Uses and Misuses of Commercial Reading Assessment: An Applied Framework for Decision Making in Grades K through 6
AbstractThe purpose of this article was to offer guidance to educators in evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, and most effective uses of commercial reading assessment suites. We provide three resources to help educators who are responsible for making instructional decisions in reading using formal screening, benchmark, interim, and progress-monitoring assessment suites. First, we recommend a framework for how one can judiciously select and use reading assessment. Then we identify a few common misuses of reading assessment scores and ways to reframe them into more effective uses. Finally, we detail the specific strengths ...
Source: Reading Teacher - January 19, 2024 Category: Child Development Authors: Adrea J. Truckenmiller,
Eunsoo Cho,
Samantha Bourgeois,
Ellie Friedman Tags: Teaching and Learning in Action Source Type: research
“That's a Third Rail Issue” Using LGBTQ+ Children's Literature as Backup to Counter Pushback
AbstractOffering insights from a research –practice partnership, we examine how five pre-K–6 teachers discussed using LGBTQ+-inclusive children's literature as backup to counter curricular censorship and community pushback. (Source: Reading Teacher)
Source: Reading Teacher - January 11, 2024 Category: Child Development Authors: Jon M. Wargo,
Kierstin Giunco,
Kyle Smith Tags: Viewpoint Source Type: research
“I Had a Deep‐Down Stereotype”: Pairing Critical Literacy Practices to Examine Explicit and Implicit Gender Stereotypes with Elementary Students
AbstractConnecting literacy to social issues such as gender stereotypes supports reading and writing achievement while also allowing students to think critically and in justice-focused ways. Such practices allow students to critique gender stereotypes in texts while also examining and even challenging their own implicit perceptions of gender. However, teachers are often not provided support in challenging stereotypical portrayals of gender and are often provided curricula that actively reinforces gender stereotypes. In this article, I explain how to use critical literacy practices to help students examine stereotypical por...
Source: Reading Teacher - January 10, 2024 Category: Child Development Authors: Alyssa Whitford Tags: Viewpoint Source Type: research
Promoting Early Writing Across the School Day
This article provides early educators with guidance for promoting early writing development by integrating writing opportunities throughout the school day. (Source: Reading Teacher)
Source: Reading Teacher - January 8, 2024 Category: Child Development Authors: Hope K. Gerde,
Taylor Seymour,
Gary E. Bingham,
Margaret F. Quinn Tags: Teaching and Learning in Action Source Type: research
From Teacher to Literacy Coach: Negotiating Roles and Learning on the Job
AbstractThis paper responds to Ippolito et al.'s (2021) “wonder,” “What preparation and in-service support do coaches need to become systems thinkers, thought leaders, and change agents within their schools” (p. 182) by describing the obstacles and complexities experienced by two first-year literacy coaches as they transitioned fro m classroom teacher to coach. They described challenges related to adult learning principles and communication (e.g., questioning) and understanding their role and position when working with teachers. Ultimately, they wanted to feel valuable to teachers but did not know what that looke...
Source: Reading Teacher - December 27, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Leah Ruesink,
Laura Teichert Tags: Teaching and Learning in Action Source Type: research
Teaching in the Cracks: Using the Three Lenses Framework to Promote Comprehension and Critical Engagement with Global Texts
AbstractMany teachers tirelessly grapple with topics of text selection, evaluation, and comprehension —examining elements of diversity, quality, and kid appeal to empower teachers to select titles for classrooms through a critical lens—under a mandated scripted curriculum. The purpose of this column is to explore and draw upon teachers' knowledge around implementation of global texts with a focu s on comprehension and “teaching within the cracks.” (Source: Reading Teacher)
Source: Reading Teacher - December 22, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Jeanne Gilliam Fain Tags: Column Source Type: research
Make It Make Sense: Fostering Children of Color from Minoritized Communities ’ Comprehension Through Student‐Generated Decodable Readers
AbstractWhen young children of Color from minoritized communities read decodable readers mandated by their school districts, children approach reading the texts with the expectation that the texts will make sense. While decodable readers allow children to apply their knowledge of phonics skills in context to support their word recognition, they tend to lack meaning and are not written in typical oral speech patterns. Therefore, many children may benefit from engaging in weekly instruction using student-generated decodable readers (SGDRs) that not only support their decoding development but support their reading comprehensi...
Source: Reading Teacher - December 21, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Amber Lawson Tags: Viewpoint Source Type: research
iSTART ‐Early and Now I Can Read: Effective Reading Strategies for Young Readers
AbstractStudents in the 3rd and 4th grade often encounter what has been called a reading “slump” when their class curriculums increasingly ask them to comprehend and learn from texts. Students are more likely to struggle if they have not been offered sufficient opportunities to build world and domain knowledge and engage in challenging comprehension tasks while developing their read ing skills. Thus, it is essential to give young readers opportunities to build their world and domain knowledge and to teach them comprehension strategies such as asking questions, paraphrasing, and self-explaining. This paper introduces iS...
Source: Reading Teacher - December 21, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Micah Watanabe,
Tracy Arner,
Danielle McNamara Tags: Viewpoint Source Type: research
Biliteracy in Bilingual Programs: Understanding how Children Read Dual ‐Language Books
This article reports on a study of the think-alouds/verbal protocols of 63 Spanish-English bilingual third and fifth graders and the strategies they used to translate words and retell pages as they read DLBs. Children often took up their identities as language learners and chose to read the language with which they were less familiar. They were also strategic readers, but their strategies were not always accurate. Findings indicate that children would benefit from using DLBs in bi-/multilingual classrooms and participating in activities such as strategic, analytic translation to build their linguistic knowledge and their b...
Source: Reading Teacher - December 19, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Lisa M. Domke Tags: Teaching and Learning in Action Source Type: research
Using Strive ‐for‐Five Conversations to Strengthen Language Comprehension in Preschool through Grade One
AbstractEngaging in frequent, meaningful conversation during the early years of schooling is foundational for children's literacy development. Specifically, developing oral language through daily conversations is essential for language comprehension, and eventually, reading comprehension. In this article, we discuss how teachers can use the Strive-for-Five framework to strategically engage students (preschool through Grade 1) in meaningful back-and-forth conversations. Using Scarborough's Reading Rope, we illustrate how teachers can elevate the quality of conversations to enhance literacy knowledge, vocabulary, verbal reas...
Source: Reading Teacher - December 13, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Sonia Q. Cabell,
Tricia A. Zucker Tags: Viewpoint Source Type: research
Developing Concepts About Print: A Social Justice Literacy Approach
AbstractIt has been more than 50 years since Clay (1966) first introduced the concepts about print (CAP). Emergent readers, aged 4–5, must acquire an understanding of basic and hierarchical concepts of letters, words, and sentences; they must also learn basic knowledge about texts and books; they must develop an awareness of b ook orientation, directionality, and positions. CAP examines emergent readers' ability to recognize and understand the ways in which written language functions for the purpose of reading. However, we lovingly critique the elements of CAP (e.g., book orientation, directionality and print conventi...
Source: Reading Teacher - December 13, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Eric B. Claravall,
Erica Walthall Tags: Teaching and Learning in Action Source Type: research
Issue Information
(Source: Reading Teacher)
Source: Reading Teacher - December 13, 2023 Category: Child Development Tags: Issue Information Source Type: research
In This Issue 77:3
(Source: Reading Teacher)
Source: Reading Teacher - December 13, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Tanya S. Wright,
Patricia A. Edwards,
Emily Phillips Galloway,
Laura S. Tortorelli,
John Z. Strong Tags: In this Issue Source Type: research
Reading Engagement Matters! A New Scale to Measure and Support Children's Engagement with Books
AbstractWhile there is a considerable body of research demonstrating benefits of book reading, the quality and depth of engagement children experience while reading is essential to ensure positive reading experiences and outcomes. In this article we describe four dimensions of reading engagement: behavioral, cognitive, affective, and social, illustrating how each dimension is essential to ensure children benefit from the rich and diverse experiences that books have to offer. We next share a new scale, developed with input from researchers, teachers, and children, for teachers to use to measure children's reading engagement...
Source: Reading Teacher - November 24, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Sarah McGeown,
Kristin Conradi Smith Tags: Teaching and Learning in Action Source Type: research
Multicomponent Reading Intervention: A Practitioner's Guide
This article aims to furnish educators with essential insights and resources to design and implement tailored multicom ponent interventions for students with reading difficulties or learning disabilities. By incorporating these targeted interventions, teachers can provide personalized support, thus facilitating growth in the students' reading-related skills. Moreover, the article offers practical methodologies for p rogress monitoring, allowing teachers to accurately track students' reading-related growth and make data-driven adjustments to optimize their learning experiences. Empowering teachers with such evidence-based a...
Source: Reading Teacher - November 23, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Johny Daniel,
Amy Barth,
Ethan Ankrum Tags: Teaching and Learning in Action Source Type: research
