This study investigated the effectiveness of the Model of Reading Engagement (MORE), a content literacy intervention, on first graders' science domain knowledge, reading engagement, and reading ...comprehension. The MORE intervention emphasizes the role of domain knowledge and reading engagement in supporting reading comprehension. MORE lessons included a 10-day thematic unit that provided a framework for students to connect new learning to a meaningful schema (i.e., Arctic animal survival) and to pursue mastery goals for acquiring domain knowledge. A total of 38 first-grade classrooms (N = 674 students) within 10 elementary schools were randomly assigned to (a) MORE at school (MS), (b) MORE at home, (MS-H), in which the MS condition included at-home reading, or (c) typical instruction. Since there were minimal differences in procedures between the MS and MS-H conditions, the main analyses combined the two treatment groups. Findings from hierarchical linear models revealed that the MORE intervention had a positive and significant effect on science domain knowledge, as measured by vocabulary knowledge depth (effect size ES = 0.30), listening comprehension (ES = 0.40), and argumentative writing (ES = 0.24). The MORE intervention effects on reading engagement as measured by situational interest, reading motivation, and task orientations were not statistically significant. However, the intervention had a significant, positive effect on a distal measure of reading comprehension (ES = 0.11), and there was no evidence of Treatment × Aptitude interaction effects. Content literacy can facilitate first graders' acquisition of science domain knowledge and reading comprehension without contributing to Matthew effects.
The Floor To The Students! A Focus Group Experience At Schoool On The Subject Of Reading As Part Of The Educational Policy «Leggere: Forte! Ad Alta Voce Fa Crescere L’Intelligenza» This descriptive ...survey, conducted as part of «Leggere: Forte! Ad alta voce fa crescere l’intelligenza» an educational policy promoted by Region of Tuscany to introduce intensive and systematic reading aloud by teachers in schools of all levels, aims to explore how exposure to reading aloud influences students’ perceptions toward reading itself. 16 Focus Groups were conducted in Primary and Secondary Schools both with adhering (LF) and not-adhering (NLF) classes to the «Leggere: Forte!» policy. Data analysis included a triangular categorization of the transcribed corpus among three independent researchers and an in-epth investigation of emotional-affective evidence, using Mood Meter (Brackett, Caruso, & Stern, 2006; Nathanson et al., 2016) as a reference model. The study showed differences in category occurrences between LF and NLF groups. Emotional mapping analysis, in particular, found a significantly larger expressed emotional repertoire in LF classes. The evidence suggests that exposure to narrative training promotes the acquisition of greater emotional competence, a relevant variable for academic success.
The article presents a study on the perceptions of primary school teachers regarding the effects of reading aloud training conducted in their classrooms, thanks to the research-action project ..."Reading:so cool!" in the Region of Tuscany (Italy). The study involved 77 Tuscan municipalities, 121 Comprehensive Institution, 244 classes, for a total of 425 teachers. The teachers' perceptions were collected and analyzed thanks to a tool integrated in the method: the logbook, a semi-structured data collection tool, filled in daily and sent weekly by the teachers. The analysis of the diaries highlighted the positive impact of systematic reading aloud practice on primary school children (benefits on a cognitive, emotional, learning ability and well-being level) and the importance of monitoring the processes through a reflective-narrative tool.
Models of reading aloud have tended to focus on the mapping between graphemes and phonemes in monosyllables. Critical adaptations of these models are required when considering the reading of ...polysyllables, which constitute over 90% of word types in English. In this paper, we examined one such adaptation – the process of stress assignment in learning to read. We used a triangulation of corpus, behavioral, and computational modeling techniques. A corpus analysis of age-appropriate reading materials for children aged 5–12
years revealed that the beginnings and endings of English bisyllabic words are highly predictive of stress position, but that endings are more reliable cues in texts for older children. Children aged 5–12
years revealed sensitivity to both the beginnings and endings when reading nonwords, but older children relied more on endings for determining stress assignment. A computational model that learned to map orthography onto stress showed the same age-related trajectory as the children when assigning stress to nonwords. These results reflect the gradual process of learning the statistical properties of written input and provide key constraints for adequate models of reading aloud.
Nonword pronunciation is a critical challenge for models of reading aloud but little attention has been given to identifying the best method for assessing model predictions. The most typical approach ...involves comparing the model’s pronunciations of nonwords to pronunciations of the same nonwords by human participants and deeming the model’s output correct if it matches with any transcription of the human pronunciations. The present paper introduces a new ratings-based method, in which participants are shown printed nonwords and asked to rate the plausibility of the provided pronunciations, generated here by a speech synthesiser. We demonstrate this method with reference to a previously published database of 915 disyllabic nonwords (Mousikou et al.,
2017
). We evaluated two well-known psychological models, RC00 and CDP++, as well as an additional grapheme-to-phoneme algorithm known as Sequitur, and compared our model assessment with the corpus-based method adopted by Mousikou et al. We find that the ratings method: a) is much easier to implement than a corpus-based method, b) has a high hit rate and low false-alarm rate in assessing nonword reading accuracy, and c) provided a similar outcome as the corpus-based method in its assessment of RC00 and CDP++. However, the two methods differed in their evaluation of Sequitur, which performed much better under the ratings method. Indeed, our evaluation of Sequitur revealed that the corpus-based method introduced a number of false positives and more often, false negatives. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Many studies have contradicted the reading aloud with silent reading instruction in EFL classroom. However, each viewpoint has its own arguments. Those in support of a silent reading claim that there ...exists psycho logical involvement in the mind of each reader and any written content. Through silent reading activity, students are trained to grasp the meaning of the text as int ended by the writer. On the other hand, the power of reading aloud cannot be seen as simplistic. Some believe that out loud reading instruction aid students to acquire new words and correct pronunciation, and comprehend language forms and mechanics, especially those with low English p roficiency. The students of Business Administration Department, State Polytechnic of Malang learn English as a foreign language in their ESP class. However, they still have insufficient English proficiency. In their English class, the reading aloud activity has been practiced as a method of instruction.On the basis of the above-mentioned background, this study intends to obtain the perspectives of students towards reading aloud activity in their ESP class. The problems of the study include (1) students’ viewpoint toward the benefit of reading aloud activity; (2) whether students feel any improvement in their English and aspects of the improvement; and (3) sorts of problems they encount er when dealing with reading aloud. The data are analysed qualitatively. The findings indicate that the students view a lot of benefits in reading aloud activity as it is building their self-confidence, recalling vocabulary, improving pronunciation, and managing pace and intonation in their reading.
This study used Latent Class Analysis to identify groups of children exposed to similar Home Language and Literacy Environments (HLLE) and explored whether belonging to a given HLLE group was related ...to children’s language and early literacy growth from prekindergarten to kindergarten. Participants were 1,425 Chilean mothers and their children (Mage = 52.52 months at baseline) from low‐socioeconomic status households. Four HLLE groups were identified, which were associated with different trajectories of language and early literacy development. Children from groups whose mothers either read and talk about past events with them or teach them letters in addition to reading and talking about past events, showed higher relative vocabulary and letter knowledge. Implications for research and interventions are discussed.
Book giveaway programs provide free books to families with infants to encourage caregivers to begin reading to their children during infancy. This meta-analysis of 44 studies retrieved from 43 ...articles tests the effects of three major book giveaway programs: Bookstart (n = 11), Reach Out and Read (n = 18), and Imagination Library (n = 15). Effect sizes were aggregated within two domains-home literacy environment and literacy-related behavior and skills-before being averaged across studies. The findings corroborate the assumption that book giveaway programs promote children's home literacy environment (d = 0.31, 95% CI 0.23, 0.38, k = 30), which subsequently results in more interest in reading and children scoring higher on measures of literacy-related skills prior to and during the early years of school (d = 0.29, 95% CI 0.23, 0.35, k = 23). Author abstract
Many studies that examine parent-child interactions while reading digital texts focus on the reading of e-books. Rather less is known about parent-child interactions and reading aloud of other screen ...texts that occur during young
children's everyday use of digital technologies at home. This article presents the findings from a conversation analytic study of a collection of 36 sequences of interaction between young children and their parents where the words 'says'
or 'say' were used to refer to print on the screen. The collection involved interactions between seven parent-child dyads. Sequences were identified through repeated viewing of 29 hours of video-recordings made by parents. Analysis
enabled systematic identification and description of two distinctive practices in talk that led to reading aloud from the screen. Reading aloud of the text was provided by either a speaker using a preface, such as 'it says', or solicited
using a question. Discussion establishes how young children and their parents orient to and produce reading aloud practices, how reading aloud meets the instrumental purposes of children and the ways that young children competently
enable reading aloud. It is concluded that reading aloud from the screen is an important information source for young children, enabled through parent-child interactions. Author abstract
As accountability measures for schools and teachers continue to grow, instructional practice is under the microscope. The practice of reading aloud to children may be viewed by some educators as an ..."extra"-a bit of fluff used solely for the purposes of enjoyment or filling a few spare minutes, but researchers and practitioners stand in solidarity: the practice of reading aloud throughout the grades is not only viable but also best practice.
In Defense of Read-Aloud: Sustaining Best Practices
, author Steven Layne reinforces readers' confidence to continue the practice of reading aloud and presents the research base to defend the practice in grades K-12. Layne also offers significant practical insights to strengthen instructional practice-answering the questions of "Why should we?" and "How should we?"-and provides practical advice about how to use read-alouds most effectively.
Leading researchers in the field of literacy provide position statements, authors of professional books share insights on books they have loved, leaders of the largest literacy organizations in the United States write about their favorite read-alouds, award-winning authors of children's and young adult book (Katherine Paterson, Andrew Clements, Lois Lowry, to name a few) share the powerful behind-the-scenes stories of their greatest books, and real classroom teachers and librarians speak about books that have "lit up" their classrooms and libraries around the world. Last but not least,
In Defense of Read-Aloud
features many great recommendations of books to share with children. Read-aloud is an essential practice in teaching literacy in grades K-12. In this book, Steven Layne has provided everything needed to support, sustain, and celebrate the power of read-aloud.
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