystagmus in healthy controls. Methods Reading speed and eye movements were assessed in 9 subjects with nystagmus associated with albinism and in 12 healthy controls. We compared the reading ability with steady word presentation and with words presented on a gaze contingent display where words move in parallel to the nystagmus and thus correct for the nystagmus. As the control, healthy subjects were asked to read words and texts in steady reading conditions as well as text passages that moved in a pattern similar to nystagmus. Results Correcting nystagmus with a gaze contingent display neither improved nor reduced the reading speed for single words. Subjects with nystagmus and healthy participants achieved comparable reading speed when reading steady texts. However, movement of text in healthy controls caused a significantly reduced reading speed and more regressive saccades. Conclusions Our results argue against nystagmus as the rate limiting factor for reading speed when words were presented in high enough magnification and support the notion that other sensory visual impairments associated with albinism (for example reduced visual acuity) might be the primary causes for reading impairment. PMID:27391149

  19. Nystagmus Does Not Limit Reading Ability in Albinism.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muriel Dysli

    Full Text Available Subjects with albinism usually suffer from nystagmus and reduced visual acuity, which may impair reading performance. The contribution of nystagmus to decreased reading ability is not known. Low vision and nystagmus may have an additive effect. We aimed to address this question by motion compensation of the nystagmus in affected subjects and by simulating nystagmus in healthy controls.Reading speed and eye movements were assessed in 9 subjects with nystagmus associated with albinism and in 12 healthy controls. We compared the reading ability with steady word presentation and with words presented on a gaze contingent display where words move in parallel to the nystagmus and thus correct for the nystagmus. As the control, healthy subjects were asked to read words and texts in steady reading conditions as well as text passages that moved in a pattern similar to nystagmus.Correcting nystagmus with a gaze contingent display neither improved nor reduced the reading speed for single words. Subjects with nystagmus and healthy participants achieved comparable reading speed when reading steady texts. However, movement of text in healthy controls caused a significantly reduced reading speed and more regressive saccades.Our results argue against nystagmus as the rate limiting factor for reading speed when words were presented in high enough magnification and support the notion that other sensory visual impairments associated with albinism (for example reduced visual acuity might be the primary causes for reading impairment.

  20. The relation of linguistic awareness and vocabulary to word reading and spelling for first-grade students participating in response to intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Young-Suk; Apel, Kenn; Al Otaiba, Stephanie

    2013-10-01

    The relations of phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness and vocabulary to word reading and spelling were examined for 304 first-grade children who were receiving differentiated instruction in a Response to Intervention (RtI) model of instruction. First-grade children were assessed on their phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness; expressive vocabulary; word reading; and spelling. Year-end word reading and spelling were outcome variables, and phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness; expressive vocabulary; and RtI status (Tiers 1, 2, & 3) were predictor variables. The 3 linguistic awareness skills were unique predictors of word reading, and phonological and orthographic awareness were unique predictors of spelling. The contributions that these linguistic awareness skills and vocabulary made to word reading and spelling did not differ by children's RtI tier status. These results, in conjunction with previous studies, suggest that even beginning readers and spellers draw on multiple linguistic awareness skills for their word reading and spelling regardless of their level of literacy abilities. Educational implications are discussed.

  1. Teaching reading in a multi-grade class: Teachers’ adaptive skills and teacher agency in teaching across grade R and grade 1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Labby Ramrathan

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The skill of reading is regarded as the cornerstone of literacy learning in the foundation phase. Although it is the most complex skill to master, it forms part of literacy teaching. Most learners begin schooling without having any kind of exposure to reading. This lack of exposure introduces a number of challenges, which are consequently exacerbated if teachers have to teach in multi-grade classes. This case study was conducted in two primary schools in the Ndwedwe Circuit in KwaZulu-Natal. It is framed within the interpretive epistemology embedded in a qualitative research methodology. Empirical data were generated from two rural schools where multi-grade teaching was undertaken. To produce data, two teachers teaching multi-grade classes (incorporating both grade R and grade 1 were observed during an isiZulu Home Language reading period. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews were used to elicit more data for corroboration of findings. The findings show that teacher agency is crucial in making adaptive decisions. These decisions are based on the intersection of formal knowledge, situational knowledge and experiential knowledge that the teachers have acquired over time.

  2. Confrontation Naming and Reading Abilities at Primary School: A Longitudinal Study

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    Chiara Luoni

    2015-01-01

    naming (i.e., the Boston Naming Test (BNT in a nonclinical sample of Italian primary school children was conducted (n=126, testing them at the end of each school year, to assess nonverbal intelligence, confrontation naming, and reading abilities. Results. Performance on the BNT emerged as a function of IQ and SES. Significant correlations between confrontation naming and reading abilities, especially comprehension, were found; BNT scores correlated better with reading fluency than with reading accuracy. Conclusions. The longitudinal data obtained in this study are discussed with regard to reading abilities, intelligence, age, gender, and socioeconomic status.

  3. Bidirectional relations between text reading prosody and reading comprehension in the upper primary school grades: A longitudinal perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Veenendaal, N.J.; Groen, M.A.; Verhoeven, L.T.W.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the directionality of the relationship between text reading prosody and reading comprehension in the upper grades of primary school. We compared 3 theoretical possibilities: Two unidirectional relations from text reading prosody to reading comprehension and

  4. A Comparison of Reading Rates, Comprehension, and Stamina in Oral and Silent Reading of Fourth-Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trainin, Guy; Hiebert, Elfrieda H.; Wilson, Kathleen M.

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the relationships between silent and oral reading fluency and comprehension. Findings indicated that fourth grade students had consistent levels of comprehension in both reading modes. Students of all reading levels showed a similar pattern across the segments of a text set in both oral and silent reading--a gradual increase in…

  5. Teacher's current practices of teaching reading and grade four ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study examined the practices and challenges of teaching reading strategies and ... Twelve grade 4 students were selected using simple random sampling ... The quantitative data disclosed lower student scores, while the qualitative data ... By Country · List All Titles · Free To Read Titles This Journal is Open Access.

  6. IMPROVING THE STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION ABILITY THROUGH SQ3R STRATEGY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabarun Sabarun

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The study is aimed at improving the students’ reading comprehension ability in reading English class using SQ3R strategy, which refers to a reading technique covering a five step system developed by Francis P Robinson. Each of the steps stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review. The study employed Classroom Action Research design. The subjects of the study were four of third semester students of the English Department of Palangka Raya State Islamic College of 2009/ 2010 academic year. The study was carried out in two cycles by following the four steps of action research: planning, implementing, observing, and reflecting. Each cycle consisted of one meeting focusing pre-reading, whilst reading and post reading. The data of the study are taken from the results of observation checklists, field notes, and the students’ reading score. The result of the study showed that SQ3R strategy could improve the students’ reading comprehension ability. It could be seen from the improvement of the students’ reading scores. The students were actively involved in reading class and they were highly motivated to attend the SQ3R reading class. Keywords: improving, SQ3R strategy, reading comprehension ability

  7. Grade 12 Diploma Examination, English 30. Part B: Reading (Multiple Choice). Readings Booklet. 1986 Edition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.

    Intended for students taking the Grade 12 Examination in English 30 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test (to be administered along with the questions booklet) contains 10 short reading selections taken from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, including the following: "My Magical Metronome" (Lewis Thomas); "Queen Street…

  8. Has First-Grade Core Reading Program Text Complexity Changed across Six Decades?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzgerald, Jill; Elmore, Jeff; Relyea, Jackie Eunjung; Hiebert, Elfrieda H.; Stenner, A. Jackson

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to address possible text complexity shifts across the past six decades for a continually best-selling first-grade core reading program. The anthologies of one publisher's seven first-grade core reading programs were examined using computer-based analytics, dating from 1962 to 2013. Variables were Overall Text…

  9. Measuring the Effects of Reading Assistance Dogs on Reading Ability and Attitudes in Elementary Schoolchildren

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lenihan, Dawn; McCobb, Emily; Diurba, Amanda; Linder, Deborah; Freeman, Lisa

    2016-01-01

    Reading assistance dogs can be incorporated into reading programs to increase a child's desire and ability to read. However, more data is needed to demonstrate the effectiveness of such programs. A 5-week reading assistance dog program was implemented to assess feasibility and effectiveness. Participants included 18 children entering the 2nd grade…

  10. The Role of Reading Skills on Reading Comprehension Ability of Turkish EFL Students

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    Ebru Kaya

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Reading is a part of our daily lives. It is performed both for pleasure and information. Reading skills are important for the individuals since they foster comprehension in reading. If the students do not have knowledge of reading skills, they cannot be expected to be successful readers. Thus, they cannot achieve the level of comprehension required to pass exams in their own departments. For this reason, reading skills should be taught in universities for the students to be able to cope with comprehension problems. This case study aims to find out whether or not reading skills has a role on the reading comprehension ability of Turkish EFL students. This study is both a qualitative and a quantitative study which lasted for a duration of 14 weeks. Two groups were selected (experimental and control among prep classes at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü Imam University. Both groups were administered a pre-test and questionnaire at the beginning of the study to find out if they were aware of reading skills. In addition, 10 students were chosen randomly for interview. During the study, reading skills were infused into the curriculum through designing lesson plans in accordance with the language content and topics for level C students, as determined by the Common European Language Framework. The lessons required the students to use reading skills before, during, and post reading. At the end of the study, the same questionnaire was re-administered. The students were given the post-test and then interviewed. The quantitative data were analyzed through descriptive statistics. The obtained data revealed that the students enhanced their comprehension ability provided that they were taught to use reading skills.

  11. Improving 4th Grade Primary School Students' Reading Comprehension Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulut, Aydin

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to carry out action research to investigate reading comprehension skills when using the SQ3R reading comprehension strategy. To that end, this strategy was used for improving the reading comprehension skills of 7 primary school 4th grade students who had problems with these skills. An action plan was prepared for 3hours a…

  12. Sequential-Simultaneous Processing and Reading Skills in Primary Grade Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McRae, Sandra G.

    1986-01-01

    The study examined relationships between two modes of information processing, simultaneous and sequential, and two sets of reading skills, word recognition and comprehension, among 40 second and third grade students. Results indicated there is a relationship between simultaneous processing and reading comprehension. (Author)

  13. The Relationship of Error Rate and Comprehension in Second and Third Grade Oral Reading Fluency.

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    Abbott, Mary; Wills, Howard; Miller, Angela; Kaufman, Journ

    2012-01-01

    This study explored the relationships of oral reading speed and error rate on comprehension with second and third grade students with identified reading risk. The study included 920 2nd graders and 974 3rd graders. Participants were assessed using Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) and the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test (WRMT) Passage Comprehension subtest. Results from this study further illuminate the significant relationships between error rate, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension performance, and grade-specific guidelines for appropriate error rate levels. Low oral reading fluency and high error rates predict the level of passage comprehension performance. For second grade students below benchmark, a fall assessment error rate of 28% predicts that student comprehension performance will be below average. For third grade students below benchmark, the fall assessment cut point is 14%. Instructional implications of the findings are discussed.

  14. Using Arabic word identification fluency to monitor first-grade reading progress.

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    Abu-Hamour, Bashir

    2014-05-01

    This study examined the applicability, reliability and validity of the Arabic version of the curriculum-based measurement word identification fluency (CBM WIF) measure in Jordanian students. A sample of 75 first-grade students, 50 average readers and 25 with reading difficulties, were recruited from two public primary schools. Results indicated that the CBM WIF is a reliable, valid and cost-effective measure. A 15-week trial demonstrated the effectiveness of using CBM WIF with the first-grade students. In addition, CBM WIF was a good predictor of grade point average in the native language. Moreover, students who were struggling with reading scored significantly lower on CBM WIF probes than did average readers. Results suggest that the CBM WIF measures may be useful for evaluating and predicting reading performance in Arabic. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Effects of an Informational Text Reading Comprehension Intervention for Fifth-Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritchey, Kristen D.; Palombo, Kimberly; Silverman, Rebecca D.; Speece, Deborah L.

    2017-01-01

    Upper elementary school students who have reading problems may have difficulty in one or more areas of reading, each requiring specific types of interventions. This study evaluated a short-term reading intervention for 46 fifth-grade students with poor reading comprehension. Students were randomly assigned to an intervention or no treatment…

  16. The ABCs of Math: A Genetic Analysis of Mathematics and Its Links With Reading Ability and General Cognitive Ability

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    Hart, Sara A.; Petrill, Stephen A.; Thompson, Lee A.; Plomin, Robert

    2009-01-01

    The goal of this first major report from the Western Reserve Reading Project Math component is to explore the etiology of the relationship among tester-administered measures of mathematics ability, reading ability, and general cognitive ability. Data are available on 314 pairs of monozygotic and same-sex dizygotic twins analyzed across 5 waves of assessment. Univariate analyses provide a range of estimates of genetic (h2 = .00 –.63) and shared (c2 = .15–.52) environmental influences across math calculation, fluency, and problem solving measures. Multivariate analyses indicate genetic overlap between math problem solving with general cognitive ability and reading decoding, whereas math fluency shares significant genetic overlap with reading fluency and general cognitive ability. Further, math fluency has unique genetic influences. In general, math ability has shared environmental overlap with general cognitive ability and decoding. These results indicate that aspects of math that include problem solving have different genetic and environmental influences than math calculation. Moreover, math fluency, a timed measure of calculation, is the only measured math ability with unique genetic influences. PMID:20157630

  17. Grade Level and Gender Differences in a School-Based Reading Tutoring Program

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    Chang, Sau Hou

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of the present study is to investigate the grade level and gender differences in a school-based reading tutoring program. The treatment group included 10 first-grade and 12 second-grade struggling readers, and the control group included 41 first-grade and 63 second-grade nonstruggling readers. The tutors were teacher candidates in an…

  18. Rate of Speech and Reading in Second and Fifth Grade Primary Students in Tehran

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    Hourieh Ahadi

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Background and Aim: The purpose of this research is to study the standardization of speaking and reading rates in a group of normal speaker of female students, and to compare them. As the rate of speech is an important variable in the evaluation and treatment of stuttering, cluttering, dysarthria and apraxia. Materials and Method: One hundred of second grade students of primary school and an equal number of fifth grade students participated in this study. All subjects were native speakers of Farsi, who passed an informal, screening test of articulation and speech. None of the subjects had a history of speech, hearing, or neurological disorders. The subjects were asked to read from the 180 words portion of their Farsi book and tell story. Their speech was recorded by using a tape recorder. Then the data were analyzed for word and syllable rate. In transcribing the samples, single morpheme was counted as single word and compound words were counted as two words if they had two free morphemes. Non-word interjections were excluded from word and syllable counts while word interjections and repeated words were included in the count. Independent t-test and paired t-test were used for analyzing. Results: In the second grade students the reading rate is, on the average, 189.4 syllable per minute (SPM(94.9 word per minute(WPM, 3.1 syllable per second(SPS and the talking rate is 189.8 SPM (99.1 WPM, 3.1 SPS and in the fifth grade student the reading rate is 223.9 SPM (119.0 WPM, 3.7SPS and the talking rate is 210.26 SPM (109.5 WPM , 3.4 SPS. Conclusion: The result highlight that in the fifth grade students, reading rates are higher than talking rates while in the second grade they are not, because they do not have enough skills for whole word reading. A remarkable finding in this research is that, reading and talking rates in the fifth grade students are higher than the second grade students.

  19. Analysis of EFL Students' Ability in Reading Vocabulary of Synonyms and Antonyms

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    Vina Fathira

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Reading is an important thing for academic level. Every student must have many vocabularies to encourage her/his reading skill. The aim of this research is to analyze the students' understanding of reading vocabularies of synonyms and antonyms in the higher education level. Synonyms and antonyms are two important things should be mastered to get better reading comprehension. The method used in this research was quantitative with survey design. The population same as the sample of this research was from fifth semester students of STIBA Persada Bunda Pekanbaru. The procedures of the research were divided into 3 parts. First, students were asked to choose the best choice in the multiple choice for synonyms and anton, number and the wrong number, and grouped the wrong number into difficulties level. Last, the researcher analyzed the students' ability in reading vocabulary of synonyms and antonyms and concluded the result of students' ability in reading vocabulary of synonyms and antonyms in elementary, intermediate, and advanced level. The result of this research showed that the students' ability in reading vocabulary of synonyms and antonyms was categorized into "excellent" level with mean score 85. From the three difficulties level of question, the findings of this research were explained every level of question. In synonyms, the mean score of students' ability were 89, 85, and 84 for elementary, intermediate, and advanced level of question. Whereas, in antonyms, the mean score of students' ability were 97, 85, and 69 for elementary, intermediate, and advanced level of question.Keywords: students' ability, reading vocabulary, synonyms and antonyms

  20. Pathways to Third-Grade Calculation versus Word-Reading Competence: Are They More Alike or Different?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuchs, Lynn S.; Geary, David C.; Fuchs, Douglas; Compton, Donald L.; Hamlett, Carol L.

    2016-01-01

    Children (n = 747; 6.5 years) were assessed on domain-general processes and mathematics and reading-related competencies (start of first grade), addition retrieval (end of second grade), and calculations and word reading (end of third grade). Attentive behavior, reasoning, visuospatial memory, and rapid automatized naming (RAN) indirectly…

  1. Predicting reading ability in teenagers who are deaf or hard of hearing: A longitudinal analysis of language and reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worsfold, Sarah; Mahon, Merle; Pimperton, Hannah; Stevenson, Jim; Kennedy, Colin

    2018-04-13

    Deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) children and young people are known to show group-level deficits in spoken language and reading abilities relative to their hearing peers. However, there is little evidence on the longitudinal predictive relationships between language and reading in this population. To determine the extent to which differences in spoken language ability in childhood predict reading ability in D/HH adolescents. and procedures: Participants were drawn from a population-based cohort study and comprised 53 D/HH teenagers, who used spoken language, and a comparison group of 38 normally hearing teenagers. All had completed standardised measures of spoken language (expression and comprehension) and reading (accuracy and comprehension) at 6-10 and 13-19 years of age. and results: Forced entry stepwise regression showed that, after taking reading ability at age 8 years into account, language scores at age 8 years did not add significantly to the prediction of Reading Accuracy z-scores at age 17 years (change in R 2  = 0.01, p = .459) but did make a significant contribution to the prediction of Reading Comprehension z-scores at age 17 years (change in R 2  = 0.17, p skills in middle childhood predict reading comprehension ability in adolescence. Continued intervention to support language development beyond primary school has the potential to benefit reading comprehension and hence educational access for D/HH adolescents. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  2. Are Attitudes Toward Writing and Reading Separable Constructs? A Study With Primary Grade Children

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    Graham, Steve; Berninger, Virginia; Abbott, Robert

    2012-01-01

    This study examined whether or not attitude towards writing is a unique and separable construct from attitude towards reading for young, beginning writers. Participants were 128 first-grade children (70 girls and 58 boys) and 113 third-grade students (57 girls and 56 boys). Each child was individually administered a 24 item attitude measure, which contained 12 items assessing attitude towards writing and 12 parallel items for reading. Students also wrote a narrative about a personal event in their life. A factor analysis of the 24 item attitude measure provided evidence that generally support the contention that writing and reading attitudes are separable constructs for young beginning writers, as it yielded three factors: a writing attitude factor with 9 items, a reading attitude factor with 9 parallel items, and an attitude about literacy interactions with others factor containing 4 items (2 items in writing and 2 parallel items in reading). Further validation that attitude towards writing is a separable construct from attitude towards reading was obtained at the third-grade level, where writing attitude made a unique and significant contribution, beyond the other two attitude measures, to the prediction of three measures of writing: quality, length, and longest correct word sequence. At the first-grade level, none of the 3 attitude measures predicted students’ writing performance. Finally, girls had more positive attitudes concerning reading and writing than boys. PMID:22736933

  3. Musical, language and reading abilities in early Portuguese readers

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    Jennifer eZuk

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Early language and reading abilities have been shown to correlate with a variety of musical skills and elements of music perception in children. It has also been shown that reading impaired children can show difficulties with music perception. However, it is still unclear to what extent different aspects of music perception are associated with language and reading abilities. Here we investigated the relationship between cognitive-linguistic abilities and a music discrimination task that preserves an ecologically valid musical experience. Forty-three Portuguese-speaking students from an elementary school in Brazil participated in this study. Children completed a comprehensive cognitive-linguistic battery of assessments. The music task was presented live in the music classroom, and children were asked to code sequences of four sounds on the guitar. Results show a strong relationship between performance on the music task and a number of linguistic variables. A Principle Component Analysis of the cognitive-linguistic battery revealed that the strongest component (Prin1 accounted for 33% of the variance and Prin1 was significantly related to the music task. Highest loadings on Prin1 were found for reading measures such as Reading Speed and Reading Accuracy. Interestingly, twenty-two children recorded responses for more than four sounds within a trial on the music task, which was classified as Superfluous Responses (SR. SR was negatively correlated with a variety of linguistic variables and showed a negative correlation with Prin1. When analyzing children with and without SR separately, only children with SR showed a significant correlation between Prin1 and the music task. Our results provide implications for the use of an ecologically valid music-based screening tool for the early identification of reading disabilities in a classroom setting.

  4. Developing process approach-based reading textbook for grade IV students

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    Dedy Irawan

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research and development study is generating approach-based reading textbook which will be appropriate and feasible for implementation in order to improve the reading skills of Grade IV students. This research and development study referred to the steps of research and development proposed by Borg & Gall. The subjects in this study were the Grade IV students from the State Elementary Schools under the Regional Unit of Technical Implementation in Kutasari District, the Regency of Purbalingga which consist of SD Negeri 1 Cendana, of SD Negeri 1 Karangjengkol, SD Negeri 1 Sumingkir, and SD Negeri 2 Munjul. In gathering the data, the researcher made use of interview, document analysis, rating scale, test, and questionnaire. The results of this research and development study are a process approach-based reading textbook for Theme 9 “My Food is Healthy and Nutritious” which has been designed in five reading activities namely: (1 setting up; (2 reading; (3 responding; (4 understanding; and (5 expanding the understanding. This textbook has been considered feasible for implementation according to the material expert and the media expert with “Good” category and according to the book design expert with “Very Good” category. There are differences in the final results between the experimental group and the control group after the approach based-reading textbook has been applied with the significance < 0.05. These differences show the significant reading skills improvement with sig. value (2-tailed = 0.024.

  5. Associations between musical abilities and precursors of reading in preschool aged children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Degé, Franziska; Kubicek, Claudia; Schwarzer, Gudrun

    2015-01-01

    The association between music and language, in particular, the overlap in their processing results in the possibility to use one domain for the enhancement of the other. Especially in the preschool years music may be a valuable tool to train language abilities (e.g., precursors of reading). Therefore, detailed knowledge about associations between musical abilities and precursors of reading can be of great use for designing future music intervention studies that target language-related abilities. Hence, the present study investigated the association between music perception as well as music production and precursors of reading. Thereby, not only phonological awareness, the mostly studied precursor of reading, was investigated, but also other precursors were examined. We assessed musical abilities (production and perception) and precursors of reading (phonological awareness, working memory, and rapid retrieval from long-term memory) in 55 preschoolers (27 boys). Fluid intelligence was measured and controlled in the analyses. Results showed that phonological awareness, working memory, and rapid retrieval from long-term memory were related to music perception as well as to music production. Our data suggest that several precursors of reading were associated with music perception as well as music production.

  6. Associations between musical abilities and precursors of reading in preschool aged children

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    Franziska eDegé

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The association between music and language, in particular, the overlap in their processing results in the possibility to use one domain for the enhancement of the other. Especially in the preschool years music may be a valuable tool to train language abilities (e.g., precursors of reading. Therefore, detailed knowledge about associations between musical abilities and precursors of reading can be of great use for designing future music intervention studies that target language-related abilities. Hence, the present study investigated the association between music perception as well as music production and precursors of reading. Thereby, not only phonological awareness, the mostly studied precursor of reading, was investigated, but also other precursors were examined. We assessed musical abilities (production and perception and precursors of reading (phonological awareness, working memory, and rapid retrieval from long-term memory in 55 preschoolers (27 boys. Fluid intelligence was measured and controlled in the analyses. Results showed that phonological awareness, working memory, and rapid retrieval from long-term memory were related to music perception as well as to music production. Our data suggest that several precursors of reading were associated with music perception as well as music production.

  7. Investigation of the Effect of Using a Novel as an Extensive Reading on Students’ Attitudes and Reading Ability

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    Shima Ghiabi

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The present study aims at investigating learners’ perceptions on the use of a novel as an extensive reading in a college EFL reading course. For this purpose, fifty Iranian EFL students read and received instructions on an unabridged short novel in addition to, their text book for one semester. Three questionnaires were used to measure students’ attitudes toward novel-reading, students’ confidence in novel reading ability and students’ perceptions toward using a novel as an auxiliary material, prior to and after reading the novel. In addition, three open questions were offered to obtain benefits and obstacles of the novel reading. T-test analysis were used and findings revealed that there was a significant improvement after reading the novel in students’ attitudes, confidence, interest and their novel-reading ability. However, they suggested reading the novels according to the theme that they preferred. The result of this study are of pedagogic significance to EFL teaching in that they indicated how well a novel was received in an EFL Advanced reading class.

  8. READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS DEVELOPED BY ENGLISH TEACHERS OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN SURABAYA

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    Mukhlisatun Muayanah

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available According to the Competence Based Curriculum (KBK in the subject of English at Senior High School, the reading skill emphasizes the ability to read written English in the forms of narration, spoof/recount, procedures, report, news items (1st grade, anecdote, exposition, hortatory exposition (2nd grade, descriptions, explanation, discussion, and commentary (3rd grade. Therefore, the objective of teaching reading is to enable the students to have the ability to comprehend and interpret the content of many types of written English discourse.

  9. The Relationship between Home Literary Environments and Attitudes toward Reading in Ninth-Grade Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubis, Mary Ellen

    A study determined what variables in the home literary environments of ninth-grade students influenced their attitudes toward reading. Subjects, 316 students from 2 ninth-grade classes at 2 metropolitan high schools, were given the Estes Reading Attitude Scale and a researcher-developed, 30-question inventory of their home literary environment.…

  10. Emergent literacy skills, behavior problems and familial antecedents of reading difficulties: a follow-up study of reading achievement from kindergarten to fifth grade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa, Hugo Câmara; Perdry, Hervé; Soria, Carmen; Pulgar, Salomé; Cusin, Françoise; Dellatolas, Georges

    2013-03-01

    This study examined the relation between emergent literacy skills, teachers' reports of behavioral problems, and word reading achievement in a community sample of French students. Family background was investigated and included familial antecedents of reading difficulties (Fa/Rd) and parents' educational level. The analyses explored the pattern of concurrent relations between behavioral, familial and emergent literacy measures in a sample of 812 preschoolers, and their predictive power in explaining word reading achievement in a sub-sample of 150 children followed from kindergarten to fifth grade. Word reading at fifth grade was predicted by kindergarten measures of phonological awareness and letter knowledge. Teachers' reports of inattention symptoms at each grade level were associated with early reading skills and with subsequent word reading. Fa/Rd were concurrently and longitudinally associated with emergent literacy skills, teachers' reported inattention and word reading. These results indicate that children with a family history of reading difficulties are at increased risk for the co-occurrence of reading difficulties and attention problems from kindergarten onward. These findings confirm the shared influence of Fa/Rd on the comorbidity between inattention symptoms and reading difficulties in a non-diagnosed community sample of preschool children followed through late elementary school. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Mind-Reading ability and structural connectivity changes in aging

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    Monia eCabinio

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The Mind-Reading ability through the eyes is an important component of the affective Theory of Mind (ToM, which allows people to infer the other’s mental state from the eye gaze. The aim of the present study was to investigate to which extent age-associated structural brain changes impact this ability and to determine if this association is related to executive functions in elderly subjects. For this purpose, Magnetic Resonance Imaging was used to determine both gray matter and white matter areas associated with aging. The resulting areas have been included in a subsequent correlation analysis to detect the brain regions whose structure was associated with the Mind-Reading ability through the eyes, assessed with the Italian version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes (RME test, in a sample of 36 healthy subjects ranging from 24 to 79 years of age. The analysis resulted in three important findings: 1 the performance to the RME test is relatively stable across the decades 20-70 (despite a slight decrease of this ability with aging and independent from executive functions; 2 structural brain imaging demonstrated the involvement of a great number of cortical ToM areas for the execution of the RME test: the bilateral precentral gyrus, the bilateral posterior insula, the left superior temporal gyrus and the left inferior frontal gyrus, which also showed a significant volume decrease with age; 3 an age and task-related decline in white matter connectivity on left fronto-temporal portion of the brain. Our results confirm the age-related structural modifications of the brain and show that these changes have an influence on the Mind-Reading ability through the eyes.

  12. Do Teachers' Perceptions of Children's Math and Reading Related Ability and Effort Predict Children's Self-Concept of Ability in Math and Reading?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Upadyaya, Katja; Eccles, Jacquelynne

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated to what extent primary school teachers' perceptions of their students' ability and effort predict developmental changes in children's self-concepts of ability in math and reading after controlling for students' academic performance and general intelligence. Three cohorts (N?=?849) of elementary school children and their…

  13. Developmental changes in reading do not alter the development of visual processing skills: An application of explanatory item response models in grades K-2

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    Kristi L Santi

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Visual processing has been widely studied in regard to its impact on a students’ ability to read. A less researched area is the role of reading in the development of visual processing skills. A cohort-sequential, accelerated-longitudinal design was utilized with 932 kindergarten, first, and second grade students to examine the impact of reading acquisition on the processing of various types of visual discrimination and visual motor test items. Students were assessed four times per year on a variety of reading measures and reading precursors and two popular measures of visual processing over a three-year period. Explanatory item response models were used to examine the roles of person and item characteristics on changes in visual processing abilities and changes in item difficulties over time. Results showed different developmental patterns for five types of visual processing test items, but most importantly failed to show consistent effects of learning to read on changes in item difficulty. Thus, the present study failed to find support for the hypothesis that learning to read alters performance on measures of visual processing. Rather, visual processing and reading ability improved together over time with no evidence to suggest cross-domain influences from reading to visual processing. Results are discussed in the context of developmental theories of visual processing and brain-based research on the role of visual skills in learning to read.

  14. An Exploratory Study of the Relationships between Reading Comprehension Competence, Reading Attitude and the Vividness of Mental Imagery among Turkish Fourth-Grade Students

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    Kocaarslan, Mustafa

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to establish the possible relationships between reading comprehension competence, reading attitude and the vividness of mental imagery among Turkish fourth-grade students. Participants were fourth grade students, selected using convenience sampling from two different public schools (n=103) in Bartin, Turkey. The research was…

  15. Technical Adequacy of the easyCBM Grade 2 Reading Measures. Technical Report #1004

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamgochian, Elisa; Park, Bitnara Jasmine; Nese, Joseph F. T.; Lai, Cheng-Fei; Saez, Leilani; Anderson, Daniel; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

    2010-01-01

    In this technical report, we provide reliability and validity evidence for the easyCBM[R] Reading measures for grade 2 (word and passage reading fluency and multiple choice reading comprehension). Evidence for reliability includes internal consistency and item invariance. Evidence for validity includes concurrent, predictive, and construct…

  16. Effect of Reading Ability and Internet Experience on Keyword-Based Image Search

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Pei-Lan; Lin, Sunny S. J.; Sun, Chuen-Tsai

    2013-01-01

    Image searches are now crucial for obtaining information, constructing knowledge, and building successful educational outcomes. We investigated how reading ability and Internet experience influence keyword-based image search behaviors and performance. We categorized 58 junior-high-school students into four groups of high/low reading ability and…

  17. Reading strategies used by Grade 9 English Second Language learners in a selected school

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    Madoda Cekiso

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Knowledge of the reading strategies used by English Second Language learners can help teachers to plan appropriate lessons and apply relevant methods of teaching reading in order to enhance learners’ reading comprehension. The main objective of this study was to investigate the reading strategies used by Grade 9 English Second Language (ESL learners and also to establish if there was any significant difference between perceived strategy use and gender. The respondents (192 were all ESL learners in Grade 9 in 2011 in a selected school. The study employed a quantitative research method. The study used convenience sampling on a group of 192 Grade 9 learners. The data collected through questionnaires was analysed by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS software. The findings revealed that the learners did not employ a wide range of reading strategies. The results further indicated that there was no significant difference between boys and girls in terms of strategy use. Based on the above findings several suggestions were made to help teachers improve their teaching and help learners improve their reading comprehension and also about possible areas for future research.

  18. Visual processing in reading disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and its contribution to basic reading ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kibby, Michelle Y; Dyer, Sarah M; Vadnais, Sarah A; Jagger, Audreyana C; Casher, Gabriel A; Stacy, Maria

    2015-01-01

    Whether visual processing deficits are common in reading disorders (RD), and related to reading ability in general, has been debated for decades. The type of visual processing affected also is debated, although visual discrimination and short-term memory (STM) may be more commonly related to reading ability. Reading disorders are frequently comorbid with ADHD, and children with ADHD often have subclinical reading problems. Hence, children with ADHD were used as a comparison group in this study. ADHD and RD may be dissociated in terms of visual processing. Whereas RD may be associated with deficits in visual discrimination and STM for order, ADHD is associated with deficits in visual-spatial processing. Thus, we hypothesized that children with RD would perform worse than controls and children with ADHD only on a measure of visual discrimination and a measure of visual STM that requires memory for order. We expected all groups would perform comparably on the measure of visual STM that does not require sequential processing. We found children with RD or ADHD were commensurate to controls on measures of visual discrimination and visual STM that do not require sequential processing. In contrast, both RD groups (RD, RD/ADHD) performed worse than controls on the measure of visual STM that requires memory for order, and children with comorbid RD/ADHD performed worse than those with ADHD. In addition, of the three visual measures, only sequential visual STM predicted reading ability. Hence, our findings suggest there is a deficit in visual sequential STM that is specific to RD and is related to basic reading ability. The source of this deficit is worthy of further research, but it may include both reduced memory for order and poorer verbal mediation.

  19. Visual processing in reading disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and its contribution to basic reading ability

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    Michelle Y. Kibby

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Whether visual processing deficits are common in reading disorders (RD, and related to reading ability in general, has been debated for decades. The type of visual processing affected also is debated, although visual discrimination and short-term memory (STM may be more commonly related to reading ability. Reading disorders are frequently comorbid with ADHD, and children with ADHD often have subclinical reading problems. Hence, children with ADHD were used as a comparison group in this study. ADHD and RD may be dissociated in terms of visual processing. Whereas RD may be associated with deficits in visual discrimination and short-term memory for order, ADHD is associated with deficits in visual-spatial processing. Thus, we hypothesized that children with RD would perform worse than controls and children with ADHD only on a measure of visual discrimination and a measure of visual STM that requires memory for order. We expected all groups would perform comparably on the measure of visual STM that does not require sequential processing. We found children with RD or ADHD were commensurate to controls on measures of visual discrimination and visual STM that do not require sequential processing. In contrast, both RD groups (RD, RD/ADHD performed worse than controls on the measure of visual STM that requires memory for order, and children with comorbid RD/ADHD performed worse than those with ADHD. In addition, of the three visual measures, only sequential visual STM predicted reading ability. Hence, our findings suggest there is a deficit in visual sequential STM that is specific to RD and is related to basic reading ability. The source of this deficit is worthy of further research, but it may include both reduced memory for order and poorer verbal mediation.

  20. The Role of Visual-Spatial Abilities in Dyslexia: Age Differences in Children's Reading?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giovagnoli, Giulia; Vicari, Stefano; Tomassetti, Serena; Menghini, Deny

    2016-01-01

    Reading is a highly complex process in which integrative neurocognitive functions are required. Visual-spatial abilities play a pivotal role because of the multi-faceted visual sensory processing involved in reading. Several studies show that children with developmental dyslexia (DD) fail to develop effective visual strategies and that some reading difficulties are linked to visual-spatial deficits. However, the relationship between visual-spatial skills and reading abilities is still a controversial issue. Crucially, the role that age plays has not been investigated in depth in this population, and it is still not clear if visual-spatial abilities differ across educational stages in DD. The aim of the present study was to investigate visual-spatial abilities in children with DD and in age-matched normal readers (NR) according to different educational stages: in children attending primary school and in children and adolescents attending secondary school. Moreover, in order to verify whether visual-spatial measures could predict reading performance, a regression analysis has been performed in younger and older children. The results showed that younger children with DD performed significantly worse than NR in a mental rotation task, a more-local visual-spatial task, a more-global visual-perceptual task and a visual-motor integration task. However, older children with DD showed deficits in the more-global visual-perceptual task, in a mental rotation task and in a visual attention task. In younger children, the regression analysis documented that reading abilities are predicted by the visual-motor integration task, while in older children only the more-global visual-perceptual task predicted reading performances. Present findings showed that visual-spatial deficits in children with DD were age-dependent and that visual-spatial abilities engaged in reading varied across different educational stages. In order to better understand their potential role in affecting reading

  1. In Pursuit of the Elusive Elixir: Predictors of First Grade Reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porter, Robin

    Multivariate sets of predictor variables including both cognitive and social variables, different types of preschool experiences, and family environment variables were used to predict the first-grade reading achievement of 144 first-grade boys and girls. Measures for the predictor variables had been taken at school entry and at the end of the…

  2. Preliteracy signatures of poor-reading abilities in resting-state EEG

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    Giuseppina eSchiavone

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The hereditary character of dyslexia suggests the presence of putative underlying neural anomalies already in preliterate age. Here, we investigated whether early neurophysiological correlates of future reading difficulties—a hallmark of dyslexia—could be identified in the resting-state EEG of preliterate children. The children in this study were recruited at birth and classified on the basis of parents’ performance on reading tests to be at-risk of becoming poor readers (n = 48 or not (n = 14. Eyes-open rest EEG was measured at the age of 3 years, and the at-risk children were divided into fluent readers (n = 24 and non-fluent readers (n = 24 after reading assessment at their third grade of school. We found that fluent readers and non-fluent readers differed in normalized spectral amplitude. Non-fluent readers were characterized by lower amplitude in the delta-1 frequency band (0.5–2 Hz and higher amplitude in the alpha-1 band (6–8 Hz in multiple scalp regions compared to control and at-risk fluent readers. Interestingly, across groups these EEG biomarkers correlated with several behavioral test scores measured in the third grade. Specifically, the performance on reading fluency, phonological and orthographic tasks and rapid automatized naming task correlated positively with delta-1 and negatively with alpha-1. Together, our results suggest that combining family-risk status, neurophysiological testing and behavioral test scores in a longitudinal setting may help uncover physiological mechanisms implicated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as the predisposition to reading disabilities.

  3. USING OF READING, ENCODING, ANNOTATING, AND PONDERING (REAP TECHNIQUE TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION (A Classroom Action Research at Eighth Grade Students in MTSN 1 Kota Bengkulu in Academic years 2016

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fera Zasrianita

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The researcher found the problem at MTSN 1 in the city of  Bengkulu at grade VIII I that students got difficulty in comprehending reading texts, and in understanding meanings of words in paragraphs, and teachers techniques  made the students bored. Therefore, the purpose of the research is to improve students’ reading comprehension through REAP techniques. The subject of the research is the students of  grade VIII I consisting of 27 students, 14 female students and 13 male students. The instruments of the research are reading tets, observation sheetteacher and the students, interview guide and that for documentary study.  The results of the research show that the  REAP teachniques are effective in improving the students’ reading comprehension. The students got involved directly and were able to cooperate with their peers during the teaching-learning process. The research was conducted in two cycles an the test was administered at the end of each cycle. From the average mean scores, it could be seen that there was improvement of the the students’ reading ability. In cycle I, the mean score was 70.5 and in cycle 2, it was 78.7,and at the Post assessment, it was  82.2. It means that the students’ mean scores has reached the research target. Thus, it can be concluded that REAPtechniques can improve the students’ readng comprehension. Kata Kunci: REAP (Reading, Encoding, Annotating, and Pondering technique, Students’ reading comprehension

  4. The Effect of Higher Order Thinking Skill Instruction on EFL Reading Ability

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    Nava Nourdad

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This quantitative and quasi-experimental study dealt with the effect of the teaching higher order thinking (HOT on the reading comprehension ability of foreign language learners. Since reading ability plays a crucial role in learners’ education, it is language teachers’ mission to be aware of the useful and beneficial strategies to improve their students’ reading comprehension ability. Considering the fruitful results of applying HOT skills in education, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of their instruction on students’ reading comprehension ability. To achieve the objectives of the study, a group of 236 male and female university students majoring in various fields but all taking General English course was selected by convenience sampling. They were randomly assigned into two groups of control and experimental. PET test was applied to homogenize the participants of the two study groups. The study followed pre-test, treatment, post-test design. While the experimental group followed a nine-session treatment on strategies of HOT, the control group was instructed through conventional method determined by the course book. The results of independent samples t-test revealed the positive effect of teaching HOT skills on improving reading comprehension ability of adult EFL learners. Pedagogical implications of these findings for language learners, language teachers, course book developers, and educational policy makers are discussed.

  5. Associations between musical abilities and precursors of reading in preschool aged children

    OpenAIRE

    Degé, Franziska; Kubicek, Claudia; Schwarzer, Gudrun

    2015-01-01

    The association between music and language, in particular, the overlap in their processing results in the possibility to use one domain for the enhancement of the other. Especially in the preschool years music may be a valuable tool to train language abilities (e.g., precursors of reading). Therefore, detailed knowledge about associations between musical abilities and precursors of reading can be of great use for designing future music intervention studies that target language-related abiliti...

  6. Effect of Repeated Reading and Self-Directed Behavior on Reading Skills and Generalization of the Reading Skills of Third-Grade Hill Tribe Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Compan, Boonlert; Iamsupasit, Sompoch; Samuels, Jay

    A study tested a method for developing reading fluency with third-grade Hill Tribe children in a welfare school in Chiang Mai, a city located in northern Thailand. Most of the students were bilingual, speaking their native tongues and Thai, their second language. Only 18.7% of the Hill Tribe population can read Thai, and many students fail to…

  7. Affix Meaning Knowledge in First Through Third Grade Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Apel, Kenn; Henbest, Victoria Suzanne

    2016-04-01

    We examined grade-level differences in 1st- through 3rd-grade students' performance on an experimenter-developed affix meaning task (AMT) and determined whether AMT performance explained unique variance in word-level reading and reading comprehension, beyond other known contributors to reading development. Forty students at each grade level completed an assessment battery that included measures of phonological awareness, receptive vocabulary, word-level reading, reading comprehension, and affix meaning knowledge. On the AMT, 1st-grade students were significantly less accurate than 2nd- and 3rd-grade students; there was no significant difference in performance between the 2nd- and 3rd-grade students. Regression analyses revealed that the AMT accounted for 8% unique variance of students' performance on word-level reading measures and 6% unique variance of students' performance on the reading comprehension measure, after age, phonological awareness, and receptive vocabulary were explained. These results provide initial information on the development of affix meaning knowledge via an explicit measure in 1st- through 3rd-grade students and demonstrate that affix meaning knowledge uniquely contributes to the development of reading abilities above other known literacy predictors. These findings provide empirical support for how students might use morphological problem solving to read unknown multimorphemic words successfully.

  8. Improving Eighth Grade Students' Reading Comprehension through the Use of the Collision Plus Arts-Integrated Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Taneka L.

    2016-01-01

    African American and Latino students attending Title I schools in the metropolitan Atlanta area were not reading on grade level. The majority of students are low performing readers and minimally met the reading comprehension requirements. The 2015 average 8th grade reading score for these students was 246 out of 500. This applied dissertation was…

  9. The Effects of a Reader's Theater Instructional Intervention on Second Grade Students' Reading Fluency and Comprehension Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Diane D.

    2011-01-01

    An estimated 75% of students who are poor readers in third grade continue to be lower achieving readers in ninth grade. The National Reading Panel has identified fluency as a prominent cause of reading comprehension problems which ultimately affect overall reading development. The purpose of this study was to test the theoretical framework of…

  10. Grade Inflation Rates among Different Ability Students, Controlling for Other Factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mc Spirit, Stephanie; Jones, Kirk E.

    1999-01-01

    Compared grade inflation rates among students of different abilities at an open-admissions public university by examining trends in graduating grade point average from 1983 to 1996. The higher grade inflation rates among low aptitude students suggest that faculty might be using grades to encourage learning among marginal students. (SLD)

  11. Vocabulary and Syntactic Knowledge Factors in 5th Grade Students' Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mokhtari, Kouider; Niederhauser, Dale S.

    2013-01-01

    In this study, we examined 5th grade students' levels of vocabulary knowledge and syntactic awareness relative to their reading comprehension performance. The aim was to explore the contributions of vocabulary and syntactic awareness as potential sources of reading comprehension difficulty for these readers. Overall, we found that both vocabulary…

  12. Comparison of Reading Levels of Pharmacy Students and Reading Level of Primary Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cathy H Ficzere

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The project purpose was to evaluate pharmacy students’ reading levels using the Nelson-Denney Reading Test (NDRT and compare these results with the reading level of primary literature to investigate incongruities between student’s comprehension ability and the readability level of assigned reading in the curriculum. Methods: The NDRT was administered to first- through third-year student pharmacists to determine grade equivalents (GE for vocabulary and reading comprehension. Twenty articles previously identified as Patient-Oriented Evidence that Matters (POEMs were analyzed to determine the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and Gunning-Fog Score. Student demographics, information regarding language spoken, and reading habits, were also assessed. Pearson product moment correlations, t-tests, ANOVA, and descriptive statistics were used to assess relationships between demographic data and NDRT scores. Results: One hundred students participated. The mean NDRT total grade equivalent (±SD was 16.95 ± 2.1 (median = 17.3. NDRT grade equivalents were statistically different for students with different racial or ethnic backgrounds (t(98=3.74, p=0.026, English as a second language (ESL students (t(98=5.19, p=0.021, and students that read works of fiction for pleasure (t(98=4.31, p=0.002. The average Gunning-Fog Score for all primary literature articles was 11.48, with the introduction section being the most complex. The average Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level was 17.04, with the results section scoring the lowest average grade level. Implications: While the overall reading grade level of our pharmacy students suggests that they are capable of comprehending reading assigned in the pharmacy curriculum, minority students and students for whom English is a second language may struggle with comprehending complex text. Conflict of Interest We declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have

  13. The Single Item Literacy Screener: Evaluation of a brief instrument to identify limited reading ability

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    Chew Lisa D

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Reading skills are important for accessing health information, using health care services, managing one's health and achieving desirable health outcomes. Our objective was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the Single Item Literacy Screener (SILS to identify limited reading ability, one component of health literacy, as measured by the S-TOFHLA. Methods Cross-sectional interview with 999 adults with diabetes residing in Vermont and bordering states. Participants were randomly recruited from Primary Care practices in the Vermont Diabetes Information System June 2003 – December 2004. The main outcome was limited reading ability. The primary predictor was the SILS. Results Of the 999 persons screened, 169 (17% had limited reading ability. The sensitivity of the SILS in detecting limited reading ability was 54% [95% CI: 47%, 61%] and the specificity was 83% [95% CI: 81%, 86%] with an area under the Receiver Operating Characteristics Curve (ROC of 0.73 [95% CI: 0.69, 0.78]. Seven hundred seventy (77% screened negative on the SILS and 692 of these subjects had adequate reading skills (negative predictive value = 0.90 [95% CI: 0.88, 0.92]. Of the 229 who scored positive on the SILS, 92 had limited reading ability (positive predictive value = 0.4 [95% CI: 0.34, 0.47]. Conclusion The SILS is a simple instrument designed to identify patients with limited reading ability who need help reading health-related materials. The SILS performs moderately well at ruling out limited reading ability in adults and allows providers to target additional assessment of health literacy skills to those most in need. Further study of the use of the SILS in clinical settings and with more diverse populations is warranted.

  14. Rhythm production at school entry as a predictor of poor reading and spelling at the end of first grade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lundetræ, Kjersti; Thomson, Jenny M

    2018-01-01

    Rhythm plays an organisational role in the prosody and phonology of language, and children with literacy difficulties have been found to demonstrate poor rhythmic perception. This study explored whether students' performance on a simple rhythm task at school entry could serve as a predictor of whether they would face difficulties in word reading and spelling at the end of grade 1. The participants were 479 Norwegian 6-year-old first graders randomized as controls in the longitudinal RCT on track (n = 1171). Rhythmic timing and pre-reading skills were tested individually at school entry on a digital tablet. On the rhythm task, the students were told to tap a drum appearing on the screen to two different rhythms (2 Hz paced and 1.5 Hz paced). Children's responses were recorded as they tapped on the screen with their index finger. Significant group differences were found in rhythm tapping ability measured at school entry, when groups were defined upon whether children went on to score above or below the 20th percentile reading and spelling thresholds in national assessment tests at the end of grade one. Inclusion of the school-entry rhythmic tapping measure into a model of classification accuracy for above or below threshold reading and spelling improved accuracy of classification by 6.2 and 9.2% respectively.

  15. Identity Styles: Predictors of Reading and Writing Abilities

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    Zohre Mohamadi

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available How the individual differences prime different learning process is well addressed in literature. But, what is missing from these analyses is how learners with different identity styles approach reading and writing skills and if different identity styles can predict differentiated language performance. The present study aims at investigating the relationship between identity styles, and reading/writing skills of Iranian intermediate female EFL learners. One the basis of the results of Nelson language proficiency test, 120 participants were selected to participate in this research. Participants' answers to Berzonsky's Identity Style Inventory (ISI3 and reading and writing parts of Preliminary English Test were analyzed. The results indicated that informational and normative identity styles were found to be positively correlated and diffuse-avoidant style was negatively correlated with reading and writing abilities whereas commitment identity didn't bear any significant relationships. The findings also indicated that informational style acted as the best predictor of these skills. Implications for language teachers are suggested.

  16. Developing a Screening Inventory Reading Test (IRT for the Isfahanian Students of the First to Fifth Grade

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    Bijan Shafiei

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Background and aim: Reading is one of the most essential skills in this century. Reading disorders can cause several problems for the person who has reading disorder. Early assessment and diagnosis play an important role in treatment of this disorder. The main purpose of this study was to develope a screening inventory reading test (IRT for first to fifth grade student in Isfahan in order to early diagnosis of reading disorder.Materials and Methods: The test, consisting of 100 words context and four comprehension questions, named Inventory Reading Test (IRT, was evaluated by several speech therapists. It was standardized by testing on one thousand boys and girls, 200 students in every grade, that were selected through a multi-stage random sampling method. Test was performed on two other groups, a normal and a reading-disordered.Results: Scores of reading accuracy and velocity were highly correlated with the test total score. Test reliability was calculated as 0.77 by Cronbach`s alpha measure. There was significant difference between two groups mean score (p=0.01.Conclusion: IRT seems to be an appropriate tool for screening reading disorder of first to fifth grade students.

  17. Improving English Reading Comprehension Ability through Survey, Questions, Read, Record, Recite, Review Strategy (SQ4R)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khusniyah, Nurul Lailatul; Lustyantie, Ninuk

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study is to examine the effect of the survey, questions, read, record, recite, review (SQ4R) strategy of the reading comprehension ability students of 2nd semester. The research study was used action research method. The sampling was taken by 34 students. The validity of data used credibility, transferability, dependability, and…

  18. Growth trajectories of early aggression, overactivity, and inattention: Relations to second-grade reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Sarah A O; Carter, Alice S; Briggs-Gowan, Margaret J; Jones, Stephanie M; Wagmiller, Robert L

    2014-09-01

    The link between behavior problems and low academic achievement is well established, but few studies have examined longitudinal relations between early externalizing behaviors before school entry and low academic achievement following transition to formal schooling. Early inattention has been particularly overlooked, despite strong associations between inattention and reading difficulties later in development. Trajectories of infant and toddler aggression, overactivity, and inattention, developed from parent reports about 1- to 3-year-old children, were examined as predictors of direct assessments of 2nd-grade reading in an at-risk epidemiological study subsample (N = 359). Reports of inattentive and overactive behaviors at ages 1-3 years and changes in inattention through toddlerhood predicted reading achievement in 2nd grade. A parallel process model suggested that the effects of early inattention on reading appear to be most robust. Findings underscore the contribution of social-emotional development to school readiness and the importance of early identification of children with externalizing problems, as early interventions designed to reduce externalizing problems may improve later reading skills.

  19. Growth Trajectories of Early Aggression, Overactivity, and Inattention: Relations to Second Grade Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Sarah A. O.; Carter, Alice S.; Briggs-Gowan, Margaret J.; Jones, Stephanie M.; Wagmiller, Robert L.

    2015-01-01

    The link between behavior problems and low academic achievement is well established, but few studies have examined longitudinal relations between early externalizing behaviors before school entry and low academic achievement following transition to formal schooling. Early inattention has been particularly overlooked, despite strong associations between inattention and reading difficulties later in development. Trajectories of infant/toddler aggression, overactivity, and inattention, developed from parent reports about 1- to 3-year-old children, were examined as predictors of direct assessments of second grade reading in an at-risk epidemiological study subsample (N = 359). Reports of inattentive and overactive behaviors at age 1-to-3 years and changes in inattention through toddlerhood predicted reading achievement in second grade. A parallel process model suggested that the effects of early inattention on reading appear to be most robust. Findings underscore the contribution of social-emotional development to school readiness and the importance of early identification of children with externalizing problems, as early interventions designed to reduce externalizing problems may improve later reading skills. PMID:25046126

  20. The Development of Working Memory from Kindergarten to First Grade in Children with Different Decoding Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nevo, Einat; Breznitz, Zvia

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated the development of working memory ability (measured by tasks assessing all four working memory components) from the end of kindergarten to the end of first grade--the first year reading is taught in school--and the relationship between working memory abilities in kindergarten and first grade and reading skills in first…

  1. Verbal and visuospatial working memory as predictors of children's reading ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pham, Andy V; Hasson, Ramzi M

    2014-08-01

    Children with reading difficulties often demonstrate weaknesses in working memory (WM). This research study explored the relation between two WM systems (verbal and visuospatial WM) and reading ability in a sample of school-aged children with a wide range of reading skills. Children (N = 157), ages 9-12, were administered measures of short-term memory, verbal WM, visuospatial WM, and reading measures (e.g., reading fluency and comprehension). Although results indicated that verbal WM was a stronger predictor in reading fluency and comprehension, visuospatial WM also significantly predicted reading skills, but provided more unique variance in reading comprehension than reading fluency. These findings suggest that visuospatial WM may play a significant role in higher level reading processes, particularly in reading comprehension, than previously thought. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. Does ability to establish sound-symbol pairings mediate the RAN reading relationship?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulsen, Mads; Juul, Holger; Elbro, Carsten

    for animals in a paired associate learning task. These animals were then used in a rapid naming task. Results Preliminary results show that reading correlated with the amount of training required for learning the animal names (r=-.19, p=.06). RAN speed with the same animals did not correlate with reading......Performance on tests to rapidly name letters and digits has been shown to correlate with reading. One possible reason is that these tests probe the ability to learn and automatise symbol-sound associations. However, most studies have not controlled for the amount of experience with the RAN......-items, so it is unclear whether it is the experience or the ability to take advantage of the experience that is responsible for the correlation between RAN and reading. Paired associate learning tasks have been shown to differentiate dyslexics from controls, and to correlate with reading in unselected...

  3. Temporal Resolution Ability in Students with Dyslexia and Reading and Writing Disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chaubet, Juliana

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction The Gaps-in-Noise (GIN test assesses the hearing ability of temporal resolution. The development of this ability can be considered essential for learning how to read. Objective Identify temporal resolution in individuals diagnosed with reading and writing disorders compared with subjects with dyslexia. Methods A sample of 26 subjects of both genders, age 10 to 15 years, included 11 diagnosed with dyslexia and 15 diagnosed with reading and writing disorders. Subjects did not display otologic, neurologic, and/or cognitive diseases. A control group of 30 normal-hearing subjects was formed to compare thresholds and percentages obtained from the GIN test. The responses were obtained considering two measures of analysis: the threshold gap and the percentage of correct gap. Results The threshold was lower in the GIN for the typical group than for the other groups. There was no difference between groups with dyslexia and with reading and writing disorders. The GIN results of the typical group revealed a higher percentage of correct answer than in the other groups. No difference was obtained between the groups with dyslexia and with reading and writing disorders. Conclusion The GIN test identified a difficulty in auditory ability of temporal resolution in individuals with reading and writing disorders and in individuals with dyslexia in a similar way.

  4. The Prediction of Reading Levels between Second and Third Grade Limited English Proficient Students in a Bilingual Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moses, Britani Creel

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to predict the third grade English reading TAKS scores while considering the same students' native language, Spanish, reading level as assessed by a state-approved reading assessment, the Evaluacion del desarrollo de la lectura (EDL), from the end of the second grade year. In addition, this study was been designed to…

  5. Influence of spatial perception abilities on reading in school-age children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arnaud Saj

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Spatial perception abilities enable individuals to explore a visual field, to detect spatial position and to infer relationships between visual stimuli. Written words and text are conceptualized spatially along a horizontal mental line, but little is known about the way children develop these representations. The exact relationship between visuo-spatial perception and academic achievement has never been directly assessed. Therefore, our aim was to study the developmental trajectory of space perception abilities by assessing perceptual, attentional and memory components, the relationship between these abilities and reading achievement in school-age children. Forty-nine children aged between 6.5 and 11 years old were divided into four age groups and were assessed with visual bisection, visual search and visual memory location tasks. The results showed that the groups of older children, from the age of nine, improved significantly on the bisection and visual search tasks with respect to all visual fields, while the groups of younger children showed more errors in the left visual field (LVF. Performances on these tasks were correlated with reading level and age. Older children with a low reading score showed a LVF bias, similar to the youngest children. These results demonstrate how abnormal space perception might distort space representation and in turn affect reading and learning processes.

  6. Patterns of Word Reading Skill, Interest and Self-Concept of Ability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viljaranta, Jaana; Kiuru, Noona; Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina; Silinskas, Gintautas; Poikkeus, Anna-Maija; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

    2017-01-01

    The majority of previous research on academic skills, self-concept of ability and interest has deployed the variable-oriented approach and focused on self-concept, or ability, or interest only. This study examined the patterns and dynamics of pattern change in Finnish children's word reading skill, self-concept of ability and interest from…

  7. Reading Ability as a Predictor of Academic Procrastination among African American Graduate Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Kathleen M. T.; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.; Jiao, Qun G.

    2008-01-01

    The present study examined the relationship between reading ability (i.e., reading comprehension and reading vocabulary) and academic procrastination among 120 African American graduate students. A canonical correlation analysis revealed statistically significant and practically significant multivariate relationships between these two reading…

  8. Schemata-Building Role of Teaching Word History in Developing Reading Comprehension Ability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gholam-reza Abbasian

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Methodologically, vocabulary instruction has faced significant ups and downs during the history of language education; sometimes integrated with the other elements of language network, other times tackled as a separate component. Among many variables supposedly affecting vocabulary achievement, the role of teaching word history, as a schemata-building strategy, in developing reading comprehension has received the least, if not any, attention. This study was an attempt, in fact, to explore the possibility of an integration of word history and reading comprehension ability of a group (No=100 of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. To conduct the study, 60/100 participants, identified as homogeneous members based on the Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT, were randomly divided them into two groups; an experimental and a control group. They were exposed to a teacher-made pretest and a post-test to check the participants' knowledge of word history and reading comprehension ability prior and posterior to the experiment. Pertinent statistical analyses proved that teaching word history plays both statistically and affectively, through enhancing motivation and attitude, meaningful schemata-building role in developing reading ability. Pedagogically, resort to word history may then be suggested as an effective and affective mechanism as far as teaching language skills, in particular reading, is concerned.

  9. A Mixed Method Study of the Effects of iPod Touch, Partner-Reading, and Independent Practice on Reading Fluency Performance, Perceived Reading Efficacy, and Engagement of Second Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilder-Kingsby, Ceylynda

    2014-01-01

    This mixed method study explored three approaches to reading fluency and their impact on students' reading fluency, perceived reading efficacy, and engagement. The quantitative portion of the study was conducted with 182 second-grade students and was guided by the following questions: (a) Which instructional method, iPod Touch, student-pairing, or…

  10. Second-Grade Urban Learners: Preliminary Findings for a Computer-Assisted, Culturally Relevant, Repeated Reading Intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, Jessica G.; Gardner, Ralph, III; Cartledge, Gwendolyn; Ramnath, Rajiv; Council, Morris R., III

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of a multicomponent, supplemental intervention on the reading fluency of second-grade African-American urban students who showed reading and special education risk. The packaged intervention combined repeated readings and culturally relevant stories, delivered through a novel computer software program to enhance…

  11. Fine motor skills predict maths ability better than they predict reading ability in the early primary school years

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicola J. Pitchford

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Fine motor skills have long been recognised as an important foundation for development in other domains. However, more precise insights into the role of fine motor skills, and their relationships to other skills in mediating early educational achievements, are needed to support the development of optimal educational interventions. We explored concurrent relationships between two components of fine motor skills, Fine Motor Precision and Fine Motor Integration, and early reading and maths development in two studies with primary school children of low-to-mid socio-economic status in the U.K. Two key findings were revealed. First, despite being in the first two years of primary school education, significantly better performance was found in reading compared to maths across both studies. This may reflect the protective effects of recent national-level interventions to promote early literacy skills in young children in the U.K. that have not been similarly promoted for maths. Second, fine motor skills were a better predictor of early maths ability than they were of early reading ability. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that fine motor skills did not significantly predict reading ability when verbal short-term memory was taken into account. In contrast, Fine Motor Integration remained a significant predictor of maths ability, even after the influence of non-verbal IQ had been accounted for. These results suggest that fine motor skills should have a pivotal role in educational interventions designed to support the development of early mathematical skills.

  12. Fine Motor Skills Predict Maths Ability Better than They Predict Reading Ability in the Early Primary School Years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitchford, Nicola J.; Papini, Chiara; Outhwaite, Laura A.; Gulliford, Anthea

    2016-01-01

    Fine motor skills have long been recognized as an important foundation for development in other domains. However, more precise insights into the role of fine motor skills, and their relationships to other skills in mediating early educational achievements, are needed to support the development of optimal educational interventions. We explored concurrent relationships between two components of fine motor skills, Fine Motor Precision and Fine Motor Integration, and early reading and maths development in two studies with primary school children of low-to-mid socio-economic status in the UK. Two key findings were revealed. First, despite being in the first 2 years of primary school education, significantly better performance was found in reading compared to maths across both studies. This may reflect the protective effects of recent national-level interventions to promote early literacy skills in young children in the UK that have not been similarly promoted for maths. Second, fine motor skills were a better predictor of early maths ability than they were of early reading ability. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that fine motor skills did not significantly predict reading ability when verbal short-term memory was taken into account. In contrast, Fine Motor Integration remained a significant predictor of maths ability, even after the influence of non-verbal IQ had been accounted for. These results suggest that fine motor skills should have a pivotal role in educational interventions designed to support the development of early mathematical skills. PMID:27303342

  13. Fine Motor Skills Predict Maths Ability Better than They Predict Reading Ability in the Early Primary School Years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitchford, Nicola J; Papini, Chiara; Outhwaite, Laura A; Gulliford, Anthea

    2016-01-01

    Fine motor skills have long been recognized as an important foundation for development in other domains. However, more precise insights into the role of fine motor skills, and their relationships to other skills in mediating early educational achievements, are needed to support the development of optimal educational interventions. We explored concurrent relationships between two components of fine motor skills, Fine Motor Precision and Fine Motor Integration, and early reading and maths development in two studies with primary school children of low-to-mid socio-economic status in the UK. Two key findings were revealed. First, despite being in the first 2 years of primary school education, significantly better performance was found in reading compared to maths across both studies. This may reflect the protective effects of recent national-level interventions to promote early literacy skills in young children in the UK that have not been similarly promoted for maths. Second, fine motor skills were a better predictor of early maths ability than they were of early reading ability. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that fine motor skills did not significantly predict reading ability when verbal short-term memory was taken into account. In contrast, Fine Motor Integration remained a significant predictor of maths ability, even after the influence of non-verbal IQ had been accounted for. These results suggest that fine motor skills should have a pivotal role in educational interventions designed to support the development of early mathematical skills.

  14. Relationship of word- and sentence-level working memory to reading and writing in second, fourth, and sixth grade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berninger, Virginia W; Abbott, Robert D; Swanson, H Lee; Lovitt, Dan; Trivedi, Pam; Lin, Shin-Ju Cindy; Gould, Laura; Youngstrom, Marci; Shimada, Shirley; Amtmann, Dagmar

    2010-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the contribution of working memory at the word and sentence levels of language to reading and writing outcomes. Measures of working memory at the word and sentence levels, reading and writing, were administered to 2nd (N = 122), 4th (N = 222), and 6th (N = 105) graders. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate whether the 2 predictor working memory factors contributed unique variance beyond their shared covariance to each of 5 outcome factors: handwriting, spelling, composing, word reading, and reading comprehension. At each grade level, except for handwriting and composing in 6th grade, the word-level working memory factor contributed unique variance to each reading and writing outcome. The text-level working memory factor contributed unique variance to reading comprehension in 4th and 6th grade. The clinical significance of these findings for assessment and intervention is discussed.

  15. Semantic interference in picture naming during dual-task performance does not vary with reading ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piai, Vitória; Roelofs, Ardi; Roete, Ingeborg

    2015-01-01

    Previous dual-task studies examining the locus of semantic interference of distractor words in picture naming have obtained diverging results. In these studies, participants manually responded to tones and named pictures while ignoring distractor words (picture-word interference, PWI) with varying stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between tone and PWI stimulus. Whereas some studies observed no semantic interference at short SOAs, other studies observed effects of similar magnitude at short and long SOAs. The absence of semantic interference in some studies may perhaps be due to better reading skill of participants in these than in the other studies. According to such a reading-ability account, participants' reading skill should be predictive of the magnitude of their interference effect at short SOAs. To test this account, we conducted a dual-task study with tone discrimination and PWI tasks and measured participants' reading ability. The semantic interference effect was of similar magnitude at both short and long SOAs. Participants' reading ability was predictive of their naming speed but not of their semantic interference effect, contrary to the reading ability account. We conclude that the magnitude of semantic interference in picture naming during dual-task performance does not depend on reading skill.

  16. Vocabulary and syntactic knowledge factors in 5th grade students’ reading comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kouider Mokhtari

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we examined 5th grade students’ levels of vocabulary knowledge and syntactic awareness relative to their reading comprehension performance. The aim was to explore the contributions of vocabulary and syntactic awareness as potential sources of reading comprehension difficulty for these readers. Overall, we found that both vocabulary knowledge and syntactic awareness contributed in significant yet unique ways to students’ reading comprehension performance. Students who showed weaknesses in vocabulary and syntax also performed poorly on measures of reading comprehension. Additionally, we found that syntactic awareness explained a small amount of additional variance in reading comprehension beyond what was explained by vocabulary. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of research and practice addressing the relationships among syntax, vocabulary, and reading comprehension for more and less skilled readers.

  17. The etiology of mathematical and reading (dis)ability covariation in a sample of Dutch twins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markowitz, Ezra M; Willemsen, Gonneke; Trumbetta, Susan L; van Beijsterveldt, Toos C E M; Boomsma, Dorret I

    2005-12-01

    The genetic etiology of mathematical and reading (dis)ability has been studied in a number of distinct samples, but the true nature of the relationship between the two remains unclear. Data from the Netherlands Twin Register was used to determine the etiology of the relationship between mathematical and reading (dis)ability in adolescent twins. Ratings of mathematical and reading problems were obtained from parents of over 1500 twin pairs. Results of bivariate structural equation modeling showed a genetic correlation around .60, which explained over 90% of the phenotypic correlation between mathematical and reading ability. The genetic model was the same for males and females.

  18. Text (Oral) Reading Fluency as a Construct in Reading Development: An Investigation of Its Mediating Role for Children from Grades 1 to 4

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Young-Suk Grace; Wagner, Richard K.

    2015-01-01

    In the present study we investigated a developmentally changing role of text reading fluency in mediating the relations of word reading fluency and listening comprehension to reading comprehension. We addressed this question by using longitudinal data from Grades 1 to 4 and employing structural equation models. Results showed that the role of text…

  19. Evaluation of the iPad as a low vision aid for improving reading ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haji, Shamim A; Sambhav, Kumar; Grover, Sandeep; Chalam, Kakarla V

    2015-01-01

    To evaluate the effect of the iPad as a low vision aid in improving the reading ability of low vision patients (LVPs). In this study, 228 consecutive patients that came for their routine eye care examination at the University of Florida, Jacksonville eye clinic, were enrolled. Patients met inclusion criteria if they had best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/100 or worse in the best corrected eye and were willing to participate in the study. The patient's reading ability was assessed both with the patient's own spectacles and an iPad. Patients were encouraged to enlarge the reading material as well as change the contrast until they could read comfortably. The number of patients able to read the text comfortably was recorded. Out of the total 228 participants who qualified, 103 (45%) were male and 125 (55%) were female. Only 22% could read standard newsprint-sized text (N8) without the help of an iPad. With the help of an iPad, 94% participants with impaired vision were able to read standard newsprint-sized text (N8) or smaller text (PiPad, a new portable electronic media device, can be adapted by LVPs to improve their reading ability.

  20. The Impact of Past Language Arts Teachers on the Reading Motivation of Twelfth Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepard, Courtney A.

    2017-01-01

    Adolescents' motivation to read continues to decline. The purpose of this embedded single case study was to explore adolescent reading motivation to determine some ways in which adolescents are motivated to read. Through purposeful sampling, the participants included seven twelfth grade students and three English Language Arts teachers in grades…

  1. Electronic Storybooks: A Constructivist Approach to Improving Reading Motivation in Grade 1 Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciampa, Katia

    2012-01-01

    This study stemmed from a concern of the perceived decline in students' reading motivation after the early years of schooling. This research investigated the effectiveness of online eBooks on eight grade 1 students' reading motivation. Eight students were given ten 25-minute sessions with the software programs over 15 weeks. Qualitative data were…

  2. An Examination of the Effect of Reading Interest and Selected Demographic Factors on Reading Performance among Students in the Middle Grades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Childs, Kamshia

    2013-01-01

    Much time is spent instilling in young students the importance of reading, and the impact reading has on their being considered "smart." The activities presented to students in primary (Pre-Kindergarten/Kindergarten) classrooms through third grade are engaging and cooperative, and they provide a sense of accomplishment for students who…

  3. L2 Reading Ability: Further Insight into the Short-Circuit Hypothesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taillefer, Gail F.

    1996-01-01

    Discusses the notion of a language proficiency threshold that short circuits the transfer of reading ability from the native language (L1) to a second language (L2). This study, in which cognitive complexity of tasks and students' L2 proficiency levels vary, focuses on university students in France reading preprofessional English texts. (39…

  4. IMPROVING STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION BY USING MEDIA AT THE GRADE X3 OF SMA NEGERI I TAMBANG-KAMPAR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kurniawan Kurniawan

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available At the grade X3 of SMAN I Tambang, the researcher found that the students havelow reading comprehension. One of the factors was the students’ lack of vocabulary. Theaimed of this research was to identify whether media can better improve students’ readingcomprehension and to find out what factors can influence the improvement of students’reading comprehension at the tenth grade students of SMAN 1 Tambang. This research wasClassroom Action Research (CAR. It had been carried out since May to June 2011. It hadtwo cycles and consisted of four meetings in each cycles. The participants of this researchwere the students at class X3 of SMAN I Tambang. They consisted of 39 students. Theresearcher found that media can better improve students’ reading comprehension at the gradeX3 of SMA Negeri I Tambang-Kampar. In conclusion, media can help the students toimprove their reading comprehension. The finding of this research implies that the use ofmedia can be used to enhance the students’ reading comprehension in English reading class.Key Words: Improve, Reading Comprehension, Media, Pictures, and Video

  5. Home Parental Assistance for Underachieving Readers in Third Grade Using Read-at-Home Program Kits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izzo, Theresa Eleanor

    Sixty-four third-grade pupils who were underachieving in reading participated in a study to determine the effect of parental home instruction in reading. A four-cell experimental design was used with two treatment factors: programmed home reading instruction given by mothers trained to administer the program versus no instruction, and mother's…

  6. The Importance of Intrinsic Motivation for High and Low Ability Readers' Reading Comprehension Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Logan, Sarah; Medford, Emma; Hughes, Naomi

    2011-01-01

    The study examined how cognitive and motivational factors predicted reading skill and whether intrinsic reading motivation would explain significantly more variance in low ability readers' reading performance. One hundred and eleven children (aged 9-11) completed assessments of reading comprehension skill, verbal IQ, decoding skill and intrinsic…

  7. easyCBM® Reading Criterion Related Validity Evidence: Grades 2-5. Technical Report #1310

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Cheng-Fei; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

    2013-01-01

    In this technical report, we present the results of a study to gather criterion-related evidence for Grade 2-5 easyCBM® reading measures. We used correlations to examine the relation between the easyCBM® measures and other published measures with known reliability and validity evidence, including the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests and the Dynamic…

  8. Improving Grade One Students' Reading Motivation with Online Electronic Storybooks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciampa, Katia

    2012-01-01

    This qualitative study stemmed from a concern of the perceived decline in students' reading motivation after the early years of schooling. The current research explored eight grade 1 students' experiences with online electronic storybooks (eBooks). Eight students were given ten 25-minute sessions with the software programs over 15 weeks.…

  9. The Guidance Counselor and the Reading Curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ediger, Marlow

    There are many ways guidance counselors can help teachers achieve more optimal reading instruction. Counselors first may have to ascertain the kinds of problems faced by a student in learning to read. Assessing a student's ability to use picture clues to decipher words may be necessary with primary grade students. Knowledge about phonics, using…

  10. Inhibition and Updating, but Not Switching, Predict Developmental Dyslexia and Individual Variation in Reading Ability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caoilainn Doyle

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available To elucidate the core executive function profile (strengths and weaknesses in inhibition, updating, and switching associated with dyslexia, this study explored executive function in 27 children with dyslexia and 29 age matched controls using sensitive z-mean measures of each ability and controlled for individual differences in processing speed. This study found that developmental dyslexia is associated with inhibition and updating, but not switching impairments, at the error z-mean composite level, whilst controlling for processing speed. Inhibition and updating (but not switching error composites predicted both dyslexia likelihood and reading ability across the full range of variation from typical to atypical. The predictive relationships were such that those with poorer performance on inhibition and updating measures were significantly more likely to have a diagnosis of developmental dyslexia and also demonstrate poorer reading ability. These findings suggest that inhibition and updating abilities are associated with developmental dyslexia and predict reading ability. Future studies should explore executive function training as an intervention for children with dyslexia as core executive functions appear to be modifiable with training and may transfer to improved reading ability.

  11. P-2 Years Targeted to Achieve Grade 3 Reading Proficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gewertz, Catherine

    2011-01-01

    In a bid to help more students read proficiently in 3rd grade--a skill considered critical to their future educational success--new laws and initiatives springing up around the country require educators to step up their efforts to identify and help struggling readers even before they enter kindergarten. It's not unusual for states or school…

  12. Familial History of Reading Difficulty Is Associated with Diffused Bilateral Brain Activation during Reading and Greater Association with Visual Attention Abilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi

    2017-01-01

    Reading difficulty (RD; or dyslexia) is a heritable condition characterized by slow, inaccurate reading accompanied by executive dysfunction, specifically with respect to visual attention. The current study was designed to examine the effect of familial history of RD on the relationship between reading and visual attention abilities in children…

  13. Enhancing Reading Comprehension and Critical Thinking Skills of First Grade ESOL Students through the Use of Semantic Webbing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaufman, Madeline

    In response to low reading scores among first grade students of English as a Second Language (ESL) in one inner-city school, the teaching techniques of semantic webbing and brainstorming were used to improve student reading skills. Subjects were eight first grade ESL students. Pretests were administered to assess student levels of reading…

  14. Newspaper Reading among College Students in Development of Their Analytical Ability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Dinesh

    2009-01-01

    The study investigated the newspaper reading among college students in development of their analytical ability. Newspapers are one of the few sources of information that are comprehensive, interconnected and offered in one format. The main objective of the study was to find out the development of the analytical ability among college students by…

  15. Measured emotional intelligence ability and grade point average in nursing students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Codier, Estelle; Odell, Ellen

    2014-04-01

    For most schools of nursing, grade point average is the most important criteria for admission to nursing school and constitutes the main indicator of success throughout the nursing program. In the general research literature, the relationship between traditional measures of academic success, such as grade point average and postgraduation job performance is not well established. In both the general population and among practicing nurses, measured emotional intelligence ability correlates with both performance and other important professional indicators postgraduation. Little research exists comparing traditional measures of intelligence with measured emotional intelligence prior to graduation, and none in the student nurse population. This exploratory, descriptive, quantitative study was undertaken to explore the relationship between measured emotional intelligence ability and grade point average of first year nursing students. The study took place at a school of nursing at a university in the south central region of the United States. Participants included 72 undergraduate student nurse volunteers. Emotional intelligence was measured using the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, version 2, an instrument for quantifying emotional intelligence ability. Pre-admission grade point average was reported by the school records department. Total emotional intelligence (r=.24) scores and one subscore, experiential emotional intelligence(r=.25) correlated significantly (>.05) with grade point average. This exploratory, descriptive study provided evidence for some relationship between GPA and measured emotional intelligence ability, but also demonstrated lower than average range scores in several emotional intelligence scores. The relationship between pre-graduation measures of success and level of performance postgraduation deserves further exploration. The findings of this study suggest that research on the relationship between traditional and nontraditional

  16. Developmental Relations Between Reading Comprehension and Reading Strategies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Muijselaar, M.; Swart, N.M.; Steenbeek-Planting, E.G,.; Droop, M.; Verhoeven, L.; de Jong, P.F.

    2017-01-01

    We examined the developmental relations between knowledge of reading strategies and reading comprehension in a longitudinal study of 312 Dutch children from the beginning of fourth grade to the end of fifth grade. Measures for reading comprehension, reading strategies, reading fluency, vocabulary,

  17. Fostering Fifth Graders’ Reading Comprehension through the use of Intensive Reading in Physical Science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alethia Paola Bogoya González

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Reading comprehension in a content area needs to be seen from both the content and language perspectives. This paper examines the use of intensive reading, a strategy taken from the language teaching field, to help students improve their reading comprehension ability and develop understanding of science concepts. The study was carried out in a fifth grade class at a private bilingual institution of Bogotá. Reading was analyzed using a mixed-method approach that utilizes both qualitative and quantitative methods. The first method was done through students’ interviews, artefacts, and a teacher’s journal, and the second by means of two reading tests, Cloze and CARI, Content Area Reading Inventory Test. The statistical analysis shows that students improved their reading comprehension ability as their scores for the post-test were higher than those of the pre-test; this increment is statistically significant as p ≤ .05 when applying a t-test. The qualitative analysis shows that structured reading practices lead to the development of students’ cognitive processes. Overall, the results indicate that reading in sciences hould be seen as dynamic process that incorporates learners’ strategies in order to develop conceptual understanding.

  18. Progress Monitoring in Reading: Comparison of Weekly, Bimonthly, and Monthly Assessments for Students at Risk for Reading Difficulties in Grades 2-4

    Science.gov (United States)

    January, Stacy-Ann A.; Van Norman, Ethan R.; Christ, Theodore J.; Ardoin, Scott P.; Eckert, Tanya L.; White, Mary Jane

    2018-01-01

    The present study examined the utility of two progress monitoring assessment schedules (bimonthly and monthly) as alternatives to monitoring once weekly with curriculum-based measurement in reading (CBM-R). General education students (N = 93) in Grades 2-4 who were at risk for reading difficulties but not yet receiving special education services…

  19. CBM Maze-Scores as Indicators of Reading Level and Growth for Seventh-Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Siuman; Espin, Christine A.; Stevenson, Claire E.

    2018-01-01

    The technical adequacy of CBM maze-scores as indicators of reading level and growth for seventh-grade secondary-school students was examined. Participants were 452 Dutch students who completed weekly maze measures over a period of 23 weeks. Criterion measures were school level, dyslexia status, scores and growth on a standardized reading test.…

  20. An Experimental Study of Scheduling and Duration of "Tier 2" First-Grade Reading Intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denton, Carolyn A.; Cirino, Paul T.; Barth, Amy E.; Romain, Melissa; Vaughn, Sharon; Wexler, Jade; Francis, David J.; Fletcher, Jack M.

    2011-01-01

    This study compared the effects on reading outcomes of delivering supplemental, small-group intervention to first-grade students at risk for reading difficulties randomly assigned to one of three different treatment schedules: extended (4 sessions per week, 16 weeks; n = 66), concentrated (4 sessions per week, 8 weeks; n = 64), or distributed (2…

  1. TOEFL and IELTS as Measures of Academic Reading Ability: An Exploratory Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buell, James G.

    This paper discusses research conducted in the spring of 1991 that measured the relationship of reading subtest scores to teacher ratings of students' reading abilities. Sixty-eight advanced-level students in an intensive English program took an institutional version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and a specimen reading…

  2. Revisions of the Learning Mastery Systems for the Harper and Row Grades One and Two and the Macmillan Bank Street Grade One Reading Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maeder, Jacqueline; And Others

    The revisions on the Learning Mastery Systems (LMSs) for the Harper & Row grade-one and grade-two and the Macmillan Bank Street grade-one reading programs are outlined in this document. A rationale for the revisions is presented. An LMS is a set of materials and procedures prepared by the southwest Regional Laboratory (SWRL) as an…

  3. Predictors of Reading Skills for Kindergartners and First Grade Students in Spanish: A Longitudinal Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Young-Suk; Pallante, Daniel

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated predictors of word reading and reading comprehension skills using longitudinal data from Spanish-speaking kindergartners (N = 163) and first grade students (N = 305) from high SES families in Chile. Individual differences in letter-naming fluency and phonemic segmentation fluency, but not vocabulary, were positive…

  4. The Effects of Handwriting Instruction on Reading for Students in Grades 1 and 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stroik, Linda R.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental group comparison study using a repeated measures comparison group design with random assignment of subjects to groups was to investigate the effects of handwriting instruction on reading progress for learners in grade 1 and grade 2. At three points in time, the number of words each student read…

  5. Developmental relations between reading comprehension and reading strategies

    OpenAIRE

    Muijselaar, M.M.L.; Swart, N.M.; Steenbeek-Planting, E.G.; Droop, W.; Verhoeven, L.T.W.; Jong, P.F. de

    2017-01-01

    We examined the developmental relations between knowledge of reading strategies and reading comprehension in a longitudinal study of 312 Dutch children from the beginning of fourth grade to the end of fifth grade. Measures for reading comprehension, reading strategies, reading fluency, vocabulary, and working memory were administered. A structural equation model was constructed to estimate the unique relations between reading strategies and reading comprehension, while controlling for reading...

  6. Developmental changes in the role of different metalinguistic awareness skills in Chinese reading acquisition from preschool to third grade.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tong-Qi Wei

    Full Text Available The present study investigated the relationship between Chinese reading skills and metalinguistic awareness skills such as phonological, morphological, and orthographic awareness for 101 Preschool, 94 Grade-1, 98 Grade-2, and 98 Grade-3 children from two primary schools in Mainland China. The aim of the study was to examine how each of these metalinguistic awareness skills would exert their influence on the success of reading in Chinese with age. The results showed that all three metalinguistic awareness skills significantly predicted reading success. It further revealed that orthographic awareness played a dominant role in the early stages of reading acquisition, and its influence decreased with age, while the opposite was true for the contribution of morphological awareness. The results were in stark contrast with studies in English, where phonological awareness is typically shown as the single most potent metalinguistic awareness factor in literacy acquisition. In order to account for the current data, a three-stage model of reading acquisition in Chinese is discussed.

  7. Introducing Laptops to Children: An Examination of Ubiquitous Computing in Grade 3 Reading, Language, and Mathematics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernard, Robert M.; Bethel, Edward Clement; Abrami, Philip C.; Wade, C. Anne

    2007-01-01

    This study examines the achievement outcomes accompanying the implementation of a Grade 3 laptop or so-­called "ubiquitous computing" program in a Quebec school district. CAT­3 reading, language, and mathematics batteries were administered at the end of Grade 2 and again at the end of Grade 3, after the first year of computer…

  8. Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten through 3rd Grade. Educator's Practice Guide. NCEE 2016-4008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foorman, Barbara; Beyler, Nicholas; Borradaile, Kelley; Coyne, Michael; Denton, Carolyn A.; Dimino, Joseph; Furgeson, Joshua; Hayes, Lynda; Henke, Juliette; Justice, Laura; Keating, Betsy; Lewis, Warnick; Sattar, Samina; Streke, Andrei; Wagner, Richard; Wissel, Sarah

    2016-01-01

    The goal of this practice guide is to offer educators specific, evidence-based recommendations for teaching foundational reading skills to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. This guide is a companion to the existing practice guide, "Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade", and as a set, these guides…

  9. Investigating the Effectiveness of Inquiry-Based Instruction on Students with Different Prior Knowledge and Reading Abilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jing-Ru; Wang, Yuh-Chao; Tai, Hsin-Jung; Chen, Wen-Ju

    2010-01-01

    This study examined the differential impacts of an inquiry-based instruction on conceptual changes across levels of prior knowledge and reading ability. The instrument emphasized four simultaneously important components: conceptual knowledge, reading ability, attitude toward science, and learning environment. Although the learning patterns and…

  10. The Study of Potentials and Problems in Reading Faced By the Eighth Grade Students of Junior High School

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ida Ayu Made Istri Utami

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Knowing students’ problems, especially in reading, is very important to design an appropriate and meaningful learning. From the problem identification, teacher can find the potency of designing and developing material to meet students’ need. Therefore, this study was aimed to identify the potentials and problems toward reading lesson faced by the eighth grade students of Junior High School. This study was based on the result of classroom observation, document study, and also checklists. The identification of potency and problems through classroom observation was done to obtain data on how existing reading material was used in teaching reading on the classroom. There was also document study to evaluate existing reading material and syllabus used for teaching reading. Then, the data from the teacher and students had been gathered by administering checklists. From the result of the study, it can be identified that the problems faced by the eighth grade students of Junior High School in reading dealt with topic selection, pictures or illustration, and reading activities, while the potency was to develop new reading material by using those problems as consideration.

  11. Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son: Reading While Having Fun.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmes, Kerry

    2003-01-01

    This article describes how a first-grade teacher used poetry to provide students of diverse ability levels with reading and language activities that stimulated their interest and improved basic skills. Activities with poetry included reading the poems aloud individually and as a group, discussing and analyzing the poems' words and meanings, and…

  12. Reading New Environments: Students' Ability to Generalise Their Understanding between Different Ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magntorn, Ola; Hellden, Gustav

    2007-01-01

    This paper is based on a study of how students' read nature in different ecosystems. Its focus is on ecology and the context is outdoors. This literacy has to do with an ability to recognise organisms and relate them to material cycling and energy flow in the specific habitat that is to be read. A teaching sequence was designed in order to develop…

  13. Reading ability with pseudophakic monovision and with refractive multifocal intraocular lenses: comparative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ito, Misae; Shimizu, Kimiya

    2009-09-01

    To the compare the reading ability after bilateral cataract surgery in patients who had pseudophakic monovision achieved by monofocal intraocular lens (IOL) implantation and patients who had refractive multifocal IOL implantation. Department of Ophthalmology, Kitasato University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan. This study evaluated patients who had bilateral cataract surgery using the monovision method with monofocal IOL implantation to correct presbyopia (monovision group) or who had bilateral cataract surgery with refractive multifocal IOL implantation (multifocal group). In the monovision group, the dominant eye was corrected for distance vision and the nondominant eye for near vision. The maximum reading speed, critical character size, and reading acuity were measured binocularly without refractive correction using MNREAD-J acuity charts. The monovision group comprised 38 patients and the multifocal group, 22 patients. The mean maximum reading speed was 350.5 characters per minute (cpm) +/- 62.3 (SD) in the monovision group and 355.0 +/- 53.3 cpm in the multifocal group; the difference was not statistically significant. The mean critical character size was 0.24 +/- 0.12 logMAR and 0.40 +/- 0.16 logMAR, respectively (P<.05). The mean reading acuity was 0.05 +/- 0.12 logMAR and 0.19 +/- 0.11 logMAR, respectively (P<.01). The monovision group had better critical character size and reading acuity results. The monovision method group had better reading ability; however, careful patient selection is essential.

  14. Evaluation of the iPad as a low vision aid for improving reading ability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haji SA

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Shamim A Haji, Kumar Sambhav, Sandeep Grover, Kakarla V Chalam Department of Ophthalmology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL, USA Purpose: To evaluate the effect of the iPad as a low vision aid in improving the reading ability of low vision patients (LVPs. Methods: In this study, 228 consecutive patients that came for their routine eye care examination at the University of Florida, Jacksonville eye clinic, were enrolled. Patients met inclusion criteria if they had best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA of 20/100 or worse in the best corrected eye and were willing to participate in the study. The patient’s reading ability was assessed both with the patient’s own spectacles and an iPad. Patients were encouraged to enlarge the reading material as well as change the contrast until they could read comfortably. The number of patients able to read the text comfortably was recorded. Results: Out of the total 228 participants who qualified, 103 (45% were male and 125 (55% were female. Only 22% could read standard newsprint-sized text (N8 without the help of an iPad. With the help of an iPad, 94% participants with impaired vision were able to read standard newsprint-sized text (N8 or smaller text (P<0.01. Conclusion: The iPad, a new portable electronic media device, can be adapted by LVPs to improve their reading ability. Keywords: low vision devices, low vision patient, LVP, iPad

  15. Extensive Reading for Second Language Learners of Japanese in Higher Education: Graded Readers and Beyond

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakano, Teiko

    2016-01-01

    This paper reports on the implementation of Japanese extensive reading with international students studying at a Japanese university using graded readers (GRs). GRs chosen for the present study were simplified versions of original Japanese literature and were used to support students in acquiring a top-down reading strategy, a wide range of…

  16. The relationship between component skills, reading experience, and reading comprehension in Danish 3rd graders

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rønberg, Louise Flensted-Jensen; Petersen, Dorthe Klint

    data sets were obtained from 179 Danish Grade 3 pupils. Participants were given a standard reading comprehension test requiring multiple-choice answers to six different texts of various length and type. Orthographic and phonological coding, as well as non-verbal problem solving were assessed by means......Purpose The main aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of aspects of vocabulary, word reading abilities, and reading experience to reading comprehension, and to analyse sub-samples of students with comprehension difficulties. Method The study employed a cross-sectional design. Full......: path, street, road, river). Results Data analyses showed that in the entire sample, skills of semantic lexical structuring and reading experience made strong contributions to reading comprehension. Analyses of the pupils below the 25%-percentile in reading comprehension revealed that for the vast...

  17. Teachers' Perceptions of Developmentally Appropriate Practices in Teaching Reading and Writing for First Grade Students in Kuwait

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Dhafir, Mohammad

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to examine the Kuwaiti first grade teachers' perceptions of developmentally appropriate practices in teaching reading and writing. To achieve the research purpose, a questionnaire was developed and administrated to 167 first grade teachers. Results revealed that first grade teachers hold moderate agreement towards…

  18. Lessons learnt: Observation of Grade 4 reading comprehension teaching in South African schools across the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2006 achievement spectrum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Zimmerman

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The evidence of the huge challenges of literacy development faced by South African learners is primarily gleaned from the results of learners’ external assessments. There is little research which explores, in-depth, the strategies used by teachers to teach reading literacy and reading comprehension specifically. Questions remain about what is going wrong and, most importantly,what can be changed to rectify the poor outcomes of learners. To gain insight into the poor achievement of Grade 4 learners, in South Africa in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2006, six case studies were undertaken. Each school case had a different class average achievement profile ranging from low to high on the PIRLS achievement scale.This article presents findings from the observation of Grade 4 reading comprehension lessons in six schools. The comparison of observations of teaching practices aligned to higher achieving schools, against those of lower performing schools, indicates the discrepancies in the quality of teaching reading comprehension across the schools, and reveals potential foci for teacher development. The value of comparative lesson observation for these purposes is highlighted.

  19. Ability Of Mathematical Reasoning in SMK 10th Grade with LAPS- Heuristic using Performance Assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aulia Nur Arivina

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The purposes of this research are: (1 Test the learning with LAPS-Heuristic model using performance assessment on 10th grade of Trigonometry material is complete, (2 to test the difference of students' mathematical reasoning ability on 10th grade of Trigonometry material between the learning model of LAPS-Heuristic using performance assessment, LAPS-Heuristic learning model with Expository learning model, (3 test the ability of mathematical reasoning with learning model of LAPS-Heuristik on Trigonometry material of SMK on 10th grade using performance assessment is increase. This is a quantitative research. The population is students of 10th grade of SMK 10 Semarang academic year 2016/2017 and the subject of research is selected by clustering random sampling. The results show that (1 Learning by model LAPS-Heuristic using performance assessment on 10th grade of Trigonometry material is complete (2 there are differences in students' mathematical reasoning ability on 10th grade of Trigonometry materials between LAPS-Heuristic learning model using performance assessment, LAPS-Heuristic learning model, and Expository learning model, (3 The ability of mathematical reasoning with learning model of LAPS-Heuristic on Trigonometry material of SMK class X using performance assessment increased.

  20. Is there a relationship between literature reading and creative writing?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Broekkamp, H.; Janssen, T.; van den Bergh, H.

    2009-01-01

    This study attempts to reliably measure literature reading and creative writing ability, and subsequently to determine whether a relationship exists between the two abilities. Participants were 19 eleventh-grade students: 11 were known to be good readers of literature, whereas 8 were known to be

  1. The Effect of Interest in Reading on Mastery of English Vocabulary with Fifth Grade Elementary Students

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    Herlina Herlina

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this research is to find out whether there was a positive relationship between students’ interest in reading and their mastery of English vocabulary for fifth grade elementary school students at the lab school in Jakarta. This research used a quantitative method applying a co-relational approach. The population for this research was fifth grade elementary school students from three lab schools. A simple random sampling was used to select a sample of 60 students as respondents from these schools: Lab school Rawamangun in East Jakarta, Lab school Setia Budi in South Jakarta and Lab school Kebayoran also in South Jakarta. Data was collected using a questionnaire with 30 questions requiring answers on a Likert scale and 32 test items were given to each respondent. The conclusion from this research is that there was a positive and significant relationship between interest in reading and mastery of English vocabulary amongst the sample fifth grade elementary school students from these lab schools in Jakarta. Hence, students who had high interest in reading, their mastery of English vocabulary also increased.

  2. Diabetic retinopathy screening: can the viewing monitor influence the reading and grading outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ting, D S W; Tay-Kearney, M L; Vignarajan, J; Kanagasingam, Y

    2012-12-01

    To evaluate the accuracy of different viewing monitors for image reading and grading of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Single-centre, experimental case series-evaluation of reading devices for DR screening. A total of 100 sets of three-field (optic disc, macula, and temporal views) colour retinal still images (50 normal and 50 with DR) captured by FF 450 plus (Carl Zeiss) were interpreted on 27-inch iMac, 15-inch MacBook Pro, and 9.7-inch iPad. All images were interpreted by a retinal specialist and a medical officer. We calculated the sensitivity and specificity of 15-inch MacBook Pro and 9.7-inch iPad in detection of DR signs and grades with reference to the reading outcomes obtained using a 27-inch iMac reading monitor. In detection of any grade of DR, the 15-inch MacBook Pro had sensitivity and specificity of 96% (95% confidence interval (CI): 85.1-99.3) and 96% (95% CI: 85.1-99.3), respectively, for retinal specialist and 91.5% (95% CI: 78.7-97.2) and 94.3% (95% CI: 83.3-98.5), respectively, for medical officer, whereas for 9.7-inch iPad, they were 91.8% (95% CI: 79.5-97.4) and 94.1% (95% CI: 82.8-98.5), respectively, for retinal specialist and 91.3% (95% CI: 78.3-97.1) and 92.6% (95% CI: 81.3-97.6), respectively, for medical officer. The 15-inch MacBook Pro and 9.7-inch iPad had excellent sensitivity and specificity in detecting DR and hence, both screen sizes can be utilized to effectively interpret colour retinal still images for DR remotely in a routine, mobile or tele-ophthalmology setting. Future studies could explore the use of more economical devices with smaller viewing resolutions to reduce cost implementation of DR screening services.

  3. Overlapping neural circuitry for narrative comprehension and proficient reading in children and adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi; Vannest, Jennifer J; Holland, Scott K

    2013-11-01

    Narrative comprehension is a perinatal linguistic ability which is more intuitive than reading activity. Whether there are specific shared brain regions for narrative comprehension and reading that are tuned to reading proficiency, even before reading is acquired, is the question of the current study. We acquired fMRI data during a narrative comprehension task at two age points, when children are age 5-7 (K-2nd grade) and later when the same children were age 11 (5th-7th grade). We then examined correlations between this fMRI data and reading and reading comprehension scores from the same children at age 11. We found that greater frontal and supramarginal gyrus (BA 40) activation in narrative comprehension at the age of 5-7 years old was associated with better word reading and reading comprehension scores at the age of 11. A shift towards temporal and occipital activation was found when correlating their narrative comprehension functional data at age 11, with reading scores at the same age point. We suggest that increased reliance on executive functions and auditory-visual networks when listening to stories before reading is acquired, facilitates reading proficiency in older age and may be a biomarker for future reading ability. Children, who rely on use of imagination/visualization as well as auditory processing for narrative comprehension when they reach age 11, also show greater reading abilities. Understanding concordant neural pathways supporting auditory narrative and reading comprehension might be guide for development of effective tools for reading intervention programs. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  4. The Generic Structure Potential of Science Nonfiction Selections in Four Basal Reading Series, Grades One and Two

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anthony, Angela Beckman

    2009-01-01

    Basal reading series are used in a majority of classrooms in the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency of fiction and nonfiction genres included in four recently published first and second grade basal reading series and to compare the frequencies to studies of older basal reading series. Based on the work of…

  5. VISION AND READING ABILITY.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MANGRUM, CHARLES T.

    SIGNIFICANT RESEARCH ON THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF VISION AND READING DISABILITY IS SURVEYED. CONCLUSIONS BASED ON THE LITERATURE IN THE FIELD ARE DISCUSSED. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF 70 REFERENCES AND A GLOSSARY OF TERMS ARE APPENDED. A TABLE SUMMARIZING REFRACTIVE ERRORS AND EYE DEFECTS CONTRIBUTING TO READING DISABILITY IS INCLUDED.…

  6. Imitated prosodic fluency predicts reading comprehension ability in good and poor high school readers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mara Breen

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Researchers have established a relationship between beginning readers’ silent comprehension ability and their prosodic fluency, such that readers who read aloud with appropriate prosody tend to have higher scores on silent reading comprehension assessments. The current study was designed to investigate this relationship in two groups of high school readers: Specifically Poor Comprehenders (SPCs, who have adequate word level and phonological skills but poor reading comprehension ability, and a group of age- and decoding skill-matched controls. We compared the prosodic fluency of the two groups by determining how effectively they produced prosodic cues to syntactic and semantic structure in imitations of a model speaker’s production of syntactically and semantically varied sentences. Analyses of pitch and duration patterns revealed that speakers in both groups produced the expected prosodic patterns; however, controls provided stronger durational cues to syntactic structure. These results demonstrate that the relationship between prosodic fluency and reading comprehension continues past the stage of early reading instruction. Moreover, they suggest that prosodically fluent speakers may also generate more fluent implicit prosodic representations during silent reading, leading to more effective comprehension.

  7. Rhythm perception and production predict reading abilities in developmental dyslexia

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    Elena eFlaugnacco

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Rhythm organizes events in time and plays a major role in music, but also in the phonology and prosody of a language. Interestingly, children with developmental dyslexia - a learning disability that affects reading acquisition despite normal intelligence and adequate education - have a poor rhythmic perception. It has been suggested that an accurate perception of rhythmical/metrical structure, that requires accurate perception of rise time, may be critical for phonological development and subsequent literacy. This hypothesis is mostly based on results showing a high degree of correlation between phonological awareness and metrical skills, using a very specific metrical task. We present new findings from the analysis of a sample of 48 children with a diagnosis of dyslexia, without comorbidities. These children were assessed with neuropsychological tests, as well as specifically-devised psychoacoustic and musical tasks mostly testing temporal abilities. Associations were tested by multivariate analyses including data mining strategies, correlations and most importantly logistic regressions to understand to what extent the different auditory and musical skills can be a robust predictor of reading and phonological skills. Results show a strong link between several temporal skills and phonological and reading abilities. These findings are discussed in the framework of the neuroscience literature comparing music and language processing, with a particular interest in the links between rhythm processing in music and language.

  8. Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Associated with Reading Ability Show Connection to Socio-Economic Outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luciano, Michelle; Hagenaars, Saskia P; Cox, Simon R; Hill, William David; Davies, Gail; Harris, Sarah E; Deary, Ian J; Evans, David M; Martin, Nicholas G; Wright, Margaret J; Bates, Timothy C

    2017-09-01

    Impairments in reading and in language have negative consequences on life outcomes, but it is not known to what extent genetic effects influence this association. We constructed polygenic scores for difficulties with language and learning to read from genome-wide data in ~6,600 children, adolescents and young adults, and tested their association with health, socioeconomic outcomes and brain structure measures collected in adults (maximal N = 111,749). Polygenic risk of reading difficulties was associated with reduced income, educational attainment, self-rated health and verbal-numerical reasoning (p intelligence) and 0.70 (educational attainment) with reading ability. Mendelian randomization approaches will be important to dissociate any causal and moderating effects of reading and related traits on social outcomes.

  9. The Structure of an Early Reading Test in Grade 1: In Search of a Relationship with Reading in Spanish

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lara, Monica

    2010-01-01

    This study examined the "Tejas LEE or El Inventario de Lectura en Espanol de Tejas" (Grade 1) to determine if a relationship existed between reading comprehension in Spanish and the tested skills on the diagnostic assessment. This quantitative research design evaluated the psychometric characteristics of the Tejas LEE and followed customary…

  10. The Development of the easyCBM CCSS Reading Assessments: Grade 3. Technical Report #1221

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alonzo, Julie; Park, Bitnara Jasmine; Tindal, Gerald

    2012-01-01

    In this technical report, we document the development and piloting of easyCBM reading measures aligned to the Common Core State Standards, designed for use in screening students at risk for reading difficulty and monitoring their progress as they develop reading skills. The measures, which assess students' ability to respond to…

  11. Effects of Phonological Training on the Reading and Reading-Related Abilities of Hong Kong Children with Dyslexia

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    Li-Chih Wang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to investigate phonological awareness training by examining outcomes among Chinese children who learn Chinese without phonetic system training. Fifty-six Hong Kong children from the 3rd to 6th grades were recruited. Two-thirds of the children had been officially identified as dyslexic by the local government, and the remainder were considered high risk for dyslexia. The children were divided equally into a control group and an experimental group, with the groups matched as closely as possible by age and gender. Children in the experimental group were trained by onset-rime-level phonological training. The training lasted ~3 weeks, with 15 daily sessions lasting ~20 min each. Our results indicated that children in the experimental group made significant improvements in Chinese character reading, onset awareness, rime awareness, and rapid naming after training. The association between phonological awareness and Chinese character reading, especially the association between rime awareness and Chinese character reading, also changed after training. The benefits of phonological awareness training were more obvious for children younger than 10 years old. The results of the present study can be extended to provide another approach to Chinese learning for children suffering from reading difficulties who are not responding to the usual approach in their region.

  12. Improving reading and writing learning in underprivileged pluri-ethnic settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armand, Françoise; Lefrançois, Pascale; Baron, Agnès; Gomez, Maria-Cécilia; Nuckle, Sylvie

    2004-09-01

    Many studies carried out in first language contexts tend to demonstrate the positive effects of activity programmes aimed at (1) developing metaphonological abilities and (2) developing language skills through active story listening on learning to read and to spell by first-grade students. This study seeks to extend previous findings by (a) including children, the majority of whom have French as a second language, who attend plurilingual schools and have not been included in previous studies, and (b) providing training based on three essential principles shared by the two kinds of programmes: integrating activities into realistic literacy practice contexts; encouraging active student participation through tasks which very often require problem solving; and tackling, one after the other, different kinds of operations or strategies. Three groups of students were created out a pool of 202 children enrolled in nine first-grade classes in three underprivileged pluri-ethnic schools. The control group was composed of 46 students who received typical, first-grade methods for teaching reading and spelling. Experimental group 1 (DMPA), 91 students, received a training programme aimed at metaphonological abilities development. Experimental group 2 (DLS), 65 students, received a training intended to develop language skills through active story listening and production. The students from the three groups were evaluated at the beginning (metaphonological task I, pre-reading task) and at the end (metaphonological task II, word recognition task, text comprehension task, word spelling task) of their first year in elementary school. The programme for the development of metaphonological abilities enabled DMPA group students to obtain significantly higher scores than the control group on metaphonological task II and word recognition task. The DMPA group children also did significantly better than the control and the DLS groups on the word spelling task. However, the DLS group, who

  13. Improving Second Grade Student's Reading Fluency and Comprehension Using Teacher-Guided iPad® App Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redcay, Jessica D.; Preston, Sean M.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: This study aims to examine the differences in second grade students' reading fluency and comprehension scores when using varying levels of teacher-guided iPad® app instruction to determine effective reading practices. Design/methodology/approach: This study reports the results of the quasi-experimental pre-post study by providing…

  14. In-the-Moment Teaching Decisions in Primary Grade Reading: The Role of Context and Teacher Knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffith, Robin; Bauml, Michelle; Barksdale, Bonnie

    2015-01-01

    This study provides insight into the in-the-moment teaching decisions made during reading instruction in the primary grades. Eight exemplary teachers of reading drew upon pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge to make these in-the-moment decisions. Findings indicate the focus of teachers' in-the-moment decisions varied depending…

  15. Associations between Preschool Language and First Grade Reading Outcomes in Bilingual Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davison, Megan Dunn; Hammer, Carol; Lawrence, Frank R.

    2011-01-01

    It is well established that monolingual preschoolers' oral language development (vocabulary and oral comprehension) contributes to their later reading abilities; however, less is known about this relationship in bilingual populations where children are developing knowledge of two languages. It may be that children's abilities in one language do…

  16. Investigation And Comparison of Fifth Grade Elementary Student’s Reading Skills with Severe Hearing Loss and Hearing in Tehran

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    Mohammad Razaei

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Since the written language is based on spoken language, hearing impairments may cause delays and defects in reading skills. This study is aimed to investigate reading problems in children with hearing loss and comparison of reading skills of fifth-grade elementary students’ reading skills suffering severe hearing loss. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional comparative study, 16 children with hearing loss were selected based on inclusion criteria from the whole fifth-grade elementary students with severe hearing loss in the Baghcheban schools and compared with 16 normal children matched upon the grade with sample group. To gather the data, Reading Test in elementary students was used as well as SPSS for data analysis. Results: Results showed children with hearing loss performed similarly as the control group on some skills, including naming speed skills (P=0.385, auditory-verbal sounds (reverse memory (P=0.345, visual-verbal pictures memory (P=1, phonological deletion (P=0.817 and nonword reading accuracy (P=0.633, however, they had poorer functions in the other domains. Conclusion: According to the result, it is concluded that auditory processing plays the key role in all prerequisite reading skills and children with hearing loss performed poorly on tasks based on auditory and language processing, whereas, the same perform on visual-processing-base tasks to normal children.

  17. Writing System Modulates the Association between Sensitivity to Acoustic Cues in Music and Reading Ability: Evidence from Chinese–English Bilingual Children

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    Juan Zhang

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Music and language share many attributes and a large body of evidence shows that sensitivity to acoustic cues in music is positively related to language development and even subsequent reading acquisition. However, such association was mainly found in alphabetic languages. What remains unclear is whether sensitivity to acoustic cues in music is associated with reading in Chinese, a morphosyllabic language. The present study aimed to answer this question by measuring music (i.e., musical metric perception and pitch discrimination, language (i.e., phonological awareness, lexical tone sensitivity, and reading abilities (i.e., word recognition among 54 third-grade Chinese–English bilingual children. After controlling for age and non-verbal intelligence, we found that both musical metric perception and pitch discrimination accounted for unique variance of Chinese phonological awareness while pitch discrimination rather than musical metric perception predicted Chinese lexical tone sensitivity. More importantly, neither musical metric perception nor pitch discrimination was associated with Chinese reading. As for English, musical metric perception and pitch discrimination were correlated with both English phonological awareness and English reading. Furthermore, sensitivity to acoustic cues in music was associated with English reading through the mediation of English phonological awareness. The current findings indicate that the association between sensitivity to acoustic cues in music and reading may be modulated by writing systems. In Chinese, the mapping between orthography and phonology is not as transparent as in alphabetic languages such as English. Thus, this opaque mapping may alter the auditory perceptual sensitivity in music to Chinese reading.

  18. Shallow and deep orthographies in Hebrew: the role of vowelization in reading development for unvowelized scripts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiff, Rachel

    2012-12-01

    The present study explored the speed, accuracy, and reading comprehension of vowelized versus unvowelized scripts among 126 native Hebrew speaking children in second, fourth, and sixth grades. Findings indicated that second graders read and comprehended vowelized scripts significantly more accurately and more quickly than unvowelized scripts, whereas among fourth and sixth graders reading of unvowelized scripts developed to a greater degree than the reading of vowelized scripts. An analysis of the mediation effect for children's mastery of vowelized reading speed and accuracy on their mastery of unvowelized reading speed and comprehension revealed that in second grade, reading accuracy of vowelized words mediated the reading speed and comprehension of unvowelized scripts. In the fourth grade, accuracy in reading both vowelized and unvowelized words mediated the reading speed and comprehension of unvowelized scripts. By sixth grade, accuracy in reading vowelized words offered no mediating effect, either on reading speed or comprehension of unvowelized scripts. The current outcomes thus suggest that young Hebrew readers undergo a scaffolding process, where vowelization serves as the foundation for building initial reading abilities and is essential for successful and meaningful decoding of unvowelized scripts.

  19. Examining Reliability of Reading Comprehension Ratings of Fifth Grade Students' Oral Retellings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernfeld, L. Elizabeth Shirley; Morrison, Timothy G.; Sudweeks, Richard R.; Wilcox, Brad

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to rate oral retellings of fifth graders to determine how passages, raters, and rating occasions affect those ratings, and to identify what combination of those elements produce reliable retelling ratings. A group of 36 fifth grade students read and orally retold three contemporary realistic fiction passages. Two…

  20. A comparative study between clinical grading of anterior chamber flare and flare reading using the Kowa laser flare meter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konstantopoulou, Kallirroi; Del'Omo, Roberto; Morley, Anne M; Karagiannis, Dimitris; Bunce, Catey; Pavesio, Carlos

    2015-10-01

    To assess the accuracy of standard clinical grading of aqueous flare in uveitis according to the Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature consensus, and compare the results with the readings of the laser flare meter, Kowa 500. Two examiners clinically graded the flare in 110 eyes. The flare was then measured using the Kowa laser flare meter. Twenty-nine eyes were graded as anterior chamber flare +2; for 18 of these, the clinicians were in agreement, the rest differed by the order of one grade. The range of the laser flare meter for these eyes was 5.2-899.1 photons/ms. The median value was 41.4. Seventy-four eyes were graded with flare +1. Agreement was established in 51 of these eyes. Disagreement for the rest was again by the order of 1, and the flare meter range was 1.1-169.9 photons/ms, median value 18.4. For the clinical measure of flare 0, the clinicians disagreed on three out of five eyes. The flare meter readings ranged from 2.5 to 14.1 photons/ms, median value 9.9. Only two eyes were graded with flare +3 and there was one step disagreement on both of them. We found little evidence of association between the flare readings and intraocular pressure or age. Our findings suggest that clinical evaluation of aqueous flare is subjective. Compared with the Kowa laser flare meter's numeric readings, the discrepancies observed indicate that clinical grading is an approximate science. The laser flare meter provides an accurate, reproducible, non-invasive assessment of aqueous flare that can prove valuable in research and clinical decisions.

  1. The Structure of Phonological Processing and Its Relationship to Basic Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Jason M.; Lindstrom, Jennifer H.; Lindstrom, Will; Denis, Daniel

    2012-01-01

    We investigated various structural models of phonological processing and the relationship of phonological processing abilities to basic reading. Data were collected on 116 kindergarten and first grade students. The specific ability model, which included phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid automatized naming as separate…

  2. A Case Study of the Impact of Guided Reading Groups in Second Grade on Comprehension Improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorent Deegan, Chanin E.

    2010-01-01

    This study combined both qualitative and quantitative research to determine the impact of instructional practices on comprehension improvement in second grade Guided Reading groups. Four second grade teachers and their 73 students ages seven through eight years old participated in this study. Additionally, the study examined the effects of Guided…

  3. WWC Review of the Report "The Impact of Collaborative Strategic Reading on the Reading Comprehension of Grade 5 Students in Linguistically Diverse Schools." What Works Clearinghouse Single Study Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    What Works Clearinghouse, 2013

    2013-01-01

    The study reviewed in this paper examined the impact of "Collaborative Strategic Reading" ("CSR"), a set of instructional strategies used to build reading proficiency, on the reading comprehension of fifth-grade students. The analysis included 1,355 students from 74 social studies classrooms within 26 linguistically diverse…

  4. Beyond the usual cognitive suspects: The importance of speechreading and audiovisual temporal sensitivity in reading ability

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Francisco, A.A.; Groen, M.A.; Jesse, A.; McQueen, J.M.

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to clarify whether audiovisual processing accounted for variance in reading and reading-related abilities, beyond the effect of a set of measures typically associated with individual differences in both reading and audiovisual processing. Testing adults with and without a

  5. The Effect of Departmentalization on the Reading Achievement of Sixth-Grade Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Mary B.

    A study examined whether departmentalization affected the reading achievement of sixth-grade students attending a Chicago public school. A random sample of 30 students was chosen from a group of 53 who received instruction in a departmentalized program. A second random sample of 30 was selected from a total of 54 students who received instruction…

  6. READING PERFORMANCE OF ELEMENTARY STUDENT TEACHERS IN A DEVELOPING INSTITUTION.

    Science.gov (United States)

    ADAMS, EFFIE KAYE

    A STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AT BISHOP COLLEGE, DALLAS, TEXAS, TO EXAMINE THE READING NEEDS OF PROSPECTIVE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS. SCORES ON THE NELSON DENNY READING TESTS, ADVANCED FORM A, ON THE OTIS QUICK SCORING TESTS OF MENTAL ABILITY, GAMMA FORM BM, AND GRADE POINT AVERAGES COVERING 4 YEARS OF COLLEGE WORK WERE ANALYZED FOR 29 NEGRO ELEMENTARY STUDENT…

  7. Early phonological skills as a predictor of reading acquisition: a follow-up study from kindergarten to the middle of grade 2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sprugevica, Ieva; Høien, Torleiv

    2003-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the power of early measures of phonological skills (phonemic awareness, rapid naming, short-term memory) in predicting later reading skills at various points of time. About 70 children were followed from the end of kindergarten to the middle of grade 2. Correlation analyses were performed as well as a linear growth curve analyses. In the traditional regression analysis, phonemic awareness in kindergarten explained about 27% of the variance in word reading six months later and about 9.5% of the variance at the end of grade 1. Even when prior level of reading skill was included in the predictive equation, a significant amount of variance was still explained by phonemic awareness. The other predictor variables did not explain any variance in word reading, and phonemic awareness did not predict any variance in reading skills in grade 2. When using sentence reading as the dependent variable, phonemic awareness explained about 16% of unique variance after six months, and about 13% of the variance in the middle of grade 2. Similarly, when employing growth curve analysis, phonemic awareness was the only phonological factor that accounted for significant variance in the word reading slope, explaining about 25% of its variance, whereas naming and short-term memory did not explain any unique variance. The lack of predictive power of phonemic awareness on the sentence b-slope is assumed to be caused by unreliable sentence scores in kindergarten.

  8. Semantic Categorization and Reading Skill across Dutch Primary Grades: Development Yes, Relationship No

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gijsel, Martine A. R.; Ormel, Ellen A.; Hermans, Daan; Verhoeven, L.; Bosman, Anna M. T.

    2011-01-01

    In the present study, the development of semantic categorization and its relationship with reading was investigated across Dutch primary grade students. Three Exemplar-level tasks (Experiment 1) and two Superordinate-level tasks (Experiment 2) with different types of distracters (phonological, semantic and perceptual) were administered to assess…

  9. Examining Predictive Validity of Oral Reading Fluency Slope in Upper Elementary Grades Using Quantile Regression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Eunsoo; Capin, Philip; Roberts, Greg; Vaughn, Sharon

    2017-07-01

    Within multitiered instructional delivery models, progress monitoring is a key mechanism for determining whether a child demonstrates an adequate response to instruction. One measure commonly used to monitor the reading progress of students is oral reading fluency (ORF). This study examined the extent to which ORF slope predicts reading comprehension outcomes for fifth-grade struggling readers ( n = 102) participating in an intensive reading intervention. Quantile regression models showed that ORF slope significantly predicted performance on a sentence-level fluency and comprehension assessment, regardless of the students' reading skills, controlling for initial ORF performance. However, ORF slope was differentially predictive of a passage-level comprehension assessment based on students' reading skills when controlling for initial ORF status. Results showed that ORF explained unique variance for struggling readers whose posttest performance was at the upper quantiles at the end of the reading intervention, but slope was not a significant predictor of passage-level comprehension for students whose reading problems were the most difficult to remediate.

  10. Fifth-Grade Turkish Elementary School Students' Listening and Reading Comprehension Levels with Regard to Text Types

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yildirim, Kasim; Yildiz, Mustafa; Ates, Seyit; Rasinski, Timothy

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine fifth grade elementary school students' listening and reading comprehension levels with regard to text types. This study was conducted on 180 fifth grade elementary school students in Sincan-Ankara in the spring semester of the academic year 2008-2009. The comprehension test was administered to students. The…

  11. Functional Grammar and Teaching of Reading--A Pedagogy Based on Graded Teaching of College English in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Tuo; Zhang, Beili

    2015-01-01

    This article discusses the importance of functional grammar and demonstrates its application to the teaching of reading among graded college students. Functional grammar holds that a discourse is composed of two levels: the interior level and the exterior level. Therefore, reading activities involve both linguistic elements and contexts.…

  12. ICANREAD: The Effects of an Online Reading Program on Grade 1 Students' Engagement and Comprehension Strategy Use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciampa, Katia

    2012-01-01

    This pilot study explores the impact of online electronic storybooks (e-books) on the reading motivation and listening comprehension of six grade 1 students (aged 7 years) from Ontario, Canada. The researcher measured participants' perceived enjoyment of the online e-book reading experience using standardized listening comprehension tests,…

  13. Genre Analysis On Reading Passages Grade VII English Textbooks

    OpenAIRE

    Sukma, Ardini Nur

    2010-01-01

    Referring to the latest curriculum, School-Based Curriculum, every English textbook should provide genres based on the level of literacy of each grade. On this paper, I analyzed English textbooks published by Erlangga ?óÔé¼ÔÇ£ English on Sky (EOS), and by Pakar Raya -- Let?óÔé¼Ôäós Talk. This paper focuses on how are the reading passages of the textbooks compatible with ?óÔé¼?ôStandard Isi?óÔé¼?Ø?. Coinciding with the statement of the problems, the objectives of this paper are to describe the...

  14. An Exploratory Study Examining the Influence of the Number of Reading Methods Courses on Pre-Service and In-Service Teacher Perceptions of Ability to Teach Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Sarah

    2016-01-01

    Teacher education programmes (TEPs) are left with limited research on how the coursework they provide influences the perceptions teachers have about their ability to teach young children how to read--especially over the long term. The purpose of this study was to compare how teacher candidates rate their ability to teach reading at the conclusion…

  15. The Implementation of Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC Method in Teaching Narrative Text to Improve Students’ Reading Comprehension at the Eleventh Grade Students of MAN 2 Model Makassar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darmayanti Darmayanti

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available This study is aimed to improve the reading comprehension of eleventh grade students at MAN 2 Model Makassar by using CIRC Method. CIRC Method is chosen to practice the communication in the target language. The research problems are: (1. Does the use of CIRC method improve reading comprehension of the eleventh grade students of MAN 2 Model Makassar? (2. Are the students interested in teaching Narrative text through CIRC method of the eleventh grade students of MAN 2 Model Makassar? The objectives of the research were (1 to find out whether or not the use of CIRC method can improve reading comprehension of the eleventh grade students of MAN 2 Model Makassar. (2 to find out the students’ interest toward teaching Narrative text through CIRC method. The research applied Quasi-experimental Design. The population of the research was the Eleventh Grade students of MAN 2 Model Makassar in academic year 2013/2014. The sample was IPS 2 as Experimental Group consisting of 33 students and IPA 2 as Control Group consisting of 37 students, with the total sample 70 students. The researcher used Cluster Random Sampling, two classes of the eleventh grade of MAN 2 Model Makassar were took as the experimental class and the control class. The experimental class taught by using CIRC Method while the control class taught by conventional learning method. The data were collected through reading tests namely Pre test and Post test, that were analyzed by using SPSS 20.0 version. The result of the data showed that there was significant difference between the students’ score who were taught CIRC method and non CIRC method. It proven by the mean score of the experimental group that was higher than control group in the post test. The result of the test indicated that using CIRC method significantly improved the students’ reading comprehension. Then, the questionnaires were analyzed by using Likert Scale that showed the students were interested in learning English

  16. [Preserved ability to read aloud kanji idioms in left handed alexia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzuki, Taemi; Suzuki, Kyoko; Iizuka, Osamu; Endo, Keiko; Yamadori, Atushi; Mori, Eturou

    2004-08-01

    We report a 69-year-old left-handed man, who developed alexia after a right medial occipito-temporal lobe infarction. On admission to the rehabilitation department two months after the onset, neurological examination showed left hemianopia, left hemiparesis, decreased deep sensation on the left side, and alexia. A brain MRI demonstrated infarcts in the right medial occipito-temporal lobe and the splenium of the corpus callosum. Detailed neuropsychological examination was performed two months after the onset. The patient was alert and cooperative. His speech was fluent with some word-finding difficulty. Comprehension for spoken materials, repetition, and naming abilities were all preserved. Systematic examination for reading revealed that reading aloud was disturbed in both kanji and kana words. Reading comprehension was significantly better for kanji words than kana words. First, we examined the effects of number of characters in a word. The number of characters in a word didn't affect his reading performance. Second, his performance on reading aloud of usual kanji words was compared with that of kanji words representing idioms. A kanji idiom is different from usual kanji words, in which pronunciation of each character is selected from several options. Reading aloud kanji idioms was significantly better than usual kanji words. In addition, reaction time to complete reading a word was much shorter for kanji idioms than usual kanji. An analysis of qualitative features of errors revealed that most errors in kanji idiom reading were semantically similar to the correct answers, while many errors in usual kanji word reading were classified into "don't know" responses. These findings suggested that a kanji idiom was tightly connected to its pronunciation, which resulted in his much better performance for kanji idiom reading. Overlearning of a unique relationship between a kanji idiom and its pronunciation might modify neuronal organization for reading.

  17. Masked Speech Recognition and Reading Ability in School-Age Children: Is There a Relationship?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Gabrielle; Lewis, Barbara; Benchek, Penelope; Buss, Emily; Calandruccio, Lauren

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: The relationship between reading (decoding) skills, phonological processing abilities, and masked speech recognition in typically developing children was explored. This experiment was designed to evaluate the relationship between phonological processing and decoding abilities and 2 aspects of masked speech recognition in typically…

  18. Association of School-Based Physical Activity Opportunities, Socioeconomic Status, and Third-Grade Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kern, Ben D.; Graber, Kim C.; Shen, Sa; Hillman, Charles H.; McLoughlin, Gabriella

    2018-01-01

    Background: Socioeconomic status (SES) is the most accurate predictor of academic performance in US schools. Third-grade reading is highly predictive of high school graduation. Chronic physical activity (PA) is shown to improve cognition and academic performance. We hypothesized that school-based PA opportunities (recess and physical education)…

  19. Writing Abilities Longitudinally Predict Academic Outcomes of Adolescents with ADHD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molitor, Stephen J.; Langberg, Joshuah M.; Bourchtein, Elizaveta; Eddy, Laura D.; Dvorsky, Melissa R.; Evans, Steven W.

    2016-01-01

    Students with ADHD often experience a host of negative academic outcomes and deficits in reading and mathematics abilities contribute to these academic impairments. Students with ADHD may also have difficulties with written expression but there has been minimal research in this area and it is not clear whether written expression abilities uniquely contribute to the academic functioning of students with ADHD. The current study included a sample of 104 middle school students diagnosed with ADHD (grades 6–8). Participants were followed longitudinally to evaluate whether written expression abilities at baseline predicted student GPA and parent ratings of academic impairment 18 months later, after controlling for reading ability and additional relevant covariates. Written expression abilities longitudinally predicted both academic outcomes above and beyond ADHD and ODD symptoms, medication use, reading ability, and baseline values of GPA and parent-rated academic impairment. Follow-up analyses revealed that no single aspect of written expression was demonstrably more impactful on academic outcomes than the others, suggesting that writing as an entire process should be the focus of intervention. PMID:26783650

  20. Predicting the reading skill of Japanese children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogino, Tatsuya; Hanafusa, Kaoru; Morooka, Teruko; Takeuchi, Akihito; Oka, Makio; Ohtsuka, Yoko

    2017-02-01

    To clarify cognitive processes underlining the development of reading in children speaking Japanese as their first language, we examined relationships between performances of cognitive tasks in the preschool period and later reading abilities. Ninety-one normally developing preschoolers (41 girls and 50 boys; 5years 4months to 6years 4months, mean 5years 10months) participated as subjects. We conducted seven cognitive tasks including phonological awareness tasks, naming tasks, and working memory tasks in the preschool period. In terms of reading tasks, the hiragana naming task was administered in the preschool period; the reading times, which is a composite score of the monomoraic syllable reading task, the word and the non-word reading tasks, and the single sentence reading task, was evaluated in first and second grade; and the kanji reading task (naming task) was tested in second grade. Raven's colored progressive matrices and picture vocabulary test revised were also conducted in first grade. Correlation analyses between task scores and stepwise multiple regression analyses were implemented. Tasks tapping phonological awareness, lexical access, and verbal working memory showed significant correlations with reading tasks. In the multiple regression analyses the performances in the verbal working memory task played a key role in predicting character naming task scores (the hiragana naming task and the kanji reading task) while the digit naming task was an important predictor of reading times. Unexpectedly, the role of phonological (mora) awareness was modest among children speaking Japanese. Cognitive functions including phonological awareness, digit naming, and verbal working memory (especially the latter two) were involved in the development of reading skills of children speaking Japanese. Copyright © 2016 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Identification of Reading Problems in First Grade within a Response-to-Intervention Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Speece, Deborah L.; Schatschneider, Christopher; Silverman, Rebecca; Case, Lisa Pericola; Cooper, David H.; Jacobs, Dawn M.

    2011-01-01

    Models of Response to Intervention (RTI) include parameters of assessment and instruction. This study focuses on assessment with the purpose of developing a screening battery that validly and efficiently identifies first-grade children at risk for reading problems. In an RTI model, these children would be candidates for early intervention. We…

  2. Gender effects on phonological processing and reading development in Northern Sotho children learning to read in English: A case study of Grade 3 learners

    OpenAIRE

    Carien Wilsenach; Patricia Makaure

    2018-01-01

    Gender differences in reading development are a global phenomenon, with girls typically performing better than boys. Some studies have reported gender differences favouring girls in reading comprehension in South Africa, but little systematic evidence exists about gender differences in the cognitive-linguistic abilities that underlie reading development. This study investigated the effect of gender on phonological processing and reading development in Northern Sotho–English bilingual children...

  3. On the Effects of Teacher’s Sense of Humor on Iranian’s EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension Ability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fateme Ghanei Motlagh

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Teacher’s sense of humor is like a miracle in creating effective teaching and learning environments where there is no place for stress and anxiety but instead intrinsic motivation is enhanced. The present study aims mainly, to explore the effects of teachers’ sense of humor of EFL intermediate learners' reading comprehension ability. Having administered a test of reading proficiency, 58 learners are selected and assigned into control and experimental groups. Also two English language teachers, based on TOEFL and Humor Questionnaire, are selected to teach these learners. The process of teaching and the materials were the same for both groups. But participants in humor class were taught in a well-defined humorous environment managed by the teacher. Considering the control group, the process of teaching reading texts was conducted in a normal manner. To measure the relationship between EFL teachers’ sense of humor and EFL learners' intrinsic motivation in reading comprehension ability, an Intrinsic Motivation in Reading Questionnaire (IMERQ including reading curiosity, is given to experimental participants both at the outset and at the end of the course. Finally based on the data, it was found that teachers’ sense of humor was effective in improving learners' reading comprehension ability and enhancing intrinsic motivation. The findings can also provide pedagogical implications for considering teachers’ sense of humor as an intrinsically motivating learning tool.

  4. Differences in Brain Function and Changes with Intervention in Children with Poor Spelling and Reading Abilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gebauer, Daniela; Fink, Andreas; Kargl, Reinhard; Reishofer, Gernot; Koschutnig, Karl; Purgstaller, Christian; Fazekas, Franz; Enzinger, Christian

    2012-01-01

    Previous fMRI studies in English-speaking samples suggested that specific interventions may alter brain function in language-relevant networks in children with reading and spelling difficulties, but this research strongly focused on reading impaired individuals. Only few studies so far investigated characteristics of brain activation associated with poor spelling ability and whether a specific spelling intervention may also be associated with distinct changes in brain activity patterns. We here investigated such effects of a morpheme-based spelling intervention on brain function in 20 children with comparatively poor spelling and reading abilities using repeated fMRI. Relative to 10 matched controls, children with comparatively poor spelling and reading abilities showed increased activation in frontal medial and right hemispheric regions and decreased activation in left occipito-temporal regions prior to the intervention, during processing of a lexical decision task. After five weeks of intervention, spelling and reading comprehension significantly improved in the training group, along with increased activation in the left temporal, parahippocampal and hippocampal regions. Conversely, the waiting group showed increases in right posterior regions. Our findings could indicate an increased left temporal activation associated with the recollection of the new learnt morpheme-based strategy related to successful training. PMID:22693600

  5. Differences in brain function and changes with intervention in children with poor spelling and reading abilities.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Gebauer

    Full Text Available Previous fMRI studies in English-speaking samples suggested that specific interventions may alter brain function in language-relevant networks in children with reading and spelling difficulties, but this research strongly focused on reading impaired individuals. Only few studies so far investigated characteristics of brain activation associated with poor spelling ability and whether a specific spelling intervention may also be associated with distinct changes in brain activity patterns. We here investigated such effects of a morpheme-based spelling intervention on brain function in 20 children with comparatively poor spelling and reading abilities using repeated fMRI. Relative to 10 matched controls, children with comparatively poor spelling and reading abilities showed increased activation in frontal medial and right hemispheric regions and decreased activation in left occipito-temporal regions prior to the intervention, during processing of a lexical decision task. After five weeks of intervention, spelling and reading comprehension significantly improved in the training group, along with increased activation in the left temporal, parahippocampal and hippocampal regions. Conversely, the waiting group showed increases in right posterior regions. Our findings could indicate an increased left temporal activation associated with the recollection of the new learnt morpheme-based strategy related to successful training.

  6. The role of vocabulary, working memory and inference making ability in reading comprehension in Down syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nash, Hannah; Heath, James

    2011-01-01

    Thirteen children and young adults with Down syndrome (DS) completed tests of language and reading and their performance was compared to that of three control groups. Reading comprehension was confirmed to be a specific deficit in DS and found to be strongly correlated with underlying language skills. Although reading comprehension was more strongly related to language ability in the DS group, this was shown to be a function of more advanced word recognition rather than a characteristic of DS per se. Individuals with DS were found to have greater difficulty with inferential comprehension questions than expected given their overall comprehension ability and the reading profile associated with DS was found to be similar to that of children known as poor comprehenders. It is recommended that oral language training programs, similar to those that have been shown to improve reading comprehension in poor comprehenders, be trialed with children who have DS. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Prospective Mathematics Teachers' Ability to Identify Mistakes Related to Angle Concept of Sixth Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arslan, Cigdem; Erbay, Hatice Nur; Guner, Pinar

    2017-01-01

    In the present study we try to highlight prospective mathematics teachers' ability to identify mistakes of sixth grade students related to angle concept. And also we examined prospective mathematics teachers' knowledge of angle concept. Study was carried out with 30 sixth-grade students and 38 prospective mathematics teachers. Sixth grade students…

  8. CBM maze-scores as indicators of reading level and growth for seventh-grade students

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chung, S.; Espin, C.A.; Stevenson, C.E.

    The technical adequacy of CBM maze-scores as indicators of reading level and growth for seventh-grade secondary-school students was examined. Participants were 452 Dutch students who completed weekly maze measures over a period of 23 weeks. Criterion measures were school level, dyslexia status,

  9. Investigating Profiles of Lexical Quality in Preschool and Their Contribution to First Grade Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Kimberly A.; Farquharson, Kelly

    2016-01-01

    This longitudinal study investigated profiles of lexical quality domains in preschool children and the extent to which profile membership predicted reading comprehension in first grade. A latent profile analysis was conducted to classify 420 preschool children on lexical quality domains, including orthography, phonology, morphosyntax, and…

  10. Monocular oral reading after treatment of dense congenital unilateral cataract

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birch, Eileen E.; Cheng, Christina; Christina, V; Stager, David R.

    2010-01-01

    Background Good long-term visual acuity outcomes for children with dense congenital unilateral cataracts have been reported following early surgery and good compliance with postoperative amblyopia therapy. However, treated eyes rarely achieve normal visual acuity and there has been no formal evaluation of the utility of the treated eye for reading. Methods Eighteen children previously treated for dense congenital unilateral cataract were tested monocularly with the Gray Oral Reading Test, 4th edition (GORT-4) at 7 to 13 years of age using two passages for each eye, one at grade level and one at +1 above grade level. In addition, right eyes of 55 normal children age 7 to 13 served as a control group. The GORT-4 assesses reading rate, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. Results Visual acuity of treated eyes ranged from 0.1 to 2.0 logMAR and of fellow eyes from −0.1 to 0.2 logMAR. Treated eyes scored significantly lower than fellow and normal control eyes on all scales at grade level and at +1 above grade level. Monocular reading rate, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension were correlated with visual acuity of treated eyes (rs = −0.575 to −0.875, p < 0.005). Treated eyes with 0.1-0.3 logMAR visual acuity did not differ from fellow or normal control eyes in rate, accuracy, fluency, or comprehension when reading at grade level or at +1 above grade level. Fellow eyes did not differ from normal controls on any reading scale. Conclusions Excellent visual acuity outcomes following treatment of dense congenital unilateral cataracts are associated with normal reading ability of the treated eye in school-age children. PMID:20603057

  11. Eye-Movement Patterns and Reader Characteristics of Students with Good and Poor Performance When Reading Scientific Text with Diagrams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jian, Yu-Cin

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the cognitive processes and reader characteristics of sixth graders who had good and poor performance when reading scientific text with diagrams. We first measured the reading ability and reading self-efficacy of sixth-grade participants, and then recorded their eye movements while they were reading an illustrated…

  12. The academic penalty for gaining weight: a longitudinal, change-in-change analysis of BMI and perceived academic ability in middle school students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kenney, E L; Gortmaker, S L; Davison, K K; Bryn Austin, S

    2015-09-01

    Worse educational outcomes for obese children regardless of academic ability may begin early in the life course. This study tested whether an increase in children's relative weight predicted lower teacher- and child-perceived academic ability even after adjusting for standardized test scores. Three thousand three hundred and sixty-two children participating in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort were studied longitudinally from fifth to eighth grade. Heights, weights, standardized test scores in maths and reading, and teacher and self-ratings of ability in maths and reading were measured at each wave. Longitudinal, within-child linear regression models estimated the impact of a change in body mass index (BMI) z-score on change in normalized teacher and student ratings of ability in reading and maths, adjusting for test score. A change in BMI z-score from fifth to eighth grade was not independently associated with a change in standardized test scores. However, adjusting for standardized test scores, an increasing BMI z-score was associated with significant reductions in teacher's perceptions of girls' ability in reading (-0.12, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.23, -0.03, P=0.03) and boys' ability in math (-0.30, 95% CI: -0.43, -0.17, Pmaths ability (-0.47, 95% CI: -0.83, -0.11, P=0.01). From fifth to eighth grade, increase in BMI z-score was significantly associated with worsening teacher perceptions of academic ability for both boys and girls, regardless of objectively measured ability (standardized test scores). Future research should examine potential interventions to reduce bias and promote positive school climate.

  13. Ability Of Mathematical Reasoning in SMK 10th Grade with LAPS- Heuristic using Performance Assessment

    OpenAIRE

    Aulia Nur Arivina; Masrukan Masrukan; Ardhi Prabowo

    2017-01-01

    The purposes of this research are: (1) Test the learning with LAPS-Heuristic model using performance assessment on 10th grade of Trigonometry material is complete, (2) to test the difference of students' mathematical reasoning ability on 10th grade of Trigonometry material between the learning model of LAPS-Heuristic using performance assessment, LAPS-Heuristic learning model with Expository learning model, (3) test the ability of mathematical reasoning with learning model of LAPS-Heuristik o...

  14. easyCBM® Reading Criterion Related Validity Evidence: Grades K-1. Technical Report #1309

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Cheng-Fei; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

    2013-01-01

    In this technical report, we present the results of a study to gather criterion-related evidence for Grade K-1 easyCBM® reading measures. We used correlations to examine the relation between the easyCBM® measures and other published measures with known reliability and validity evidence, including the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy…

  15. Improving text comprehension strategies in reading and listening settings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brand-Gruwel, S; Aarnoutse, CAJ; van den Bos, KP

    Traditional intervention programs for children with decoding and reading comprehension problems often focus on remediation of the decoding ability. The goal of this study was to determine whether it is possible to teach these children text comprehension strategies. The subjects were fourth-grade

  16. The Role of Accessibility of Semantic Word Knowledge in Monolingual and Bilingual Fifth-Grade Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cremer, M.; Schoonen, R.

    2013-01-01

    The influences of word decoding, availability, and accessibility of semantic word knowledge on reading comprehension were investigated for monolingual "("n = 65) and bilingual children ("n" = 70). Despite equal decoding abilities, monolingual children outperformed bilingual children with regard to reading comprehension and…

  17. The Differential Relations between Verbal, Numerical and Spatial Working Memory Abilities and Children's Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oakhill, Jane; Yuill, Nicola; Garnham, Alan

    2011-01-01

    Working memory predicts children's reading comprehension but it is not clear whether this relation is due to a modality-specific or general working memory. This study, which investigated the relations between children's reading skills and working memory (WM) abilities in 3 modalities, extends previous work by including measures of both reading…

  18. The Role of Reading Fluency in Children's Text Comprehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Álvarez-Cañizo, Marta; Suárez-Coalla, Paz; Cuetos, Fernando

    2015-01-01

    Understanding a written text requires some higher cognitive abilities that not all children have. Some children have these abilities, since they understand oral texts; however, they have difficulties with written texts, probably due to problems in reading fluency. The aim of this study was to determine which aspects of reading fluency are related to reading comprehension. Four expositive texts, two written and two read by the evaluator, were presented to a sample of 103 primary school children (third and sixth grade). Each text was followed by four comprehension questions. From this sample we selected two groups of participants in each grade, 10 with good results in comprehension of oral and written texts, and 10 with good results in oral and poor in written comprehension. These 40 subjects were asked to read aloud a new text while they were recorded. Using Praat software some prosodic parameters were measured, such as pausing and reading rate (number and duration of the pauses and utterances), pitch and intensity changes and duration in declarative, exclamatory, and interrogative sentences and also errors and duration in words by frequency and stress. We compared the results of both groups with ANOVAs. The results showed that children with less reading comprehension made more inappropriate pauses and also intersentential pauses before comma than the other group and made more mistakes in content words; significant differences were also found in the final declination of pitch in declarative sentences and in the F0 range in interrogative ones. These results confirm that reading comprehension problems in children are related to a lack in the development of a good reading fluency.

  19. The Impact of Project-Based Learning on Fourth-Grade Students' Understanding in Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Dana L.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive study was to determine if participation in project-based learning developed the understanding students need to transfer their knowledge and skills to achieve higher composite and reading scores, as well as demonstrate the ability to read increasingly complex texts on the ACT Aspire as…

  20. The Effect of Concurrent Music Reading and Performance on the Ability to Detect Tempo Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Mark Carlton

    1989-01-01

    Measures the ability of three groups of musicians to detect tempo change while reading and performing music. Compares this ability with that of the same musicians to detect tempo change while listening only. Found that for all groups the ability to detect tempo changes was inhibited by the playing task, although to different degrees for each…

  1. Text comprehension in Czech fourth-grade children with dyslexia

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    Špačková Klára

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In the Czech Republic, the concept of dyslexia is used as a global term for various developmental deficiencies relating to reading skills. The criteria used for dyslexia are not clear and intervention is solely focused on word reading training. Not much is known about the pattern and level of reading comprehension abilities among Czech readers. The study examines reading comprehension and its component skills (decoding and listening comprehension abilities in 32 Czech fourth-grade children with a formal diagnosis of dyslexia and their classmates (N=126. In decoding tests, the children with dyslexia surprisingly lagged behind most significantly in a task concerning speed and accuracy in context reading. Contrary to expectations, the children with dyslexia also showed inferiority in a listening comprehension task. In reading comprehension measures, in comparison to the typically developing readers, the children with dyslexia achieved the best results in a oral reading comprehension task. The results are discussed with respect to Czech counselling and educational practice and the need for changes in the current support system and terminology is stressed.

  2. Beyond adoption status: Post-adoptive parental involvement and children's reading and math performance from kindergarten to first grade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Tony Xing; Kim, Eun Sook; Baggerly, Jennifer; Mahoney, E Emily; Rice, Jessica

    2017-01-01

    In this study, we went beyond adoption status to examine the associations between postadoption parental involvement and children's reading and math performance from kindergarten to first grade. Secondary data on a sample of adopted children and nonadopted children were drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998 to 1999 (ECLS-K). Weighted data on the children's reading performance were available for 13,900 children (181 were adopted); weighted data on the children's math performance were available for 14,128 children (184 were adopted). Descriptive data showed no group difference in reading scores at all 3 Waves but adopted children scored lower than nonadopted children in math at Wave 2 (Spring of kindergarten) and Wave 3 (Spring of first grade). However, controlling for 6 covariates, latent growth modeling showed that adoption status was unrelated to Wave 1 reading and math scores or subsequent growth rate. Rather, parents' beliefs on skills needed to succeed in kindergarten were a significant predictor of reading and math performance at Wave 1 and subsequent growth rates, and parents' educational expectation was a significant predictor of growth rate in reading and math. Our findings highlight the importance of parental involvement in adopted children's learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Investigating Vocabulary and Reading Strategies with Middle Grades English Language Learners: A Research Synthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cisco, Brooke Kandel; Padron, Yolanda

    2012-01-01

    Recent data indicate that many adolescent English language learners (ELLs) comprehend English texts at only a limited literal level. The purpose of this research synthesis was to systematically identify and describe the research related to the English reading comprehension of middle grades ELLs while also making practical connections to…

  4. The Integration of the Big6 Information Literacy and Reading Strategies Instruction in a Fourth Grade Inquiry-Based Learning Course, “Our Aquarium”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin Ching Chen

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the student performance in an inquiry learning course which integrated information literacy and reading strategies in a fourth-grade science class. The curriculum design was based on the Big6 model, which includes the stages of task definition, information seeking strategies, location & access, use of information, synthesis, and evaluation. The study duration was one semester. The data was gathered through participant observations, interviews, surveys, tests, and from documents generated in the course implementation. The results showed that the integration of information literacy and reading strategies instruction was feasible. The students performed well in information seeking strategies, locating & accessing information, using and synthesizing information. In contrast, their abilities in task definition and evaluation needed further improvement. Also, while the students did acquire various reading strategies during the inquiry process, they needed more exercises to internalize the skills. The performance on the acquisition of subject knowledge was also improved through the inquiry learning. The participating instructors considered that the collaboration between teachers of different subject matters was the key to a successful integrated instruction [Article content in Chinese

  5. THE COMPARISON OF STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION IN RECOUNT TEXT INSTRUCTION BETWEEN USING STAD AND JIGSAW TECHNIQUE AT DIFFERENT READING FREQUENCY AT THE FIRST GRADE OF SMA N 1 RUMBIA ACADEMIC YEAR 2012/2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Didik Firnadi -

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Reading as one of the four skills has always been as a part of the syllabus in English instruction. Based on the Pra survey, reading comprehension of the students of the first grade of SMA N 1 Rumbia is still low, most of them still lack structure knowledge and vocabulary, and their reading frequency in reading is still low. There are two techniques presented as a solution in this research. They are STAD Technique and Jigsaw technique. The objective of this research is to find out the difference result of using STAD and Jigsaw technique toward students’ reading comprehension in recount text at different high and low reading frequency and to find out there is significant interaction and comparison of reading comprehension in recount text, learning technique, and different reading frequency at the first grade students of SMA N 1 Rumbia academic year 2012/2013. The method of investigation is held through quantitative research. The researcher uses true experimental research. In this experiment, the the researcher applies factorials design. The research is conducted at the first grade of SMA N 1 Rumbia in academic year 2012/2013. The population in this research is 180 students. It consisted 6 classes and each class consist 30 students. The researcher takes 52 students from total population as the sample, 26 students as experiment class and 26 as control class that match based on classification of student level. The researcher uses cluster random sampling as technique sampling. To analyze data, the researcher uses ANOVA TWO WAYS formula. The researcher got the result of Fhit is 18, 2 and Ftable  is 7, 14. It means that Fhit > Ftable. And the criterion of Ftest is Ha accepted if Fhit  > Ftable. So, there is any difference result of students’ Reading comprehension in recount text using STAD and Jigsaw, and STAD technique is more effective technique than Jigsaw technique toward students Reading comprehension at different reading frequency at the

  6. Longitudinal Relationships of Levels of Language in Writing and between Writing and Reading in Grades 1 to 7

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, Robert D.; Berninger, Virginia W.; Fayol, Michel

    2010-01-01

    Longitudinal structural equation modeling was used to evaluate longitudinal relationships across adjacent grade levels 1 to 7 for levels of language in writing (Model 1, subword letter writing, word spelling, and text composing) or writing and reading (Model 2, subword letter writing and word spelling and reading; Model 3, word spelling and…

  7. The Impact of Collaborative Strategic Reading on the Reading Comprehension of Grade 5 Students in Linguistically Diverse Schools. Final Report. NCEE 2011-4001

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hitchcock, John; Dimino, Joseph; Kurki, Anja; Wilkins, Chuck; Gersten, Russell

    2011-01-01

    Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) is a set of instructional strategies designed to improve the reading comprehension of students with diverse abilities (Klingner and Vaughn 1996). Teachers implement CSR at the classroom level using scaffolded instruction to guide students in the independent use of four comprehension strategies; students apply…

  8. Strengthening Academic Vocabulary with Word Generation® Helps Sixth-Grade Students Improve Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mokhtari, Kouider; Velten, Justin

    2015-01-01

    In this quasi-experimental study, we assessed the promise of Word Generation, a research-based academic vocabulary program, on improving the reading achievement outcomes of struggling sixth-grade readers in an after-school small group instructional setting. After 34 hours of academic vocabulary instruction, we compared the performance of a…

  9. A Test of the Relationship between Reading Ability & Standardized Biology Assessment Scores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Denise A.

    2014-01-01

    Little empirical evidence suggested that independent reading abilities of students enrolled in biology predicted their performance on the Biology I Graduation End-of-Course Assessment (ECA). An archival study was conducted at one Indiana urban public high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, by examining existing educational assessment data to test…

  10. Music Memory Following Short-term Practice and Its Relationship with the Sight-reading Abilities of Professional Pianists

    OpenAIRE

    Aiba, Eriko; Matsui, Toshie

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between the ability to sight-read and the ability to memorize a score using a behavioral experiment. By measuring the amount of memorization following short-term practice, we examined whether better sight-readers not only estimate forthcoming notes but also memorize musical structures and phrases with more practice. Eleven pianists performed the music first by sight-reading. After a 20-minute practice, the participants were asked to perform from memory...

  11. Writing fluency and quality in kindergarten and first grade: The role of attention, reading, transcription, and oral language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kent, Shawn; Wanzek, Jeanne; Petscher, Yaacov; Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Kim, Young-Suk

    2013-01-01

    In the present study, we examined the influence of kindergarten component skills on writing outcomes, both concurrently and longitudinally to first grade. Using data from 265 students, we investigated a model of writing development including attention regulation along with students’ reading, spelling, handwriting fluency, and oral language component skills. Results from structural equation modeling demonstrated that a model including attention was better fitting than a model with only language and literacy factors. Attention, a higher-order literacy factor related to reading and spelling proficiency, and automaticity in letter-writing were uniquely and positively related to compositional fluency in kindergarten. Attention and higher-order literacy factor were predictive of both composition quality and fluency in first grade, while oral language showed unique relations with first grade writing quality. Implications for writing development and instruction are discussed. PMID:25132722

  12. TEACHING DESCRIPTIVE READING BY USING SURVEY, QUESTION, READ, WRITE AND (SQRW STRATEGY TO THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMA MUHAMMADIYAH 1 PALEMBANG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    marlen rahmawati

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The objectives of this study are to find out whether or not there is a significant improvement before and after the treatment on the tenth grade students’ reading comprehension scores of SMA Muhammadiyah 1 Palembang by using SQRW strategy and to find out whether or not there is a significant difference on the tenth grade students’ reading comprehension scores of SMA Muhammadiyah 1 Palembang between the students who are taught by using SQRW strategy and those who are not. This study used quasi-experimental design using nonequivalent pretest-posttest design. There were 68 students from class X MIPA 4 and X MIPA 6 chosen as the sample. In collecting the data, test was used. The test was given twice to experimental and control groups, for pretest and posttest. To verify the hypotheses, the data of pretest and posttest were analyzed by using independent sample t-test and paired sample t-test in SPSS 18 program. The findings showed that the p-output from paired sample t-test (sig2-tailed was 0.000 which was lower than 0.05, and t-value 11.294 was higher than t-table (34-1 with df=33 (2.034. The result of p-output from independent sample t-test was 0.003 which was lower that 0.05 and the t-value 3.104 was higher than t-table (68-2 with df=66 (1.996. Therefore it could be stated that teaching reading descriptive text by using SQRW strategy had significant improvement and showed significant difference on the students’ reading comprehension scores.

  13. Analitycal Descriptive Study of Students' Critical Mathematic Thinking Ability Through Graded Response Model (Grm)

    OpenAIRE

    nurul, didin; zahra anasha, zara

    2013-01-01

    Critical mathematic thinking ability is very important to solve daily problems. But in reality, junior high school students' critical mathematic thinking ability is still low. Ability measurement such as measurement of critical mathematic thinking ability cannot be measured through multiple choices test. In that case, an essay test in which graded scoring is used as scoring technique more suitable than multiple choices test. The result of the essay test will be analyzed to describe...

  14. Anglocentrism in reading acquisition models? A study in a language with transparent orthography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beatriz Diuk

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The present research aimed to check Share’s (2008 thesis about conventional reading acquisition models in a group of Argentinean children. This author proposes that reading models developed for English need to be reviewed when children are learning to read in a language with transparent orthography. Share questions the idea of learning proceeds in stages, the importance given to reading accuracy over speed and the relevance of phonological processing. A group of 52 children from low-income families were tested on letter knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid naming and reading of frequent words at the beginning and the middle of first grade. Additionally, children’s word and pseudo-word reading skills were tested at the end of first and second grade. Results showed that most children never resorted to non-phonological strategies as it is usually done by their equals in English. By the end of second grade the group had reached a high level of accuracy in reading, but important differences were found in reading speed. These results support Share’s (2008 proposal since reading acquisition did not develop in a series of stages but could be described as a continuous process in which children gradually increase their phonological recoding abilities and achieve accuracy early on. Therefore individual differences in reading speed become a critical aspect of reading.

  15. The Influences of Sex, Race, and Prior Reading Ability on Newspaper Reading Skill Improvement in the Elementary School.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berryman, Charles

    This study uses the revised modules of a previous study of the effects of newspapers in elementary schools to determine the effects of the modules and newspaper use in general, as well as to determine whether the variables of sex, race, prior reading ability, and same or opposite race of teacher and student influenced results. The study was…

  16. Early preschool processing abilities predict subsequent reading outcomes in bilingual Spanish-Catalan children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguilar-Mediavilla, Eva; Buil-Legaz, Lucía; Pérez-Castelló, Josep A; Rigo-Carratalà, Eduard; Adrover-Roig, Daniel

    2014-01-01

    Children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) have severe language difficulties without showing hearing impairments, cognitive deficits, neurological damage or socio-emotional deprivation. However, previous studies have shown that children with SLI show some cognitive and literacy problems. Our study analyses the relationship between preschool cognitive and linguistic abilities and the later development of reading abilities in Spanish-Catalan bilingual children with SLI. The sample consisted of 17 bilingual Spanish-Catalan children with SLI and 17 age-matched controls. We tested eight distinct processes related to phonological, attention, and language processing at the age of 6 years and reading at 8 years of age. Results show that bilingual Spanish-Catalan children with SLI show significantly lower scores, as compared to typically developing peers, in phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid automatized naming (RAN), together with a lower outcome in tasks measuring sentence repetition and verbal fluency. Regarding attentional processes, bilingual Spanish-Catalan children with SLI obtained lower scores in auditory attention, but not in visual attention. At the age of 8 years Spanish-Catalan children with SLI had lower scores than their age-matched controls in total reading score, letter identification (decoding), and in semantic task (comprehension). Regression analyses identified both phonological awareness and verbal fluency at the age of 6 years to be the best predictors of subsequent reading performance at the age of 8 years. Our data suggest that language acquisition problems and difficulties in reading acquisition in bilingual children with SLI might be related to the close interdependence between a limitation in cognitive processing and a deficit at the linguistic level. After reading this article, readers will be able to: identify their understanding of the relation between language difficulties and reading outcomes; explain how processing

  17. The role of reading fluency in children’s text comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta eÁlvarez-Cañizo

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Understanding a written text requires some higher cognitive abilities that not all children have. Some children have these abilities, since they understand oral texts; however they have difficulties with written texts, probably due to problems in reading fluency. The aim of this study was to determine which aspects of reading fluency are related to reading comprehension. Four expositive texts, two written and two read by the evaluator, were presented to a sample of 103 primary school children (third and sixth grade. Each text was followed by four comprehension questions. From this sample we selected two groups of participants in each grade, 10 with good results in comprehension of oral and written texts, and 10 with good results in oral and poor in written comprehension. These 40 subjects were asked to read aloud a new text while they were recorded. Using Praat software some prosodic parameters were measured, such as pausing and reading rate (number and duration of the pauses and utterances, pitch and intensity changes and duration in declarative, exclamatory and interrogative sentences and also errors and duration in words by frequency and stress. We compared the results of both groups with ANOVAs. The results showed that children with less reading comprehension made more inappropriate pauses and also intersentential pauses before comma than the other group and made more mistakes in content words; significant differences were also found in the final declination of pitch in declarative sentences and in the F0 range in interrogative ones. These results confirm that reading comprehension problems in children are related to a lack in the development of a good reading fluency.

  18. The Effects of Reading Ability and Sex Difference on Recall Protocols of Japanese University Students

    OpenAIRE

    Hirano, Kinue

    2003-01-01

    This study investigates the concurrent validity of a recall test as a measure of reading comprehension and the effects of the level of reading ability and sex difference on the written recalls of 70 Japanese EFL university students. Results showed that there were moderate significant correlations between a recall test and a standardized reading test (i.e., FCE): for all the students, r = .64, p < .01; for males, r = .61, p < .01; for females, r = .67, p < .01, suggesting that a recall test is...

  19. Critical Reading Skills and Translation Ability of Thai EFL Students: Pragmatic, Syntactic, and Semantic Aspects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sriwantaneeyakul, Suttawan

    2018-01-01

    Translation ability requires many language skills to produce an accurate and complete text; however, one important skill, critical reading in the research, has been neglected. This research, therefore, employed the explanatory sequential mixed method to investigate the differences in Thai-English translation ability between students with a high…

  20. Indiana Third Grade Reading ISTEP+ Scores Comparisons in a Public Elementary School to a Public Elementary Charter School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Cassandra D.

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference with student achievement at third grade in reading with a traditional public school as compared to a public charter school; both schools were a part of the Southwest Region School Corporation. This quasi-experimental study compared third grade ISTEP+ scale scores in…

  1. THE EFFECT OF MIND MAPPING WITH PICTURE WORD CARDS TOWARD THE ABILITY OF EARLY READING FOR A HARD OF HEARING STUDENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nurika Miftakul Janah

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available A Student with hard of hearing hasa limited vocabulary and difficulty understanding abstract words. The purposes of this research were to describe: (1 the ability of early reading for a hard of hearing student at the time before the intervention, (2 the ability of early reading for a hard of hearing student after the intervention, and (3 the effect of mind mapping with picture word card toward the ability of early reading for a hard of hearing student in the class I. This study used a single subject research (SSR with A-B-A design. These results indicated that there was a positive effect of the mind mapping with picture word card toward the ability of early reading for a hard of hearing student in the class I.

  2. Reading in a second language: Considering the "simple view of reading" as a foundation to support ESL readers in Lesotho, Southern Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van Staden, Annalene

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Globally, reading proficiency has been a major area of difficulty for English second-language (ESL learners. This research inter alia utilised a quantitative, quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test research design to address the paucity of evidence-based second-language reading research internationally, as well as in Sub-Saharan Africa, and in Lesotho in particular; and to determine if second-language learners (L2 in the experimental group can improve their L2 reading abilities after being exposed to reading intervention strategies, based on the “simple view of reading”. Drawing from both psycholinguistic and cognitive linguistic principles, the authors considered this as a working model to develop reading strategies to support ESL learners in Lesotho who experienced significant delays in L2 reading abilities and comprehension. In the present study, strategies based on the “simple view of reading”, , included, inter alia, effective language exposure, building a rich vocabulary, improving reading fluency and word recognition abilities, and creating socio-linguistic opportunities to develop vocabulary and enhance reading comprehension (for example, creating a “word wall”, interactive story-book reading and the application of the ReQuest reading method. Results from this quantitative study demonstrated that Grade 4 ESL learners in the experimental group (N=36 significantly outperformed those in the control group (N=36 with regard to sight word fluency, word recognition, syntactic awareness, vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. As we move forward in an attempt to understand the nuances of creating a responsive reading environment to support ESL learners’ reading development, assessing the effectiveness of strategies to improve their reading skills is essential.

  3. Exploring Individual Differences in Irregular Word Recognition among Children with Early-Emerging and Late-Emerging Word Reading Difficulty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steacy, Laura M.; Kearns, Devin M.; Gilbert, Jennifer K.; Compton, Donald L.; Cho, Eunsoo; Lindstrom, Esther R.; Collins, Alyson A.

    2017-01-01

    Models of irregular word reading that take into account both child- and word-level predictors have not been evaluated in typically developing children and children with reading difficulty (RD). The purpose of the present study was to model individual differences in irregular word reading ability among 5th grade children (N = 170), oversampled for…

  4. Measurement Properties of DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency in Grade 2: Implications for Equating Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoolmiller, Michael; Biancarosa, Gina; Fien, Hank

    2013-01-01

    Lack of psychometric equivalence of oral reading fluency (ORF) passages used within a grade for screening and progress monitoring has recently become an issue with calls for the use of equating methods to ensure equivalence. To investigate the nature of the nonequivalence and to guide the choice of equating method to correct for nonequivalence,…

  5. The Impact of Teaching Phonemic Awareness by Means of Direct Instruction on Reading Achievement of Students with Reading Disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Sharifi

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Phonemic awareness is one of the most important predictors of reading skills that has been taught by different procedures. One of the procedures is implementation of direct instruction in instruction of phonemic awareness. Current study is one of the unique studies in Iran that investigate impact of direct instruction in phonemic awareness on reading achievement of students with reading disorder.Case: Three male second grade elementary students with reading disorder in a regular school in district six of the office of education in Tehran were selected. Multiple-baseline across subjects was selected as a research design. The following tests were used as diagnostic criteria: reading and dyslexia test and Wechsler intelligence scale for children-revised. Moreover, a reading inventory consisting of 100 words was developed by researchers to assess the reading ability of the subjects. Data were collected in three phases: baseline, intervention, and follow-up. During the intervention phase, the intervention strategies were used while during baseline and follow-up, data were collected without any intervention. Comparing three phases of the study, we may conclude that intervention package consisting of direct instruction of phonological awareness was an effective strategy in reading achievement of all three students. In addition, follow-up data indicated that the effects of the intervention procedures were stable across time.Conclusion: Direct instruction of phonological awareness was effective in reading achievement of students with reading disorder in elementary school and increasing their abilities in reading.

  6. Chicken or Egg? Untangling the Relationship between Orthographic Processing Skill and Reading Accuracy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deacon, S. Helene; Benere, Jenna; Castles, Anne

    2012-01-01

    There is increasing evidence of a relationship between orthographic processing skill, or the ability to form, store and access word representations, and reading ability. Empirical research to date has not, however, clarified the direction of this relationship. We examined this question in a three-year longitudinal study of children from Grades 1…

  7. Associations Between the KIAA0319 Dyslexia Susceptibility Gene Variants, Antenatal Maternal Stress, and Reading Ability in a Longitudinal Birth Cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Souza, Stephanie; Backhouse-Smith, Amelia; Thompson, John M D; Slykerman, Rebecca; Marlow, Gareth; Wall, Clare; Murphy, Rinki; Ferguson, Lynnette R; Mitchell, Edwin A; Waldie, Karen E

    2016-11-01

    Maternal stress during pregnancy has been associated with detrimental cognitive developmental outcomes in offspring. This study investigated whether antenatal maternal perceived stress and variants of the rs12193738 and rs2179515 polymorphisms on the KIAA0319 gene interact to affect reading ability and full-scale IQ (FSIQ) in members of the longitudinal Auckland Birthweight Collaborative study. Antenatal maternal stress was measured at birth, and reading ability was assessed at ages 7 and 16. Reading data were available for 500 participants at age 7 and 479 participants at age 16. FSIQ was measured at ages 7 and 11. At age 11, DNA samples were collected. Analyses of covariance revealed that individuals with the TT genotype of the rs12193738 polymorphism exposed to high maternal stress during pregnancy possessed significantly poorer reading ability (as measured by Woodcock-Johnson Word Identification standard scores) during adolescence compared with TT carriers exposed to low maternal stress. TT carriers of the rs12193738 SNP also obtained lower IQ scores at age 7 than C allele carriers. These findings suggest that the KIAA0319 gene is associated with both reading ability and general cognition, but in different ways. The effect on IQ appears to occur earlier in development and is transient, whereas the effect of reading ability occurs later and is moderated by antenatal maternal stress. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. The relation of linguistic awareness and vocabulary to word reading and spelling for first grade students participating in Response to Intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Young-Suk; Apel, Kenn; Otaiba, Stephanie Al

    2013-01-01

    Purpose We examined the relations of phonological, morphological, and orthographic awareness and vocabulary to word reading and spelling for first grade children who were receiving differentiated instruction in a Response to Intervention (RTI) model of instruction (N = 304). Method First grade children were assessed on their phonological, morphological, and orthographic awareness, expressive vocabulary, word reading, and spelling. Year-end word reading and spelling were outcome variables while phonological, morphological, and orthographic awareness, expressive vocabulary, and RTI status (Tiers 1, 2, & 3) were predictor variables assessed in the middle of the school year. Results The three linguistic awareness skills were unique predictors of word reading and phonological and orthographic awareness were unique predictors of spelling. The contributions these linguistic awareness skills and vocabulary made to word reading and spelling did not differ by children's RTI tier status. Conclusion These results, in conjunction with previous studies, suggest that even beginning readers and spellers draw on multiple linguistic awareness skills for their word reading and spelling regardless of their level of literacy skills. Educational implications are discussed. PMID:23833281

  9. Assessing the Promise of a Supplemental Reading Intervention for At-Risk First Grade Students in a Public School Setting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mokhtari, Kouider; Neel, Joanna L.; Kaiser, Forrest; Le, Hong-Hai

    2015-01-01

    In this exploratory quasi-experimental case study, we assessed the promise of a yearlong supplemental reading intervention with a small pilot group of at-risk first grade readers in an elementary school setting. Using standardized measures of reading proficiency, we found that after 47 hours of one-on-one tutoring instruction, students read…

  10. The Influence of 16-year-old Students' Gender, Mental Abilities, and Motivation on their Reading and Drawing Submicrorepresentations Achievements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devetak, Iztok; Aleksij Glažar, Saša

    2010-08-01

    Submicrorepresentations (SMRs) are a powerful tool for identifying misconceptions of chemical concepts and for generating proper mental models of chemical phenomena in students' long-term memory during chemical education. The main purpose of the study was to determine which independent variables (gender, formal reasoning abilities, visualization abilities, and intrinsic motivation for learning chemistry) have the maximum influence on students' reading and drawing SMRs. A total of 386 secondary school students (aged 16.3 years) participated in the study. The instruments used in the study were: test of Chemical Knowledge, Test of Logical Thinking, two tests of visualization abilities Patterns and Rotations, and questionnaire on Intrinsic Motivation for Learning Science. The results show moderate, but statistically significant correlations between students' intrinsic motivation, formal reasoning abilities and chemical knowledge at submicroscopic level based on reading and drawing SMRs. Visualization abilities are not statistically significantly correlated with students' success on items that comprise reading or drawing SMRs. It can be also concluded that there is a statistically significant difference between male and female students in solving problems that include reading or drawing SMRs. Based on these statistical results and content analysis of the sample problems, several educational strategies can be implemented for students to develop adequate mental models of chemical concepts on all three levels of representations.

  11. Exploring the Use of Technology to Support Literacy of Sixth Grade Students with Reading Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ball-Inman, Jaime Renee

    2017-01-01

    The degree to which the utilization of technology supports the academic achievement of sixth grade students with reading disabilities was examined using a quantitative research design. The data analysis involved the results from the Educational Technology Assessment Program to measure achievement. The Standardized Test for the Assessment of…

  12. Teacher quality moderates the genetic effects on early reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, J; Roehrig, A D; Soden Hensler, B; Connor, C M; Schatschneider, C

    2010-04-23

    Children's reading achievement is influenced by genetics as well as by family and school environments. The importance of teacher quality as a specific school environmental influence on reading achievement is unknown. We studied first- and second-grade students in Florida from schools representing diverse environments. Comparison of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, differentiating genetic similarities of 100% and 50%, provided an estimate of genetic variance in reading achievement. Teacher quality was measured by how much reading gain the non-twin classmates achieved. The magnitude of genetic variance associated with twins' oral reading fluency increased as the quality of their teacher increased. In circumstances where the teachers are all excellent, the variability in student reading achievement may appear to be largely due to genetics. However, poor teaching impedes the ability of children to reach their potential.

  13. Predictors of Quality Verbal Engagement in Third-Grade Literature Discussions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Chase

    2014-01-01

    This study investigates how reading ability and personality traits predict the quality of verbal discussions in peer-led literature circles. Third grade literature discussions were recorded, transcribed, and coded. The coded statements and questions were quantified into a quality of engagement score. Through multiple linear regression, the…

  14. The Relationship between Intrinsic Couplings of the Visual Word Form Area with Spoken Language Network and Reading Ability in Children and Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Li

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Reading plays a key role in education and communication in modern society. Learning to read establishes the connections between the visual word form area (VWFA and language areas responsible for speech processing. Using resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC and Granger Causality Analysis (GCA methods, the current developmental study aimed to identify the difference in the relationship between the connections of VWFA-language areas and reading performance in both adults and children. The results showed that: (1 the spontaneous connectivity between VWFA and the spoken language areas, i.e., the left inferior frontal gyrus/supramarginal gyrus (LIFG/LSMG, was stronger in adults compared with children; (2 the spontaneous functional patterns of connectivity between VWFA and language network were negatively correlated with reading ability in adults but not in children; (3 the causal influence from LIFG to VWFA was negatively correlated with reading ability only in adults but not in children; (4 the RSFCs between left posterior middle frontal gyrus (LpMFG and VWFA/LIFG were positively correlated with reading ability in both adults and children; and (5 the causal influence from LIFG to LSMG was positively correlated with reading ability in both groups. These findings provide insights into the relationship between VWFA and the language network for reading, and the role of the unique features of Chinese in the neural circuits of reading.

  15. Cognate Awareness in French Immersion Students: Contributions to Grade 2 Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hipfner-Boucher, Kathleen; Pasquarella, Adrian; Chen, Xi; Deacon, S. Hélène

    2016-01-01

    Cognate awareness is the ability to recognize the cognate relationship between words in two etymologically related languages. The current study examined the development of cognate awareness and its contribution to French (second language) reading comprehension among Canadian French immersion children. Eighty-one students were tested at the end of…

  16. Heritability of slow and/or inaccurate reading ability in 33,000 adult twins with self-reported data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fibiger-Dagnæs, Steen; von Bornemann Hjelmborg, Jacob; Erbs, Lena

    2012-01-01

    Genetic influence for adult slow and/or inaccurate reading ability was studied from selfreported answers, using a dichotomous question on having difficulties in reading the Danish subtitles on foreign TV programs. The data from 33,424 twins were population based and were used for biometric analys...

  17. The influence of Missouri mathematics project on seventh grade students’ mathematical understanding ability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rezeki, S.; Setyawan, A. A.; Amelia, S.

    2018-01-01

    Mathematical understanding ability is a primary goal of Indonesian national education goals. However, various sources has shown that Indonesian students’ mathematical understanding ability is still relatively low. This study used quasi-experimental research design to examine the effectiveness of the application of Missouri Mathematics Project (MMP) on students’ mathematical understanding ability. The participants of the study were seventh grade students in Pekanbaru, Riau Province, Indonesia. They were selected purposively and represented as high, medium, and low-quality schools. The result of this study indicated that there was a significant effect of MMP on the overall students’ mathematical understanding ability and in all categories, except for low school level.

  18. Ability Grouping's Effects on Grades and the Attainment of Higher Education: A Natural Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bygren, Magnus

    2016-01-01

    To test the effect of ability grouping on grades and the attainment of higher education, this study examines a naturally occurring experiment--an admission reform that dramatically increased ability sorting between schools in the municipality of Stockholm. Following six cohorts of students (N = 79,020) from the age of 16 to 26, I find a mean…

  19. Can We Measure the Transition to Reading? General Outcome Measures and Early Literacy Development From Preschool to Early Elementary Grades

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scott McConnell

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This study evaluated the extent to which existing measures met standards for a continuous suite of general outcome measures (GOMs assessing children’s early literacy from preschool through early elementary school. The study assessed 316 children from age 3 years (2 years prekindergarten through Grade 2, with 8 to 10 measures of language, alphabetic principle, phonological awareness, and beginning reading. We evaluated measures at each grade group against six standards for GOMs extracted from earlier work. We found that one measure of oral language met five or six standards at all grade levels, and several measures of phonological awareness and alphabetic principle showed promise across all five grade levels. Results are discussed in relation to ongoing research and development of a flexible and seamless system to assess children’s academic progress across time for effective prevention and remediation, as well as theoretical and empirical analyses in early literacy, early reading, and GOMs.

  20. The involvement of long-term serial-order memory in reading development: A longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogaerts, Louisa; Szmalec, Arnaud; De Maeyer, Marjolijn; Page, Mike P A; Duyck, Wouter

    2016-05-01

    Recent findings suggest that Hebb repetition learning-a paradigmatic example of long-term serial-order learning-is impaired in adults with dyslexia. The current study further investigated the link between serial-order learning and reading using a longitudinal developmental design. With this aim, verbal and visual Hebb repetition learning performance and reading skills were assessed in 96 Dutch-speaking children who we followed from first through second grade of primary school. We observed a positive association between order learning capacities and reading ability as well as weaker Hebb learning performance in early readers with poor reading skills even at the onset of reading instruction. Hebb learning further predicted individual differences in later (nonword) reading skills. Finally, Hebb learning was shown to explain a significant part of the variance in reading performance above and beyond phonological awareness. These findings highlight the role of serial-order memory in reading ability. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Prediction and Stability of Reading Problems in Middle Childhood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritchey, Kristen D.; Silverman, Rebecca D.; Schatschneider, Christopher; Speece, Deborah L.

    2015-01-01

    The longitudinal prediction of reading problems from fourth grade to sixth grade was investigated with a sample of 173 students. Reading problems at the end of sixth grade were defined by significantly below average performance (= 15th percentile) on reading factors defining word reading, fluency, and reading comprehension. Sixth grade poor reader…

  2. Predicting First Grade Reading Achievement for Spanish-Speaking Kindergartners: Is Early Literacy Screening in English Valid?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ford, Karen L.; Invernizzi, Marcia A.; Huang, Francis

    2014-01-01

    This study explored the viability of using kindergarten measures of phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, and orthographic knowledge, administered in English, to predict first grade reading achievement of Spanish-speaking English language learners. The primary research question was: Do kindergarten measures of early literacy skills in…

  3. Analyzing the Reliability of the easyCBM Reading Comprehension Measures: Grade 2. Technical Report #1201

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Cheng-Fei; Irvin, P. Shawn; Alonzo, Julie; Park, Bitnara Jasmine; Tindal, Gerald

    2012-01-01

    In this technical report, we present the results of a reliability study of the second-grade multiple choice reading comprehension measures available on the easyCBM learning system conducted in the spring of 2011. Analyses include split-half reliability, alternate form reliability, person and item reliability as derived from Rasch analysis,…

  4. Analyzing the Reliability of the easyCBM Reading Comprehension Measures: Grade 3. Technical Report #1202

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Cheng-Fei; Irvin, P. Shawn; Park, Bitnara Jasmine; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

    2012-01-01

    In this technical report, we present the results of a reliability study of the third-grade multiple choice reading comprehension measures available on the easyCBM learning system conducted in the spring of 2011. Analyses include split-half reliability, alternate form reliability, person and item reliability as derived from Rasch analysis,…

  5. Analyzing the Reliability of the easyCBM Reading Comprehension Measures: Grade 5. Technical Report #1204

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Bitnara Jasmine; Irvin, P. Shawn; Lai, Cheng-Fei; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

    2012-01-01

    In this technical report, we present the results of a reliability study of the fifth-grade multiple choice reading comprehension measures available on the easyCBM learning system conducted in the spring of 2011. Analyses include split-half reliability, alternate form reliability, person and item reliability as derived from Rasch analysis,…

  6. Analyzing the Reliability of the easyCBM Reading Comprehension Measures: Grade 4. Technical Report #1203

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Bitnara Jasmine; Irvin, P. Shawn; Alonzo, Julie; Lai, Cheng-Fei; Tindal, Gerald

    2012-01-01

    In this technical report, we present the results of a reliability study of the fourth-grade multiple choice reading comprehension measures available on the easyCBM learning system conducted in the spring of 2011. Analyses include split-half reliability, alternate form reliability, person and item reliability as derived from Rasch analysis,…

  7. Analyzing the Reliability of the easyCBM Reading Comprehension Measures: Grade 6. Technical Report #1205

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irvin, P. Shawn; Alonzo, Julie; Park, Bitnara Jasmine; Lai, Cheng-Fei; Tindal, Gerald

    2012-01-01

    In this technical report, we present the results of a reliability study of the sixth-grade multiple choice reading comprehension measures available on the easyCBM learning system conducted in the spring of 2011. Analyses include split-half reliability, alternate form reliability, person and item reliability as derived from Rasch analysis,…

  8. Analyzing the Reliability of the easyCBM Reading Comprehension Measures: Grade 7. Technical Report #1206

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irvin, P. Shawn; Alonzo, Julie; Lai, Cheng-Fei; Park, Bitnara Jasmine; Tindal, Gerald

    2012-01-01

    In this technical report, we present the results of a reliability study of the seventh-grade multiple choice reading comprehension measures available on the easyCBM learning system conducted in the spring of 2011. Analyses include split-half reliability, alternate form reliability, person and item reliability as derived from Rasch analysis,…

  9. THE EFFECT OF LEARNING STRATEGY AND READING INTEREST TO THE READING UNDERSTANDING ABILITY OF STUDENTS OF IAIN BUKIT TINGGI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reflinda

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to determine the influence of learning strategies and reading interest on the ability of reading comprehension of IAIN Bukittinggi students. The question posed is: Whether the discoveri learning strategy associated with learning interests is better than expository learning. The research population is a 5th semester student at the Department of Religious Education at IAIN Bukittinggi. Samples are taken in two classes where one class is taught by a discoveri strategy and the other is taught by an expository strategy. Data were analyzed by using t test (different test. The results show that discover learning strategies in high interest groups and low interest have higher learning outcomes than classes taught with expository strategies

  10. Using Serial and Discrete Digit Naming to Unravel Word Reading Processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altani, Angeliki; Protopapas, Athanassios; Georgiou, George K

    2018-01-01

    During reading acquisition, word recognition is assumed to undergo a developmental shift from slow serial/sublexical processing of letter strings to fast parallel processing of whole word forms. This shift has been proposed to be detected by examining the size of the relationship between serial- and discrete-trial versions of word reading and rapid naming tasks. Specifically, a strong association between serial naming of symbols and single word reading suggests that words are processed serially, whereas a strong association between discrete naming of symbols and single word reading suggests that words are processed in parallel as wholes. In this study, 429 Grade 1, 3, and 5 English-speaking Canadian children were tested on serial and discrete digit naming and word reading. Across grades, single word reading was more strongly associated with discrete naming than with serial naming of digits, indicating that short high-frequency words are processed as whole units early in the development of reading ability in English. In contrast, serial naming was not a unique predictor of single word reading across grades, suggesting that within-word sequential processing was not required for the successful recognition for this set of words. Factor mixture analysis revealed that our participants could be clustered into two classes, namely beginning and more advanced readers. Serial naming uniquely predicted single word reading only among the first class of readers, indicating that novice readers rely on a serial strategy to decode words. Yet, a considerable proportion of Grade 1 students were assigned to the second class, evidently being able to process short high-frequency words as unitized symbols. We consider these findings together with those from previous studies to challenge the hypothesis of a binary distinction between serial/sublexical and parallel/lexical processing in word reading. We argue instead that sequential processing in word reading operates on a continuum

  11. Comparing the Spelling and Reading Abilities of Students with Cochlear Implants and Students with Typical Hearing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Apel, Kenn; Masterson, Julie J.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine whether students with and without hearing loss (HL) differed in their spelling abilities and, specifically, in the underlying linguistic awareness skills that support spelling ability. Furthermore, we examined whether there were differences between the two groups in the relationship between reading and…

  12. Who needs innate ability to succeed in math and literacy? Academic-domain-specific theories of intelligence about peers versus adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunderson, Elizabeth A; Hamdan, Noora; Sorhagen, Nicole S; D'Esterre, Alexander P

    2017-06-01

    Individuals' implicit theories of intelligence exist on a spectrum, from believing intelligence is fixed and unchangeable, to believing it is malleable and can be improved with effort. A belief in malleable intelligence leads to adaptive responses to challenge and higher achievement. However, surprisingly little is known about the development of academic-domain-specific theories of intelligence (i.e., math vs. reading and writing). The authors examined this in a cross-section of students from 1st grade to college (N = 523). They also examined whether students hold different beliefs about the role of fixed ability in adult jobs versus their own grade. The authors' adult-specific beliefs hypothesis states that when children learn societally held beliefs from adults, they first apply these beliefs specifically to adults and later to students their own age. Consistent with this, even the youngest students (1st and 2nd graders) believed that success in an adult job requires more fixed ability in math than reading and writing. However, when asked about students in their own grade, only high school and college students reported that math involves more fixed ability than reading and writing. High school and college students' math-specific theories of intelligence were related to their motivation and achievement in math, controlling for reading and writing-specific theories. Reading and writing-specific theories did not predict reading and writing-specific motivations or achievement, perhaps because students perceive reading and writing as less challenging than math. In summary, academic-domain-specific theories of intelligence develop early but may not become self-relevant until adolescence, and math-specific beliefs may be especially important targets for intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. [Developmental changes of rapid automatized naming and Hiragana reading of Japanese in elementary-school children].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Tomoka; Inagaki, Masumi; Gunji, Atsuko; Yatabe, Kiyomi; Kita, Yosuke; Kaga, Makiko; Gotoh, Takaaki; Koike, Toshihide

    2011-11-01

    Two hundred and seven Japanese elementary school children aged from 6 (Grade 1) to 12 (Grade 6) years old were tested for their abilities to name numbers and pictured objects along with reading Hiragana characters and words. These children all showed typical development and their classroom teachers judged that they were not having any problems with reading or writing. The children were randomly divided into two groups, the first group was assigned to two naming tasks;the rapid automatized naming (RAN) of "numbers" and "pictured objects," the second group was assigned to two rapid alternative stimulus (RAS) naming tasks using numbers and pictured objects. All children were asked to perform two reading tasks that were written in Hiragana script: single mora reading task and four syllable word reading task. The total articulation time for naming and reading and performance in terms of accuracy were measured for each task. Developmental changes in these variables were evaluated. The articulation time was significantly longer for the first graders, and it gradually shortened as they moved through to the upper grades in all tasks. The articulation time reached a plateau in the 5th grade for the number naming, while gradual change continued after drastic change in the lower grades for the pictured object naming. The articulation times for the single mora reading and RAN of numbers correlated strongly. The articulation time for the RAS naming was significantly longer compared to that for the RAN, though there were very few errors. The RAS naming showed the highest correlation with the four syllable word reading. This study demonstrated that the performance in rapid automatized naming of numbers and pictures were closely related with performance on reading tasks. Thus Japanese children with reading disorders such as developmental dyslexia should also be evaluated for rapid automatized naming.

  14. Early Identification of Reading Difficulties

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulsen, Mads; Nielsen, Anne-Mette Veber; Juul, Holger

    2017-01-01

    Early screening for reading difficulties before the onset of instruction is desirable because it allows intervention that is targeted at prevention rather than remediation of reading difficulties. However, early screening may be too inaccurate to effectively allocate resources to those who need...... them. The present study compared the accuracy of early screening before the onset of formal reading instruction with late screening six months into the first year of instruction. The study followed 164 Danish students from the end of Grade 0 to the end of Grade 2. Early screening included measures...... of phonemic awareness, rapid naming, letter knowledge, paired associate learning, and reading. Late screening included only reading. Results indicated that reading measures improved substantially as predictors over the first six months of Grade 1, to the point where late reading measures alone provided...

  15. Reading literacy and reading self-concept of year 6 primary school students

    OpenAIRE

    Cegnar, Katja

    2017-01-01

    In the present Master thesis, we research the relation between the reading literacy and its components and the reading self-concept in grade 6 elementary school students. Sixth grade students were chosen because they are partially taught by class teachers and because we assume that they are already familiar with the reading comprehension technique and have a more-or-less stable reading self-concept. In the theoretical part, we present the importance of functional literacy and of other types o...

  16. Measuring adult literacy students' reading skills using the Gray Oral Reading Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenberg, Daphne; Pae, Hye Kyeong; Morris, Robin D; Calhoon, Mary Beth; Nanda, Alice O

    2009-12-01

    There are not enough reading tests standardized on adults who have very low literacy skills, and therefore tests standardized on children are frequently administered. This study addressed the complexities and problems of using a test normed on children to measure the reading comprehension skills of 193 adults who read at approximately third through fifth grade reading grade equivalency levels. Findings are reported from an analysis of the administration of Form A of the Gray Oral Reading Tests-Fourth Edition (Wiederholt & Bryant, 2001a, b). Results indicated that educators and researchers should be very cautious when interpreting test results of adults who have difficulty reading when children's norm-referenced tests are administered.

  17. The Relationship between Background Classical Music and Reading Comprehension on Seventh and Eighth Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falcon, Evelyn

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine if there is any relationship on reading comprehension when background classical music is played in the setting of a 7th and 8th grade classroom. This study also examined if there was a statistically significant difference in test anxiety when listening to classical music while completing a test. Reading…

  18. Internal Consistency of the easyCBM© CCSS Reading Measures: Grades 3-8. Technical Report #1407

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerreiro, Meg; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

    2014-01-01

    This technical report documents findings from a study of the internal consistency and split-half reliability of the easyCBM© CCSS Reading measures, grades 3-8. Data, drawn from an extant data set gathered in school year 2013-2014, include scores from over 150,000 students' fall and winter benchmark assessments. Findings suggest that the easyCBM©…

  19. Reading Every Single Day: A Journey to Authentic Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson, Alida K.; Williams, Joan A.

    2015-01-01

    This article details one teacher's implementation of reading workshop in her second grade classroom. She provided a framework for authentic reading using the five components of reading workshop: time, choice, response, community, and structure. She found that reading workshop is a highly effective practice for not only increasing students'…

  20. E-Books and Audiobooks: Extending the Digital Reading Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larson, Lotta C.

    2015-01-01

    This article examines how sixth-grade students navigated and perceived a combined e-book and audiobook reading experience using Kindle Fires. While audiobooks and e-books are not new, little is known about students' use and perceptions of the combination of these two media, as the ability to synchronize audio contents with digital texts is rather…

  1. The effect of task-based instruction on reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azizeh Chalak

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Developing reading comprehension ability is an important aspect in acquisition of a language. The present study focused on improving reading comprehension ability through Task-based Instruction (TBI. TBI is a methodology that develops from a focus on classroom tasks. The participants of the study were 135 Iranian female students at different levels selected from high schools in Isfahan, Iran, through a quasi-experimental design. The participants were divided into four groups, two control groups (CGs and two experimental groups (EGs. They received a pre-test, the instruction, and a post-test. The participants in EGs were taught through TBI, whereas CGs were exposed to a traditional method. The comparison between CGs and EGs were made through paired sample t-tests. The results revealed that the students in EGs outperformed CGs. The difference between the two grades was also investigated by independent sample t-test. The results showed that students at first-grade outperformed fourth-graders. The findings suggest that using flexible and interactive tasks in English classes improves reading comprehension ability of Iranian EFL learners. This study may have pedagogical implications for practitioners in the field and for syllabus designers to include appropriate tasks in English textbooks.

  2. Analyzing the Effects of Story Mapping on the Reading Comprehension of Children with Low Intellectual Abilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grünke, Matthias; Wilbert, Jürgen; Stegemann, Kim Calder

    2013-01-01

    This single-case study examined the effects of a graphic organizing strategy on the ability of children to improve their text comprehension abilities. Participants were six students between ten and fourteen years old with major problems in understanding what they read. The intervention intended to teach them to visually highlight key elements of a…

  3. Investigating the ability to read others' intentions using humanoid robots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sciutti, Alessandra; Ansuini, Caterina; Becchio, Cristina; Sandini, Giulio

    2015-01-01

    The ability to interact with other people hinges crucially on the possibility to anticipate how their actions would unfold. Recent evidence suggests that a similar skill may be grounded on the fact that we perform an action differently if different intentions lead it. Human observers can detect these differences and use them to predict the purpose leading the action. Although intention reading from movement observation is receiving a growing interest in research, the currently applied experimental paradigms have important limitations. Here, we describe a new approach to study intention understanding that takes advantage of robots, and especially of humanoid robots. We posit that this choice may overcome the drawbacks of previous methods, by guaranteeing the ideal trade-off between controllability and naturalness of the interactive scenario. Robots indeed can establish an interaction in a controlled manner, while sharing the same action space and exhibiting contingent behaviors. To conclude, we discuss the advantages of this research strategy and the aspects to be taken in consideration when attempting to define which human (and robot) motion features allow for intention reading during social interactive tasks.

  4. ENHANCING STUDENTS’ READING ABILITY THROUGH INQUIRY BASED LEARNING TO EFL STUDENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farnia Sari

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available IBT techniques is series of activities that involved maximally throughout the student's ability to search and investigate in a systematic, critical, logical, analytical, so that they can formulate their own discoveries with confidence the search of knowledge and understanding to satisfy curiosity. IBT technique is also supposed to the teachers be creative to set situations. This method used was quasi experimental design. The purposive sampling technique was used on this study. The data were collected by reading test. The collected data was analyzed by using paired sample t-test and independent sample t-test. The results showed that the students’ reading ability was improved and there was a significant difference between the students who were taught by using IBT and those who were not. With IBT technique encouraged students to take the initiative to have question the phenomenon, to conduct field observations, to analyze the data, and to draw conclusions. Thus, it is to integrate students and synergize various skills of language and different methods.

  5. Examining the Impact and School-Level Predictors of Impact Variability of an 8th Grade Reading Intervention on At-Risk Students' Reading Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fien, Hank; Anderson, Daniel; Nelson, Nancy J.; Kennedy, Patrick; Baker, Scott K.; Stoolmiller, Michael

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of the present article is to report on a large-scale investigation of six school districts' implementation of an initiative aimed at reducing dropout rates by improving reading achievement in the middle grades. Data for the Middle School Intervention Project (MSIP) were collected in 25 middle schools across the state of Oregon. We…

  6. The Influence of Spanish Vocabulary and Phonemic Awareness on Beginning English Reading Development: A Three-Year (K-2nd) Longitudinal Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelley, Michael F.; Roe, Mary; Blanchard, Jay; Atwill, Kim

    2015-01-01

    This investigation examined the influence of varying levels of Spanish receptive vocabulary and phonemic awareness ability on beginning English vocabulary, phonemic awareness, word reading fluency, and reading comprehension development across kindergarten through second grade. The 80 respondents were Spanish speaking children with no English…

  7. Dialogic Strategies in Read-Alouds of English-Language Information Books in a Second-Grade Bilingual Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pappas, Christine C.; Varelas, Maria; Patton, Sofia Kokkino; Ye, Li; Ortiz, Ibett

    2012-01-01

    This article shows how various dialogic discourse strategies were used in read-alouds of English science information books in a 2nd-grade bilingual classroom. Using a variety of discursive strategies, Ibett encouraged her Spanish-speaking students to provide explanations and reasoning related to science ideas. Similarly, she used intertextual…

  8. An Evaluation of an Explicit Read Aloud Intervention Taught in Whole-Classroom Formats In First Grade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Scott K.; Santoro, Lana Edwards; Chard, David J.; Fien, Hank; Park, Yonghan; Otterstedt, Janet

    2013-01-01

    This study describes an evaluation of a read aloud intervention to improve comprehension and vocabulary of first-grade students. Twelve teachers were randomly assigned to an intervention or comparison condition. The study lasted 19 weeks, and the intervention focused on the systematic use of narrative and expository texts and dialogic interactions…

  9. The Effect of Collaborative Strategic Reading on Grade Six Students’ Reading Achievement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siti Tamah

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the language skills to master by Indonesian EFL learners is reading. In order to assist learners comprehend reading texts, teachers are challenged to apply various teaching strategies. As this paper focuses on teaching reading, two teaching strategies dealing with reading instruction are compared. To be specific, in this paper the writers conduct a study to find the difference between Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR and teacher-centered teaching strategy (by applying skimming and scanning. This study was a quasi experimental, which was conducted upon the sixth graders of an elementary school. The finding showed that reading achievements of the students who are taught using CSR and teacher-centered teaching strategy are not significantly different. Nevertheless, this study using Cohen’s d formula finds that CSR gave a small effect on students’ reading achievement.

  10. Differential Constraints on the Working Memory and Reading Abilities of Individuals with Learning Difficulties and Typically Developing Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayliss, Donna M.; Jarrold, Christopher; Baddeley, Alan D.; Leigh, Eleanor

    2005-01-01

    This study examined the factors that constrain the working memory span performance and reading ability of individuals with generalized learning difficulties. In the study, 50 individuals with learning difficulties (LD) and 50 typically developing children (TD) matched for reading age completed two working memory span tasks. Participants also…

  11. Relationship between Phonological Awareness, Rapid Automatized Naming and Reading in First Grade Students in Tehran, Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zahra Soleymani

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Background and Aim: Reading is one of the human's communicative skills. Phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming are parts of the person's linguistic knowledge. Research in different languages and communities suggest that there is a relation between phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming and reading. To survey these relations in Persian language is the aim of this study.Methods: In this study 130 male students from the first grade were selected at random. They were normal in IQ, visual and hearing status. Language development was also normal in these children. This study was a cross-sectional one. Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression test were used to analyze data.Results: The relation between phonological awareness and automatized rapid naming was significant (p<0.0001. Pearson correlation coefficient between phonological awareness and reading was direct (0.86. Pearson correlation coefficient between rapid automatized naming and reading was indirect that equals -0.87. In investigating the relation of two variables simultaneously with reading we concluded that the relation between phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming and reading is statistically significant (p<0.0001.Conclusion: The results of this research revealed that in Persian language like other languages there is a relation between phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, and reading. Reading skills of children could be improved with this exercises.

  12. Psychomotor Ability and Short-term Memory, and Reading and Mathematics Achievement in Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murrihy, Cherée; Bailey, Maria; Roodenburg, John

    2017-08-01

    The aim of our study was to examine whether the findings from previous research, indicating the role of short-term memory as a mediator of the relationship between motor coordination and academic achievement in adolescents, is also evident in a younger child population. The study utilized a quantative cross-sectional design involving 133 children aged 8-12. The McCarron Assessment of Neuromuscular Development (MAND) provided four indicators of psychomotor ability (Finger Nose, Walking, Balancing, and Jumping). The Woodcock-Johnson Cognitive battery and the Automated Working Memory Assessment (AWMA) provided two measures of short-term memory (Numbers Reversed and Digit Recall) and the WJIII Achievement battery provided two measures of reading achievement (Letter-word Identification and Passage Comprehension) and two measures of mathematics achievement (Applied Problems and Calculation). Structural equation modeling was used, controlling for age, processing speed, crystallized, and fluid intelligence where appropriate. The results found support for the hypothesis that short-term memory fully mediates the relationship between psychomotor ability and reading and mathematics achievement. These findings indicate the significant affect of psychomotor ability on learning outcomes and consequently the need to assess these in considering learning difficulties, and as such these findings also advance understanding of developmental neural mechanisms underpinning the relationships. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. Rhythm Reproduction in Kindergarten, Reading Performance at Second Grade, and Developmental Dyslexia Theories

    OpenAIRE

    Dellatolas, Georges; Watier, Laurence; Le Normand, Marie-Thérèse; Todd, Lubbart; Claude, Chevrie-Muller

    2009-01-01

    International audience; Temporal processing deficit could be associated with a specific difficulty in learning to read. In 1951, Stambak provided preliminary evi- dence that children with dyslexia performed less well than good readers in reproduction of 21 rhythmic patterns. Stambak's task was admi- nistered to 1,028 French children aged 5 – 6 years. The score distribution ( from 0 to 21) was quasi-normal, with some children failing completely and other performing perfectly. In second grade, rea...

  14. Exploring the Relationship between Adolescent's Reading Skills, Reading Motivation and Reading Habits

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGeown, Sarah P.; Duncan, Lynne G.; Griffiths, Yvonne M.; Stothard, Sue E.

    2015-01-01

    The present study examines the extent to which adolescents' reading affect (reading motivation) and behaviour (reading habits) predict different components of reading (word reading, comprehension, summarisation and text reading speed) and also adds to the limited research examining group differences (gender, age, ability) in adolescents' reading…

  15. Reading motivation in elementary school students

    OpenAIRE

    Sonja Pečjak; Nataša Bucik

    2005-01-01

    Reading motivation is one of the crucial factors of reading and consequently also learning efficiency of students. The purpose of the contribution is to establish the connection between dimensions of reading motivation and reading achievement in elementary school students. Participating in the study were 1073 third-grade and 1282 seventh-grade students. We used the questionnaire of reading motivation which consists of two factors: the reading competence factor and the interest and perceived r...

  16. The Factor Structure of Coordination Abilities Development in 5th-7th Grade Boys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    В. В. Приходько

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The objective is to determine the structure of coordination abilities development in 5th-7th grade boys. Materials and methods. The participants in the study were boys of the 5th grade (n=21, 6th grade (n=20, and 7th grade (n=19. The paper used analysis and generalization of the scientific and methodological literature data, general scientific methods of theoretical level, namely: analogy, analysis, synthesis, abstracting, induction, as well as general scientific methods of empirical level: observation, testing, experiment. To evaluate of the motor preparedness, the results of motor tests, height and body weight were recorded. The materials of the study were processed in the statistical analysis program IBM SPSS 20. Factor analysis was carried out using a model of the principal components with the rotation method: Variamax with Kaiser normalization. Results. Analysis of the similarities shows that the most informative in the structure of the 5th grade boys’ motor preparedness are Test 9 “Static Equilibrium Evaluation by E. Ya. Bondarevsky’s Method” (,999, Test 2 “Standing Long Jump (cm” (,998, Test 10 “Dynamic Equilibrium Evaluation by Bess Method” (,916; for the 6th grade boys such are Test 9 “Static Equilibrium Evaluation by E. Ya. Bondarevsky’s Method” (1.0, Test 2 “Standing Long Jump (cm” (,999, Test 5 “Sit-Up for 30 sec.” (,968, Test 10 “Dynamic Equilibrium Evaluation by Bess Method” (,918; for the 7th grade boys such are Test 2 “Standing Long Jump (cm” (,994, Test 9 “Static Equilibrium Evaluation by E. Ya. Bondarevsky’s Method” (,987, Test 10 “Dynamic Equilibrium Evaluation by Bess Method” (,945. Conclusions. The most informative in the structure of 5th-7th grade boys’ coordination abilities is vestibular tolerance. For pedagogical control of 5th-7th grade boys’ motor preparedness the following can be recommended: Test 2 “Standing Long Jump (cm”, Test 9 “Static Equilibrium

  17. Profile formation of academic self-concept in elementary school students in grades 1 to 4.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabelle Schmidt

    Full Text Available Academic self-concept (ASC is comprised of individual perceptions of one's own academic ability. In a cross-sectional quasi-representative sample of 3,779 German elementary school children in grades 1 to 4, we investigated (a the structure of ASC, (b ASC profile formation, an aspect of differentiation that is reflected in lower correlations between domain-specific ASCs with increasing grade level, (c the impact of (internal dimensional comparisons of one's own ability in different school subjects for profile formation of ASC, and (d the role played by differences in school grades between subjects for these dimensional comparisons. The nested Marsh/Shavelson model, with general ASC at the apex and math, writing, and reading ASC as specific factors nested under general ASC fitted the data at all grade levels. A first-order factor model with math, writing, reading, and general ASCs as correlated factors provided a good fit, too. ASC profile formation became apparent during the first two to three years of school. Dimensional comparisons across subjects contributed to ASC profile formation. School grades enhanced these comparisons, especially when achievement profiles were uneven. In part, findings depended on the assumed structural model of ASCs. Implications for further research are discussed with special regard to factors influencing and moderating dimensional comparisons.

  18. Using Primary Language Support via Computer to Improve Reading Comprehension Skills of First-Grade English Language Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, Cathi Draper; Filler, John; Higgins, Kyle

    2012-01-01

    Through this exploratory study the authors investigated the effects of primary language support delivered via computer on the English reading comprehension skills of English language learners. Participants were 28 First-grade students identified as Limited English Proficient. The primary language of all participants was Spanish. Students were…

  19. SMART STRATEGY TO BOOST STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Lukman Syafi’i

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Reading as one of language skills plays significant roles in the teaching English as a foreign language. Since the teacher still uses the conventional way to teach reading, students‘ ability in reading comprehension seems still unsatisfactory yet. So, teacher should explore and develop new strategies. One of strategies in reading comprehension that can trigger our students to attain that purpose is SMART (Self Monitoring Approach for Reading and Thinking strategy. This study is developing SMART strategy to boost the reading comprehension achievement of the ninth grade students. The research applies a collaborative classroom action research design in which the researcher and the collaborative teacher work together in preparing a suitable procedure of SMART strategy, designing the lesson plan, determining the criteria of success, implementing the action, observing, and doing reflection. The finding indicated that SMART strategy was successful to enhance students‘ motivation to be actively involved in the instructional process. The improvement on the students‘ participation was 75% in Cycle 1 and 87% in Cycle 2.

  20. Impact of Attending Jump Start Literacy Camp on Reading Achievement among Third and Fourth Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padgett, Carrie B.

    2010-01-01

    The Jump Start Literacy Camp was developed as a means to combat summer learning loss. The camp utilized high-energy activities to target phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. This study examined the effects of the Jump Start Literacy Camp on reading achievement for rising third and fourth grade students in an urban…

  1. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses in Reading-Related Cognitive Component among Grade Four Students in Thailand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Chen-Huei; Kuo, Bor-Chen; Deenang, Exkarach; Mok, Magdalena Mo Ching

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the structure and the validity of the cognitive components of reading in Thai, which is a language with a high degree of grapheme-phoneme correspondence. The participants were 1181 fourth-grade students in 29 schools in Thailand, divided into two subsamples for data analysis. Phoneme isolation, rapid colour naming,…

  2. Learning to Read and Spell in Persian: A Cross-Sectional Study from Grades 1 to 4

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahbari, Noriyeh; Senechal, Monique

    2010-01-01

    We investigated the reading and spelling development of 140 Persian children attending Grades 1-4 in Iran. Persian has very consistent letter-sound correspondences, but it varies in transparency because 3 of its 6 vowel phonemes are not marked with letters. Persian also varies in spelling consistency because 6 phonemes have more than one…

  3. Comparison of Emotion Recognition and Mind Reading Abilities in Opium Abusers and Healthy Matched Individuals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vahid Nejati

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The purpose of this study is to compare the emotion recognition and mind reading in opium abusers and healthy individuals. Method: In this causative-comparative study, with a non probability sampling method, 30 opium abusers compared with 30 healthy individuals that were matched in sex and education. Neurocognitive tests of reading mind from eyes and emotion recognition from face were used for evaluation. Independent T-Test was used for analysis. Findings: The results showed that opium abusers had significantly lower abilities in mind reading than healthy matched individuals. Also opium abusers had significantly lower performance in recognition of emotional experience of happy, sad and angry faces. Conclusion: Based on weak performance of mind reading and emotion recognition in addicts, it is advised that social cognition evaluation considered in drug abusers evaluation. Future interventional study could propose social cognition rehabilitation programs for addicts.

  4. [Language and behavioral difficulties at age 3 and half and reading delay in grade 2].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watier, L; Dellatolas, G; Chevrie-Muller, C

    2006-09-01

    Early detection of specific language impairment and dyslexia in children is an important public health problem. Longitudinal studies are needed for the distinction of real impairments from simple transitory delays. Teachers filled a 29-item questionnaire on language and behavior for 695 children aged 3.5 years. Four years later (at second grade of primary school) the same children were evaluated for reading and writing. Statistical analysis focused on the relationships between teacher's early observations and reading delay 4 years later. Associated factors were age, sex, educational level and bilinguism of the parents, and area of the school. The delay in written language acquisition (8.5% of the children) was significantly associated with low educational level (but not bilinguism) of the parents and to the area of the school. In univariate analysis, most of the teacher's early negative assessments were significantly related to reading/writing delay, with the exception of some behavioral problems. However, when the effect of associated factors was taken into account only a few items, mainly concerning language expression, remained significantly associated with later reading/writing delay. These data show a major role of associated factors (educational level of the parents, area of the school) in reading delay, and help to select specific teacher's observations for an early prediction of this delay.

  5. Reading motivation, reading amount, and text comprehension in deaf and hearing adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parault, Susan J; Williams, Heather M

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the variables of reading motivation, reading amount, and text comprehension in deaf and hearing adults. Research has shown that less than 50% of deaf students leave high school reading at or above a fourth-grade level (Allen, 1994). Our question is, how does this affect the levels of reading motivation and amount of reading in which deaf adults engage? Assessments of 30 hearing and 24 deaf adults showed that deaf participants reported significantly higher levels of reading motivation despite having been found to read at less than a sixth-grade level. No significant difference in the amount of reading between hearing and deaf adults was found. Amount of reading for personal reasons was found to be the best predictor of text comprehension in the deaf participants, and intrinsic motivation was found to be the best predictor of amount of reading in the deaf participants.

  6. Music memory following short-term practice and its relationship with the sight-reading abilities of professional pianists

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eriko eAiba

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the relationship between the ability to sight-read and the ability to memorize a score using a behavioural experiment. By measuring the amount of memorization following short-term practice, we examined whether better sight-readers not only estimate forthcoming notes but also memorize musical structures and phrases with more practice.Eleven pianists performed the music first by sight-reading. After a 20-minute practice, the participants were asked to perform from memory without any advance notice. The number of mistakes was used as an index of performance.There were no correlations in the numbers of mistakes between sight-reading and memory trial performance. Some pianists memorized almost the entire score, while others hardly remembered it despite demonstrating almost completely accurate performance just before memory trial performance. However, judging from the participants’ responses to a questionnaire regarding their practice strategies, we found auditory memory was helpful for memorizing music following short-term practice.

  7. Music Memory Following Short-term Practice and Its Relationship with the Sight-reading Abilities of Professional Pianists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aiba, Eriko; Matsui, Toshie

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between the ability to sight-read and the ability to memorize a score using a behavioral experiment. By measuring the amount of memorization following short-term practice, we examined whether better sight-readers not only estimate forthcoming notes but also memorize musical structures and phrases with more practice. Eleven pianists performed the music first by sight-reading. After a 20-minute practice, the participants were asked to perform from memory without any advance notice. The number of mistakes was used as an index of performance. There were no correlations in the numbers of mistakes between sight-reading and memory trial performance. Some pianists memorized almost the entire score, while others hardly remembered it despite demonstrating almost completely accurate performance just before memory trial performance. However, judging from the participants' responses to a questionnaire regarding their practice strategies, we found auditory memory was helpful for memorizing music following short-term practice.

  8. Emergent Understandings: Multilingual Fourth Grade Students Generating Close Readings and Multimodal Responses to Global and Informational Texts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasty, Michelle Medlin; Fain, Jeanne Gilliam

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, the authors present findings from a yearlong ethnographic research study that examines the development of critical literacy within two urban fourth grade classrooms in Tennessee. This study examines how young second language learners in English-dominant classrooms learn to read critically, write, and construct multimodal…

  9. The Effects of Collaborative Strategic Reading on Informational Text Comprehension and Metacognitive Awareness of Fifth Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCown, Margaret Averill

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the effects of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) on informational text comprehension and metacognitive awareness of fifth grade students. This study tested the theories of metacognition and social cognition with a focus on self-regulation and self-efficacy. Participating students included a heterogeneous mix of regular…

  10. Calculation and word problem-solving skills in primary grades - Impact of cognitive abilities and longitudinal interrelations with task-persistent behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jõgi, Anna-Liisa; Kikas, Eve

    2016-06-01

    Primary school math skills form a basis for academic success down the road. Different math skills have different antecedents and there is a reason to believe that more complex math tasks require better self-regulation. The study aimed to investigate longitudinal interrelations of calculation and problem-solving skills, and task-persistent behaviour in Grade 1 and Grade 3, and the effect of non-verbal intelligence, linguistic abilities, and executive functioning on math skills and task persistence. Participants were 864 students (52.3% boys) from 33 different schools in Estonia. Students were tested twice - at the end of Grade1 and at the end of Grade 3. Calculation and problem-solving skills, and teacher-rated task-persistent behaviour were measured at both time points. Non-verbal intelligence, linguistic abilities, and executive functioning were measured in Grade 1. Cross-lagged structural equation modelling indicated that calculation skills depend on previous math skills and linguistic abilities, while problem-solving skills require also non-verbal intelligence, executive functioning, and task persistence. Task-persistent behaviour in Grade 3 was predicted by previous problem-solving skills, linguistic abilities, and executive functioning. Gender and mother's educational level were added as covariates. The findings indicate that math skills and self-regulation are strongly related in primary grades and that solving complex tasks requires executive functioning and task persistence from children. Findings support the idea that instructional practices might benefit from supporting self-regulation in order to gain domain-specific, complex skill achievement. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

  11. The Diagnosis and Treatment of Reading and/or Spelling Disorders in Children and Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galuschka, Katharina; Schulte-Körne, Gerd

    2016-04-22

    3-11% of children and adolescents suffer from a reading andor spelling disorder. Their poor written-language skills markedly impair their scholastic performance and are often associated with other mental disorders. A great deal of uncertainty still surrounds the question of the appropriate methods of diagnosis and treatment. We systematically searched for pertinent publications in databases and literature reference lists, summarized the evidence in six tables, and examined some of it in a meta-analysis. Recommendations were developed in a consensus conference. A reading and/or spelling disorder should only be diagnosed if performance in these areas is below average. It should be determined whether an attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorder, or disorder of arithmetical skills is also present. Reading and spelling performance should be reinforced with systematic instruction about letter-sound and sound-letter correspondences, letter-syllable-morpheme synthesis, and sound-syllablemorpheme analysis (g' = 0.32) (recommendation grade A). Spelling ability responds best to spelling-rule training (recommendation grade A). Irlen lenses, visual and/or auditory perceptual training, hemispheric stimulation, piracetam, and prism spectacles should not be used (recommendation grade A). Evidence- and consensus-based guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of reading and/or spelling disorders in children and adolescents are now available for the first time. Reading and spelling abilities should be systematically and comprehensively reinforced, and potential comorbid disorders should be sought and treated appropriately. The efficacy of many treatments now in use has not been documented; if they are to be used in the future, they must be tested in randomized, controlled trials. For adult sufferers, adequate diagnostic instruments and therapeutic methods are not yet available.

  12. The teaching and learning of reading in Swedish speaking schools in Finland : A study of teachers’ relation to reading in first and second grade in three Swedish speaking schools in Finland.

    OpenAIRE

    Frost, Lena

    2014-01-01

    Finnish student have for several years proved to be successful in reading in international studies. This interview based study aims to describe how teachers in Finnish schools for Swedish speaking children are relating to reading and reading education during the first two years of schooling. The result shows that reading, reading training and reading comprehension are natural elements in all teaching during the first two years in school and that teaching is based on students’ ability and inte...

  13. Modeling Oral Reading Fluency Development in Latino Students: A Longitudinal Study across Second and Third Grade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Petscher, Yaacov; Pappamihiel, N. Eleni; Williams, Rihana S.; Dyrlund, Allison K.; Connor, Carol

    2009-01-01

    This study examines growth in oral reading fluency across 2nd and 3rd grade for Latino students grouped in 3 English proficiency levels: students receiving English as a second language (ESL) services (n = 2,182), students exited from ESL services (n = 965), and students never designated as needing services (n = 1,857). An important focus was to…

  14. Reading Amount as a Mediator of the Effects of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Reading Motivation on Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaffner, Ellen; Schiefele, Ulrich; Ulferts, Hannah

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the role of reading amount as a mediator of the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation on higher order reading comprehension (comprised of paragraph-and passage-level comprehension) in a sample of 159 fifth-grade elementary students. A positive association between intrinsic reading motivation and reading amount…

  15. Acquiring Orthographic Processing through Word Reading: Evidence from Children Learning to Read French and English

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasquarella, Adrian; Deacon, Helene; Chen, Becky X.; Commissaire, Eva; Au-Yeung, Karen

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the within-language and cross-language relationships between orthographic processing and word reading in French and English across Grades 1 and 2. Seventy-three children in French Immersion completed measures of orthographic processing and word reading in French and English in Grade 1 and Grade 2, as well as a series of control…

  16. Investigating the ability to read others’ intentions using humanoid robots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessandra eSciutti

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The ability to interact with other people hinges crucially on the possibility to anticipate how their actions would unfold. Recent evidence suggests that a similar skill may be grounded on the fact that we perform an action differently if different intentions lead it. Human observers can detect these differences and use them to predict the purpose leading the action. Although intention reading from movement observation is receiving a growing interest in research, the currently applied experimental paradigms have important limitations. Here, we describe a new approach to study intention understanding that takes advantage of robots, and especially of humanoid robots. We posit that this choice may overcome the drawbacks of previous methods, by guaranteeing the ideal trade-off between controllability and naturalness of the interactive scenario. Robots indeed can establish an interaction in a controlled manner, while sharing the same action space and guaranteeing contingent behaviors. To conclude, we discuss the advantages of this research strategy and the aspects to be taken in consideration when attempting to define which human (and robot motion features allow for intention reading during social interactive tasks.

  17. The Effectiveness of MURDER Cooperative Model towards Students' Mathematics Reasoning Ability and Self Concept of Ten Grade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sofan Tri Prasetiyo

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to know the effectiveness of MURDER cooperative model towards students’ mathematics reasoning ability and self concept of ten grade. Population of this research were students of MIA ten grade Senior High School 1 Kebumen in the academic year 2016/1017. Sampling technique using simple random sampling technique. The data collected by the method of documentation, test methods, observation methods, and questionnaire methods. The analyzed of data are used completeness test and average different test. The results showed that: (1 mathematics reasoning ability of students that following MURDER cooperative model have completed individual and classical study completeness; (2 mathematics reasoning ability of students that following MURDER cooperative model better than mathematics reasoning ability of students that following ekspository learning; (3 self concept of students that following MURDER cooperative model better than self concept of students that following ekspository learning.

  18. Metacognitive and language-specific knowledge in native and foreign language reading comprehension: an emprical study among Dutch students in grades 6, 8 and 10

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schoonen, R.; Hulstijn, J.; Bossers, B.

    1998-01-01

    This article gives the results of a study among 685 students in grades 6, 8 and 10 in the Netherlands to whom we administered grade-appropriate measures of reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge in their native language (NL), Dutch, as well as, in grades 8 and 10, in English as a foreign

  19. The Analysis of Fourth Grade Primary Students' Reader Self-Perceptions in Terms of Gender and Preschool Educational Background

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagirli, Muhittin; Okur, Burçin

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to analyse perceptions of fourth grade primary school students on their reading ability. In study, screening model was used as a quantitative research method. The sample of this research was selected by convenience sampling. The sample consisted of 556 fourth grade students who received education in 8 public schools in…

  20. Simple View of Reading in Down's syndrome: the role of listening comprehension and reading skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roch, Maja; Levorato, M Chiara

    2009-01-01

    According to the 'Simple View of Reading' (Hoover and Gough 1990), individual differences in reading comprehension are accounted for by decoding skills and listening comprehension, each of which makes a unique and specific contribution. The current research was aimed at testing the Simple View of Reading in individuals with Down's syndrome and comparing their profiles with typically developing first graders. Listening comprehension and the ability to read both words and non-words was compared in two groups with the same level of reading comprehension: 23 individuals with Down's syndrome aged between 11 years 3 months and 18 years 2 months and 23 first-grade typically developing children aged between 6 years 2 months and 7 years 4 months. The results indicate that at the same level of reading comprehension, individuals with Down's syndrome have less developed listening comprehension and more advanced word recognition than typically developing first graders. A comparison of the profiles of the two groups revealed that reading comprehension level was predicted by listening comprehension in both groups of participants and by word-reading skills only in typically developing children. The Simple View of Reading model is confirmed for individuals with Down's syndrome, although they do not show the reading profile of typically developing first graders; rather, they show an atypical profile similar to that of 'poor comprehenders' (Cain and Oakhill 2006). The crucial role of listening comprehension in Down's syndrome is also discussed with reference to the educational implications.

  1. Depicting reading ability as an information literacy model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aurora Cuevas Cerveró

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available Readers’ world has been lately challenged by significant changes, such as the increase on reading supply, the diversification of documentary media and the new types of reading, writing and communicating through the Internet. Such situation specially affects 21st century schools, which are evolving too slowly and so being relegated from their corresponding pre-eminent place as reading teachers and knowledge transmitters. The main goal of this article is to contribute mitigating such adverse effects on schools by proposing an information literacy skills model aimed for improving reading competency from the school library, which is considered a key element capable of turning reading again into an indispensable instrument in knowledge construction.

  2. Testing a Nested Skills Model of the Relations among Invented Spelling, Accurate Spelling, and Word Reading, from Kindergarten to Grade 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sénéchal, Monique

    2017-01-01

    The goal was to assess the role of invented spelling to subsequent reading and spelling as proposed by the Nested Skills Model of Early Literacy Acquisition. 107 English-speaking children were tested at the beginning of kindergarten and grade 1, and at the end of grade 1. The findings provided support for the proposed model. First, the role played…

  3. The Correlation of Playing Role-playing Games and Students' Reading Comprehension of Narrative Text

    OpenAIRE

    Putra, Praditya

    2014-01-01

    This research investigates the correlation of playing Role-Playing Games and students' reading comprehension of narrative text. Thirty (30) ninth grade students who play Role-Playing Games participated in this study. Their frequency in playing Role-Playing Games and their ability in reading comprehension of narrative text are analyzed by using correlation research design. Correlation research design was used in this study in order to find out the tendency of relation between students' frequen...

  4. Growth of reading skills in children with a history of specific language impairment: the role of autistic symptomatology and language-related abilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    St Clair, Michelle C; Durkin, Kevin; Conti-Ramsden, Gina; Pickles, Andrew

    2010-03-01

    Individuals with a history of specific language impairment (SLI) often have subsequent problems with reading skills, but there have been some discrepant findings as to the developmental time course of these skills. This study investigates the developmental trajectories of reading skills over a 9-year time-span (from 7 to 16 years of age) in a large sample of individuals with a history of SLI. Relationships among reading skills, autistic symptomatology, and language-related abilities were also investigated. The results indicate that both reading accuracy and comprehension are deficient but that the development of these skills progresses in a consistently parallel fashion to what would be expected from a normative sample of same age peers. Language-related abilities were strongly associated with reading skills. Unlike individuals with SLI only, those with SLI and additional autistic symptomatology had adequate reading accuracy but did not differ from the individuals with SLI only in reading comprehension. They exhibited a significant gap between what they could read and what they could understand when reading. These findings provide strong evidence that individuals with SLI experience continued, long-term deficits in reading skills from childhood to adolescence.

  5. EFL reading goals of grade 11 students across public and non-public schools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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    Tekle Ferede

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the EFL reading goals of Grade 11 students across public and non-public schools in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. To this end, quantitative data were collected from 556 (375 public and 181 non-public students via pre-tested structured questionnaire and analyzed into means, medians, standard deviations, ranges and Mann-Whitney U test scores. The results show that non-public school students were found better than public school students in possessing components of both extrinsic and intrinsic goals for reading. The notable exception in this regard is that public school students had higher social motivation for reading than their non-public school counterparts. Based on this finding, it has been concluded that non-public school students have a better chance of evolving as persistent self-initiated EFL readers since they have various goals which urge them to engage in reading a range of texts. It is thus recommended that English language teachers in public schools should constantly take actions to enable their students to develop appropriate EFL reading goals.

  6. Literacy of 8th and 9th grade pupils with reading and writing disabilities in comparison with pupils without reading and writing disabilities

    OpenAIRE

    Fijavž, Katarina

    2017-01-01

    For the last decade literacy and illiteracy of the young at the end of their education has been very often the subject under discussion. Already in 1951 UNESCO provided the definition of literacy, which says that literacy is the ability of a person who can with understanding both read and write a short, simple statement of his everyday life. The definition was later on expanded to the possession by an individual of the knowledge and skills of reading and writing, which enable him to effective...

  7. Revisiting the Relations between the WJ-IV Measures of Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) Cognitive Abilities and Reading Achievement during the School-Age Years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cormier, Damien C.; McGrew, Kevin S.; Bulut, Okan; Funamoto, Allyson

    2017-01-01

    This study examined associations between broad cognitive abilities (Fluid Reasoning [Gf], Short-Term Working Memory [Gwm], Long-Term Storage and Retrieval [Glr], Processing Speed [Gs], Comprehension-Knowledge [Gc], Visual Processing [Gv], and Auditory Processing [Ga]) and reading achievement (Basic Reading Skills, Reading Rate, Reading Fluency,…

  8. Behavioral Attention: A Longitudinal Study of Whether and How It Influences the Development of Word Reading and Reading Comprehension among At-Risk Readers

    OpenAIRE

    Miller, Amanda C.; Fuchs, Douglas; Fuchs, Lynn S.; Compton, Donald L.; Kearns, Devin; Zhang, Wenjuan; Yen, Loulee; Patton, Samuel; Kirchner, Danielle

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which teacher ratings of behavioral attention predicted responsiveness to word reading instruction in first grade and third-grade reading comprehension performance. Participants were 110 first grade students identified as at-risk for reading difficulties who received 20 weeks of intensive reading intervention in combination with classroom reading instruction. Path analysis indicated that teacher ratings of student attention significantly ...

  9. Motivating Grade 1 Children to Read: Exploring the Role of Choice, Curiosity, and Challenge in Mobile Ebooks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciampa, Katia

    2016-01-01

    A pre-experimental case study design was used to explore the value of intrinsic motivation in mobile eBook reading among 30 Grade 1 child participants. Data collection comprised pre- and post-test motivation questionnaires and researcher field notes. Child participants' enjoyment of mobile eBooks corresponded to 3 motivational aspects of intrinsic…

  10. Just-in-Time Teaching Techniques through Web Technologies for Vocational Students' Reading and Writing Abilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chantoem, Rewadee; Rattanavich, Saowalak

    2016-01-01

    This research compares the English language achievements of vocational students, their reading and writing abilities, and their attitudes towards learning English taught with just-in-time teaching techniques through web technologies and conventional methods. The experimental and control groups were formed, a randomized true control group…

  11. The etiology of mathematical and reading (dis)ability covariation in a sample of Dutch twins

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Markowitz, E.M.; Willemsen, A.H.M.; Trumbetta, S.L.; van Beijsterveldt, C.E.M.; Boomsma, D.I.

    2005-01-01

    The genetic etiology of mathematical and reading (dis)ability has been studied in a number of distinct samples, but the true nature of the relationship between the two remains unclear. Data from the Netherlands Twin Register was used to determine the etiology of the relationship between mathematical

  12. "Txtn Is Ez F U No H2 Rd": The Relation between Reading Ability and Text-Messaging Behaviour

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coe, J. E. L.; Oakhill, J. V.

    2011-01-01

    A study was carried out to explore whether or not there is a relationship between children's reading ability and text-messaging behaviour. The aims of this study were to compare good and poor readers on their amount of usage of mobile phones, the frequency and type of text devices they used, and the speed at which they could read messages in…

  13. A Longitudinal Examination of the Persistence of Late Emerging Reading Disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Etmanskie, Jill M; Partanen, Marita; Siegel, Linda S

    2016-01-01

    There are some children who encounter unexpected reading difficulties in the fourth grade. This phenomenon has been described as late emerging reading disabilities (LERD). Using Grade 4 as a starting point, this study examined the reading development of 964 children between kindergarten and Grade 7. The results showed that 72.0% of children had typical reading performance in Grade 4, whereas there was 0.7% with poor word reading, 12.6% with poor reading comprehension, 2.5% with poor word reading and comprehension, and 12.2% with borderline performance. We also showed that there were similar proportions of children who had early versus late emerging reading difficulties; however, most of the late emerging poor readers recovered by Grade 7. Furthermore, our study showed that poor comprehenders showed poorer performance than typical readers on word reading, pseudoword decoding, and spelling between Grade 1 and Grade 7 and poorer performance on a working memory task in kindergarten. Overall, this study showed that most children recover from late emerging reading problems and that working memory may be an early indicator for reading comprehension difficulties. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

  14. Effect of Piracetam on Dyslexic's Reading Ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilsher, C.; And Others

    1985-01-01

    Forty-six dyslexic boys (aged eight to 13) were administered Piracetam or placebo in a double-blind, parallel experiment. Although, overall, there were no significant group effects, the within-subject design revealed improvements in reading speed and accuracy in Piracetam Ss. Dyslexics with higher reading ages improved significantly compared to…

  15. Kaplan SpellRead. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    What Works Clearinghouse, 2007

    2007-01-01

    "Kaplan SpellRead" (formerly known as "SpellRead Phonological Auditory Training"[R]) is a literacy program for struggling readers in grades 2 or above, including special education students, English language learners, and students more than two years below grade level in reading. "Kaplan SpellRead" integrates the…

  16. Growth in Rapid Automatized Naming from Grades K to 8 in Children with Math or Reading Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazzocco, Michèle M. M.; Grimm, Kevin J.

    2013-01-01

    Rapid automatized naming (RAN) is widely used to identify reading disabilities (RD) and has recently been considered a potential predictor of risk for mathematics learning disabilities (MLD). Here we longitudinally examine RAN performance from Grades K to 8, to view how growth on RAN response time differs for children with RD versus MLD. Across…

  17. The Longitudinal Contribution of Early Morphological Awareness Skills to Reading Fluency and Comprehension in Greek

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George Manolitsis

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the role of three morphological awareness (MA skills (inflection, derivation, and compounding in word reading fluency and reading comprehension in a relatively transparent orthography (Greek. Two hundred and fifteen (104 girls; Mage = 67.40 months, at kindergarten Greek children were followed from kindergarten (K to grade 2 (G2. In K and grade 1 (G1, they were tested on measures of MA (two inflectional, two derivational, and three compounding, letter knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming (RAN, and general cognitive ability (vocabulary and non-verbal IQ. At the end of G1 and G2, they were also tested on word reading fluency and reading comprehension. The results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that the inflectional and derivational aspects of MA in K as well as all aspects of MA in G1 accounted for 2–5% of unique variance in reading comprehension. None of the MA skills predicted word reading fluency, after controlling for the effects of vocabulary and RAN. These findings suggest that the MA skills, even when assessed as early as in kindergarten, play a significant role in reading comprehension development.

  18. The Link between Text Difficulty, Reading Speed and Exploration of Printed Text during Shared Book Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy-Charland, Annie; Perron, Melanie; Turgeon, Krystle-Lee; Hoffman, Nichola; Chamberland, Justin A.

    2016-01-01

    In the current study the reading speed of the narration and the difficulty of the text was manipulated and links were explored with children's attention to the printed text in shared book reading. Thirty-nine children (24 grade 1 and 15 grade 2) were presented easy and difficult books at slow (syllable by syllable) or fast (adult reading speed)…

  19. Reading Ability and Grades: A Brief Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pedrini, Bonnie C.; Pedrini, D. T.

    High attrition rates at colleges and universities are costly to students and to institutions, in terms of money, time, effort, etc. The prediction of academic success or failure is related to the problem of accountability. In order to plan and account for certain program expenditures, it becomes imperative to predict the needs and behaviors of…

  20. Reading Fluency in the Middle and Secondary Grades

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David D. PAIGE

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available In this article we discuss the specifics of reading fluency and provide suggestions for identifying when reading is fluent and when it is not. We then discuss the important role that reading fluency plays in the attainment of literacy achievement and briefly review research results that highlight the relationship between fluency and comprehension. This is followed by a discussion of reading fluency and comprehension data gathered by one of the authors in India that highlight the possibilities for the acquisition of fluent reading in those learning English as a second language. Following a review of strategies to assist middle and secondary teachers with the development of fluent reading in their students, we conclude with a discussion of word study strategies that promote syllabic and morphemic analysis. Such strategies aid readers in the development of word automaticity and encourage the development of fluent reading.

  1. The role of morphology and short vowelization in reading Arabic among normal and dyslexic readers in grades 3, 6, 9, and 12.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Rabia, Salim

    2007-03-01

    This study was an investigation of several Arabic reading measures among dyslexics and normal Arabic readers across different ages (grades 3, 6, 9, and 12): the role of morphology, short vowelization (phonological and syntactic skills), spelling, reading isolated words, and reading comprehension. The results of the one-way ANOVAs indicated clear differences between the dyslexic readers and the normal readers on all reading measures. However, the stepwise regression analysis revealed consistent orthographic results: morphology (identification and/or production) and spelling were generally the most powerful predictors of both reading accuracy and reading comprehension among dyslexic and normal readers across these different age groups. The results are discussed in terms of the characteristics of the Arabic orthography and the heavy reliance of readers at all levels and ages on orthographic factors in reading.

  2. Linguistic Interdependence between Spanish Language and English Language and Reading: A Longitudinal Exploration from Second through Fifth Grade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proctor, C. Patrick; Harring, Jeffrey R.; Silverman, Rebecca D.

    2017-01-01

    This study explored effects of Spanish oral language skills (vocabulary and syntax) on the development of English oral language skills (vocabulary, morphology, semantics, syntax) and reading comprehension among 156 bilingual Latino children in second through fifth grade whose first language was Spanish and whose second language was English. Using…

  3. Reading Big Words: Instructional Practices to Promote Multisyllabic Word Reading Fluency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toste, Jessica R.; Williams, Kelly J.; Capin, Philip

    2017-01-01

    Poorly developed word recognition skills are the most pervasive and debilitating source of reading challenges for students with learning disabilities (LD). With a notable decrease in word reading instruction in the upper elementary grades, struggling readers receive fewer instructional opportunities to develop proficient word reading skills, yet…

  4. English reading and writing performance of Xitsonga-speaking Grade 7 learners in township schools: A case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manyike, Tintswalo V.

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available A clear preference for English as language of teaching and learning (LoLT is evident in most South African schools. However, discrepancies exist between language policy aims and educational outcomes with regard to the successful acquisition of English among English second language (ESL learners. Effective participation in all learning activities is closely linked to learners’ proficiency in the LoLT; poor English proficiency leads to underachievement across the curriculum. In the light of this, a case study as conducted to investigate the English reading and writing performance of Grade 7 Xitsonga-speaking learners in three selected township schools in the Tshwane metropolitan area, Gauteng Province. Firstly, a literature review was undertaken to explore the importance of reading and writing skills in the classroom with particular reference to the demands made on ESL learners. Following this, standardised tests were used to assess the learners’ English reading and writing performance. Findings indicated that learners performed poorly in both reading and writing; however, no significant relationship could be demonstrated between reading and writing, possibly due to the nature of the components of the test. The overall lack of reading and writing competence in English holds implications for learners’ academic achievement in all learning areas in situations in which English is used as the LoLT.

  5. Beyond the Fourth Grade Glass Ceiling: Understanding Reading Comprehension among Bilingual/Bimodal Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Jessica Armytage

    2015-01-01

    Research has found that, on average, deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students graduate from high school reading at the fourth grade level (Allen, 1986). Additionally, DHH children of deaf parents (Charrow & Fletcher, 1974) and those with strong American Sign Language (ASL) proficiency (Strong & Prinz, 1997) tend to outperform DHH students…

  6. Rapid naming, phonological memory and reading fluency in Brazilian bilingual students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleury, Fernanda Oppenheimer; Avila, Clara Regina Brandão de

    2015-01-01

    To characterize the performance of Brazilian students exposed to two languages in reading fluency, phonological memory, and rapid naming, according to grade level, and to investigate correlations between these variables. Sixty students took part in this study (50% female), enrolled in the third to the fifth grades of two elementary schools of the city of São Paulo. They constituted two groups - bilingual group: 30 Brazilian children whose mother tongue and language spoken at home was Brazilian Portuguese and who were daily exposed to English at school for a period not shorter than three years; monolingual group: 30 students, from a monolingual Brazilian elementary school, who were paired by gender, age, and grade level with the bilingual students. Foreign children, children with complaint or indication of speech and language disorder, or who had been retained were excluded. A rapid automatized naming, pseudoword repetition, and oral reading tests were administered. The bilingual children were assessed in both languages and their performances were compared among themselves and with the monolingual group, which was only assessed in Brazilian Portuguese. The bilingual group showed better performance in English, rapid naming, and pseudoword repetition tasks, whereas Brazilian Portuguese, in reading fluency. A higher number of correlations were found in Brazilian Portuguese. The results suggest that the acquisition of a second language may positively influence the abilities of rapid naming, reading rate, and accuracy. Brazilian bilingual students performed better in tasks of phonological memory in English and Brazilian Portuguese performed better in reading fluency. Different correlation patterns were found between the rapid naming, accuracy, and reading rate, in the bilingual group analysis, in both languages.

  7. VOCABULARY LEARNING IN AN AUTOMATED GRADED READING PROGRAM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsien-Chin Liou

    2007-02-01

    Full Text Available Adult L2 learners are often encouraged to acquire new words through reading in order to promote language proficiency. Yet preparing suitable reading texts is often a challenge for teachers because the chosen texts must have a high percentage of words familiar to specific groups of learners in order to allow the inference of word meanings from context. With the help of word lists research and advances in quantitative corpus analyses using word frequency computer programs, this study selected sixteen articles from the computer corpus of a local Chinese-English magazine and used them to construct an online English extensive reading program. A preliminary assessment of the reading program was conducted with 38 college students over twelve weeks based upon vocabulary gains from a pretest to a posttest. The results showed that learners improved their vocabulary scores after using the reading program. The online extensive reading syllabus demonstrated that such a design for a reading program is technically feasible and pedagogically beneficial and provides value in both vocabulary gains and learner satisfaction.

  8. The effect of font size on reading comprehension on second and fifth grade children: bigger is not always better.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tami Katzir

    Full Text Available Research on reading development has focused on the linguistic, cognitive, and recently, metacognitive skills children must master in order to learn to read. Less focus has been devoted to how the text itself, namely the perceptual features of the words, affects children's learning and comprehension. In this study, we manipulated perceptual properties of text by presenting reading passages in different font sizes, line lengths, and line spacing to 100 children in the second and fifth grades. For second graders (Experiment 1, decreasing font size, as well as increasing line length, yielded significantly lower comprehension scores. Line spacing had no effect on performance. For fifth graders (Experiment 2, decreasing font size yielded higher comprehension scores, yet there were no effects for line length and line spacing. Results are discussed within a "desirable difficulty" approach to reading development.

  9. Protocol for Targeted School-Based Interventions for Improving Reading and Mathematics for Students With or At-Risk of Academic Difficulties in Grade 7 to 12

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dietrichson, Jens; Bøg, Martin; Filges, Trine

    2016-01-01

    This systematic review will examine the effects of targeted interventions to students with or at-risk of academic difficulties in grades 7 to 12 on standardized tests in reading and mathematics. We will examine interventions such as for example tutoring, cooperative learning, computer-assisted in......This systematic review will examine the effects of targeted interventions to students with or at-risk of academic difficulties in grades 7 to 12 on standardized tests in reading and mathematics. We will examine interventions such as for example tutoring, cooperative learning, computer...

  10. An Investigation of the Role of Guided Reading in Proficient First Grade Reader's In-School Writing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, Jolene B.

    2011-01-01

    This participant observation research study explored relationships between the role of guided reading and in-school writing of three proficient first-grade literacy learners during the first eight months of the 2007-08 school-year. Portraits of each student as a literacy learner were developed through case studies. Those individual case studies…

  11. The Effect of the Cherry Hill Study Skills Program on Eighth Grade Students' Reading Comprehension and Study Skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    La Marca, Marilyn Tierney

    A study was conducted to determine the effects of the "Cherry Hill Study Skills Program" on eighth grade students' reading comprehension and study skills. The "Cherry Hill Study Skills Program" is a process oriented course dealing with the sequential development of nine specific skills deemed essential to the retrieval and retention of information…

  12. Test Anxiety Among College Students With Specific Reading Disability (Dyslexia): Nonverbal Ability and Working Memory as Predictors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Jason M; Lindstrom, Will; Foels, Patricia A

    2015-01-01

    Test anxiety and its correlates were examined with college students with and without specific reading disability (RD; n = 50 in each group). Results indicated that college students with RD reported higher test anxiety than did those without RD, and the magnitude of these differences was in the medium range on two test anxiety scales. Relative to college students without RD, up to 5 times as many college students with RD reported clinically significant test anxiety. College students with RD reported significantly higher cognitively based test anxiety than physically based test anxiety. Reading skills, verbal ability, and processing speed were not correlated with test anxiety. General intelligence, nonverbal ability, and working memory were negatively correlated with test anxiety, and the magnitude of these correlations was medium to large. When these three cognitive constructs were considered together in multiple regression analyses, only working memory and nonverbal ability emerged as significant predictors and varied based on the test anxiety measure. Implications for assessment and intervention are discussed. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2013.

  13. Mothers' Behaviors and Sons' Reading Achievement and Projected Feelings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oidick, Michael Stanley

    Two groups of fourth-grade boys, one group reading at grade level or above, the other reading below grade level, were selected for this study. All boys in both groups had scored at the 30th percentile or below on a kindergarten reading-readiness test. The mothers of these boys were interviewed to assess their participation, instigation, and level…

  14. Precursors of Reading Skill From Infancy to First Grade in Finnish: Continuity and Change in a Highly Inflected Language

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Silvén, M.; Poskiparta, E.H.; Niemi, P.; Voeten, M.J.M.

    2007-01-01

    The course of language acquisition from infancy to public primary school was followed in a sample of 56 Finnish children to examine precursors to reading at first grade. Structural equation modeling of continuity suggested effects from growth in early vocabulary to mastery of inflectional forms at

  15. Reading and reading instruction for children from low-income and non-English-speaking households.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesaux, Nonie K

    2012-01-01

    Although most young children seem to master reading skills in the early grades of elementary school, many struggle with texts as they move through middle school and high school. Why do children who seem to be proficient readers in third grade have trouble comprehending texts in later grades? To answer this question, Nonie Lesaux describes what is known about reading development and instruction, homing in on research conducted with children from low-income and non-English-speaking homes. Using key insights from this research base, she offers two explanations. The first is that reading is a dynamic and multifaceted process that requires continued development if students are to keep pace with the increasing demands of school texts and tasks. The second lies in the role of reading assessment and instruction in U.S. schools. Lesaux draws a distinction between the "skills-based competencies" that readers need to sound out and recognize words and the "knowledge-based competencies" that include the conceptual and vocabulary knowledge necessary to comprehend a text's meaning. Although U.S. schools have made considerable progress in teaching skills-based reading competencies that are the focus of the early grades, most have made much less progress in teaching the knowledge-based competencies students need to support reading comprehension in middle and high school. These knowledge-based competencies are key sources of lasting individual differences in reading outcomes, particularly among children growing up in low-income and non-English-speaking households. Augmenting literacy rates, Lesaux explains, will require considerable shifts in the way reading is assessed and taught in elementary and secondary schools. First, schools must conduct comprehensive reading assessments that discern learners' (potential) sources of reading difficulties--in both skills-based and knowledge-based competencies. Second, educators must implement instructional approaches that offer promise for

  16. Relationship between oculomotor scanning determined by the DEM test and a contextual reading test in schoolchildren with reading difficulties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palomo-Alvarez, Catalina; Puell, María C

    2009-09-01

    The relationship between oculomotor scanning and reading in poor readers of primary school age is not well known. This study was designed to assess this relationship by determining mean Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) test times and reading speeds in a Spanish non-clinical population of children with poor reading skills but without dyslexia. We conducted a cross-sectional study on 81 poor readers (8-11 years of age) in the third to fifth grades recruited from 11 elementary schools in Madrid, Spain. In each subject with best spectacle correction, oculomotor scanning was measured using the DEM test, and reading speed (words per minute) was assessed by a standardized Spanish contextual reading test. Mean horizontal DEM times were higher than normative values for children in the third, fourth and fifth grades, by 20 seconds, 12 seconds, and 3 seconds respectively. Mean reading speeds were 18 words per minute lower than the norm for the third and fourth grades respectively, and 30 words per minute lower than the norm for the fifth grade. Reading speeds were significantly related to horizontal DEM times (r = -0.53, p school children at an early stage.

  17. Screening for Dyslexia Using Eye Tracking during Reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nilsson Benfatto, Mattias; Öqvist Seimyr, Gustaf; Ygge, Jan; Pansell, Tony; Rydberg, Agneta; Jacobson, Christer

    2016-01-01

    Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental reading disability estimated to affect 5-10% of the population. While there is yet no full understanding of the cause of dyslexia, or agreement on its precise definition, it is certain that many individuals suffer persistent problems in learning to read for no apparent reason. Although it is generally agreed that early intervention is the best form of support for children with dyslexia, there is still a lack of efficient and objective means to help identify those at risk during the early years of school. Here we show that it is possible to identify 9-10 year old individuals at risk of persistent reading difficulties by using eye tracking during reading to probe the processes that underlie reading ability. In contrast to current screening methods, which rely on oral or written tests, eye tracking does not depend on the subject to produce some overt verbal response and thus provides a natural means to objectively assess the reading process as it unfolds in real-time. Our study is based on a sample of 97 high-risk subjects with early identified word decoding difficulties and a control group of 88 low-risk subjects. These subjects were selected from a larger population of 2165 school children attending second grade. Using predictive modeling and statistical resampling techniques, we develop classification models from eye tracking records less than one minute in duration and show that the models are able to differentiate high-risk subjects from low-risk subjects with high accuracy. Although dyslexia is fundamentally a language-based learning disability, our results suggest that eye movements in reading can be highly predictive of individual reading ability and that eye tracking can be an efficient means to identify children at risk of long-term reading difficulties.

  18. Screening for Dyslexia Using Eye Tracking during Reading.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mattias Nilsson Benfatto

    Full Text Available Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental reading disability estimated to affect 5-10% of the population. While there is yet no full understanding of the cause of dyslexia, or agreement on its precise definition, it is certain that many individuals suffer persistent problems in learning to read for no apparent reason. Although it is generally agreed that early intervention is the best form of support for children with dyslexia, there is still a lack of efficient and objective means to help identify those at risk during the early years of school. Here we show that it is possible to identify 9-10 year old individuals at risk of persistent reading difficulties by using eye tracking during reading to probe the processes that underlie reading ability. In contrast to current screening methods, which rely on oral or written tests, eye tracking does not depend on the subject to produce some overt verbal response and thus provides a natural means to objectively assess the reading process as it unfolds in real-time. Our study is based on a sample of 97 high-risk subjects with early identified word decoding difficulties and a control group of 88 low-risk subjects. These subjects were selected from a larger population of 2165 school children attending second grade. Using predictive modeling and statistical resampling techniques, we develop classification models from eye tracking records less than one minute in duration and show that the models are able to differentiate high-risk subjects from low-risk subjects with high accuracy. Although dyslexia is fundamentally a language-based learning disability, our results suggest that eye movements in reading can be highly predictive of individual reading ability and that eye tracking can be an efficient means to identify children at risk of long-term reading difficulties.

  19. Reading Ability Development from Kindergarten to Junior Secondary: Latent Transition Analyses with Growth Mixture Modeling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuan Liu

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The present study examined the reading ability development of children in the large scale Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 data; Tourangeau, Nord, Lê, Pollack, & Atkins-Burnett, 2006 under the dynamic systems. To depict children's growth pattern, we extended the measurement part of latent transition analysis to the growth mixture model and found that the new model fitted the data well. Results also revealed that most of the children stayed in the same ability group with few cross-level changes in their classes. After adding the environmental factors as predictors, analyses showed that children receiving higher teachers' ratings, with higher socioeconomic status, and of above average poverty status, would have higher probability to transit into the higher ability group.

  20. The Role of Home Literacy Environment, Mentalizing, Expressive Verbal Ability, and Print Exposure in Third and Fourth Graders’ Reading Comprehension

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boerma, Inouk E.; Mol, Suzanne E.; Jolles, Jelle

    2017-01-01

    Children with a rich home literacy environment generally show better reading comprehension. For children in the higher grades of primary school, this relation is thought to be indirect. We propose a model in which this relation ran via children’s higher order language and cognitive skills (i.e.,

  1. Using Reading Guides and On-Line Quizzes to Improve Reading Compliance and Quiz Scores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maurer, Trent W.; Longfield, Judith

    2015-01-01

    This study compared students' daily in-class reading quiz scores in an introductory Child Development course across five conditions: control, reading guide only, reading guide and on-line practice quiz, reading guide and on-line graded quiz, and reading guide and both types of on-line quizzes. At the beginning of class, students completed a 5-item…

  2. The effect of phonics-enhanced Big Book reading on the language and literacy skills of 6-year-old pupils of different reading ability attending lower SES schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tse, Laura; Nicholson, Tom

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to improve the literacy achievement of lower socioeconomic status (SES) children by combining explicit phonics with Big Book reading. Big Book reading is a component of the text-centered (or book reading) approach used in New Zealand schools. It involves the teacher in reading an enlarged book to children and demonstrating how to use semantic, syntactic, and grapho-phonic cues to learn to read. There has been little research, however, to find out whether the effectiveness of Big Book reading is enhanced by adding explicit phonics. In this study, a group of 96 second graders from three lower SES primary schools in New Zealand were taught in 24 small groups of four, tracked into three different reading ability levels. All pupils were randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions: a control group who received math instruction, Big Book reading enhanced with phonics (BB/EP), Big Book reading on its own, and Phonics on its own. The results showed that the BB/EP group made significantly better progress than the Big Book and Phonics groups in word reading, reading comprehension, spelling, and phonemic awareness. In reading accuracy, the BB/EP and Big Book groups scored similarly. In basic decoding skills the BB/EP and Phonics groups scored similarly. The combined instruction, compared with Big Book reading and phonics, appeared to have no comparative disadvantages and considerable advantages. The present findings could be a model for New Zealand and other countries in their efforts to increase the literacy achievement of disadvantaged pupils. PMID:25431560

  3. Cognitive Ability and Personality Variables as Predictors of School Grades and Test Scores in Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofer, Manfred; Kuhnle, Claudia; Kilian, Britta; Fries, Stefan

    2012-01-01

    The predictive power of cognitive ability and self-control strength for self-reported grades and an achievement test were studied. It was expected that the variables use of time structure, academic procrastination, and motivational interference during learning further aid in predicting students' achievement because they are operative in situations…

  4. E-Readers and the Effects on Students' Reading Motivation, Attitude and Comprehension during Guided Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Deanna; Szabo, Susan

    2016-01-01

    This quasi-experimental mixed methods study examined the use of e-readers during guided reading instruction and its impact on 5th grade students' reading motivation, attitude toward reading, and reading comprehension. For 10 weeks, 19 students received guided reading instruction by means of the traditional paper/text format, while 16 students…

  5. Predictors of Reading Comprehension for Struggling Readers: The Case of Spanish-speaking Language Minority Learners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mancilla-Martinez, Jeannette; Lesaux, Nonie K

    2010-08-01

    This longitudinal study examined the process of English reading comprehension at age 11 for 173 low achieving Spanish-speaking children. The influence of growth rates, from early childhood (age 4.5) to pre-adolescence (age 11), in vocabulary and word reading skills on this complex process were evaluated using structural equation modeling. Standardized measures of word reading accuracy and productive vocabulary were administered annually, in English and Spanish, and English reading comprehension measures were administered at age 11. Latent growth curve analyses revealed that English skills accounted for all unique variance in English reading comprehension outcomes. Further, expected developmental shifts in the influence of word reading and vocabulary skills over time were not shown, likely on account of students' below grade level reading comprehension achievement. This work underscores the need for theoretical models of comprehension to account for students' skill profiles and abilities.

  6. Implications of a Cognitive Science Model Integrating Literacy in Science on Achievement in Science and Reading: Direct Effects in Grades 3-5 with Transfer to Grades 6-7

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romance, Nancy; Vitale, Michael

    2017-01-01

    Reported are the results of a multiyear study in which reading comprehension and writing were integrated within an in-depth science instructional model (Science IDEAS) in daily 1.5 to 2 h daily lessons on a schoolwide basis in grades 3-4-5. Multilevel (HLM7) achievement findings showed the experimental intervention resulted in significant and…

  7. Reading ability and print exposure: item response theory analysis of the author recognition test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Mariah; Gordon, Peter C

    2015-12-01

    In the author recognition test (ART), participants are presented with a series of names and foils and are asked to indicate which ones they recognize as authors. The test is a strong predictor of reading skill, and this predictive ability is generally explained as occurring because author knowledge is likely acquired through reading or other forms of print exposure. In this large-scale study (1,012 college student participants), we used item response theory (IRT) to analyze item (author) characteristics in order to facilitate identification of the determinants of item difficulty, provide a basis for further test development, and optimize scoring of the ART. Factor analysis suggested a potential two-factor structure of the ART, differentiating between literary and popular authors. Effective and ineffective author names were identified so as to facilitate future revisions of the ART. Analyses showed that the ART is a highly significant predictor of the time spent encoding words, as measured using eyetracking during reading. The relationship between the ART and time spent reading provided a basis for implementing a higher penalty for selecting foils, rather than the standard method of ART scoring (names selected minus foils selected). The findings provide novel support for the view that the ART is a valid indicator of reading volume. Furthermore, they show that frequency data can be used to select items of appropriate difficulty, and that frequency data from corpora based on particular time periods and types of texts may allow adaptations of the test for different populations.

  8. A Longitudinal Study of the Role of Reading Motivation in Primary Students' Reading Comprehension: Implications for a Less Simple View of Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cartwright, Kelly B.; Marshall, Timothy R.; Wray, Erica

    2016-01-01

    Although substantial research indicates motivation contributes significant variance to reading comprehension in upper elementary students, research with students in primary grades has focused, instead, on the relation of motivation to word reading. Assessment of reading motivation in 68 first and second graders indicated word and nonword reading…

  9. The Explicit Instruction of Reading Strategies: Directed Reading Thinking Activity vs. Guided Reading Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Mehdi Yazdani

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Investigating the efficiencies and deficiencies of reading strategies is one of the noticeable issues in the related theory and research in reading comprehension instruction. This study was to examine the impact of Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA and Guided Reading (GR on reading comprehension. Sixty three Iranian students of grade one in Shahed high school in the city of Bojnourd took part in the study. They were assigned in three groups, one control and two experimental groups. The instruction lasted for ten weeks. This study utilized a pretest posttest control group in quantitative quasi- experimental design. The same reading comprehension test was administered as pre-test and post-test. The results were twofold: First, the instruction of learning strategies could foster reading comprehension skill. Second, while the explicit instruction of both strategies could improve the students' reading comprehension skill, Directed Reading Thinking Activity had a more significant positive effect than Guided Reading.

  10. The long-term significance of teacher-rated hyperactivity and reading ability in childhood: findings from two longitudinal studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGee, Rob; Prior, Margot; Willams, Sheila; Smart, Diana; Sanson, Anne

    2002-11-01

    The aims of this study were twofold: first, to examine behavioural and academic outcomes of children with hyperactivity, using data from two longitudinal studies; and second, to examine comparable psychosocial outcomes for children with early reading difficulties. Measures of teacher-rated persistent hyperactivity, and reading ability obtained during early primary school were available for children from the Australian Temperament Project and the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study. Both samples were followed up to assess behavioural and academic outcomes during the adolescent and early adult years. Family background, antisocial behaviour and literacy were controlled in the first set of analyses to examine the influence of early hyperactivity. There were strong linear relationships between early hyperactivity and later adverse outcomes. Adjustment for other childhood variables suggested that early hyperactivity was associated with continuing school difficulties, problems with attention and poor reading in adolescence. Early reading difficulties, after controlling for early hyperactivity, predicted continuing reading problems in high school and leaving school with no qualifications. The findings suggest that there are dual pathways from early inattentive behaviours to later inattention and reading problems, and from early reading difficulties to substantial impairments in later academic outcomes.

  11. A Phonologically Based Intervention for School-Age Children with Language Impairment: Implications for Reading Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritter, Michaela J.; Park, Jungjun; Saxon, Terrill F.; Colson, Karen A.

    2013-01-01

    This study was conducted utilizing a quasi-experimental pre- and postgroup design to examine the effects of a phonologically based intervention aimed to improve phonological awareness (PA) and reading abilities in school-age children with language impairment (LI) in Grades 1 through 3. The intervention included instruction in PA and sound-symbol…

  12. What oral text reading fluency can reveal about reading comprehension

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Veenendaal, N.J.; Groen, M.A.; Verhoeven, L.T.W.

    2015-01-01

    Text reading fluency – the ability to read quickly, accurately and with a natural intonation – has been proposed as a predictor of reading comprehension. In the current study, we examined the role of oral text reading fluency, defined as text reading rate and text reading prosody, as a contributor

  13. Learning to Read a Semitic Abjad: The Triplex Model of Hebrew Reading Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Share, David L; Bar-On, Amalia

    2017-07-01

    We introduce a model of Hebrew reading development that emphasizes both the universal and script-specific aspects of learning to read a Semitic abjad. At the universal level, the study of Hebrew reading acquisition offers valuable insights into the fundamental dilemmas of all writing systems-balancing the competing needs of the novice versus the expert reader (Share, 2008). At the script-specific level, pointed Hebrew initially employs supplementary vowel signs, providing the beginning reader a consistent, phonologically well-specified script while helping the expert-to-be unitize words and morphemes via (consonantal) spelling constancy. A major challenge for the developing Hebrew reader is negotiating the transition from pointed to unpointed Hebrew, with its abundance of homographs. Our triplex model emphasizes three phases of early Hebrew reading development: a progression from lower-order, phonological (sublexical) sequential spelling-to-sound translation (Phase 1, Grade 1) to higher-order, string-level (lexical) lexico-morpho-orthographic processing (Phase 2, Grade 2) followed, in the upper elementary grades, by a supralexical contextual level (Phase 3) essential for dealing with the pervasive homography of unpointed Hebrew.

  14. Modeling Oral Reading Fluency Development in Latino Students: A Longitudinal Study Across Second and Third Grade

    OpenAIRE

    Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Petscher, Yaacov; Williams, Rihana S.; Pappamihiel, N. Eleni; Dyrlund, Allison K.; Connor, Carol

    2009-01-01

    This study examines growth in oral reading fluency across 2nd and 3rd grade for Latino students grouped in 3 English proficiency levels: students receiving English as a second language (ESL) services (n = 2,182), students exited from ESL services (n = 965), and students never designated as needing services (n = 1,857). An important focus was to learn whether, within these 3 groups, proficiency levels and growth were reliably related to special education status. Using hierarchical linear model...

  15. Using the TOEFL to measure the reading proficiency levels of deaf college applicants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LoMaglio, L J

    1991-07-01

    The TOEFL is widely used by colleges and universities in the United States and Canada to measure the English language proficiency levels of hearing international applicants. At the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a faculty committee recommended that this popular test instrument be used to measure the English reading skills of deaf international applicants to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. This study examined the merits of using the TOEFL to measure the English reading ability of hearing post-secondary international students seeking admission to English-based colleges and universities. Forty-one hearing foreign students were tested in the fall of 1989 at the English Language Institute at SUNY Buffalo. The instruments chosen were both the TOEFL and the California Achievement Test of reading ability. The majority of the research subjects who scored between 400 and 500 on the TOEFL achieved a grade level of less than 8.0 on the California Achievement Test.

  16. Late Emerging Reading Difficulties in English Language Learners

    OpenAIRE

    Garcia, Nicole Marie

    2015-01-01

    Research has identified a group of students who do not begin to exhibit reading difficulties until fourth or fifth grade, suggesting late-emerging reading difficulties. Considering that these students do not show signs of reading difficulties in early grades, attempting to identify these students early becomes problematic. Additionally, little is known regarding the characteristics of late-emerging reading deficits within English language learner (ELL) populations. The purpose of this study w...

  17. Reading assessment and training program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, C.L.

    1991-01-01

    The objective was to ensure ourselves and the general public that the workers in the Nuclear Materials Processing Department (NMPD) could read, follow, and understand procedures. Procedures were randomly selected and analyzed for reading levels. A tenth grade reading level was established as the standard for all NMPD employees. Employees were tested to determine reading levels and approximately 12% could not read at the target level. A Procedure Walk-Through Evaluation was administered to each person not reaching tenth grade reading level. This was a job performance measure given to ensure that the worker was competent in his/her present job, and should remain there while completing reading training. A mandatory Reading Training Program utilizing Computer Based Training was established. This program is self-paced, individualized instruction and provided to the worker on Company time. Results of the CBT Program have been very good. Instruction is supplemented with test-taking skills seminars, practice exams, individual conferences with their own reading specialist, and some self-directed study books. This paper describes the program at Savannah River Site

  18. A Teaching Strategy with a Focus on Argumentation to Improve Undergraduate Students’ Ability to Read Research Articles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacum, Edwin B. Van; Goedhart, Martin J.

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study is to evaluate a teaching strategy designed to teach first-year undergraduate life sciences students at a research university how to learn to read authentic research articles. Our approach—based on the work done in the field of genre analysis and argumentation theory—means that we teach students to read research articles by teaching them which rhetorical moves occur in research articles and how they can identify these. Because research articles are persuasive by their very nature, we focused on the rhetorical moves that play an important role in authors’ arguments. We designed a teaching strategy using cognitive apprenticeship as the pedagogical approach. It was implemented in a first-year compulsory course in the life sciences undergraduate program. Comparison of the results of a pretest with those of the posttest showed that students’ ability to identify these moves had improved. Moreover, students themselves had also perceived that their ability to read and understand a research article had increased. The students’ evaluations demonstrated that they appreciated the pedagogical approach used and experienced the assignments as useful. On the basis of our results, we concluded that students had taken a first step toward becoming expert readers. PMID:26086657

  19. 網路課輔中層次性閱讀教學對偏鄉學童閱讀能力影響之研究 Effects of Four-Level Reading Instruction for an Online Tutoring Project on Promoting the Reading Ability of Rural Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    高台茜 Tai-Chien Kao

    2015-12-01

    students from three elementary schools that were willing to join the study were assigned to the experimental group. For a fair comparison, an additional 41 students with similar background conditions were selected from the remaining eight elementary schools and were assigned to the control group. The pretest-posttest unequal-group design was adopted for the experiment. For the experimental group, a 30-minute four-level reading lesson for a short story was conducted by a college student tutor at the beginning of each 90-minute one-on-one online tutoring activity, which was performed twice weekly over 15 weeks in the semester. The four-level reading instruction was designed on the basis of their progress in reading comprehension; specifically, their performance in lexicon learning, information retrieving, direct inference, and information interpreting. For the control group, the college student tutor provided review lessons according to the language textbook used by the elementary school. Two short story reading tests were conducted at the beginning (pretest and end (posttest of the experiment for both groups. The study first used the multiway analysis of covariance to detect overall reading performance differences between the groups. To elucidate the effects of the four-level reading instruction, gender and grade level were adopted as moderators, and multiway multivariate analysis of variance was performed for further analysis. The findings showed that the four-level reading instruction promoted the students’ reading ability. Moreover, there was a moderate effect on grade level. Significant improvements were observed in the direct inferencing ability of the middle graders and the information interpreting ability of high graders. Therefore, the focus of the four-level reading instruction should be adapted to the cognitive development of students.

  20. Reading motivation in elementary school students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonja Pečjak

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available Reading motivation is one of the crucial factors of reading and consequently also learning efficiency of students. The purpose of the contribution is to establish the connection between dimensions of reading motivation and reading achievement in elementary school students. Participating in the study were 1073 third-grade and 1282 seventh-grade students. We used the questionnaire of reading motivation which consists of two factors: the reading competence factor and the interest and perceived reading importance factor. The findings of the study are the following: third-graders are more competent and more interested in reading compared to seventh-graders. The same is true for girls in both educational levels. Reading competence , interest and perceived reading importance reflect also in the actual reading behaviour of students – students who are more competent and more interested in reading read more frequently, for longer periods and more often autonomously decide to read compared to their less motivated peers. Higher reading motivation has implications also for higher reading efficiency. Namely, good readers are more competent, show higher interest and perceive reading as more important compared to average and bad readers.

  1. Does systematic reading instruction impede prediction of reading a shallow orthography?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ALFRED SCHABMANN

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Different methods of reading instructions have been the subject of controversy. This study examined the influence of systematic phonics vs. non-systematic phonics methods of instruction on the prediction of reading. 443 kindergarten children were tested on phonological awareness, naming speed and visual word matching using the Bielefelder Screening (BISC. Children were retested in grades one and four. Results showed that although the prognostic validity of kindergarten measures was generally low, it was considerably higher for grade one children in classes with non-systematic phonics instruction. Children who received systematic phonics instruction scored significantly higher on measures of phonological decoding as compared to their peers who received less systematic instruction. Implications for the prediction of reading and early screenings are discussed.

  2. Guided Reading and Motivation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hauptman, Allyson L.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between Guided Reading and student motivation to read across fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. The study defined literacy motivation as: (a) task value; (b) self-perceived competence; (c) students' perceptions of the Guided Reading format. Factor analysis and repeated measures ANOVAs were…

  3. Estudio comparativo de los metodos analitico-sintetico y global en el aprendizaje de la lectura (Comparative Study of the Analytical-Synthetical (Phonics) and Global (Sight) Reading Methods).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carbonell de Grompone, Maria A.; And Others

    An investigation into the phonics and sight methods of reading instruction being taught in Uruguay schools seeks valid predictions in support of each approach. The study, written in Spanish, examines the progressive reading habits and abilities of 12 first-grade classes. Teachers assigned to teach each method uniformly had equivalent training and…

  4. Parents' reading-related knowledge and children's reading acquisition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ladd, Megan; Martin-Chang, Sandra; Levesque, Kyle

    2011-12-01

    Teacher reading-related knowledge (phonological awareness and phonics knowledge) predicts student reading, however little is known about the reading-related knowledge of parents. Participants comprised 70 dyads (children from kindergarten and grade 1 and their parents). Parents were administered a questionnaire tapping into reading-related knowledge, print exposure, storybook reading, and general cultural knowledge. Children were tested on measures of letter-word knowledge, sound awareness, receptive vocabulary, oral expression, and mathematical skill. Parent reading-related knowledge showed significant positive links with child letter-word knowledge and sound awareness, but showed no correlations with child measures of mathematical skill or vocabulary. Furthermore, parent reading-related knowledge was not associated with parents' own print exposure or cultural knowledge, indicating that knowledge about English word structure may be separate from other cognitive skills. Implications are discussed in terms of improving parent reading-related knowledge to promote child literacy.

  5. Learning Vocabulary through E-Book Reading of Young Children with Various Reading Abilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sung Hee

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies revealed that young children learn novel word meanings by simply reading and listening to a printed book. In today's classroom, many children's e-books provide audio narration support so young readers can simply listen to the e-books. The focus of the present study is to examine the effect of e-book reading with audio narration…

  6. Motivation for Reading and Upper Primary School Students' Academic Achievement in Reading in Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mucherah, Winnie; Herendeen, Abbey

    2013-01-01

    This study examined primary school students' reading motivation and performance on the standardized exam. Participants included 901 seventh and eighth grade students from Kenya. There were 468 females and 433 males. Contrary to previous studies, results showed reading challenge and aesthetics, but not efficacy, predicted reading achievement,…

  7. Relationships of French and English Morphophonemic Orthographies to Word Reading, Spelling, and Reading Comprehension during Early and Middle Childhood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, Robert D.; Fayol, Michel; Zorman, Michel; Casalis, Séverine; Nagy, William; Berninger, Virginia W.

    2016-01-01

    Two longitudinal studies of word reading, spelling, and reading comprehension identified commonalities and differences in morphophonemic orthographies--French (Study 1, n = 1,313) or English (Study 2, n = 114) in early childhood (Grade 2)and middle childhood (Grade 5). For French and English, statistically significant concurrent relationships…

  8. Metatextual Awareness, reading comprehension and story summary – possible relations in a psycholinguistic perspective

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    Marília Marques Lopes

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Even before formal education, children have a long term for developing their abilities of reading and writing, and these abilities relate to both reading comprehension and awareness of texts, whatever they are. This Metatextual Awareness, according to Jean-Émile Gombert (1992, comprises coherence, cohesion and text structure, and is a factor that can determine a good comprehension, as well as summary writing. The thesis this article is about employed Gombert’s theoretical framework on that subject, and dealt with correlations among metatextual awareness, reading comprehension and summary writing of narratives by 5th and 6th grade students in three public schools in Porto Alegre. To check these correlations, we applied simple choice tests to evaluate metatextual awareness and reading comprehension, and also a test of summary writing through a reference framework comprising categories like main events, writing autonomy and narrative structure. The results of these three aspects were related and we found that for summarizing a story the most important is the subject’s metatextual ability, or his attention to source text. At the same time, this metatextual awareness is also relevant to text comprehension as it is a kind of frame that guides him in understanding a story.

  9. CONNECTION OF TURN AHEAD AND TURN BACK WITH MOTORIC ABILITIES OF THE FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS

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    Jovica Petković

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available The research is done for the purpose of determination and defining of the level of connection between some motoric abilities with success in realization of programmed contents from the area of gymnastics (turn ahead and turn back. The research is done on the sample of fifty one students from the fifth grade of Elementary School, on ten motoric tests and on two specific motoric assignments – turn ahead and turn back. The results of this research clearly point that there exist the multitude of statistically important coefficients of correlation between treated motoric abilities and applied motoric assignments.

  10. High School Students With Reading Comprehension Difficulties: Results of a Randomized Control Trial of a Two-Year Reading Intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaughn, Sharon; Roberts, Greg; Wexler, Jade; Vaughn, Michael G; Fall, Anna-Mária; Schnakenberg, Jennifer B

    2015-01-01

    A 2-year, randomized control trial with 9th to 10th grade students with significant reading problems was provided for 50 minutes a day in small groups. Comparison students were provided an elective class and treatment students the reading intervention. Students were identified as demonstrating reading difficulties through failure on their state accountability test and were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions and a business as usual (BAU) condition: reading without dropout prevention, reading with dropout prevention, dropout prevention without reading, or a BAU condition. Findings from the 2-year reading intervention (reading with and without dropout prevention combined and BAU) are reported in this article. Students in reading treatment compared to students in BAU demonstrated significant gains on reading comprehension (effect size = .43), and improved reading was associated with better grades in social studies. Findings from this study provide a rationale for further implementation and investigation of intensive intervention for high school students with reading difficulties. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

  11. Evaluating the Efficacy of Using a Digital Reading Environment to Improve Reading Comprehension within a Reading Clinic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortlieb, Evan; Sargent, Stephan; Moreland, Meagan

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the effectiveness of using the online digital reading environment to increase elementary students' comprehension within a reading clinic. Preservice teachers at a four-year university in the Midwest worked one-on-one with 58 fourth-grade students from three schools who were assigned to one of three conditions: print-based text…

  12. An investigation into the English reading comprehension of Grade 10 English first additional language learners at a senior secondary school

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    Chaka Chaka

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Poor levels of English first additional language (EFAL reading comprehension amongst school learners at most public schools in South Africa are a great concern. In fact, for learning to be successful and effective, learners need to be able to read well in EFAL. This is more so as EFAL serves as a language of learning and teaching (LOLT for most learning areas in South Africa’s public schools. Against this background, this study set out in 2012 to investigate the English reading comprehension of Grade 10 EFAL learners at a senior secondary school. Using purposive and voluntary sampling techniques, the study had 17 EFAL learners(M = 10, F–7 as its participants. It employed three reading measures, a recall task, a summary and a comprehension test, which were based on three English extracts, to assess participants’ reading comprehension. It then assessed and scored participants’ responses to the three tasks by using an oral reading rubric and two prepared marking memoranda. One of the findings of this study was that, of the three reading tasks administered, participants did slightly above average in the comprehension test, but performed below average in the two other tasks – the recall and summary tasks.

  13. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THREE READING APPROACHES AND AN ORAL LANGUAGE STIMULATION PROGRAM WITH DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN IN THE PRIMARY GRADES--AN INTERIM REPORT AFTER ONE YEAR OF THE COOPERATIVE READING PROJECT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DUNN, LLOYD M.; AND OTHERS

    THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THREE APPROACHES TO TEACHING BEGINNING READING AND THE INFLUENCE OF AN ORAL LANGUAGE STIMULATION PROGRAM ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN IS REPORTED IN THE FIRST-YEAR REPORT OF A 2-YEAR INTERVENTION STUDY. SUBJECTS WERE 608 FIRST-GRADE PUPILS FROM 12 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN AN INNER-CITY AREA. THE THREE EXPERIMENTAL…

  14. The contribution of short-term memory for serial order to early reading acquisition: evidence from a longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez Perez, Trecy; Majerus, Steve; Poncelet, Martine

    2012-04-01

    Early reading acquisition skills have been linked to verbal short-term memory (STM) capacity. However, the nature of this relationship remains controversial because verbal STM, like reading acquisition, depends on the complexity of underlying phonological processing skills. This longitudinal study addressed the relation between STM and reading decoding acquisition by distinguishing between STM for item information and STM for order information based on recent studies showing that STM for item information, but not STM for order information, recruits underlying phonological representations. If there is a specific link between STM and reading decoding acquisition, STM for order information should be an independent predictor of reading decoding acquisition. Tasks maximizing STM for serial order or item information, measures of phonological abilities, and reading tests were administered to children followed from kindergarten through first grade. We observed that order STM capacity, but not item STM capacity, predicted independent variance in reading decoding abilities 1 year later. These results highlight the specific role of STM for order in reading decoding acquisition and argue for a causal role of order STM capacity in reading acquisition. Mechanisms relating STM for order information and reading acquisition are discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Investigation of Intellectual Risk-Taking Abilities of Students According to Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development and Education Grade

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    Arzu Derya DAŞCI

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to determine the cognitive development stages of students of 4-8th class and is to research the effect to ability of intellectual risk-taking of this periods and education grade. Survey method and clinical method are used in the study which practices for this purpose. In the study which 20 students from every grade, in total 100 students, 6 different activities which are improved and used by different researchers are applied to determine the cognitive development stages whose classification is made by Piaget with Intellectual Risk-Taking and Predictor Scale which was improved by Beghetto (2009. Activities that students made individualistically are marked with observation form and their cognitive development stages are determined according to responses of each. Cognitive development stages and intellectual risk-taking level of students are analyzed with descriptive statistics. In the research result it is seen that majority of students is in the transitional stage and as long as class level increases it is passed to formal operational stage from concrete operational stage. While it is seen that as long as education grade rise intellectual risk-taking abilities of students decreases, it is determined that cognitive development stages has not any effect on this ability. The research is completed with suggestions based on results.

  16. Modeling Polymorphemic Word Recognition: Exploring Differences among Children with Early-Emerging and Late- Emerging Word Reading Difficulty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kearns, Devin M.; Steacy, Laura M.; Compton, Donald L.; Gilbert, Jennifer K.; Goodwin, Amanda P.; Cho, Eunsoo; Lindstrom, Esther R.; Collins, Alyson A.

    2016-01-01

    Comprehensive models of derived polymorphemic word recognition skill in developing readers, with an emphasis on children with reading difficulty (RD), have not been developed. The purpose of the present study was to model individual differences in polymorphemic word recognition ability at the item level among 5th-grade children (N = 173)…

  17. Underlying skills of oral and silent reading

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Den Boer, Madelon; van Bergen, Elsje; de Jong, Peter F.

    2014-01-01

    Many studies have examined reading and reading development. The majority of these studies, however, focused on oral reading rather than on the more dominant silent reading mode. Similarly, it is common practice to assess oral reading abilities rather than silent reading abilities in schools and in

  18. Kindergarten risk factors, cognitive factors, and teacher judgments as predictors of early reading in Dutch.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gijsel, Martine A R; Bosman, Anna M T; Verhoeven, Ludo

    2006-01-01

    This study focused on the predictive value of risk factors, cognitive factors, and teachers' judgments in a sample of 462 kindergartners for their early reading skills and reading failure at the beginning of Grade 1. With respect to risk factors, enrollment in speech-language therapy, history of dyslexia or speech-language problems in the family, and the role of gender were considered. None of these risk factors were significantly related to reading performance. Cognitive factors in this study included letter knowledge, rapid naming ability, and nonword repetition skills. Of these skills, letter knowledge seemed to have the highest correlation with reading. Kindergarten teachers' judgments, including a task assignment scale and teachers' predictions, demonstrated a significant relationship with reading. Finally, to judge whether these predictors could identify reading disabilities, the discriminatory power of all predictors was assessed and appeared to be insufficient. Implications for screening purposes are discussed.

  19. Pathway evidence of how musical perception predicts word-level reading ability in children with reading difficulties.

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    Hugo Cogo-Moreira

    Full Text Available To investigate whether specific domains of musical perception (temporal and melodic domains predict the word-level reading skills of eight- to ten-year-old children (n = 235 with reading difficulties, normal quotient of intelligence, and no previous exposure to music education classes.A general-specific solution of the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA, which underlies a musical perception construct and is constituted by three latent factors (the general, temporal, and the melodic domain, was regressed on word-level reading skills (rate of correct isolated words/non-words read per minute.General and melodic latent domains predicted word-level reading skills.

  20. Direct Reading Instruction and the NYS ELA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones-Carey, Margaret H.

    2013-01-01

    This study analyzed the impact of classroom based reading instruction ("direct instruction") on the standardized test scores of 6th grade students as measured by the New York State English Language Arts assessment (NYS ELA). It was hypothesized that the implementation of direct instruction in reading in grade 6 would improve NYS ELA…

  1. Effects of sequential and discrete rapid naming on reading in Japanese children with reading difficulty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wakamiya, Eiji; Okumura, Tomohito; Nakanishi, Makoto; Takeshita, Takashi; Mizuta, Mekumi; Kurimoto, Naoko; Tamai, Hiroshi

    2011-06-01

    To clarify whether rapid naming ability itself is a main underpinning factor of rapid automatized naming tests (RAN) and how deep an influence the discrete decoding process has on reading, we performed discrete naming tasks and discrete hiragana reading tasks as well as sequential naming tasks and sequential hiragana reading tasks with 38 Japanese schoolchildren with reading difficulty. There were high correlations between both discrete and sequential hiragana reading and sentence reading, suggesting that some mechanism which automatizes hiragana reading makes sentence reading fluent. In object and color tasks, there were moderate correlations between sentence reading and sequential naming, and between sequential naming and discrete naming. But no correlation was found between reading tasks and discrete naming tasks. The influence of rapid naming ability of objects and colors upon reading seemed relatively small, and multi-item processing may work in relation to these. In contrast, in the digit naming task there was moderate correlation between sentence reading and discrete naming, while no correlation was seen between sequential naming and discrete naming. There was moderate correlation between reading tasks and sequential digit naming tasks. Digit rapid naming ability has more direct effect on reading while its effect on RAN is relatively limited. The ratio of how rapid naming ability influences RAN and reading seems to vary according to kind of the stimuli used. An assumption about components in RAN which influence reading is discussed in the context of both sequential processing and discrete naming speed. Copyright © 2010 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. The relation between attitude toward reading adolescent literature and literary reading behavior

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Schooten, E; de Glopper, Kees

    The research presented in this article concludes that the widely accepted Model of Planned Behavior (MPB) is an adequate model for measuring the attitude toward reading adolescent literature [By 'adolescent literature' we mean works of fiction to be read by middle grade students. These can be works

  3. Reading Achievement and In-Grade Retention Rate Differentials for Mexican-American and Black Students in Selected States of the Southwest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casavantes, Edward Joseph

    Two sets of data from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights' Mexican American Education Study were selected for analysis in the areas of (1) comparative reading achievement rates of Mexican Americans and black students; and (2) differential in-grade retention rates of Anglo, Mexican American, and black students. Two separate issues were examined.…

  4. Scientific Encounters of the Mysterious Sea. Reading Activities That Explore the Mysterious Creatures of the Deep Blue Sea. Grades 4-7.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Embry, Lynn

    This activity book presents reading activities for grades 4-7 exploring the mysterious creatures of the deep sea. The creatures include: angel sharks; argonauts; barberfish; comb jelly; croakers; electric rays; flying fish; giganturid; lantern fish; narwhals; northern basket starfish; ocean sunfish; Portuguese man-of-war; sea cucumbers; sea…

  5. The Use of eReaders in the Classroom and at Home to Help Third-Grade Students Improve Their Reading and English/Language Arts Standardized Test Scores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Union, Craig D.; Union, Lori Walker; Green, Tim D.

    2015-01-01

    This study explored the effects of a portable technology intervention, the Nook Simple Touch eReader, on student performance in Reading and English/Language Arts when included as an integral part of the teaching and learning process in an elementary third-grade classroom. This study used the participating students' end-of-year second-grade scores…

  6. E-Readers and the Effects on Students' Reading Motivation, Attitude, and Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Deanna

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of E-readers during guided reading instruction would affect students' reading motivation, attitude toward reading, and reading comprehension. The study utilized on a quasi-experimental mixed methods research design that involved 35 fifth grade students in two fifth grade reading classes. For 10…

  7. Preschool Phonological and Morphological Awareness As Longitudinal Predictors of Early Reading and Spelling Development in Greek.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diamanti, Vassiliki; Mouzaki, Angeliki; Ralli, Asimina; Antoniou, Faye; Papaioannou, Sofia; Protopapas, Athanassios

    2017-01-01

    Different language skills are considered fundamental for successful reading and spelling acquisition. Extensive evidence has highlighted the central role of phonological awareness in early literacy experiences. However, many orthographic systems also require the contribution of morphological awareness. The goal of this study was to examine the morphological and phonological awareness skills of preschool children as longitudinal predictors of reading and spelling ability by the end of first grade, controlling for the effects of receptive and expressive vocabulary skills. At Time 1 preschool children from kindergartens in the Greek regions of Attika, Crete, Macedonia, and Thessaly were assessed on tasks tapping receptive and expressive vocabulary, phonological awareness (syllable and phoneme), and morphological awareness (inflectional and derivational). Tasks were administered through an Android application for mobile devices (tablets) featuring automatic application of ceiling rules. At Time 2 one year later the same children attending first grade were assessed on measures of word and pseudoword reading, text reading fluency, text reading comprehension, and spelling. Complete data from 104 children are available. Hierarchical linear regression and commonality analyses were conducted for each outcome variable. Reading accuracy for both words and pseudowords was predicted not only by phonological awareness, as expected, but also by morphological awareness, suggesting that understanding the functional role of word parts supports the developing phonology-orthography mappings. However, only phonological awareness predicted text reading fluency at this age. Longitudinal prediction of reading comprehension by both receptive vocabulary and morphological awareness was already evident at this age, as expected. Finally, spelling was predicted by preschool phonological awareness, as expected, as well as by morphological awareness, the contribution of which is expected to

  8. Preschool Phonological and Morphological Awareness As Longitudinal Predictors of Early Reading and Spelling Development in Greek

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vassiliki Diamanti

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Different language skills are considered fundamental for successful reading and spelling acquisition. Extensive evidence has highlighted the central role of phonological awareness in early literacy experiences. However, many orthographic systems also require the contribution of morphological awareness. The goal of this study was to examine the morphological and phonological awareness skills of preschool children as longitudinal predictors of reading and spelling ability by the end of first grade, controlling for the effects of receptive and expressive vocabulary skills. At Time 1 preschool children from kindergartens in the Greek regions of Attika, Crete, Macedonia, and Thessaly were assessed on tasks tapping receptive and expressive vocabulary, phonological awareness (syllable and phoneme, and morphological awareness (inflectional and derivational. Tasks were administered through an Android application for mobile devices (tablets featuring automatic application of ceiling rules. At Time 2 one year later the same children attending first grade were assessed on measures of word and pseudoword reading, text reading fluency, text reading comprehension, and spelling. Complete data from 104 children are available. Hierarchical linear regression and commonality analyses were conducted for each outcome variable. Reading accuracy for both words and pseudowords was predicted not only by phonological awareness, as expected, but also by morphological awareness, suggesting that understanding the functional role of word parts supports the developing phonology–orthography mappings. However, only phonological awareness predicted text reading fluency at this age. Longitudinal prediction of reading comprehension by both receptive vocabulary and morphological awareness was already evident at this age, as expected. Finally, spelling was predicted by preschool phonological awareness, as expected, as well as by morphological awareness, the contribution of which is

  9. Is Morphological Awareness a Relevant Predictor of Reading Fluency and Comprehension? New Evidence From Italian Monolingual and Arabic-Italian Bilingual Children

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    Mirta Vernice

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we examined the contribution of morphological awareness to reading competence in a group of Italian L1 and Arabic-Italian early L2 children, i.e., exposed to Italian before 3 years of age. Children from first to fifth grade (age range: 6–11 years old were tested on a range of morphological awareness and lexical tasks. Reading ability was tested through standardized tests of reading fluency and comprehension. Results showed that L1 children outperformed L2 on every measure of morphological awareness, as well as on reading tests. Regression analyses revealed that morphological awareness contributed to a different extent to reading ability across groups. Accuracy in the morphological awareness tasks was a significant predictor of word (and non-word reading fluency in L1 and L2 first and second graders, while only in L1 third to fifth graders, response times and accuracy to a morphological awareness task explained a unique amount of variance in reading comprehension. Our results highlight the critical role of morphological processing in reading efficiency and suggest that a training inspired by morphological awareness may improve reading skills also in bilingual students.

  10. Kindergarten Predictors of Third Grade Writing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Young-Suk; Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Wanzek, Jeanne

    2015-01-01

    The primary goal of the present study was to examine the relations of kindergarten transcription, oral language, word reading, and attention skills to writing skills in third grade. Children (N = 157) were assessed on their letter writing automaticity, spelling, oral language, word reading, and attention in kindergarten. Then, they were assessed on writing in third grade using three writing tasks – one narrative and two expository prompts. Children’s written compositions were evaluated in terms of writing quality (the extent to which ideas were developed and presented in an organized manner). Structural equation modeling showed that kindergarten oral language and lexical literacy skills (i.e., word reading and spelling) were independently predicted third grade narrative writing quality, and kindergarten literacy skill uniquely predicted third grade expository writing quality. In contrast, attention and letter writing automaticity were not directly related to writing quality in either narrative or expository genre. These results are discussed in light of theoretical and practical implications. PMID:25642118

  11. Comparison of 3MP medical-grade to 1MP office grade LCD monitors in mammographic diagnostic and perceptual performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ong, Aaron; Tan, Shu.; Gledhill, Samuel; Hennessy, Oliver; Lui, Belinda; Lee, Alan; Lemish, Wayne; Styles, Colin; Pun, Emma; Padmanabhan, Meenakshi; Pitman, Alexander G.; Tauro, Paul; Waugh, Paul

    2011-01-01

    Full text: Picture archiving and communication systems images designed to be viewed on high-resolution medical-grade monitors are routinely viewed on office-grade monitors on the wards or at home. This study aimed to determine whether a statistically significant difference in diagnostic (cancer detection) and perceptual (microcalcification detection) performance exists between 3MP grade and 1MP office-grade monitors. 3MP Dome medical-grade liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors (Planar, Beaverton, OR, USA) were compared to 1MP Dell office-grade LCD monitors (Dell Inc, Round Rock, TX, USA). Eight radiologists (reader experi ence 8-30 years) read the same set of 100 mammograms (23/100 with proven cancers and 52/100 with microcalcifications) presented in random order on three occasions separated by two time intervals of 12 weeks. Reads 1 and 3 utilised 3MP monitors and formed the baseline read. Read 2 utilised 1MP monitors and constituted the experimental read. Reading conditions were standardised. Readers were aware of which monitors they were using. Mul tivariate logistic regression analysis (to account for reader variability and monitor impact) was performed to assess for statistical significance. At a = 5%, confidence intervals analysis comparing the measured parameters between 1MP to 3MP monitors demonstrated no statistically significant difference in diagnostic and perceptual performance for the reader group. In cancer detection (the diagnostic task), reader accuracy remained high irrespective of monitor type. Regression analysis comparing performance with 1MP against 3MP monitors found P values of 0.693 and 0.324 for diagnostic and perceptual performance, respectively. There were no statistically and clinically significant differences between 3MP and 1MP monitors in mammographic diagnostic and perceptual performance. Comparable performance may be due to compensatory behav iour by readers.

  12. Multisyllabic Word-Reading Instruction with and without Motivational Beliefs Training for Struggling Readers in the Upper Elementary Grades: A Pilot Investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toste, Jessica R.; Capin, Philip; Vaughn, Sharon

    2017-01-01

    This randomized controlled trial focused on 59 struggling readers in the third and fourth grades (30 female, 29 male) and examined the efficacy of an intervention aimed at increasing students' multisyllabic word reading (MWR). The study also explored the relative effects of an embedded motivational beliefs (MB) training component. Struggling…

  13. Complex word reading in Dutch deaf children and adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Hoogmoed, Anne H; Knoors, Harry; Schreuder, Robert; Verhoeven, Ludo

    2013-03-01

    Children who are deaf are often delayed in reading comprehension. This delay could be due to problems in morphological processing during word reading. In this study, we investigated whether 6th grade deaf children and adults are delayed in comparison to their hearing peers in reading complex derivational words and compounds compared to monomorphemic words. The results show that deaf children are delayed in reading both derivational words and compounds as compared to hearing children, while both deaf and hearing adults performed equally well on a lexical decision task. However, deaf adults generally showed slower reaction times than hearing adults. For both deaf and hearing children, derivational words were more difficult than compounds, as reflected in hearing children's slower reaction times and in deaf children's lower accuracy scores. This finding likely reflects deaf children's lack of familiarity with the meaning of the bound morphemes attached to the stems in derivational words. Therefore, it might be beneficial to teach deaf children the meaning of bound morphemes and to train them to use morphology in word reading. Moreover, these findings imply that it is important to focus on both monomorphemic and polymorphemic words when assessing word reading ability in deaf children. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Using Comic Books as Read-Alouds: Insights on Reading Instruction from an English as a Second Language Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranker, Jason

    2007-01-01

    A first-grade teacher used comic books as read-alouds during her implementation of a reading/writing workshop. The students, primarily English-language learners, were able to make use of this medium in order to learn new reading practices. The teacher used the comics to teach multiple aspects of various reading processes such as reading with an…

  15. Reading Comprehension, Learning Styles, and Seventh Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Judy

    2010-01-01

    Reading is a basic life skill. Unfortunately, in 2007, only 29% of all eighth graders were able to comprehend at or above a proficient reading comprehension level. Sensory learning styles (kinesthetic, tactile, auditory, and visual) affect the way that students prefer to learn and the areas in which they will have difficulty learning. This study…

  16. The Role of Comic Reading Materials in Enhancing the Ability to Read in EFL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roozafzai, Zahra Sadat

    2012-01-01

    Reading is an extremely active, complex, mental and personal process that concerns both the reader and the text. It is now generally believed that a range of reader with text factors affect the reading process to a considerable extent. So, teachers of EFL need to be aware of the important role of teaching materials. Thus, this study investigated…

  17. Cognitive and linguistic predictors of reading comprehension in children with intellectual disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Wingerden, Evelien; Segers, Eliane; van Balkom, Hans; Verhoeven, Ludo

    2014-11-01

    A considerable number of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) are able to acquire basic word reading skills. However, not much is known about their achievements in more advanced reading comprehension skills. In the present study, a group of 49 children with ID and a control group of 21 typically developing children with word decoding skills in the normal ranges of first grade were compared in lower level (explicit meaning) and higher level (implicit meaning) reading comprehension abilities. Moreover, in the group of children with ID it was examined to what extent their levels of lower level and higher level reading comprehension could be predicted from their linguistic skills (word decoding, vocabulary, language comprehension) and cognitive skill (nonverbal reasoning). It was found that children with ID were weaker than typically developing children in higher level reading comprehension but not in lower level reading comprehension. Children with ID also performed below the control group on nonverbal reasoning and language comprehension. After controlling for nonverbal reasoning, linguistic skills predicted lower level reading comprehension but not higher level reading comprehension. It can be concluded that children with ID who have basic decoding skill do reasonably well on lower level reading comprehension but continue to have problems with higher level reading comprehension. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Factors associated with work ability in patients with chronic whiplash-associated disorder grade II-III: A cross-sectional analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agnew, Louise; Johnston, Venerina; Landén Ludvigsson, Maria; Peterson, Gunnel; Overmeer, Thomas; Johansson, Gun; Peolsson, Anneli

    2015-06-01

    To investigate the factors related to self-perceived work ability in patients with chronic whiplash-associated disorder grades II-III. Cross-sectional analysis. A total of 166 working age patients with chronic whiplash-associated disorder. A comprehensive survey collected data on work ability (using the Work Ability Index); demographic, psychosocial, personal, work- and condition-related factors. Forward, stepwise regression modelling was used to assess the factors related to work ability. The proportion of patients in each work ability category were as follows: poor (12.7%); moderate (39.8%); good (38.5%); excellent (9%). Seven factors explained 65% (adjusted R2 = 0.65, p whiplash-associated disorder.

  19. Study of Scientific Problem-Solving Abilities Based on Scientific Knowledge about Atmosphere and Weather for Seventh Grade Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Phoorin Thaengnoi

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The purposes of this research were: 1 to develop scientific problem-solving abilities test based on scientific knowledge about atmosphere and weather for seventh grade students and 2 to study the scientific problem-solving abilities of seventh grade students. The samples used in this study were 47 students who were studying in seventh grade in academic year 2015 of a school in Chai Nat province, Thailand. Purposive sampling was applied for identifying the samples. The research instrument of this study was the scientific problem-solving abilities test developed by the researcher. The research data was analyzed by comparing students’ scores with the criteria and considering students’ answers in each element of scientific problem-solving abilities. The results of the study were as follows: The scientific problem-solving abilities test composed of 2 parts. The first part was multiple-choice questions which was composed of 4 situations, a total of 20 questions. The Index of Item Objective Congruence of this part was varied in the range between 0.67 – 1.00. The difficulty and the discrimination level were in the range between 0.33 – 0.63 and 0.27 – 0.67, respectively. The reliability levels of this part was equal to 0.81. The second part of the test was subjective questions which composed of 2 situations, a total of 10 questions. The Index of Item Objective Congruence of this part was varied in the range between 0.67 – 1.00. The reliability level of this part was equal to 0.83. Besides, all questions in the test were covered all elements of scientific problem-solving abilities ; 1 identifying the problem 2 making the hypothesis 3 collecting data and knowledge to solve the problem 4 identifying problem-solving method and 5 predicting the characteristics of the results. The problem-solving abilities of the students revealed that 40.43% of students (n=19 were in a moderate level and 59.57% of students (n=28 were in a low level with the

  20. Reading to deaf children who sign: a response to Williams (2012) and suggestions for future research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrews, Jean F

    2012-01-01

    A commentary on Williams's (2012) invited article on the use of adapted vocabulary learning interventions focuses on three areas: (a) Vocabulary interventions with storybook reading originally designed for hearing children can be adapted for deaf children. (b) Teachers are invited to reflect on how the read-aloud process in English differs from the read-aloud process in sign. (b) Teachers are asked to consider adding drawing and writing activities to reading lessons to show young deaf readers how reading and writing are reciprocal processes. The emergent literacy theory is used, as it informs and drives instructional vocabulary teaching practices for deaf children in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. The emergent literacy theory broadly captures cognitive, social, perceptual, and linguistic understandings of how young signing deaf children acquire both English word recognition abilities and vocabulary knowledge, among other important prereading concepts.

  1. Towards identifying dyslexia in Standard Indonesian: the development of a reading assessment battery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jap, Bernard A J; Borleffs, Elisabeth; Maassen, Ben A M

    2017-01-01

    With its transparent orthography, Standard Indonesian is spoken by over 160 million inhabitants and is the primary language of instruction in education and the government in Indonesia. An assessment battery of reading and reading-related skills was developed as a starting point for the diagnosis of dyslexia in beginner learners. Founded on the International Dyslexia Association's definition of dyslexia, the test battery comprises nine empirically motivated reading and reading-related tasks assessing word reading, pseudoword reading, arithmetic, rapid automatized naming, phoneme deletion, forward and backward digit span, verbal fluency, orthographic choice (spelling), and writing. The test was validated by computing the relationships between the outcomes on the reading-skills and reading-related measures by means of correlation and factor analyses. External variables, i.e., school grades and teacher ratings of the reading and learning abilities of individual students, were also utilized to provide evidence of its construct validity. Four variables were found to be significantly related with reading-skill measures: phonological awareness, rapid naming, spelling, and digit span. The current study on reading development in Standard Indonesian confirms findings from other languages with transparent orthographies and suggests a test battery including preliminary norm scores for screening and assessment of elementary school children learning to read Standard Indonesian.

  2. Effects of Age and Reading Ability on Visual Discrimination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musatti, Tullia; And Others

    1981-01-01

    Sixty children, prereaders and readers aged 4-6 years, matched color, shape, and letter features in pairs of cartoons. Older children and those able to read performed better, confirming the hypothesis that the development of some visual skills is a by-product of learning to read. (Author/SJL)

  3. Interaction Quality during Partner Reading

    OpenAIRE

    Meisinger, Elizabeth B.; Schwanenflugel, Paula J.; Bradley, Barbara A.; Stahl, Steven A.

    2004-01-01

    The influence of social relationships, positive interdependence, and teacher structure on the quality of partner reading interactions was examined. Partner reading, a scripted cooperative learning strategy, is often used in classrooms to promote the development of fluent and automatic reading skills. Forty-three pairs of second grade children were observed during partner reading sessions taking place in 12 classrooms. The degree to which the partners displayed social cooperation (instrumental...

  4. Quantitative differences in motor abilities and basic anthropometrics characteristics of boys and girls from fourth grade of primary school

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Buišić Svetlana

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to determine the quantitative differences in motor abilities and basic anthropometric characteristics by gender, we were testing 123 students of the primary school (fourth grade, 10,5 years old. Testing was applied technique of research. Two basic anthropometric measures and 14 motor tests were selected for measuring instruments. Using canonical discriminant analysis leads to results which indicate the presence of statistically significant quantitative differences in motor abilities of boys and girls but not in the anthropometric chararacteristics. Boys were in almost all motor variables statistically significantly better, except in variables for evaluation of flexibility which is more expressed by girls, but in the anthropometric characteristics there is no statistically significant differences relating to gender. Based on research results it is deduced that we need to differentiate primary students of the fourth grade by gender, because of the different levels of motor skills. Fourth grade students do not only need different approach to the work, they also need more frequent physical activity which is indispensable for development and growth.

  5. How Problems of Reading Fluency and Comprehension Are Related to Difficulties in Syntactic Awareness Skills among Fifth Graders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mokhtari, Kouider; Thompson, H. Brian

    2006-01-01

    In this study, we assessed and analyzed 5th grade students' levels of syntactic awareness in relation to their reading fluency and comprehension. The aim was to examine the role of syntactic awareness (children's awareness of the syntactic structure of sentences and their ability to reflect on and manipulate that structure) as a potential source…

  6. The Effect of Elevated Train Noise on Reading Ability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bronzaft, Arline L.; McCarthy, Dennis P.

    1975-01-01

    This study investigated the hypothesis that low reading achievement may be related to noise interference. Reading scores of children in classrooms near train tracks were lower than scores of children whose classrooms were quieter. Score differences may be due to children's blockage of all sounds in a noisy environment. (Author/MR)

  7. Mathematical Creative Thinking Ability of the Seventh Grade Students in Terms of Learning Styles to the Preview-Question-Read-Reflect-Recite-Review (PQ4R Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fiatun Istiqomah

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study are: (1 to know the effectiveness of PQ4R learning model in improving the creative thinking skills of the learners; (2 to know the classifications of the learners based on the levels of creative thinking skills; and (3 to describe the misconception which hampers the creative thinking skills at low level in  from the learning styles of the learners. The population in this study is the seventh grade students of SMP N 21 Semarang. The method in this study is mixed method research. Quantitative data analysis uses t-test, z-test, and normalized gain test. Analysis of qualitative data using data reduction stages, data presentation, and conclusions. The results show: (1 PQ4R learning model is effective in improving the creative thinking ability of the learners; (2 the classifications of the learners based on the levels of creative thinking ability which have variations the are many of the learners who are different in each level; and (3 misconception which hampers the creative thinking skills at low level with the learning styles: (a visual meets four misconception indicators, (b auditorial meets three misconception indicators, and (c kinesthetic meets six misconception indicators.

  8. Academic English Reading for International College Students: The Role of Metacognitive Reading Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwai, Yuko; Filce, Hollie; Ramp, Ellen

    2011-01-01

    In this study, the authors examined the impact of metacognitive reading strategies on international college students' academic success by correcting the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) instrument with (a) grade point averages (GPAs) and (b) the English language proficiency levels, categorized by beginning (students at the English Language…

  9. The Implementation and Effects of the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC): Early Findings in Sixth-Grade Advanced Reading Courses. CRESST Report 846

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herman, Joan L.; Epstein, Scott; Leon, Seth; Dai, Yunyun; La Torre Matrundola, Deborah; Reber, Sarah; Choi, Kilchan

    2015-01-01

    The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation invested in the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) as one strategy to support teachers' and students' transition to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English language arts. This report provides an early look at the implementation of LDC in sixth-grade Advanced Reading classes in a large Florida…

  10. Measuring College Students' Reading Comprehension Ability Using Cloze Tests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Rihana Shiri; Ari, Omer; Santamaria, Carmen Nicole

    2011-01-01

    Recent investigations challenge the construct validity of sustained silent reading tests. Performance of two groups of post-secondary students (e.g. struggling and non-struggling) on a sustained silent reading test and two types of cloze test (i.e. maze and open-ended) was compared in order to identify the test format that contributes greater…

  11. Perceived Demands of Schooling, Stress and Mental Health: Changes from Grade 6 to Grade 9 as a Function of Gender and Cognitive Ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giota, Joanna; Gustafsson, Jan-Eric

    2017-08-01

    The link between perceived demands of school, stress and mental health in relation to gender is complex. The study examined, with two waves of longitudinal data at age 13 and age 16, how changes in perceived academic demands relate to changes in perceived stress, taking into account gender and cognitive ability, and to investigate how these factors affect the level of psychosomatic and depressive symptoms at the age of 16. A nationally representative sample including about 9000 individuals from the Swedish longitudinal Evaluation Through Follow up database born in 1998 was included. A growth modelling approach was applied to examine relations over time. The results show girls to have a considerably higher self-reported level of mental health problems at the end of compulsory school than boys. This gender difference is entirely accounted for by perceived school demands and stress in grades 6 and 9. Students who were stronger in inductive than vocabulary ability reported lower levels of perceived academic demands and less stress in grade 6. There is a need to develop interventions for minimizing the consequences of stress among adolescents and modify those particular aspects of academic demands which cause stress and poor mental health, especially among girls. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. Race and Ability Talk in Early Childhood: Critical Inquiry into Shared Book Reading Practices with Pre-Service Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beneke, Margaret Rose

    2017-01-01

    In early childhood contexts, reading literature to engage children in critical discussions about ability and race--and how it impacts their daily lives--is a promising practice. Indeed, critical literacy scholars see the use of language, text, and discourse structures as powerful ways to address inequity in educational settings (Gainer, 2013;…

  13. Phonological Processing and Word Reading in Typically Developing and Reading Disabled Children : Severity Matters

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Groot, Barry; van den Bos, Kornelis; Minnaert, Alexander; van der Meulen, Bieuwe

    2015-01-01

    This chapter concerns the word reading predictive values and the dynamics of alphanumeric rapid automatized naming (RAN) and phonemic awareness (PA) in the general population of Dutch elementary school–aged children (grades 3 through 6). A composite index of word reading based on standardized tests

  14. Measuring up advances in how we assess reading ability

    CERN Document Server

    Sabatini, John; O'Reilly, Tenaha

    2012-01-01

    Sabatini, Albro and O'Reilly believe that in light of federal legislation towards common core standards and assessments, as well as significant national investments in reading and literacy education, it is a critical and opportune time to bring together the research and measurement community to address fundamental issues of measuring reading comprehension, in theory and in practice.

  15. Identification of children with reading difficulties: Cheap can be adequate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulsen, Mads; Nielsen, Anne-Mette Veber

    Classification of reading difficulties: Cheap screening can be accurate Purpose: Three factors are important for identification of students in need of remedial instruction: accuracy, timeliness, and cost. The identification has to be accurate to be of any use, the identification has to be timely......, inexpensive testing. The present study investigated the classification accuracy of three screening models varying in timeliness and cost. Method: We compared the ROC statistics of three logistic models for predicting end of Grade 2 reading difficulties in a sample of 164 students: 1) an early, comprehensive...... model using a battery of Grade 0 tests, including phoneme awareness, rapid naming, and paired associate learning, 2) a late, comprehensive model adding reading measures from January of Grade 1, and 3) a late, inexpensive model using only group-administered reading measures from January of Grade 1...

  16. A Teaching Strategy with a Focus on Argumentation to Improve Undergraduate Students' Ability to Read Research Articles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Lacum, Edwin B; Ossevoort, Miriam A; Goedhart, Martin J

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study is to evaluate a teaching strategy designed to teach first-year undergraduate life sciences students at a research university how to learn to read authentic research articles. Our approach-based on the work done in the field of genre analysis and argumentation theory-means that we teach students to read research articles by teaching them which rhetorical moves occur in research articles and how they can identify these. Because research articles are persuasive by their very nature, we focused on the rhetorical moves that play an important role in authors' arguments. We designed a teaching strategy using cognitive apprenticeship as the pedagogical approach. It was implemented in a first-year compulsory course in the life sciences undergraduate program. Comparison of the results of a pretest with those of the posttest showed that students' ability to identify these moves had improved. Moreover, students themselves had also perceived that their ability to read and understand a research article had increased. The students' evaluations demonstrated that they appreciated the pedagogical approach used and experienced the assignments as useful. On the basis of our results, we concluded that students had taken a first step toward becoming expert readers. © 2014 E. B. Van Lacum et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2014 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

  17. Reading-Related Causal Attributions for Success and Failure: Dynamic Links With Reading Skill.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frijters, Jan C; Tsujimoto, Kimberley C; Boada, Richard; Gottwald, Stephanie; Hill, Dina; Jacobson, Lisa A; Lovett, Maureen W; Mahone, E Mark; Willcutt, Erik G; Wolf, Maryanne; Bosson-Heenan, Joan; Gruen, Jeffrey R

    2018-01-01

    The present study investigated the relation among reading skills and attributions, naming speed, and phonological awareness across a wide range of reading skill. Participants were 1,105 school-age children and youths from two understudied populations: African Americans and Hispanic Americans. Individual assessments of children ranging in age from 8 to 15 years were conducted for reading outcomes, cognitive and linguistic predictors of reading, and attributions for success and failure in reading situations. Quantile regressions were formulated to estimate these relations across the full skill span of each outcome. Reading-related attributions predicted contextual word recognition, sight word and decoding fluency, and comprehension skills. Attributions to ability in success situations were positively related to each outcome across the full span. On three reading outcomes, this relation strengthened at higher skill levels. Attributions to effort in success situations were consistently and negatively related to all reading outcomes. The results provide evidence that the strength of the relation between reading and attributions varies according to reading skill levels, with the strongest evidence for ability-based attributions in situations of reading success.

  18. Effect of phonological and morphological awareness on reading comprehension in Hebrew-speaking adolescents with reading disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiff, Rachel; Schwartz-Nahshon, Sarit; Nagar, Revital

    2011-06-01

    This research explored phonological and morphological awareness among Hebrew-speaking adolescents with reading disabilities (RD) and its effect on reading comprehension beyond phonological and word-reading abilities. Participants included 39 seventh graders with RD and two matched control groups of normal readers: 40 seventh graders matched for chronological age (CA) and 38 third graders matched for reading age (RA). We assessed phonological awareness, word reading, morphological awareness, and reading comprehension. Findings indicated that the RD group performed similarly to the RA group on phonological awareness but lower on phonological decoding. On the decontextualized morphological task, RD functioned on par with RA, whereas in a contextualized task RD performed above RA but lower than CA. In reading comprehension, RD performed as well as RA. Finally, results indicated that for normal readers contextual morphological awareness uniquely contributed to reading comprehension beyond phonological and word-reading abilities, whereas no such unique contribution emerged for the RD group. The absence of an effect of morphological awareness in predicting reading comprehension was suggested to be related to a different recognition process employed by RD readers which hinder the ability of these readers to use morphosemantic structures. The lexical quality hypothesis was proposed as further support to the findings, suggesting that a low quality of lexical representation in RD students leads to ineffective reading skills and comprehension. Lexical representation is thus critical for both lexical as well as comprehension abilities.

  19. Butterfly effects in reading? The relationship between decoding and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Using the metaphor of butterfly effects, this paper considers how literacy inequalities in comprehension performance amongst Grade 6 learners in high poverty schools can be linked to skills that should have been developed in earlier stages of reading development. The reading comprehension skills of Grade 6 learners in ...

  20. Tiers of intervention in kindergarten through third grade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, Rollanda E; Harty, Kristin R; Fulmer, Deborah

    2005-01-01

    This study measured the effects of increasing levels of intervention in reading for a cohort of children in Grades K through 3 to determine whether the severity of reading disability (RD) could be significantly reduced in the catchment schools. Tier 1 consisted of professional development for teachers of reading. The focus of this study is on additional instruction that was provided as early as kindergarten for children whose achievement fell below average. Tier 2 intervention consisted of small-group reading instruction 3 times per week, and Tier 3 of daily instruction delivered individually or in groups of two. A comparison of the reading achievement of third-grade children who were at risk in kindergarten showed moderate to large differences favoring children in the tiered interventions in decoding, word identification, fluency, and reading comprehension.

  1. THE EFFECT OF JIGSAW II TOWARD LEARNING MOTIVATION AND READING COMPREHENSION AT THE SECOND GRADE OF ENGLISH STUDENTS IN STKIP DHARMA BAKTI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    eka melati

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available In teaching Reading, learning motivation and reading comprehension are essential. Ideally, after students learn the reading skills, both of their learning motivation and reading comprehension are better than before. In fact, the students still face some problems in comprehending the text. The problems are: they got low score of reading comprehension, they are lack of motivation, they are lack of vocabulary mastery, their reading achievement is still low, and the lecturer always uses small group discussion method without any variation. The purpose of this research was to find out the effect of JIgsaw II on learning motivation and reading comprehension.This study was an experimental research. Poupulation of this research was the second grade students of English Department of STKIP Dharma Bakti Lubuk Alung academic year 2010/2011 who was totally 133 students. The sample was selected by cluster random technique. The instruments were questionnaire of learning motivation and test of reading comprehension. The data were analyzed manually by t-test formula.The result of this study were learning motivation of students who were taught by Jigsaw II was better than those who were taught by small group discussion; and reading comprehension of students who taught by Jigsaw II was better than those who taught by small group discussion. It concluded that Jigsaw II produced better result on learning motivation and reading comprehension. It was implied that Jigsaw II could be used as method of teaching reading for English students.Doi: 10.22216/jit.2014.v8i2.211 

  2. Psychometric Research in Reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Frederick B.

    This review of psychometric research in reading analyzes the factors which seem related to reading comprehension skills. Experimental analysis of reading comprehension by L. E. Thorndike revealed two major components: knowledge of word meanings and verbal reasoning abilities. Subsequent analysis of experimental studies of reading comprehension…

  3. Diferencias en la Predictividad de la Lectura Entre Primer Año y Cuarto Año Básicos Differences in the Predictability of Reading Between First Grade and Fourth Grade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Bravo Valdivieso

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available Este artículo presenta los resultados obtenidos en un seguimiento de 227 niños durante cuatro años. Fueron evaluados al iniciar el primer año básico con diversas pruebas psicolingüísticas predictivas y luego en lectura a fines del primero y del cuarto año. Se estudió la variación de la predictividad de la lectura entre ambos cursos, mediante matriz de correlaciones y regresión step-wise. Los resultados indican que el conocimiento de las letras y la conciencia fonológica fueron los mejores predictores de la lectura del primer año. En cambio el conocimiento de las letras, de palabras escritas y de estructuras textuales predijo mejor la lectura a fines del cuarto año.The aim of this article is to present the issues of a follow-up study between 227 children of first and fourth grade of elementary school. They were tested with several psycholinguistic tests at the beginning of first grade and thereafter they were tested in reading at the end of the first and fourth grade. The variability in the prediction of the initial tests over the first and fourth grades was calculated by correlations and step-wise regression. The results show that there is variability among the predictive variables between these grades. In first grade the most predictive tests were letter naming and phonological awareness. For fourth grade the most predictive tests were letter naming and knowledge ot written words and textual structures.

  4. [Attempt for development of rapid word reading test for children--evaluation of reliability and validity].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hashimoto, Ryusaku; Kashiwagi, Mitsuru; Suzuki, Shuhei

    2008-09-01

    We developed a rapid word reading test for examining the phonological processing ability of Japanese children. We prepared two versions of the test, version A and B. Each test has word and non-word tasks. Twenty-two healthy boys of third grade in primary schools participated in this validation study. For criterion related validity, we performed the serial Hiragana reading test, the sentence reading test, Raven's coloured progressive matrices (RCPM), the Token test for children, the Kana word dictation test, the standardized comprehension test of abstract words (SCTAW), and Trail Circle test. The reading times of the newly developed test correlated moderately or highly with those of the serial Hiragana reading test and the sentence reading test. However, the scores of the other tests (RCPM, Token test for children, Kana word dictation test, SCTAW, Trail Circle test) did not correlated with the reading time of the rapid word reading test. Test-retest reliabilities in the word tasks were more than moderate: 0.52 and 0.76 in versions A and B, while those in the non-word tasks were high: 0.91 and 0.88 in versions A and B. The correlation coefficient between versions A and B was 0.7 for the word tasks and 0.92 for the non-word tasks. This study showed that the rapid word reading test has substantial validity and reliability for testing the phonological processing ability of Japanese children. In addition, the non-word tasks were more suitable for selectively examining the speed of the grapheme to phoneme conversion process.

  5. Responding to Reading Instruction in a Primary-Grade Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mokhtari, Kouider; Porter, Leah; Edwards, Patricia

    2010-01-01

    In this article, the authors present a snapshot of how one kindergarten and Reading Recovery teacher organized instruction in her classroom, enabling her to provide constructively responsive reading assessment and instruction for her developing and struggling readers. (Contains 2 figures.)

  6. Evaluating the Interpretations and Use of Curriculum-Based Measurement in Reading and Word Lists for Universal Screening in First and Second Grade

    Science.gov (United States)

    January, Stacy-Ann A.; Ardoin, Scott P.; Christ, Theodore J.; Eckert, Tanya L.; White, Mary Jane

    2016-01-01

    Universal screening in elementary schools often includes administering curriculum-based measurement in reading (CBM-R); but in first grade, nonsense word fluency (NWF) and, to a lesser extent, word identification fluency (WIF) are used because of concerns that CBM-R is too difficult for emerging readers. This study used Kane's argument-based…

  7. THE RELATIONSHIP OF MEASURES OF ATTAINMENT VALUE AND ACHIEVEMENT EXPECTANCY TO THE READING ACHIEVEMENT OF FIRST-GRADE CHILDREN FROM LOW-INCOME FAMILIES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    WOOD, FRANK H.

    THIS INVESTIGATION FOCUSED ON THE USEFULNESS OF A PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING MEASURES OF THE MOTIVATION OF FIRST-GRADE CHILDREN FROM LOW-INCOME FAMILIES TO ACHIEVE IN READING WHICH DID NOT REQUIRE WRITTEN OR ORAL VERBAL RESPONSES FROM THE SUBJECTS. MEASURES OF ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION WERE CORRELATED WITH TEACHER RATINGS OF EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE IN…

  8. The Contributions of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Reading Motivation to the Development of Reading Competence over Summer Vacation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaffner, Ellen; Schiefele, Ulrich

    2016-01-01

    This study addressed the role of reading motivation as a potential determinant of losses or gains in reading competence over six weeks of summer vacation (SV). Based on a sample of 223 third-grade elementary students, structural equation analyses showed that intrinsic reading motivation before SV contributed positively to both word and sentence…

  9. From emergent literacy to reading: how learning to read changes a child's brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi; Hutton, John S

    2015-07-01

    The ability to comprehend language is uniquely human. Behavioural and neuroimaging data reinforce the importance of intact oral language as foundational for the establishment of proficient reading. However, proficient reading is achieved not only via intact biological systems, but also a stimulating Home Literacy Environment. Behavioural and neuroimaging correlates for linguistic ability and literacy exposure support the engagement of neural circuits related to reading acquisition. ©2015 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. THE USE OF HERRINGBONE TECHNIQUE IN COMPREHENDING RECOUNT TEXT AT THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS OF MADRASAH ALIYAH TERPADU DURI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deny Silvia

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This study was conducted to find out whether there was a significant difference between reading comprehension recount text ability of students who were taught by using Herringbone Technique and those who were taught without using Herringbone Technique. The research method used was experimental research. The instrument for collecting data was test. It was given to subjects before and after the experiment. The test was used in order to find out the students comprehension ability on recount text. The subject chosen for this study were 62 students at the tenth grade of Madrasah Aliyah Swasta Terpadu Duri. They were divided into two groups: experimental and control group. Based on the finding, the results of t-test and interpretations, the following conclusions were drawn: (1 Herringbone Technique is applicable to improve students` ablity in comprehending recount text, (2 there is a significant difference between reading comprehension ability of students who were taught before using Herringbone Technique and those who were taught after using Herringbone Technique. And (3 there is significant effect of using Herringbone Technique in comprehending recount text at the Tenth Grade Students of Madrasah Aliyah Swasta Terpadu Duri. It was proved by the calculation of t- test. The result of t-test was (2,00 2,65. It could be concluded that Herringbone Technique improves students’ ability in comprehending recount text.

  11. Instructional principles used to teach critical comprehension skills to a Grade 4 learner

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suzanne Beck

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The current approach to reading comprehension instruction is not producing the desired outcomes. Provincial, national and international tests indicate that more than half of South African learners cannot read, understand and answer basic comprehension questions. This research project was informed by Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory. A case study was conducted with a ten-year old Grade 4 boy who experienced difficulty with understanding comprehension questions. A six-week intervention was designed to improve his comprehension abilities and to identify instructional principles that were appropriate for him. Interviews and observations were conducted and inductively analysed. Findings showed that the learner was well equipped to retrieve explicitly stated information but struggled with higher-order level questions such as drawing inferences or evaluating content. Certain instructional practices were more favourable than others when teaching reading strategies.

  12. Ten-Structure as Strategy of Addition 1-20 by Involving Spatial Structuring Ability for First Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmah, Ummy; Putri, Ratu Ilma Indra; Somakim

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study is to design learning activities that can support students to develop strategies for the addition of number 1 to 20 in the first grade by involving students' spatial structuring ability. This study was conducted in Indonesia by involving 27 students. In this paper, one of three activities is discussed namely ten-box activity.…

  13. Reading is for girls!? The negative impact of preschool teachers' traditional gender role attitudes on boys' reading related motivation and skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolter, Ilka; Braun, Edith; Hannover, Bettina

    2015-01-01

    According to gender stereotypes, reading is for girls. In this study, we investigated the role of preschool teachers in transmitting such gendered expectations. We suggest that boys are less motivated to read in preschool, and less competent in reading 1 year later in primary school, if their preschool teacher holds a traditional gender role attitude than if the teacher has egalitarian beliefs. In 135 independent dyads of a female preschool teacher (N = 135) and one boy (n = 65) or one girl (n = 70) we measured teacher's gender role attitude, child's reading related motivation as well as precursors of reading skills in preschool, and child's reading skills at the end of first grade in primary school. As expected, the more traditional preschool teachers' gender role attitude was, the weaker was boys' motivation to (learn to) read while girls' motivation was unrelated to teachers' gender role attitude. In either gender, motivation in preschool predicted reading skills at the end of first grade. PMID:26379592

  14. Reading is for girls!? The negative impact of preschool teachers' traditional gender role attitudes on boys' reading related motivation and skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolter, Ilka; Braun, Edith; Hannover, Bettina

    2015-01-01

    According to gender stereotypes, reading is for girls. In this study, we investigated the role of preschool teachers in transmitting such gendered expectations. We suggest that boys are less motivated to read in preschool, and less competent in reading 1 year later in primary school, if their preschool teacher holds a traditional gender role attitude than if the teacher has egalitarian beliefs. In 135 independent dyads of a female preschool teacher (N = 135) and one boy (n = 65) or one girl (n = 70) we measured teacher's gender role attitude, child's reading related motivation as well as precursors of reading skills in preschool, and child's reading skills at the end of first grade in primary school. As expected, the more traditional preschool teachers' gender role attitude was, the weaker was boys' motivation to (learn to) read while girls' motivation was unrelated to teachers' gender role attitude. In either gender, motivation in preschool predicted reading skills at the end of first grade.

  15. Reading is for girls!? The negative impact of preschool teachers' traditional gender role attitudes on boys' reading related motivation and skills.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilka eWolter

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available According to gender stereotypes, reading is for girls. In this study, we investigated the role of preschool teachers in transmitting such gendered expectations. We suggest that boys are less motivated to read in preschool, and less competent in reading one year later in primary school, if their preschool teacher holds a traditional gender role attitude than if the teacher has egalitarian beliefs. In 135 independent dyads of a female preschool teacher (N=135 and one boy (n=65 or one girl (n=70 we measured teacher's gender role attitude, child's reading related motivation as well as precursors of reading skills in preschool, and child's reading skills at the end of first grade in primary school. As expected, the more traditional preschool teachers' gender role attitude was, the weaker was boys' motivation to (learn to read while girls' motivation was unrelated to teachers' gender role attitude. In either gender, motivation in preschool predicted reading skills at the end of first grade.

  16. A Mixed-Methods Study on the Impact of Socratic Seminars on Eighth Grade Students' Comprehension of Science Texts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roncke, Nancy

    This formative, convergent-mixed methods research study investigated the impact of Socratic Seminars on eighth grade science students' independent comprehension of science texts. The study also highlighted how eighth grade students of varying reading abilities interacted with and comprehended science texts differently during and after the use of Socratic Seminars. In order to document any changes in the students' overall comprehension of science texts, this study compared the experimental and control groups' pre- and post-test performances on the Content Area Reading Assessment (Leslie & Caldwell, 2014) and self-perception surveys on students' scientific reading engagement. Student think-alouds and interviews also captured the students' evolving understandings of the science texts. At the conclusion of this sixteen-week study, the achievement gap between the experimental and control group was closed in five of the seven categories on the Content Area Reading Assessment, including supporting an inference with textual evidence, determining central ideas, explaining why or how, determining word meaning, and summarizing a science text. Students' self-perception surveys were more positive regarding reading science texts after the Socratic Seminars. Finally, the student think-alouds revealed that some students moved from a literal interpretation of the science texts to inquiries that questioned the text and world events.

  17. CONNECTION OF TURN AHEAD AND TURN BACK WITH MOTORIC ABILITIES OF THE FOURTH GRADE OF HIGH SCHOOL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jovica Petković

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available The research is done for the purpose of determination and defining of the level of connection between some motoric abilities with success in realization of programmed contents from the area of gymnastics (turn ahead and turn back. The research is done on the sample of fifty students from the fourth grade of High School, on ten motoric tests and on two specific motoric assignments – turn ahead and turn back. The results of this research clearly point that there exist the multitude of statistically important coefficients of correlation between treated motoric abilities and applied motoric assignments.

  18. Reading, Writing & Rings: Science Literacy for K-4 Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    McConnell, S.; Spilker, L.; Zimmerman-Brachman, R.

    2007-12-01

    Scientific discovery is the impetus for the K-4 Education program, "Reading, Writing & Rings." This program is unique because its focus is to engage elementary students in reading and writing to strengthen these basic academic skills through scientific content. As science has been increasingly overtaken by the language arts in elementary classrooms, the Cassini Education Program has taken advantage of a new cross-disciplinary approach to use language arts as a vehicle for increasing scientific content in the classroom. By utilizing the planet Saturn and the Cassini-Huygens mission as a model in both primary reading and writing students in these grade levels, young students can explore science material while at the same time learning these basic academic skills. Content includes reading, thinking, and hands-on activities. Developed in partnership with the Cassini-Huygens Education and Public Outreach Program, the Bay Area Writing Project/California Writing Project, Foundations in Reading Through Science & Technology (FIRST), and the Caltech Pre-College Science Initiative (CAPSI), and classroom educators, "Reading, Writing & Rings" blends the excitement of space exploration with reading and writing. All materials are teacher developed, aligned with national science and language education standards, and are available from the Cassini-Huygens website: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/education/edu-k4.cfm Materials are divided into two grade level units. One unit is designed for students in grades 1 and 2 while the other unit focuses on students in grades 3 and 4. Each includes a series of lessons that take students on a path of exploration of Saturn using reading and writing prompts.

  19. VOCABULARY LEARNING IN AN AUTOMATED GRADED READING PROGRAM

    OpenAIRE

    Hsien-Chin Liou; Hung-Tzu Huang

    2007-01-01

    Adult L2 learners are often encouraged to acquire new words through reading in order to promote language proficiency. Yet preparing suitable reading texts is often a challenge for teachers because the chosen texts must have a high percentage of words familiar to specific groups of learners in order to allow the inference of word meanings from context. With the help of word lists research and advances in quantitative corpus analyses using word frequency computer programs, this study selected s...

  20. Predictors of Foreign Language Reading Comprehension in a Hypermedia Reading Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbulut, Yavuz

    2008-01-01

    This study investigated factors affecting second/foreign language (L2) reading comprehension in a hypermedia environment within the theoretical framework of dual coding and cognitive load theories, and interactive models of L2 reading. The independent variables were reading ability, topic interest, prior topical knowledge, and the number of times…

  1. Responsive Guided Reading in Grades K-5: Simplifying Small-Group Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berne, Jennifer; Degener, Sophie C.

    2010-01-01

    Guided reading is a staple of elementary literacy instruction, yet planning and conducting reading groups can be time consuming and challenging. This hands-on book presents an innovative approach to guided reading that is manageable even for teachers who are new to small-group, differentiated reading instruction. Numerous classroom examples…

  2. Development of reading ability is facilitated by intensive exposure to a digital children’s picture book

    OpenAIRE

    Nobuo eMasataka

    2014-01-01

    Here the author presents preliminary evidence supporting the possibility that the reading ability of 4-year-old children can be improved as a consequence of intensive exposure to the narrative in a digital picture book over a consecutive 5-day period. When creating the digital version used here, two additional functions were provided with it. First, the entire story was voice-recorded by a professional narrator and programmed so that it was played as narration from the speaker of an iPad. ...

  3. An Integrated Interdisciplinary Model for Accelerating Student Achievement in Science and Reading Comprehension across Grades 3-8: Implications for Research and Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romance, Nancy R.; Vitale, Michael R.

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the effects of a multi-year implementation of the Science IDEAS model on (a) the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) achievement growth in Reading Comprehension and Science of grade 3-5 students receiving the model, and (b) the transfer effects of the model as measured by ITBS Reading…

  4. Within-Year Changes in Chinese Secondary School Students' Perceived Reading Instruction and Intrinsic Reading Motivation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Kit-ling

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to expand on existing research about motivational change by investigating within-year changes of adolescents' intrinsic reading motivation and perceived reading instruction among students from different grades and achievement levels. Six hundred and ninety five students from 10 secondary schools in Hong Kong voluntarily completed…

  5. Gender Differences in Reading Achievement and Enjoyment of Reading: The Role of Perceived Teaching Quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hochweber, Jan; Vieluf, Svenja

    2018-01-01

    The authors examined the extent to which classroom-specific relationships between students' gender and their reading achievement and enjoyment of reading are associated with student-perceived teaching quality. Based on a sample of 10,543 ninth-grade students from 427 classrooms, multilevel analyses revealed that effective classroom management,…

  6. A cognitive perspective on Singaporean primary school pupils' use of reading strategies in learning to read in English.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Lawrence Jun; Gu, Peter Yongqi; Hu, Guangwei

    2008-06-01

    This study is conducted in Singapore, where learning to read in English is regarded as essential because it is offered as a First Language (L1) subject in the curriculum and is stipulated as the medium of instruction in the education system, and the mother tongues are offered as Second Language (L2) subjects, although the majority still learn English as an L2. The paper reports on the reading strategies used by Singaporean primary school pupils from a cognitive perspective, which is part of a larger study that aims to investigate these pupils' language learning strategies. The participants were 18 pupils from three neighbourhood primary schools, in grades Primary 4, 5 and 6. The data were collected from high- and low-proficiency pupils at each of the three grades in each school, who read two texts at each level. Grounded in an information-processing theory and based on successful experiences of scholars using think-aloud for data collection, we asked the pupils to read and report what they were thinking about while reading. The think-aloud protocols were recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded and analysed. The results suggest that participants' flexible and appropriate use of reading strategies varies according to language proficiency and grade level, with the high-proficiency group outperforming its lower-proficiency counterpart and the high-graders outnumbering the lower-graders in terms of the number of strategies that they used. These differences were also exemplified with qualitative findings from case studies. The use of reading strategies differs according to proficiency levels, and the quality of pupils' strategy-use patterns has more significant implications for understanding efficient reading among primary school pupils.

  7. Competência ortográfica e metafonológica: influências e correlações na leitura e escrita de escolares da 4ª série Orthographic and metaphonological competences: influences and correlations with reading and writing abilities of 4th grade students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana Faleiros Paolucci

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Estudar o desempenho de escolares da 4ª série em tarefas de leitura e escrita e de consciência fonológica. MÉTODOS: Trinta e dois escolares de 4ª série (50,0% meninas, entre nove e 11 anos, foram avaliados segundo os procedimentos: anamnese, avaliação da leitura, escrita (54 itens linguísticos e consciência fonológica. Foram divididos em: GPI: escreveram e, após, leram em voz alta; GPII: leram em voz alta e, após, escreveram; GCI: apenas escreveram; GCII: apenas leram. RESULTADOS: Na escrita, GPII apresentou as maiores médias de acerto, sendo que GPI, GPII e GCI apresentaram melhor desempenho para as palavras frequentes, seguido das pseudopalavras e das de baixa frequência. Na leitura, os desempenhos dos GPI, GPII e GCII foram semelhantes, sendo que GPI e GPII apresentaram mais acertos para as pseudopalavras, seguido das de alta frequência. A correlação entre consciência fonológica e escrita mostrou-se moderada e entre consciência fonológica e leitura e entre escrita e leitura foi bem fraca. CONCLUSÕES: A consciência fonológica mostrou moderada correlação com a escrita e baixa com a leitura; a característica psicolinguística baixa familiaridade determinou as maiores médias de erro, tanto na leitura quanto na escrita.PURPOSE: To study the performance of 4th grade students on reading, writing and phonological awareness tasks. METHODS: Thirty-two 4th grade children (50% of each gender, with ages between nine and 11 years, were evaluated according to the following procedure: anamnesis, reading and writing task (54 linguistic tokens, and phonological awareness task. The students were divided into two research groups and two comparison groups: GPI: carried out the writing task first, and then the reading task; GPII: completed the reading, followed by the writing task; GCI: completed only the writing items; GCII: completed only the reading items. RESULTS: In the writing task, GPII showed the highest rates of

  8. Examining Oral Reading Fluency Trajectories Among English Language Learners and English Speaking Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shane R. Jimerson

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Students’ oral reading fluency growth from first through fourth grade was used to predict their achievement on the Stanford Achievement Test (9th ed.; SAT-9 Reading using a latent growth model. Two conditional variables related to student status were used to determine the effects on reading performance - English language learners (ELLs with low socioeconomic status and low socioeconomic (SES status alone. Results revealed that both types of student status variables reliably predicted low performance on initial first grade oral reading fluency, which later predicted fourth grade performance on the SAT-9. However, the reading fluency trajectories of the ELLs and monolingual English students were not significantly different. In addition, when both student status variables and letter naming fluency were used to predict initial oral reading fluency, letter naming fluency dominated the prediction equation, suggesting that an initial pre-reading skill, letter naming fluency, better explained fourth grade performance on the SAT-9 than either ELL with low SES or low SES alone. The discussion focuses on how to better enable these readers and how oral reading fluency progress monitoring can be used to assist school personnel in determining which students need additional instructional assistance.

  9. Protocol for Targeted School-Based Interventions for Improving Reading and Mathematics for Students With or At-Risk of Academic Difficulties in Grade K to 6

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dietrichson, Jens; Bøg, Martin; Eiberg, Misja

    2016-01-01

    This systematic review will examine the effects of targeted interventions to students with or at-risk of academic difficulties in Kindergarten to grade 6 on standardized tests in reading and mathematics. We will examine interventions such as for example tutoring, cooperative learning, computer...

  10. The role of phonological awareness in reading comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Silvia Cárnio

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Purpose: to characterize the performance of 4th grade-Elementary School students with and without signs of reading and writing disorders as for phonological awareness and reading comprehension, and also verify possible correlations between them. Methods: 60 children enrolled in the 4th grade of Elementary School from two public schools, whose parents signed the Informed Consent Form, participated in the present study. They were selected and organized in groups, with and without signs of reading and writing disorders. All students were individually assessed regarding their phonological awareness and reading comprehension of sentences and texts through standardized tests. The data underwent statistical analysis. Results: those with signs of reading and writing disorders showed the lowest performance in the reading comprehension of sentences and texts. A correlation was found between phonological awareness and reading comprehension of sentences and texts in both groups. Conclusion: students with no signs of reading and writing disorders had a higher performance in the skills assessed. The correlation found between phonological awareness and reading comprehension of sentences and texts shows not only the importance of metaphonological skills for a proficient reading, but also for a comprehensive one.

  11. An Assessment of the Speed Reading Ability of Sandwich Students ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The paper discusses the concept and usefulness of rapid reading. It also reports a study in which the Faculty of Education, University of Lagos, Nigeria Sandwich students formed the subjects. Their pre-training reading speed and comprehension scores were determined through a pre-test, after which they were subjected to ...

  12. Racial/ethnic socialization and parental involvement in education as predictors of cognitive ability and achievement in African American children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banerjee, Meeta; Harrell, Zaje A T; Johnson, Deborah J

    2011-05-01

    Racial/ethnic socialization has not been studied in the context of other parenting behaviors such as parental involvement in education and its relationship to children's cognitive outcomes. The present study tested the impact of racial/ethnic socialization and parental involvement in education on cognitive ability and achievement in a sample of African American youth. Two dimensions of racial/ethnic socialization, cultural exposure (i.e., exposure to diverse cultures) and cultural socialization (i.e., in-group pride), were examined in a sample of 92 African American mother-child dyads, of which 50% were female. Maternal reports of involvement during their child's 5th grade year were examined as a moderator in the relationship between racial/ethnic socialization and cognitive ability and achievement. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that mothers' reports of cultural exposure messages measured in 4th grade predicted children's scores on 5th grade assessments of passage comprehension. There was also a significant interaction indicating that greater cultural exposure and more parental involvement in education predicted better reading passage comprehension scores over time. The implications for assessing dimensions relevant to cognitive ability and achievement in African American children are discussed.

  13. Reading with Maggie: The Effect of the Presence/Absence of a Classroom Pet Dog in a Reading Intervention Package

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bassette, Laura A.

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine if the presence/absence of a classroom pet dog impacted reading skills in four 5th grade middle school students with emotional/ behavioral disabilities. An alternating treatment design was used to assess the fluency and comprehension measures in students during reading a reading intervention package…

  14. High School Students with Reading Comprehension Difficulties: Results of a Randomized Control Trial of a Two-Year Reading Intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaughn, Sharon; Roberts, Greg; Wexler, Jade; Vaughn, Michael G.; Fall, Anna-Mária; Schnakenberg, Jennifer B.

    2015-01-01

    A 2-year, randomized control trial with 9th to 10th grade students with significant reading problems was provided for 50 minutes a day in small groups. Comparison students were provided an elective class and treatment students the reading intervention. Students were identified as demonstrating reading difficulties through failure on their state…

  15. Physiologic discrimination of stop consonants relates to phonological skills in pre-readers: A biomarker for subsequent reading ability?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Travis eWhite-Schwoch

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Reading development builds upon the accurate representation of the phonological structure of spoken language. This representation and its neural foundations have been studied extensively with respect to reading due to pervasive performance deficits on basic phonological tasks observed in children with dyslexia. The subcortical auditory system—a site of intersection for sensory and cognitive input—is exquisitely tuned to code fine timing differences between phonemes, and so likely plays a foundational role in the development of phonological processing and, eventually, reading. This temporal coding of speech varies systematically with reading ability in school age children. Little is known, however, about subcortical speech representation in pre-school age children. We measured auditory brainstem responses to the stop consonants [ba] and [ga] in a cohort of 4-year-old children and assessed their phonological skills. In a typical auditory system, brainstem responses to [ba] and [ga] are out of phase (i.e., differ in time due to formant frequency differences in the consonant-vowel transitions of the stimuli. We found that children who performed worst on the phonological awareness task insufficiently code this difference, revealing a physiologic link between early phonological skills and the neural representation of speech. We discuss this finding in light of existing theories of the role of the auditory system in developmental dyslexia, and argue for a systems-level perspective for understanding the importance of precise temporal coding for learning to read.

  16. Types and sequences of self-regulated reading of low-achieving adolescents in relation to reading task achievement

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Milliano, Ilona; van Gelderen, Amos; Sleegers, P.J.C.

    2016-01-01

    This study examines the relationship between types and sequences of self-regulated reading activities in task-oriented reading with quality of task achievement of 51 low-achieving adolescents (Grade 8). The study used think aloud combined with video observations to analyse the students' approach of

  17. To read or not to read : a meta-analysis of print exposure from infancy to early adulthood

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mol, Suzanne E; Bus, Adriana G

    This research synthesis examines whether the association between print exposure and components of reading grows stronger across development. We meta-analyzed 99 studies (N = 7,669) that focused on leisure time reading of (a) preschoolers and kindergartners, (b) children attending Grades 1-12, and

  18. Self-Contained to Departmentalized: How Reading Habits Changed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamme, Linda Leonard

    1976-01-01

    Examined the reading habits of four 4th grade classes before and after a changeover from self-contained to departmentalized instruction. Results indicated a slightly lower mean number of books read and far less variation among classes in the number of books read after departmentalization. (JMB)

  19. A influência da memória operacional nas habilidades de compreensão de leitura em escolares de 4ª série Influence of working memory in reading comprehension in 4th grade students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Micheli Cristina Paludeto Belaz Giangiacomo

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVOS: Investigar o papel da memória verbal e não-verbal, e do vocabulário expressivo na compreensão de leitura; avaliar as habilidades de memória e vocabulário em um grupo de crianças da 4ª série em relação ao desempenho de compreensão de leitura. MÉTODOS: Participaram do estudo 15 crianças com idades entre 9;11 anos e 11;4 anos. As crianças não possuíam queixas de perda auditiva, visual e/ou alterações neurológicas. Todos os sujeitos foram submetidos individualmente às avaliações de desempenho escolar, leitura, (decodificação, compreensão vocabulário e memória operacional verbal e não-verbal. RESULTADOS: Houve correlação estatisticamente significante entre o conhecimento de vocabulário expressivo (r= 0,546, p= 0,035 e memória operacional verbal (r= -0,689, p=0,004 e o desempenho em compreensão neste grupo de crianças de 4ª. série de ensino fundamental, sem queixas de dificuldades escolares. Nem a memória não-verbal, nem a habilidade de decodificação de palavras influenciaram no desempenho em compreensão de leitura. CONCLUSÕES: O desempenho em vocabulário e a boa capacidade da memória operacional verbal foram fatores relevantes para garantir a compreensão de leitura nessa população.PURPOSE: To investigate the role of verbal and non-verbal working memory and vocabulary levels in reading comprehension. The specific goals were to evaluate working memory abilities, vocabulary and reading skills in a group of fourth grade children and to estimate the relations between memory comprehension performances. METHODS: Participants were 15 children between 9:11 and 11:4 years old with no auditory, visual and/or neurological deficits. All subjects were tested individually for academic performance, reading (decoding and comprehension, vocabulary, and verbal and non-verbal memory. RESULTS: Vocabulary knowledge (r= 0,546, p= 0,035 and verbal working memory (r= -0,689, p=0,004 showed statistically significant

  20. The Keefe Inventory of Silent Reading: A Window into the Reading Process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keefe, Donald

    1993-01-01

    Contains part of the Keefe Inventory of Silent Reading, a silent informal reading inventory. Presents a case study of a student to whom it was administered, including analysis of this individual's reading ability and description of the specific strategies used with this individual on the basis of the results of the inventory. (RS)