We present a meta-analysis to test the validity of the Simple View of Reading Gough & Tunmer (Remedial and Special Education, 7:6—10, 1986) for beginner readers of English and other, more ...transparent, orthographies. Our meta-analytic approach established that the relative influence of decoding and linguistic comprehension on reading comprehension is different for readers of different types of orthography during the course of early reading development. Furthermore, we identified key differences in the relations among different measures of decoding and reading comprehension between readers of English and other more transparent orthographies. We discuss the implications for reading instruction and the diagnosis of reading difficulties, as well as our theoretical understanding of how component skills influence reading comprehension level.
The simple view of reading (SVR) model proposes that reading comprehension is the product of cognitive domain skills, word decoding, and oral language (linguistic) comprehension, and that decoding ...and language comprehension make separate, independent contributions to reading comprehension. The SVR has been supported in both first (L1) and second language (L2) reading research as a viable model to explain more and less successful reading acquisition and to recommend instructional intervention. This article reviews L1 and L2 reading research that supports the SVR and explains how the model can be used to assess foreign language (FL) reading skills, identify strong and weak FL readers, and identify FL readers’ strengths and weaknesses. Specific examples of standardized cognitive and linguistic measures for English and Spanish used to assess word decoding and language comprehension skills are cited. Implications of the SVR model for assessment and pedagogy are discussed.
To address the needs of a diverse group of students with reading difficulties, a majority of researchers over the last decade have designed and implemented multicomponent reading interventions ...(MCRIs) that provide instruction in multiple areas of reading yielding mixed results. The current study evaluates whether students’ baseline word reading skills predict their response to a MCRI. Data from a randomized controlled trial for third- and fourth-grade students with reading difficulties (N = 128) were analyzed. Results demonstrate that baseline word reading was a significant predictor of students’ end-of-year reading comprehension performance. Treatment group students who had lower baseline word reading compared with those students with comparatively higher word reading scores performed significantly lower on posttest reading comprehension. Findings denote the importance of word reading instruction for upper elementary students who are below-average word readers and also indicate the need for tailoring reading intervention to align with individual reader needs.
ABSTRACT
The simple view of reading is commonly presented to educators in professional development about the science of reading. The simple view is a useful tool for conveying the undeniable ...importance—in fact, the necessity—of both decoding and linguistic comprehension for reading. Research in the 35 years since the theory was proposed has revealed additional understandings about reading. In this article, we synthesize research documenting three of these advances: (1) Reading difficulties have a number of causes, not all of which fall under decoding and/or listening comprehension as posited in the simple view; (2) rather than influencing reading solely independently, as conceived in the simple view, decoding and listening comprehension (or in terms more commonly used in reference to the simple view today, word recognition and language comprehension) overlap in important ways; and (3) there are many contributors to reading not named in the simple view, such as active, self‐regulatory processes, that play a substantial role in reading. We point to research showing that instruction aligned with these advances can improve students’ reading. We present a theory, which we call the active view of reading, that is an expansion of the simple view and can be used to convey these important advances to current and future educators. We discuss the need to lift up updated theories and models to guide practitioners’ work in supporting students’ reading development in classrooms and interventions.
Intentional from the Start Helmers, Carolyn; Vincent, Susan
Stenhouse Publishers,
2021, 2021-00-00, 2023-10-10
eBook, Book
In
Intentional from the Start: Guiding Emergent Readers in Small Groups
, Carolyn Helmers and Susan Vincent take a concentrated look at the often-underestimated reading and writing work that occurs ...during the emergent reading stages of literacy development (PreA-D) and the seemingly simplistic books we use to teach them in small-group guided reading. Though both may appear unsophisticated, these earliest readers and the texts we use to meet their needs are each unique and full of nuances that generally go overlooked.
The authors explore how emergent readers learn best and position text levels appropriately in the service of students. They also turn their attention to a comprehensive exploration of the particular needs of emergent readers and how the work they do at text levels PreA-D lays a critical foundation necessary for them to continue growing successfully into text levels E and beyond. As they examine the needs of learners working at each emergent text level individually, the authors:
Detail specific demands books in that text level make on young readers and the best ways to coach students as they work through them
Highlight instructional procedures for reading, writing, and word study that can be implemented immediately at your small group table
Suggest optimal schedules, techniques, and formats for efficient instruction at that level
Unpack the book characteristics specific to that level and demonstrate ways to capitalize on them to intentionally support emergent readers and writers.
With plenty of useful classroom examples, as well as additional online resources with literacy center ideas that correlate directly with the work students are doing at particular levels, this book is a resource your emergent reading teacher heart will reach for again and again.
Primary-grade teachers face an important challenge: teaching children how to read while enabling them to build good habits so they fall in love with reading. Many teachers find the independent ...reading workshop to be the component of reading instruction that meets this challenge because it makes it possible to teach the reading skills and strategies children need and guides them toward independence, intention, and joy as readers. In "Growing Readers," the author helps teachers plan for independent reading workshops in their own classrooms. She describes the structure of the independent reading workshop and other components of a balanced literacy program that work together to ensure young students grow into strong, well-rounded readers. Kathy outlines a sequence of possible units of study for a yearlong curriculum. Chapters are devoted to the individual units of study and include a sample curriculum as well as examples of mini-lessons and reading conferences. There are also four "Getting Ready" sections that suggest some behind-the-scenes work teachers can do to prepare for the units. Topics explored in these units include: (1) print and comprehension strategies; (2) reading in genres such as poetry and nonfiction; (3) connecting in-school reading and out-of-school reading; and (4) developing the strategies and habits of lifelong readers. A series of planning sheets and management tips are presented throughout to help ensure smooth implementation. Teachers want students to learn to read, and they want them to love to read. To do this teachers need to lay a foundation on which children build rich and purposeful reading lives that extend beyond the school day. The ideas found in this book create the kind of primary classrooms where that happens. Following a foreword by Lucy Calkins and a preface, the book is divided into the following chapters: (1) Creating Classrooms for Learners, Thinkers, and Talkers; (2) Experiences in Literacy throughout the Day; (3) Units of Study in a Primary Reading Workshop "Getting Ready: Setting the Tone and the Bottom Lines"; (4) Readers Build Good Habits "Getting Ready: Behind-the-Scenes Work"; (5) Readers Use Strategies to Figure Out Words "Getting Ready: Talk amongst Yourselves"; (6) Readers Think and Talk about Books to Grow Ideas "Getting Ready: Finding Reading Mentors and Setting Up Reading Centers"; (7) Readers Pursue Their Interests in Books and Other Texts; and (8) Readers Make Plans for Their Reading Lives. The book concludes with an appendix; bibliography; and an index.
Research has indicated that reading aloud to young students can enhance their foundational reading skills and their reading motivation, but such research has been lacking in African contexts. In this ...study, we assessed the efficacy of story read-aloud lessons in improving students' foundational reading skills in Nigeria. The experiment took place in a cluster randomized trial of 199 schools in Northern Nigeria. In treatment schools, second-grade teachers conducted weekly read-aloud lessons as an addition to the core learning curriculum. In control schools, second-grade teachers implemented only the core curriculum, without weekly read-aloud lessons. We found that story read-alouds led to positive effects on listening comprehension, letter sound recognition, nonword decoding, and reading fluency, with effect sizes between 0.17 and 0.33 standard deviations. These outcomes suggest that enhanced student motivation from read-alouds may enhance text-based skills. To identify the effects of increased teacher experience on read-aloud effectiveness, we employed a two-period difference-in-differences approach. We found that increased teacher experience explained between 26% and 51% of the overall read-aloud effect, depending on the literacy subskill. We also found that the read-aloud effects coupled with increased teacher experience had an equalizing effect on the reading outcomes of students from divergent home literacy environments.
This open access book is a unique study of the impact of lived experience on literate life, exploring how children’s reading development is affected by their home setting, and how this sense of place ...influences textual interpretation of the books they read. Based on qualitative research and structured around interviews with twelve participants, Space, Place and Children’s Reading Development focuses on the digital maps and artistic renderings these readers were asked to create of a place (real or imagined) that they felt reflected their literate youth, and the discussions that followed about these maps and their evolution as readers. Analysing the participant’s responses, Margaret Mackey looks at the rich insights offered about the impact on childhood stability after experiences such as migration; the “reading spaces” children make based on their social relationships and domestic spheres; the creation of “textual spaces” and the significance of the recurring motif of forests in the participants’ maps; the importance of the Harry Potter novels; the basis of life-long reading habits; psychological spaces and whether readers visualize when they read. Blending theoretical perspectives on reading from many disciplines with the personal experiences of readers of diverse nationalities, languages, disciplinary interests, and life experiences, this is an enlightening account of the behaviors of readers, reading histories, and place-based reader responses to literature. By building greater understanding about the broad and subtle processes that enable people to read, this study refines the kind of questions we ask about reading and moves towards developing a multidisciplinary language for the study and discussion of reading practices in contemporary times. The open access edition of this book is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
The present study was conducted to explore how the relationships between reading comprehension constructs change according to word reading accuracy, as measured in a large convenience sample ('n' = ...857) of school-aged students (Years 3-6) with reading difficulties. Multiple regression analyses containing interaction variables were conducted, to determine whether word reading accuracy moderated the relationships between the dependent variable (i.e. reading comprehension) and independent variables (i.e. each of vocabulary and nonword reading accuracy). The interaction variable between word reading accuracy and receptive vocabulary was significant, with steeper slopes evident among more skilled readers compared to less skilled readers. Conversely, the interaction variable between word reading accuracy and nonword reading accuracy was also significant, but with steeper slopes evident among the less skilled reader groups. These patterns align with what has been found in typically developing children: as word reading ability improves, reading comprehension depends more so on language comprehension skills than lower-level decoding skills.
In Books and Religious Devotion, Allan Westphall presents a study of the book-collecting habits and annotation practices of Thomas Connary, an Irish immigrant farmer who lived in New Hampshire in the ...latter half of the nineteenth century. Connary led a pious life that revolved around the use, annotation, and sharing of religious books: his surviving annotated volumes provide a revealing glimpse into the utility of books for a common reader and into how one remarkable non-elite reader imagined book utilities and the iconic status of religious books. Through a careful excavation of book adaptations and enhancements, Westphall establishes a profile of an eccentric reader-cum-annotator that gives us insight into the range of opportunities provided by the material book for recording and communicating a reader’s religious fervor. The study also investigates the broader nineteenth-century cultural setting, in which books are seen as testimonies of personal faith and come to function as instruments of social interaction in both domestic and public spheres. Underlying Connary’s many and varied interactions with books is a belief that physical objects can materialize belief, and that working in them can be a devout exercise instrumental in human salvation.
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