A Language Skills Program for Secondary LD Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howe, Bill

1982-01-01

A program was developed to increase the receptive and expressive language skills of 24 secondary learning-disabled students. Program units covered word sorting, sight-word vocabulary, key-word reading, reading rate, reading comprehension, listening, and writing. (Author/SW)

A Study on the Affordances and Constraints of the Instructional Use of Project Read

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cosgrove, Margaret

2017-01-01

This research study was designed and conducted to evaluate the regular education teacher's perspective on the effective use of Project Read to adequately instruct spelling mastery at the first grade level. The Project Read curriculum is divided into three major strands including phonics, reading comprehension, and written expression. Project…

"Show-Me Bedtime Reading'" An Unusual Study of the Benefits of Reading to Deaf Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Deborah

1989-01-01

Nine primary-age children at a residential school for the deaf were read bedtime stories using a Total Communication approach. Every child subsequently demonstrated growth on each of several language assessments, including language comprehension and expressive language. (JDD)

Assessing the Relationship between Prosody and Reading Outcomes in Children Using the PEPS-C

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lochrin, Margaret; Arciuli, Joanne; Sharma, Mridula

2015-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between both receptive and expressive prosody and each of three reading outcomes: accuracy of reading aloud words, accuracy of reading aloud nonwords, and comprehension. Participants were 63 children aged 7 to 12 years. To assess prosody, we used the Profiling Elements of Prosody in Speech Communication…

Attitudes, Writing Fluency, Reading Achievement--A Comparison Between i. t. a. and T. O. Trained Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trost, David McRoberts-Adair

The purpose of this study was to determine whether children learning to read in the initial teaching alphabet (i.t.a.) and traditional orthography (TO) differ in general attitudes toward reading, in fluency in written expression, and in reading vocabulary and comprehension at the end of their second-grade school experience. Further, this study…

Reading Touch Screen Storybooks with Mothers Negatively Affects 7-Year-Old Readers’ Comprehension but Enriches Emotional Engagement

PubMed Central

Ross, Kirsty M.; Pye, Rachel E.; Randell, Jordan

2016-01-01

Touch screen storybooks turn reading into an interactive multimedia experience, with hotspot-activated animations, sound effects, and games. Positive and negative effects of reading multimedia stories have been reported, but the underlying mechanisms which explain how children’s learning is affected remain uncertain. The present study examined the effect of storybook format (touch screen and print) on story comprehension, and considered how level of touch screen interactivity (high and low) and shared reading behaviors (cognitive and emotional scaffolding, emotional engagement) might contribute to comprehension. Seven-year-olds (n = 22) were observed reading one touch screen storybook and one print storybook with their mothers. Story comprehension was inferior for the touch screen storybooks compared to the print formats. Touch screen interactivity level had no significant effect on comprehension but did affect shared reading behaviors. The mother–child dyads spent less time talking about the story in the highly interactive touch screen condition, despite longer shared reading sessions because of touch screen interactions. Positive emotional engagement was greater for children and mothers in the highly interactive touch screen condition, due to additional positive emotions expressed during touch screen interactions. Negative emotional engagement was greater for children when reading and talking about the story in the highly interactive condition, and some mothers demonstrated negative emotional engagement with the touch screen activities. The less interactive touch screen storybook had little effect on shared reading behaviors, but mothers controlling behaviors were more frequent. Storybook format had no effect on the frequency of mothers’ cognitive scaffolding behaviors (comprehension questions, word help). Relationships between comprehension and shared reading behaviors were examined for each storybook, and although length of the shared reading session and controlling behaviors had significant effects on comprehension, the mechanisms driving comprehension were not fully explained by the data. The potential for touch screen storybooks to contribute to cognitive overload in 7-year-old developing readers is discussed, as is the complex relationship between cognitive and emotional scaffolding behaviors, emotional engagement, and comprehension. Sample characteristics and methodological limitations are also discussed to help inform future research. PMID:27899903

Long-term language levels and reading skills in mandarin-speaking prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants.

PubMed

Wu, Che-Ming; Chen, Yen-An; Chan, Kai-Chieh; Lee, Li-Ang; Hsu, Kuang-Hung; Lin, Bao-Guey; Liu, Tien-Chen

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to document receptive and expressive language levels and reading skills achieved by Mandarin-speaking children who had received cochlear implants (CIs) and used them for 4.75-7.42 years. The effects of possible associated factors were also analyzed. Standardized Mandarin language and reading tests were administered to 39 prelingually deaf children with Nucleus 24 devices. The Mandarin Chinese version of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test was used to assess their receptive vocabulary knowledge and the Revised Primary School Language Assessment Test for their receptive and expressive language skills. The Graded Chinese Character Recognition Test was used to test their written word recognition ability and the Reading Comprehension Test for their reading comprehension ability. Raw scores from both language and reading measurements were compared to normative data of nor- mal-hearing children to obtain standard scores. The results showed that the mean standard score for receptive vocabulary measurement and the mean T scores for the receptive language, expressive language and total language measurement were all in the low-average range in comparison to the normative sample. In contrast, the mean T scores for word and text reading comprehension were almost the same as for their age-matched hearing counterparts. Among all children with CIs, 75.7% scored within or above the normal range of their age-matched hearing peers on receptive vocabulary measurement. For total language, Chinese word recognition and reading scores, 71.8, 77 and 82% of children with CIs were age appropriate, respectively. A strong correlation was found between language and reading skills. Age at implantation and sentence perception scores account for 37% of variance for total language outcome. Sentence perception scores and preimplantation residual hearing were revealed to be associated with the outcome of reading comprehension. We concluded that by using standard tests, the language development and reading skill of Mandarin-speaking children who use CIs from a young age appear to fall within the normal range of their hearing age mates, at least after 4.8-7.4 years of experience. However, to fully evaluate the fine linguistic skills of these subjects, a more detailed study and longer follow-up period are needed. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Enhanced Left Frontal Involvement during Novel Metaphor Comprehension in Schizophrenia: Evidence from Functional Neuroimaging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mashal, N.; Vishne, T.; Laor, N.; Titone, D.

2013-01-01

The neural basis involved in novel metaphor comprehension in schizophrenia is relatively unknown. Fourteen people with schizophrenia and fourteen controls were scanned while they silently read novel metaphors, conventional metaphors, literal expressions, and meaningless word-pairs. People with schizophrenia showed reduced comprehension of both…

Thinking aloud: effects on text comprehension by children with specific language impairment and their peers.

PubMed

McClintock, Brenna; Pesco, Diane; Martin-Chang, Sandra

2014-11-01

Many lines of evidence now suggest that inferencing plays a substantial role in text comprehension. However, inferencing appears to be difficult for children with language impairments, many of whom are also struggling readers. To assess the effects of a 'think-aloud' procedure on inference generation and narrative text comprehension by children with expressive-receptive specific language impairment (SLI) and age-matched peers with typical language development (TLD). An SLI group (n = 12; mean age = 10;5) and an age-matched TLD group (n = 12) participated in the study. Narrative passages were read silently by participants and simultaneously read aloud by the examiner in two conditions: (1) uninterrupted reading and (2) a think-aloud, in which children verbalized their understanding as the text was read. Following the passages in both conditions, children responded to comprehension questions requiring either literal or inferential information (specifically, 'informational' and 'causal' inferences). The children's comprehension scores were analysed by group, condition and question type. The statements children generated during the think-aloud were also compared by group and examined in relation to children's comprehension scores. The SLI group scored lower than the TLD group on all questions (literal, informational and causal), in both conditions. For both groups, however, comprehension scores on all three types of questions increased when the think-aloud procedure was implemented. During the think-aloud, the SLI group generated a comparable number of literal statements compared with the TLD group, but fewer informational and causal statements. The number of causal statements children made correlated with their scores on the inferential comprehension questions. Children with expressive-receptive SLI showed poorer comprehension of narrative texts than children with TLD, as expected. However, both groups' comprehension improved when participating in the think-aloud condition. While further investigation is warranted, the think-aloud procedure shows promise as a strategy to enhance narrative text comprehension in school-age children with, and without, language impairments. © 2014 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Characterization and Prediction of Early Reading Abilities in Children on the Autism Spectrum

PubMed Central

Davidson, Meghan M.; Weismer, Susan Ellis

2013-01-01

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have reading profiles characterized by higher decoding skills and lower reading comprehension. This study assessed whether this profile was apparent in young children with ASD and examined concurrent and longitudinal predictors of early reading. A discrepant profile of reading (higher alphabet and lower meaning) was found in 62% of this sample. Concurrent analyses revealed that reading proficiency was associated with higher nonverbal cognition and expressive language, and that social ability was negatively related to alphabet knowledge. Nonverbal cognition and expressive language at mean age 2½ years predicted later reading performance at mean age 5½ years. These results support the importance of early language skills as a foundation for reading in children with ASD. PMID:24022730

To Be or Not to Be Dramatic! The Effects of Drama on Reading Ability.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krueger, Amy; Ranalli, Katherine

This report describes a program for improving literacy skills, such as expression, fluency, and comprehension through the use of drama in the reading curriculum. The targeted population consisted of kindergarten and first grade students, both in middle class communities, located in two northern suburbs of Chicago. The problems of reading ability…

Getting Preschoolers Ready To Read and Write.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keith, Lori; Morrison, George S.; Brown, Karon

2002-01-01

Discusses the increased literacy emphasis in schools and how early childhood programs can provide an enriched literacy environment. Defines and provides suggestions for activities related to basic literacy concepts: listening comprehension, phonological awareness, reading motivation, written expression, letter and early word recognition, and…

Reading comprehension and expressive writing: a comparison between good and poor comprehenders.

PubMed

Carretti, Barbara; Re, Anna Maria; Arfè, Barbara

2013-01-01

This study investigated expressive writing in 8- to 10-year-old children with different levels of reading comprehension. Poor and good comprehenders were presented with three expressive writing tasks where the modality (pictorial vs. verbal) and the text genre (narrative vs. descriptive) varied. Results showed that poor comprehenders' performance was minimally influenced by the modality of the prompt. In fact, their performance was generally worse than that of good comprehenders and affected by the text genre, as the quality of their narratives was generally lower than that of good comprehenders. However, in the descriptive text condition, their performance was comparable to that of good comprehenders. One can conclude that their problems depend on the characteristics of the narrative text where coherence and causality are important elements.

Teaching with Technology. Software That's Right for You.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Denise

1995-01-01

Recommends software to help teachers plan curriculum in the areas of comprehensive language arts ("Cornerstone"); writing and information ("Keroppi Day Hopper"); creative writing and imagination ("Imagination Express"); reading ("Jo-Jo's Reading Circus"); math ("Careers in Math: From Architects to Astronauts") and nature ("Eyewitness"). Provides…

The Underlying Message in LD Intervention Research: Findings from Research Syntheses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vaughn, Sharon; Gersten, Russell; Chard, David J.

2000-01-01

This article summarizes the critical findings of recent research syntheses concerning intervention with students who have learning disabilities. The syntheses examined research on higher-order processing and problem- solving, reading comprehension, written expression, and grouping practices associated with improved outcomes in reading. Principles…

Gender Moderates Association Between Emotional-Behavioral Problems and Text Comprehension in Children with Both Reading Difficulties and Adhd.

PubMed

Mano, Quintino R; Jastrowski Mano, Kristen E; Denton, Carolyn A; Epstein, Jeffery N; Tamm, Leanne

2017-05-01

Evidence suggests that higher order linguistic functioning such as text comprehension is particularly vulnerable to emotional modulation. Gender has been identified as an important moderating variable in emotional expression such that girls tend toward internalizing emotions (e.g., sadness, anxiety) whereas boys tend toward externalizing emotions (e.g., anger, combativeness), which may influence the relationship between emotion and text comprehension. The present study examined whether gender moderates the relationship between emotional-behavioral problems and text comprehension among children ( n = 187; boys= 115, girls = 72) with both word reading difficulties (RD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a sample widely acknowledged to be at increased risk for developing emotional-behavioral problems such as anxiety, poor academic self-concept, and delinquency. A moderated regression analysis tested for the significance of two separate interaction terms (i.e., gender × externalizing problems, gender × internalizing problems) after controlling for gender, IQ, basic reading skills, cognitive-linguistic processes closely related to reading, attentional problems, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems. Results indicated that gender significantly and uniquely moderates the relationship between emotional-behavioral problems and text comprehension. Specifically, text comprehension was relatively lower among girls with relatively higher externalizing problems, whereas no such association was observed among boys. These results contribute to our understanding of cognition-emotion interactions within reading development and raise important implications.

Gender Moderates Association Between Emotional-Behavioral Problems and Text Comprehension in Children with Both Reading Difficulties and Adhd

PubMed Central

Mano, Quintino R.; Jastrowski Mano, Kristen E.; Denton, Carolyn A.; Epstein, Jeffery N.; Tamm, Leanne

2017-01-01

Evidence suggests that higher order linguistic functioning such as text comprehension is particularly vulnerable to emotional modulation. Gender has been identified as an important moderating variable in emotional expression such that girls tend toward internalizing emotions (e.g., sadness, anxiety) whereas boys tend toward externalizing emotions (e.g., anger, combativeness), which may influence the relationship between emotion and text comprehension. The present study examined whether gender moderates the relationship between emotional-behavioral problems and text comprehension among children (n = 187; boys= 115, girls = 72) with both word reading difficulties (RD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a sample widely acknowledged to be at increased risk for developing emotional-behavioral problems such as anxiety, poor academic self-concept, and delinquency. A moderated regression analysis tested for the significance of two separate interaction terms (i.e., gender × externalizing problems, gender × internalizing problems) after controlling for gender, IQ, basic reading skills, cognitive-linguistic processes closely related to reading, attentional problems, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems. Results indicated that gender significantly and uniquely moderates the relationship between emotional-behavioral problems and text comprehension. Specifically, text comprehension was relatively lower among girls with relatively higher externalizing problems, whereas no such association was observed among boys. These results contribute to our understanding of cognition-emotion interactions within reading development and raise important implications. PMID:28751795

Analysis of Children's Errors in Comprehension and Expression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hatcher, Ryan C.; Breaux, Kristina C.; Liu, Xiaochen; Bray, Melissa A.; Ottone-Cross, Karen L.; Courville, Troy; Luria, Sarah R.; Langley, Susan Dulong

2017-01-01

Children's oral language skills typically begin to develop sooner than their written language skills; however, the four language systems (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) then develop concurrently as integrated strands that influence one another. This research explored relationships between students' errors in language comprehension of…

Comparison of Teacher-Rated Achievement Levels of Behaviorally Disordered, Learning Disabled, and Nonhandicapped Adolescents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luebke, Jerry; And Others

1989-01-01

Teacher ratings on reading recognition, reading comprehension, arithmetic, and written expression revealed that behaviorally disordered and learning-disabled adolescents (N=200) were seen as performing significantly below expected levels of achievement. Differences between behaviorally disordered and learning-disabled students appeared to depend…

No Effect of Writing Advice on Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balling, Laura Winther

2018-01-01

This article considers text comprehension through the integrated perspectives of language processing research and practical writing advice as expressed in writing guides and language policies. Such guides for instance include advice to use active constructions instead of passives and sentences instead of nominalizations. These recommended and…

Integrating Reading, Writing, and Thinking Skills into the Music Class.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duke, Charles R.

Music education is uniquely suited to reinforce several basic skills that are part of the overall reading and writing processes of students. These skills include freedom of expression and the fluency of ideas, identifying a composer's purpose and message, and reasoning and comprehension. Musicians should develop the habit of using journals for…

What Is the Influence of Morphological Knowledge in the Early Stages of Reading Acquisition Among Low SES Children? A Graphical Modeling Approach

PubMed Central

Colé, Pascale; Cavalli, Eddy; Duncan, Lynne G.; Theurel, Anne; Gentaz, Edouard; Sprenger-Charolles, Liliane; El-Ahmadi, Abdessadek

2018-01-01

Children from low-SES families are known to show delays in aspects of language development which underpin reading acquisition such as vocabulary and listening comprehension. Research on the development of morphological skills in this group is scarce, and no studies exist in French. The present study investigated the involvement of morphological knowledge in the very early stages of reading acquisition (decoding), before reading comprehension can be reliably assessed. We assessed listening comprehension, receptive vocabulary, phoneme awareness, morphological awareness as well as decoding, word reading and non-verbal IQ in 703 French first-graders from low-SES families after 3 months of formal schooling (November). Awareness of derivational morphology was assessed using three oral tasks: Relationship Judgment (e.g., do these words belong to the same family or not? heat-heater … ham-hammer); Lexical Sentence Completion [e.g., Someone who runs is a …? (runner)]; and Non-lexical Sentence Completion [e.g., Someone who lums is a…? (lummer)]. The tasks differ on implicit/explicit demands and also tap different kinds of morphological knowledge. The Judgement task measures the phonological and semantic properties of the morphological relationship and the Sentence Completion tasks measure knowledge of morphological production rules. Data were processed using a graphical modeling approach which offers key information about how skills known to be involved in learning to read are organized in memory. This modeling approach was therefore useful in revealing a potential network which expresses the conditional dependence structure between skills, after which recursive structural equation modeling was applied to test specific hypotheses. Six main conclusions can be drawn from these analyses about low SES reading acquisition: (1) listening comprehension is at the heart of the reading acquisition process; (2) word reading depends directly on phonemic awareness and indirectly on listening comprehension; (3) decoding depends on word reading; (4) Morphological awareness and vocabulary have an indirect influence on word reading via both listening comprehension and phoneme awareness; (5) the components of morphological awareness assessed by our tasks have independent relationships with listening comprehension; and (6) neither phonemic nor morphological awareness influence vocabulary directly. The implications of these results with regard to early reading acquisition among low SES groups are discussed. PMID:29725313

What Is the Influence of Morphological Knowledge in the Early Stages of Reading Acquisition Among Low SES Children? A Graphical Modeling Approach.

PubMed

Colé, Pascale; Cavalli, Eddy; Duncan, Lynne G; Theurel, Anne; Gentaz, Edouard; Sprenger-Charolles, Liliane; El-Ahmadi, Abdessadek

2018-01-01

Children from low-SES families are known to show delays in aspects of language development which underpin reading acquisition such as vocabulary and listening comprehension. Research on the development of morphological skills in this group is scarce, and no studies exist in French. The present study investigated the involvement of morphological knowledge in the very early stages of reading acquisition (decoding), before reading comprehension can be reliably assessed. We assessed listening comprehension, receptive vocabulary, phoneme awareness, morphological awareness as well as decoding, word reading and non-verbal IQ in 703 French first-graders from low-SES families after 3 months of formal schooling (November). Awareness of derivational morphology was assessed using three oral tasks: Relationship Judgment (e.g., do these words belong to the same family or not? heat-heater … ham-hammer); Lexical Sentence Completion [e.g., Someone who runs is a …? (runner)]; and Non-lexical Sentence Completion [e.g., Someone who lums is a…? (lummer)]. The tasks differ on implicit/explicit demands and also tap different kinds of morphological knowledge. The Judgement task measures the phonological and semantic properties of the morphological relationship and the Sentence Completion tasks measure knowledge of morphological production rules. Data were processed using a graphical modeling approach which offers key information about how skills known to be involved in learning to read are organized in memory. This modeling approach was therefore useful in revealing a potential network which expresses the conditional dependence structure between skills, after which recursive structural equation modeling was applied to test specific hypotheses. Six main conclusions can be drawn from these analyses about low SES reading acquisition: (1) listening comprehension is at the heart of the reading acquisition process; (2) word reading depends directly on phonemic awareness and indirectly on listening comprehension; (3) decoding depends on word reading; (4) Morphological awareness and vocabulary have an indirect influence on word reading via both listening comprehension and phoneme awareness; (5) the components of morphological awareness assessed by our tasks have independent relationships with listening comprehension; and (6) neither phonemic nor morphological awareness influence vocabulary directly. The implications of these results with regard to early reading acquisition among low SES groups are discussed.

Developmental, Component-Based Model of Reading Fluency: An Investigation of Predictors of Word-Reading Fluency, Text-Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension.

PubMed

Kim, Young-Suk Grace

2015-01-01

The primary goal was to expand our understanding of text reading fluency (efficiency or automaticity)-how its relation to other constructs (e.g., word reading fluency and reading comprehension) changes over time and how it is different from word reading fluency and reading comprehension. We examined (1) developmentally changing relations among word reading fluency, listening comprehension, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension; (2) the relation of reading comprehension to text reading fluency; (3) unique emergent literacy predictors (i.e., phonological awareness, orthographic awareness, morphological awareness, letter name knowledge, vocabulary) of text reading fluency vs. word reading fluency; and (4) unique language and cognitive predictors (e.g., vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, theory of mind) of text reading fluency vs. reading comprehension. These questions were addressed using longitudinal data (two timepoints; Mean age = 5;24 & 6;08) from Korean-speaking children ( N = 143). Results showed that listening comprehension was related to text reading fluency at time 2, but not at time 1. At both times text reading fluency was related to reading comprehension, and reading comprehension was related to text reading fluency over and above word reading fluency and listening comprehension. Orthographic awareness was related to text reading fluency over and above other emergent literacy skills and word reading fluency. Vocabulary and grammatical knowledge were independently related to text reading fluency and reading comprehension whereas theory of mind was related to reading comprehension, but not text reading fluency. These results reveal developmental nature of relations and mechanism of text reading fluency in reading development.

Developmental, Component-Based Model of Reading Fluency: An Investigation of Predictors of Word-Reading Fluency, Text-Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension

PubMed Central

Kim, Young-Suk Grace

2015-01-01

The primary goal was to expand our understanding of text reading fluency (efficiency or automaticity)—how its relation to other constructs (e.g., word reading fluency and reading comprehension) changes over time and how it is different from word reading fluency and reading comprehension. We examined (1) developmentally changing relations among word reading fluency, listening comprehension, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension; (2) the relation of reading comprehension to text reading fluency; (3) unique emergent literacy predictors (i.e., phonological awareness, orthographic awareness, morphological awareness, letter name knowledge, vocabulary) of text reading fluency vs. word reading fluency; and (4) unique language and cognitive predictors (e.g., vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, theory of mind) of text reading fluency vs. reading comprehension. These questions were addressed using longitudinal data (two timepoints; Mean age = 5;24 & 6;08) from Korean-speaking children (N = 143). Results showed that listening comprehension was related to text reading fluency at time 2, but not at time 1. At both times text reading fluency was related to reading comprehension, and reading comprehension was related to text reading fluency over and above word reading fluency and listening comprehension. Orthographic awareness was related to text reading fluency over and above other emergent literacy skills and word reading fluency. Vocabulary and grammatical knowledge were independently related to text reading fluency and reading comprehension whereas theory of mind was related to reading comprehension, but not text reading fluency. These results reveal developmental nature of relations and mechanism of text reading fluency in reading development. PMID:26435550

Task-Induced Strategic Processing in L2 Text Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horiba, Yukie

2013-01-01

Strategic text processing was investigated for English as a foreign language learners who processed and recalled a text when they read for expression, for image, and for critique. The results indicated that, although the amount of content recall (i.e., products of comprehension) was similar, the relative contributions of second language (L2)…

Follow-up study on reading comprehension in Down's syndrome: the role of reading skills and listening comprehension.

PubMed

Roch, Maja; Florit, Elena; Levorato, Chiara

2011-01-01

According to the 'Simple View of Reading', reading comprehension requires some abilities such as reading skill and listening comprehension. Individuals with Down's syndrome show relative strengths in reading skills, mainly in word recognition, where they attain a reading age of about 7-8 years. Compared with word recognition, their reading comprehension is usually delayed by at least 6 months. Poor reading comprehension is paralleled by weak listening comprehension. It is claimed that poor listening comprehension might constrain the development of reading comprehension and, therefore, be a cause for the asynchrony between reading skills and reading comprehension. A follow-up study was carried out in order to analyse the improvements in reading skills, listening and reading text comprehension, and to support the hypothesis of a causal relationship between listening and reading comprehension. Ten children and adolescents with Down's syndrome, aged between 11 years 3 months and 19 years 10 months, were assessed twice over a one-year period as to their reading skills, listening and reading text comprehension. Three main findings emerged: (1) reading skills, on the one hand, and comprehension (both listening and reading), on the other hand, are independent; (2) reading comprehension development is determined mainly by listening comprehension, which in the present study proved to be very poor; and (3) an improvement after a one-year period, even though limited, occurred for all examined abilities except for listening comprehension. The results are discussed in the light of the theoretical framework of the 'Simple View of Reading' and of their relevance for practical and educational issues. © 2011 Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists.

Developmental relations between reading fluency and reading comprehension: A longitudinal study from grade one to two

PubMed Central

Kim, Young-Suk; Wagner, Richard K.; Lopez, Danielle

2012-01-01

From a developmental framework, relations among list reading fluency, oral and silent reading fluency, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension might be expected to change as children’s reading skills develop. We examined developmental relations among these constructs in a latent-variable longitudinal study of first- and second-grade students. Results showed that list reading fluency was uniquely related to reading comprehension in grade one, but not in grade two after accounting for text reading fluency (oral or silent) and listening comprehension. In contrast, text reading fluency was uniquely related to reading comprehension in grade two, but not in grade one, after accounting for list reading fluency and listening comprehension. When oral and silent reading fluency were compared, oral reading fluency was uniquely related to reading comprehension after accounting for silent reading fluency in grade one whereas in grade two, silent reading fluency was uniquely related to reading comprehension after accounting for oral reading fluency. PMID:22726256

Using early standardized language measures to predict later language and early reading outcomes in children at high risk for language-learning impairments.

PubMed

Flax, Judy F; Realpe-Bonilla, Teresa; Roesler, Cynthia; Choudhury, Naseem; Benasich, April

2009-01-01

The aim of the study was to examine the profiles of children with a family history (FH+) of language-learning impairments (LLI) and a control group of children with no reported family history of LLI (FH-) and identify which language constructs (receptive or expressive) and which ages (2 or 3 years) are related to expressive and receptive language abilities, phonological awareness, and reading abilities at ages 5 and 7 years. Participants included 99 children (40 FH+ and 59 FH-) who received a standardized neuropsychological battery at 2, 3, 5, and 7 years of age. As a group, the FH+ children had significantly lower scores on all language measures at 2 and 3 years, on selected language and phonological awareness measures at 5 years, and on phonological awareness and nonword reading at 7 years. Language comprehension at 3 years was the best predictor of later language and early reading for both groups. These results support past work suggesting that children with a positive family history of LLI are at greater risk for future language and reading problems through their preschool and early school-age years. Furthermore, language comprehension in the early years is a strong predictor of future language-learning status.

Is Oral/Text Reading Fluency a “Bridge” to Reading Comprehension?

PubMed Central

Kim, Young-Suk Grace; Park, Chea Hyeong; Wagner, Richard K.

2015-01-01

In the present study we investigated developmental relations among word reading fluency, listening comprehension, and text reading fluency to reading comprehension in a relatively transparent language, Korean. A total of 98 kindergartners and 170 first graders in Korea were assessed on a series of tasks involving listening comprehension, word reading fluency, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Results from multigroup structural equation models showed that text reading fluency was a dissociable construct for both kindergartners and first graders. In addition, a developmental pattern emerged: listening comprehension was not uniquely related to text reading fluency for first graders, but not for kindergartners, over and above word reading fluency. In addition, text reading fluency was uniquely related to reading comprehension for kindergartners, but not for first graders, after accounting for word reading fluency and listening comprehension. For first graders, listening comprehension dominated the relations. There were no differences in the pattern of relations for skilled and less skilled readers in first grade. Results are discussed from a developmental perspective for reading comprehension component skills including text reading fluency. PMID:25653474

Mira y lee: Libro de lectura 1, nivel 1 (Look and Read: Reader 1, Level 1).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez, Emiliano; And Others

This reading textbook contains a series of stories designed to relate to the natural interest of the school child. Students learn about a Puerto Rican family living in New York. New vocabulary is introduced gradually for the student to memorize. Included are exercises in oral expression and comprehension, auditory discrimination, intonation,…

Gender Moderates Association between Emotional-Behavioral Problems and Text Comprehension in Children with Both Reading Difficulties and ADHD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mano, Quintino R.; Jastrowski Mano, Kristen E.; Denton, Carolyn A.; Epstein, Jeffery N.; Tamm, Leanne

2017-01-01

Evidence suggests that higher order linguistic functioning such as text comprehension is particularly vulnerable to emotional modulation. Gender has been identified as an important moderating variable in emotional expression such that girls tend toward internalizing emotions (e.g., sadness, anxiety) whereas boys tend toward externalizing emotions…

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

PubMed

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.

Bidirectional Relations between Text Reading Prosody and Reading Comprehension in the Upper Primary School Grades: A Longitudinal Perspective

PubMed Central

Veenendaal, Nathalie J.; Groen, Margriet A.; Verhoeven, Ludo

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 three theoretical possibilities: Two unidirectional relations from text reading prosody to reading comprehension and from reading comprehension to text reading prosody and a bidirectional relation between text reading prosody and reading comprehension. Further, we controlled for autoregressive effects and included decoding efficiency as a measure of general reading skill. Participants were 99 Dutch children, followed longitudinally, from fourth- to sixth-grade. Structural equation modeling showed that the bidirectional relation provided the best fitting model. In fifth-grade, text reading prosody was related to prior decoding and reading comprehension, whereas in sixth-grade, reading comprehension was related to prior text reading prosody. As such, the results suggest that the relation between text reading prosody and reading comprehension is reciprocal, but dependent on grade level. PMID:27667916

Specific profiles of neurocognitive and reading functions in a sample of 42 Italian boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

PubMed

Lorusso, Maria Luisa; Civati, Federica; Molteni, Massimo; Turconi, Anna Carla; Bresolin, Nereo; D'Angelo, Maria Grazia

2013-01-01

A group of 42 Italian boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy was compared with a control group of 10 boys with Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Osteogenesis Imperfecta on tests assessing general intellectual ability, language, neuropsychological functions, and reading skills with the aim of describing a comprehensive profile of the various functions and investigating their interrelationships. The influence of general intellectual level on performance was analyzed. Further, correlations between various neuropsychological measures and language performances were computed for the group with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, as well as the correlations between reading scores and other cognitive and linguistic measures. A general lowering in VIQ, PIQ, and FSIQ scores was found to characterize the group with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Expressive language skills were within the normal range, while syntactic and grammatical comprehension were significantly impaired. The presence of below-average reading performances was further confirmed. However, unlike previous studies on irregular orthographies, the present results show that (a) the mild reading difficulties found in the sample essentially concern speed rather than accuracy; (b) they concern word rather than nonword reading; (c) lower reading performances are related to lower scores in general IQ; (d) no correlations emerge with phonological abilities, verbal short-term memory, or working memory, but rather with long-term memory and lexical skills. This may suggest that language-specific effects modulate the cognitive expressions of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and raises the possibility that the dysfunctions underlying the reading difficulties observed in affected readers of regular orthographies involve different neurocognitive systems than the cortico-cerebellar circuits usually invoked.

Overlapping Genetic and Child-Specific Nonshared Environmental Influences on Listening Comprehension, Reading Motivation, and Reading Comprehension

PubMed Central

Schenker, Victoria J.; Petrill, Stephen A.

2015-01-01

This study investigated the genetic and environmental influences on observed associations between listening comprehension, reading motivation, and reading comprehension. Univariate and multivariate quantitative genetic models were conducted in a sample of 284 pairs of twins at a mean age of 9.81 years. Genetic and nonshared environmental factors accounted for statistically significant variance in listening and reading comprehension, and nonshared environmental factors accounted for variance in reading motivation. Furthermore, listening comprehension demonstrated unique genetic and nonshared environmental influences but also had overlapping genetic influences with reading comprehension. Reading motivation and reading comprehension each had unique and overlapping nonshared environmental contributions. Therefore, listening comprehension appears to be related to reading primarily due to genetic factors whereas motivation appears to affect reading via child-specific, nonshared environmental effects. PMID:26321677

Overlapping genetic and child-specific nonshared environmental influences on listening comprehension, reading motivation, and reading comprehension.

PubMed

Schenker, Victoria J; Petrill, Stephen A

2015-01-01

This study investigated the genetic and environmental influences on observed associations between listening comprehension, reading motivation, and reading comprehension. Univariate and multivariate quantitative genetic models were conducted in a sample of 284 pairs of twins at a mean age of 9.81 years. Genetic and nonshared environmental factors accounted for statistically significant variance in listening and reading comprehension, and nonshared environmental factors accounted for variance in reading motivation. Furthermore, listening comprehension demonstrated unique genetic and nonshared environmental influences but also had overlapping genetic influences with reading comprehension. Reading motivation and reading comprehension each had unique and overlapping nonshared environmental contributions. Therefore, listening comprehension appears to be related to reading primarily due to genetic factors whereas motivation appears to affect reading via child-specific, nonshared environmental effects. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reading comprehension difficulties in children with rolandic epilepsy.

PubMed

Currie, Nicola K; Lew, Adina R; Palmer, Tom M; Basu, Helen; De Goede, Christian; Iyer, Anand; Cain, Kate

2018-03-01

Difficulties in reading comprehension can arise from either word reading or listening comprehension difficulties, or a combination of the two. We sought to determine whether children with rolandic epilepsy had poor reading comprehension relative to typically developing comparison children, and whether such difficulties were associated with word reading and/or general language comprehension difficulties. In this cross-sectional study, children with rolandic epilepsy (n=25; 16 males, 9 females; mean age 9y 1mo, SD 1y 7mo) and a comparison group (n=39; 25 males, 14 females; mean age 9y 1mo, SD 1y 3mo) completed assessments of reading comprehension, listening comprehension, word/non-word reading, speech articulation, and Non-verbal IQ. Reading comprehension and word reading were worse in children with rolandic epilepsy (F 1,61 =6.89, p=0.011, ηp2=0.10 and F 1,61 =6.84, p=0.011, ηp2=0.10 respectively), with listening comprehension being marginal (F 1,61 =3.81, p=0.055, ηp2=0.06). Word reading and listening comprehension made large and independent contributions to reading comprehension, explaining 70% of the variance. Children with rolandic epilepsy may be at risk of reading comprehension difficulties. Thorough assessment of individual children is required to ascertain whether the difficulties lie with decoding text, or with general comprehension skills, or both. Children with rolandic epilepsy may be at risk of poor reading comprehension. This was related to poor word reading, poor listening comprehension, or both. Reading comprehension interventions should be tailored to the profile of difficulties. © 2017 Mac Keith Press.

Distinguishing the Time Course of Lexical and Discourse Processes through Context, Coreference, and Quantified Expressions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Yi Ting; Gordon, Peter C.

2011-01-01

How does prior context influence lexical and discourse-level processing during real-time language comprehension? Experiment 1 examined whether the referential ambiguity introduced by a repeated, anaphoric expression had an immediate or delayed effect on lexical and discourse processing, using an eye-tracking-while-reading task. Eye movements…

Predicting individual differences in reading comprehension: a twin study

PubMed Central

Cutting, Laurie; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; DeThorne, Laura S.; Justice, Laura M.; Schatschneider, Chris; Thompson, Lee A.; Petrill, Stephen A.

2010-01-01

We examined the Simple View of reading from a behavioral genetic perspective. Two aspects of word decoding (phonological decoding and word recognition), two aspects of oral language skill (listening comprehension and vocabulary), and reading comprehension were assessed in a twin sample at age 9. Using latent factor models, we found that overlap among phonological decoding, word recognition, listening comprehension, vocabulary, and reading comprehension was primarily due to genetic influences. Shared environmental influences accounted for associations among word recognition, listening comprehension, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Independent of phonological decoding and word recognition, there was a separate genetic link between listening comprehension, vocabulary, and reading comprehension and a specific shared environmental link between vocabulary and reading comprehension. There were no residual genetic or environmental influences on reading comprehension. The findings provide evidence for a genetic basis to the “Simple View” of reading. PMID:20814768

Preschool Phonological and Morphological Awareness As Longitudinal Predictors of Early Reading and Spelling Development in Greek.

PubMed

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 increase due to the spelling demands of Greek inflectional and derivational suffixes introduced at later grades.

I Too Have a Voice: The Literacy Experiences of Black Boys Engaging with and Responding to African American Literature Depicting Black Males

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rumble, Merle B.

2013-01-01

This study examined how the use of African American literature that depicts Black males influences the reading comprehension and the reading motivation of Black boys as demonstrated through oral, written, and creative expressions. Studies have been conducted using children's literature with Black boys to examine their social interaction with the…

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

PubMed

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.

Effects of metalinguistic awareness on reading comprehension and the mediator role of reading fluency from grades 2 to 4.

PubMed

Li, Liping; Wu, Xinchun

2015-01-01

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. 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. 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. 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.

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

PubMed Central

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

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

PubMed Central

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 reading fluency changes over time as children’s reading proficiency develops. In the beginning phase of reading development (Grade 1), text reading fluency was not independently related to reading comprehension over and above word reading fluency and listening comprehension. In Grades 2 to 4, however, text reading fluency completely mediated the relation between word reading fluency and reading comprehension whereas it partially mediated the relation between listening comprehension and reading comprehension. These results suggest that text reading fluency is a dissociable construct that plays a developmentally changing role in reading acquisition. PMID:25848201

Riddle appreciation and reading comprehension in Cantonese-speaking children.

PubMed

Tang, Ivy N Y; To, Carol K S; Weekes, Brendan S

2013-10-01

Inference-making skills are necessary for reading comprehension. Training in riddle appreciation is an effective way to improve reading comprehension among English-speaking children. However, it is not clear whether these methods generalize to other writing systems. The goal of the present study was to investigate the relationship between inference-making skills, as measured by riddle appreciation ability, and reading comprehension performance in typically developing Cantonese-speaking children in the 4th grade. Forty Cantonese-speaking children between the ages of 9;1 (years;months) and 11;0 were given tests of riddle appreciation ability and reading comprehension. Chinese character reading and auditory comprehension abilities were also assessed using tests that had been standardized in Hong Kong. Regression analyses revealed that riddle appreciation ability explained a significant amount of variance in reading comprehension after variance due to character reading skills and auditory comprehension skills were first considered. Orthographic, lexical, morphological, and syntactic riddles were also significantly correlated with reading comprehension. Riddle appreciation ability predicts reading comprehension in Cantonese-speaking 4th-grade children. Therefore, training Cantonese speakers in riddle appreciation should improve their reading comprehension.

Clarifying Linguistic Comprehension in the Simple View of Reading: The Influence of Word-, Sentence-, and Discourse-Level Linguistic Skills on Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santoro, Julie Kay

2012-01-01

There are a high number of students who struggle with reading comprehension beyond the primary grades and understanding the skills involved in successful reading comprehension continues to be a topic of investigation. The Simple View of Reading (SVR) is a viable theory of reading that suggests reading comprehension results from developing skills…

Prologue: Reading Comprehension Is Not a Single Ability.

PubMed

Catts, Hugh W; Kamhi, Alan G

2017-04-20

In this initial article of the clinical forum on reading comprehension, we argue that reading comprehension is not a single ability that can be assessed by one or more general reading measures or taught by a small set of strategies or approaches. We present evidence for a multidimensional view of reading comprehension that demonstrates how it varies as a function of reader ability, text, and task. The implications of this view for instruction of reading comprehension are considered. Reading comprehension is best conceptualized with a multidimensional model. The multidimensionality of reading comprehension means that instruction will be more effective when tailored to student performance with specific texts and tasks.

Incremental comprehension of spoken quantifier sentences: Evidence from brain potentials.

PubMed

Freunberger, Dominik; Nieuwland, Mante S

2016-09-01

Do people incrementally incorporate the meaning of quantifier expressions to understand an unfolding sentence? Most previous studies concluded that quantifiers do not immediately influence how a sentence is understood based on the observation that online N400-effects differed from offline plausibility judgments. Those studies, however, used serial visual presentation (SVP), which involves unnatural reading. In the current ERP-experiment, we presented spoken positive and negative quantifier sentences ("Practically all/practically no postmen prefer delivering mail, when the weather is good/bad during the day"). Different from results obtained in a previously reported SVP-study (Nieuwland, 2016) sentence truth-value N400 effects occurred in positive and negative quantifier sentences alike, reflecting fully incremental quantifier comprehension. This suggests that the prosodic information available during spoken language comprehension supports the generation of online predictions for upcoming words and that, at least for quantifier sentences, comprehension of spoken language may proceed more incrementally than comprehension during SVP reading. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bidirectional Relations between Text Reading Prosody and Reading Comprehension in the Upper Primary School Grades: A Longitudinal Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veenendaal, Nathalie J.; Groen, Margriet A.; Verhoeven, Ludo

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 from reading comprehension to text reading prosody…

The unique role of executive function skills in predicting Hong Kong kindergarteners' reading comprehension.

PubMed

Liu, Yingyi; Sun, Huilin; Lin, Dan; Li, Hong; Yeung, Susanna Siu-Sze; Wong, Terry Tin-Yau

2018-01-15

Word reading and linguistic comprehension skills are two crucial components in reading comprehension, according to the Simple View of Reading (SVR). Some researchers have posited that a third component should be involved in reading and understanding texts, namely executive function (EF) skills. This study was novel in two ways. Not only did we tested EF skills as a predictor of reading comprehension in a non-alphabetic language (i.e., Chinese) to extend the theoretical model of SVR, we also examined reading comprehension further in kindergarten children (age 5) in Hong Kong, in the attempt to reveal possible early precursors of reading comprehension. A group of 170 K3 kindergarteners was recruited in Hong Kong. Children's word reading was assessed. Their linguistic comprehension was assessed with phonological awareness, verbal short-term memory, and vocabulary knowledge. Using a structured observation task, Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS), we measured their composite scores for EF skills. Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders performance predicted unique variance in children's Chinese reading comprehension concurrently beyond word reading and a set of linguistic comprehension skills. The results highlight the important role of EF skills in beginning readers' reading comprehension. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

Cognitive and linguistic predictors of reading comprehension in children with intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

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.

Reading comprehension in Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Murray, Laura L; Rutledge, Stefanie

2014-05-01

Although individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) self-report reading problems and experience difficulties in cognitive-linguistic functions that support discourse-level reading, prior research has primarily focused on sentence-level processing and auditory comprehension. Accordingly, the authors investigated the presence and nature of reading comprehension in PD, hypothesizing that (a) individuals with PD would display impaired accuracy and/or speed on reading comprehension tests and (b) reading performances would be correlated with cognitive test results. Eleven adults with PD and 9 age- and education-matched control participants completed tests that evaluated reading comprehension; general language and cognitive abilities; and aspects of attention, memory, and executive functioning. The PD group obtained significantly lower scores on several, but not all, reading comprehension, language, and cognitive measures. Memory, language, and disease severity were significantly correlated with reading comprehension for the PD group. Individuals in the early stages of PD without dementia or broad cognitive deficits can display reading comprehension difficulties, particularly for high- versus basic-level reading tasks. These reading difficulties are most closely related to memory, high-level language, and PD symptom severity status. The findings warrant additional research to delineate further the types and nature of reading comprehension impairments experienced by individuals with PD.

Reading and listening comprehension and their relation to inattention and hyperactivity.

PubMed

Cain, Kate; Bignell, Simon

2014-03-01

Children with diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently have reading problems. To date, it is not clear whether poor reading is associated with both inattention and hyperactivity and also whether poor reading comprehension is the result of poor word reading skills or more general language comprehension weaknesses. We report two studies to examine how reading and listening comprehension skills are related to inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. Separate groups of 7- to 11-year-olds participated in each study. In both studies, we used teacher ratings of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity to identify three groups at risk of ADHD: poor attention, high hyperactivity, poor attention and high hyperactivity, and also same-age controls. In Study 1, we explored how inattention and hyperactivity predicted reading after controlling for non-verbal IQ and vocabulary. In Study 2, we compared listening and reading comprehension in these groups. Poor attention was related to poor reading comprehension, although the relation was partially mediated by word reading skill (Study 1). Groups with high hyperactivity had weak listening comprehension relative to reading comprehension (Study 2). These results indicate that the reading comprehension problems of children with attention difficulties are related to poor word reading and that listening comprehension is particularly vulnerable in children at risk of ADHD. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Students with Learning Disabilities Perspective on Reading Comprehension Instruction: A Qualitative Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rose, Dale Rennard

2017-01-01

The three article dissertation was a presentation of students' with learning disabilities perspectives on reading comprehension instruction. Article 1 set out to provide an historical perspective of reading and reading comprehension instruction. Topics covered in this research review included: reading comprehension, reading and learning…

Predicting reading comprehension of narrative and expository texts among Hebrew-speaking readers with and without a reading disability.

PubMed

Primor, Liron; Pierce, Margaret E; Katzir, Tami

2011-12-01

The aim of this study was to investigate which cognitive and reading-related linguistic skills contribute to reading comprehension of narrative and expository texts. The study examined an Israeli national database of Hebrew-speaking readers in fourth grade, from which a subsample of 190 readers with a reading disability (RD) and 190 readers with no reading disability (NRD) was selected. IQ, text reading, reading comprehension, and various linguistic and cognitive skills were assessed. Structural equation modeling results suggested that both groups rely on lower level processes such as text reading accuracy and orthographic knowledge for reading comprehension of both genres. However, RD readers depend more heavily upon these lower level processes compared with NRD for whom higher level processes contribute more to reading comprehension. The various variables accounted for only 25-34% of reading comprehension variance, and possible explanations are discussed. Taken together, these findings highlight the variety of factors influencing reading comprehension and its multidimensional nature.

Reading Comprehension Deficits in Adolescents: Addressing Underlying Language Abilities.

PubMed

Nippold, Marilyn A

2017-04-20

The purpose of this article is to discuss reading comprehension deficits in adolescents in relation to their word reading skills and lexical and syntactic development. Although reading comprehension strategies (e.g., "Find the main idea") are often recommended, it is argued that before these can be effective, students' underlying language deficits should be addressed. Data from a longitudinal study are analyzed to determine the relationship between reading comprehension, word reading, and lexical and syntactic development in adolescents. The findings indicate that poor reading comprehension in adolescents is predicted by concurrent deficits in word reading ability, lexical development, and syntactic development. When poor comprehension is accompanied by deficits in word reading ability and/or lexical and syntactic development, intervention should target the underlying areas of deficiency. Studies designed to improve reading comprehension in adolescents are needed.

Reading Comprehension Deficits in Adolescents: Addressing Underlying Language Abilities

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Purpose The purpose of this article is to discuss reading comprehension deficits in adolescents in relation to their word reading skills and lexical and syntactic development. Although reading comprehension strategies (e.g., “Find the main idea”) are often recommended, it is argued that before these can be effective, students' underlying language deficits should be addressed. Method Data from a longitudinal study are analyzed to determine the relationship between reading comprehension, word reading, and lexical and syntactic development in adolescents. Results The findings indicate that poor reading comprehension in adolescents is predicted by concurrent deficits in word reading ability, lexical development, and syntactic development. Conclusion When poor comprehension is accompanied by deficits in word reading ability and/or lexical and syntactic development, intervention should target the underlying areas of deficiency. Studies designed to improve reading comprehension in adolescents are needed. PMID:28384784

Fluency and reading comprehension in students with reading difficulties.

PubMed

Nascimento, Tânia Augusto; Carvalho, Carolina Alves Ferreira de; Kida, Adriana de Souza Batista; Avila, Clara Regina Brandão de

2011-12-01

To characterize the performance of students with reading difficulties in decoding and reading comprehension tasks as well as to investigate the possible correlations between them. Sixty students (29 girls) from 3rd to 5th grades of public Elementary Schools were evaluated. Thirty students (Research Group - RG), ten from each grade, were nominated by their teachers as presenting evidences of learning disabilities. The other thirty students were indicated as good readers, and were matched by gender, age and grade to the RG, composing the Comparison Group (CG). All subjects were assessed regarding the parameters of reading fluency (rate and accuracy in words, pseudowords and text reading) and reading comprehension (reading level, number and type of ideas identified, and correct responses on multiple choice questions). The RG presented significantly lower scores than the CG in fluency and reading comprehension. Different patterns of positive and negative correlations, from weak to excellent, among the decoding and comprehension parameters were found in both groups. In the RG, low values of reading rate and accuracy were observed, which were correlated to low scores in comprehension and improvement in decoding, but not in comprehension, with grade increase. In CG, correlation was found between different fluency parameters, but none of them was correlated to the reading comprehension variables. Students with reading and writing difficulties show lower values of reading fluency and comprehension than good readers. Fluency and comprehension are correlated in the group with difficulties, showing that deficits in decoding influence reading comprehension, which does not improve with age increase.

Foundations of reading comprehension in children with intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

van Wingerden, Evelien; Segers, Eliane; van Balkom, Hans; Verhoeven, Ludo

2017-01-01

Knowledge about predictors for reading comprehension in children with intellectual disabilities (ID) is still fragmented. This study compared reading comprehension, word decoding, listening comprehension, and reading related linguistic and cognitive precursor measures in children with mild ID and typically developing controls. Moreover, it was explored how the precursors related to reading achievement. Children with mild ID and typical controls were assessed on reading comprehension, decoding, language comprehension, and linguistic (early literacy skills, vocabulary, grammar) and cognitive (rapid naming, phonological short-term memory, working memory, temporal processing, nonverbal reasoning) precursor measures. It was tested to what extent variations in reading comprehension could be explained from word decoding, listening comprehension and precursor measures. The ID group scored significantly below typical controls on all measures. Word decoding was at or above first grade level in half the ID group. Reading comprehension in the ID group was related to word decoding, listening comprehension, early literacy skills, and temporal processing. The reading comprehension profile of children with mild ID strongly resembles typical early readers. The simple view of reading pertains to children with mild ID, with additional influence of early literacy skills and temporal processing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

"Passageless" Administration of the Nelson-Denny Reading Comprehension Test: Associations with IQ and Reading Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ready, Rebecca E.; Chaudhry, Maheen F.; Schatz, Kelly C.; Strazzullo, Sarah

2013-01-01

There are few tests that assess reading comprehension in adults, but these tests are needed for a comprehensive assessment of reading disorders (RD). "The Nelson-Denny Reading Test" (NDRT) has a long-passage reading comprehension component that can be used with adolescents and adults. A problem with the NDRT is that reading comprehension…

Early Prediction of Reading Comprehension within the Simple View Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catts, Hugh W.; Herrera, Sarah; Nielsen, Diane Corcoran; Bridges, Mindy Sittner

2015-01-01

The simple view of reading proposes that reading comprehension is the product of word reading and language comprehension. In this study, we used the simple view framework to examine the early prediction of reading comprehension abilities. Using multiple measures for all constructs, we assessed word reading precursors (i.e., letter knowledge,…

The Effects of an Integrated Reading Comprehension Strategy: A Culturally Responsive Teaching Approach for Fifth-Grade Students' Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bui, Yvonne N.; Fagan, Yvette M.

2013-01-01

The study evaluated the effects of the Integrated Reading Comprehension Strategy on two levels. The Integrated Reading Comprehension Strategy integrated story grammar instruction and story maps, prior knowledge and prediction method, and word webs through a culturally responsive teaching framework; the Integrated Reading Comprehension Strategy…

COMAN: a web server for comprehensive metatranscriptomics analysis.

PubMed

Ni, Yueqiong; Li, Jun; Panagiotou, Gianni

2016-08-11

Microbiota-oriented studies based on metagenomic or metatranscriptomic sequencing have revolutionised our understanding on microbial ecology and the roles of both clinical and environmental microbes. The analysis of massive metatranscriptomic data requires extensive computational resources, a collection of bioinformatics tools and expertise in programming. We developed COMAN (Comprehensive Metatranscriptomics Analysis), a web-based tool dedicated to automatically and comprehensively analysing metatranscriptomic data. COMAN pipeline includes quality control of raw reads, removal of reads derived from non-coding RNA, followed by functional annotation, comparative statistical analysis, pathway enrichment analysis, co-expression network analysis and high-quality visualisation. The essential data generated by COMAN are also provided in tabular format for additional analysis and integration with other software. The web server has an easy-to-use interface and detailed instructions, and is freely available at http://sbb.hku.hk/COMAN/ CONCLUSIONS: COMAN is an integrated web server dedicated to comprehensive functional analysis of metatranscriptomic data, translating massive amount of reads to data tables and high-standard figures. It is expected to facilitate the researchers with less expertise in bioinformatics in answering microbiota-related biological questions and to increase the accessibility and interpretation of microbiota RNA-Seq data.

Effects of fluency, oral language, and executive function on reading comprehension performance

PubMed Central

Materek, April; Cole, Carolyn A. S.; Levine, Terry M.; Mahone, E. Mark

2009-01-01

Reading disability (RD) typically consists of deficits in word reading accuracy and/or reading comprehension. While it is well known that word reading accuracy deficits lead to comprehension deficits (general reading disability, GRD), less is understood about neuropsychological profiles of children who exhibit adequate word reading accuracy but nevertheless develop specific reading comprehension deficits (S-RCD). Establishing the underlying neuropsychological processes associated with different RD types is essential for ultimately understanding core neurobiological bases of reading comprehension. To this end, the present study investigated isolated and contextual word fluency, oral language, and executive function on reading comprehension performance in 56 9- to 14-year-old children [21 typically developing (TD), 18 GRD, and 17 S-RCD]. Results indicated that TD and S-RCD participants read isolated words at a faster rate than participants with GRD; however, both RD groups had contextual word fluency and oral language weaknesses. Additionally, S-RCD participants showed prominent weaknesses in executive function. Implications for understanding the neuropsychological bases for reading comprehension are discussed. PMID:19396550

The Role of Speech Prosody and Text Reading Prosody in Children's Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veenendaal, Nathalie J.; Groen, Margriet A.; Verhoeven, Ludo

2014-01-01

Background: Text reading prosody has been associated with reading comprehension. However, text reading prosody is a reading-dependent measure that relies heavily on decoding skills. Investigation of the contribution of speech prosody--which is independent from reading skills--in addition to text reading prosody, to reading comprehension could…

Modern Speed-Reading Apps Do Not Foster Reading Comprehension.

PubMed

Acklin, Dina; Papesh, Megan H

2017-01-01

New computer apps are gaining popularity by suggesting that reading speeds can be drastically increased when eye movements that normally occur during reading are eliminated. This is done using rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP), where words are presented 1 at a time, thus preventing natural eye movements such as saccades, fixations, and regressions from occurring. Al- though the companies producing these apps suggest that RSVP reading does not yield comprehension deficits, research investigating the role of eye movements in reading documents shows the necessity of natural eye movements for accurate comprehension. The current study explored variables that may affect reading comprehension during RSVP reading, including text difficulty (6th grade and 12th grade), text presentation speed (static, 700 wpm, and 1,000 wpm), and working memory capacity (WMC). Consistent with recent work showing a tenuous relationship between comprehension and WMC, participants' WMC did not predict comprehension scores. Instead, comprehension was most affected by reading speed: Static text was associated with superior performance, relative to either RSVP reading condition. Furthermore, slower RSVP speeds yielded better verbatim comprehension, and faster speeds benefited inferential comprehension.

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

PubMed

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.

Effects of Varying Text Difficulty Levels on Second Language (L2) Reading Attitudes and Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiang, Min-Hsun

2016-01-01

This study investigated the effects of varying text difficulty on L2 reading attitudes and reading comprehension. To provide the optimal challenge for L2 reading, comprehensible input hypothesis postulates that choosing text slightly harder than the learner's current level will enhance reading comprehension. Fifty-four freshmen from one university…

The Effects of Meta-Cognitive Instruction on Students' Reading Comprehension in Computerized Reading Contexts: A Quantitative Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lan, Yi-Chin; Lo, Yu-Ling; Hsu, Ying-Shao

2014-01-01

Comprehension is the essence of reading. Finding appropriate and effective reading strategies to support students' reading comprehension has always been a critical issue for educators. This article presents findings from a meta-analysis of 17 studies of metacognitive strategy instruction on students' reading comprehension in computerized…

Promoting Different Reading Comprehension Levels through Online Annotations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tseng, Sheng-Shiang; Yeh, Hui-Chin; Yang, Shih-hsien

2015-01-01

Previous studies have evaluated reading comprehension as the general understanding of reading texts. However, this broad and generic assessment of reading comprehension overlooks the specific aspects and processes that students need to develop. This study adopted Kintsch's Construction-Integration model to tap into reading comprehension at…

The role of reading time complexity and reading speed in text comprehension.

PubMed

Wallot, Sebastian; O'Brien, Beth A; Haussmann, Anna; Kloos, Heidi; Lyby, Marlene S

2014-11-01

Reading speed is commonly used as an index of reading fluency. However, reading speed is not a consistent predictor of text comprehension, when speed and comprehension are measured on the same text within the same reader. This might be due to the somewhat ambiguous nature of reading speed, which is sometimes regarded as a feature of the reading process, and sometimes as a product of that process. We argue that both reading speed and comprehension should be seen as the result of the reading process, and that the process of fluent text reading can instead be described by complexity metrics that quantify aspects of the stability of the reading process. In this article, we introduce complexity metrics in the context of reading and apply them to data from a self-paced reading study. In this study, children and adults read a text silently or aloud and answered comprehension questions after reading. Our results show that recurrence metrics that quantify the degree of temporal structure in reading times yield better prediction of text comprehension compared to reading speed. However, the results for fractal metrics are less clear. Furthermore, prediction of text comprehension is generally strongest and most consistent across silent and oral reading when comprehension scores are normalized by reading speed. Analyses of word length and word frequency indicate that the observed complexity in reading times is not a simple function of the lexical properties of the text, suggesting that text reading might work differently compared to reading of isolated word or sentences. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Specific Reading Comprehension Disability: Major Problem, Myth, or Misnomer?

PubMed Central

Spencer, Mercedes; Quinn, Jamie M.; Wagner, Richard K.

2013-01-01

The goal of the present study was to test three competing hypotheses about the nature of comprehension problems of students who are poor in reading comprehension. Participants in the study were first, second, and third graders, totaling 9 cohorts and over 425,000 participants in all. The pattern of results was consistent across all cohorts: Less than one percent of first- through third-grade students who scored as poor in reading comprehension were adequate in both decoding and vocabulary. Although poor reading comprehension certainly qualifies as a major problem rather than a myth, the term specific reading comprehension disability is a misnomer: Individuals with problems in reading comprehension that are not attributable to poor word recognition have comprehension problems that are general to language comprehension rather than specific to reading. Implications for assessment and intervention are discussed. PMID:25143666

Specific Reading Comprehension Disability: Major Problem, Myth, or Misnomer?

PubMed

Spencer, Mercedes; Quinn, Jamie M; Wagner, Richard K

2014-02-01

The goal of the present study was to test three competing hypotheses about the nature of comprehension problems of students who are poor in reading comprehension. Participants in the study were first, second, and third graders, totaling 9 cohorts and over 425,000 participants in all. The pattern of results was consistent across all cohorts: Less than one percent of first- through third-grade students who scored as poor in reading comprehension were adequate in both decoding and vocabulary. Although poor reading comprehension certainly qualifies as a major problem rather than a myth, the term specific reading comprehension disability is a misnomer: Individuals with problems in reading comprehension that are not attributable to poor word recognition have comprehension problems that are general to language comprehension rather than specific to reading. Implications for assessment and intervention are discussed.

Neurobiological bases of reading comprehension: Insights from neuroimaging studies of word level and text level processing in skilled and impaired readers

PubMed Central

Landi, Nicole; Frost, Stephen J.; Menc, W. Einar; Sandak, Rebecca; Pugh, Kenneth R.

2012-01-01

For accurate reading comprehension, readers must first learn to map letters to their corresponding speech sounds and meaning and then they must string the meanings of many words together to form a representation of the text. Furthermore, readers must master the complexities involved in parsing the relevant syntactic and pragmatic information necessary for accurate interpretation. Failure in this process can occur at multiple levels and cognitive neuroscience has been helpful in identifying the underlying causes of success and failure in reading single words and in reading comprehension. In general, neurobiological studies of skilled reading comprehension indicate a highly overlapping language circuit for single word reading, reading comprehension and listening comprehension with largely quantitative differences in a number of reading and language related areas. This paper reviews relevant research from studies employing neuroimaging techniques to study reading with a focus on the relationship between reading skill, single word reading, and text comprehension. PMID:23662034

Effects of reading goals on reading comprehension, reading rate, and allocation of working memory in children and adolescents with spina bifida meningomyelocele

PubMed Central

ENGLISH, LIANNE; BARNES, MARCIA A.; FLETCHER, JACK M.; DENNIS, MAUREEN; RAGHUBAR, KIMBERLY P.

2011-01-01

Spina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with intact word decoding and deficient text and discourse comprehension. This study investigated the ability to adjust reading in accordance with specified reading goals in 79 children and adolescents with SBM (9–19 years of age) and 39 controls (8–17 years of age). Both groups demonstrated slower reading times and enhanced comprehension when reading to study or to come up with a title than when reading for specific information or for entertainment. For both groups, verbal working memory contributed to comprehension performance in those reading conditions hypothesized to require more cognitive effort. Despite their sensitivity to the goals of reading, the group with SBM answered fewer comprehension questions correctly across all reading goal conditions. The results are discussed in relation to the hypothesized cognitive underpinnings of comprehension deficits in SBM and to current models of text comprehension. PMID:20338082

What Oral Text Reading Fluency Can Reveal about Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veenendaal, Nathalie J.; Groen, Margriet A.; Verhoeven, Ludo

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 to reading comprehension outcomes in addition to…

The Relationship between Reading Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Reading Strategy Use and Reading Comprehension Level of Iranian EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naseri, Mahdieh; Zaferanieh, Elaheh

2012-01-01

This co-relational study explored the relationship between reading self-efficacy beliefs, reading strategies use and reading comprehension level of Iranian EFL learners. In this study, Michigan reading comprehension test, a self-reported Reading Strategy Use Questionnaire, and a Reading Self-efficacy Questionnaire were administered to eighty…

Chinese College Students' English Reading Comprehension in Silent and Loud Reading-Mode

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jiang, Yan

2015-01-01

In language teaching, emphasis is usually placed on students' reading comprehension, because reading comprehension remains one of the main important factors for their English language learning. Research shows, however, that reading comprehension is a sophisticated process and many students have met difficulties in constructing meaning from writing…

The Effects of Timed and Untimed Testing Conditions on the Reading Comprehension Performance of Adults with Reading Disabilities. Special Issue on Reading Comprehension ? Part II

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lesaux, Nonie K.; Pearson, M. Rufina; Siegel, Linda S.

2006-01-01

This study examined the effects of extra time on the reading comprehension performance of a heterogeneous group of adults with reading disabilities. Sixty-four adults participated. A clinic that assesses learning disabilities identified 22 as reading disabled, and 42 as normal readers. The 64 adults took a reading comprehension test under both…

The Comprehension Problems of Children with Poor Reading Comprehension Despite Adequate Decoding: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spencer, Mercedes; Wagner, Richard K.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the comprehension problems of children who have a specific reading comprehension deficit (SCD), which is characterized by poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding. The meta-analysis included 86 studies of children with SCD who were assessed in reading comprehension and oral language…

Does the Component Processes Task Assess Text-Based Inferences Important for Reading Comprehension? A Path Analysis in Primary School Children

PubMed Central

Wassenburg, Stephanie I.; de Koning, Björn B.; de Vries, Meinou H.; van der Schoot, Menno

2016-01-01

Using a component processes task (CPT) that differentiates between higher-level cognitive processes of reading comprehension provides important advantages over commonly used general reading comprehension assessments. The present study contributes to further development of the CPT by evaluating the relative contributions of its components (text memory, text inferencing, and knowledge integration) and working memory to general reading comprehension within a single study using path analyses. Participants were 173 third- and fourth-grade children. As hypothesized, knowledge integration was the only component of the CPT that directly contributed to reading comprehension, indicating that the text-inferencing component did not assess inferential processes related to reading comprehension. Working memory was a significant predictor of reading comprehension over and above the component processes. Future research should focus on finding ways to ensure that the text-inferencing component taps into processes important for reading comprehension. PMID:27378989

Evaluating a Brief Measure of Reading Comprehension for Narrative and Expository Text: The Convergent and Predictive Validity of the Reading Retell Rubric

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Lisa B.

2012-01-01

Reading comprehension is a critical aspect of the reading process. Children who experience significant problems in reading comprehension are at risk for long-term academic and social problems. High-quality measures are needed for early, efficient, and effective identification of children in need of remediation in reading comprehension. Substantial…

E-Reading Comprehension versus Conventional Reading Comprehension of Junior High Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevens, Brian

2014-01-01

Technology is an increasing part in the lives of junior high students, but little is known about how this technology affects their reading. Reading comprehension from e-books is compared to reading comprehension from conventional print books with junior high students. The problem is that students may be reading from a medium that is less than the…

Mind wandering and reading comprehension: examining the roles of working memory capacity, interest, motivation, and topic experience.

PubMed

Unsworth, Nash; McMillan, Brittany D

2013-05-01

Individual differences in mind wandering and reading comprehension were examined in the current study. In particular, individual differences in mind wandering, working memory capacity, interest in the current topic, motivation to do well on the task, and topic experience and their relations with reading comprehension were examined in the current study. Using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling it was found that variation in mind wandering while reading was influenced by working memory capacity, topic interest, and motivation. Furthermore, these same factors, along with topic experience, influenced individual differences in reading comprehension. Importantly, several factors had direct effects on reading comprehension (and mind wandering), while the relation between reading comprehension (and mind wandering) and other factors occurred via indirect effects. These results suggest that both domain-general and domain-specific factors contribute to mind wandering while reading and to reading comprehension.

The contribution of theory of mind, counterfactual reasoning, and executive function to pre-readers' language comprehension and later reading awareness and comprehension in elementary school.

PubMed

Guajardo, Nicole R; Cartwright, Kelly B

2016-04-01

The current longitudinal study examined the roles of theory of mind, counterfactual reasoning, and executive function in children's pre-reading skills, reading awareness, and reading comprehension. It is the first to examine this set of variables with preschool and school-aged children. A sample of 31 children completed language comprehension, working memory, cognitive flexibility, first-order false belief, and counterfactual reasoning measures when they were 3 to 5 years of age and completed second-order false belief, cognitive flexibility, reading comprehension, and reading awareness measures at 6 to 9 years of age. Results indicated that false belief understanding contributed to phrase and sentence comprehension and reading awareness, whereas cognitive flexibility and counterfactual reasoning accounted for unique variance in reading comprehension. Implications of the results for the development of reading skill are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spatial distance effects on incremental semantic interpretation of abstract sentences: evidence from eye tracking.

PubMed

Guerra, Ernesto; Knoeferle, Pia

2014-12-01

A large body of evidence has shown that visual context information can rapidly modulate language comprehension for concrete sentences and when it is mediated by a referential or a lexical-semantic link. What has not yet been examined is whether visual context can also modulate comprehension of abstract sentences incrementally when it is neither referenced by, nor lexically associated with, the sentence. Three eye-tracking reading experiments examined the effects of spatial distance between words (Experiment 1) and objects (Experiment 2 and 3) on participants' reading times for sentences that convey similarity or difference between two abstract nouns (e.g., 'Peace and war are certainly different...'). Before reading the sentence, participants inspected a visual context with two playing cards that moved either far apart or close together. In Experiment 1, the cards turned and showed the first two nouns of the sentence (e.g., 'peace', 'war'). In Experiments 2 and 3, they turned but remained blank. Participants' reading times at the adjective (Experiment 1: first-pass reading time; Experiment 2: total times) and at the second noun phrase (Experiment 3: first-pass times) were faster for sentences that expressed similarity when the preceding words/objects were close together (vs. far apart) and for sentences that expressed dissimilarity when the preceding words/objects were far apart (vs. close together). Thus, spatial distance between words or entirely unrelated objects can rapidly and incrementally modulate the semantic interpretation of abstract sentences. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Introduction to the Clinical Forum: Reading Comprehension Is Not a Single Ability.

PubMed

Gray, Shelley

2017-04-20

In this introduction to the clinical forum on reading comprehension, the Editor-in-Chief of Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools provides data on our national reading comprehension problem, resources for increasing our understanding of reading comprehension, and a call to action for speech-language pathologists to work with educational teams to address poor reading comprehension in school-age children.

Teachers' Perceptions of Strategy Based Reading Instruction for Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibson, Katherine D.

2009-01-01

Strategy based reading instruction helps teachers differentiate the teaching of reading. It also supports many types of readers by explicitly teaching and modeling reading comprehension strategies. The purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of strategy based reading instruction for improving student reading comprehension. …

Developmental Relations between Reading Comprehension and Reading Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muijselaar, Marloes M. L.; Swart, Nicole M.; Steenbeek-Planting, Esther G.; Droop, Mienke; Verhoeven, Ludo; de Jong, Peter 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, and working memory were administered. A structural…

Commentary on "Reading Comprehension Is Not a Single Ability": Implications for Child Language Intervention.

PubMed

Ukrainetz, Teresa A

2017-04-20

This commentary responds to the implications for child language intervention of Catts and Kamhi's (2017) call to move from viewing reading comprehension as a single ability to recognizing it as a complex constellation of reader, text, and activity. Reading comprehension, as Catts and Kamhi explain, is very complicated. In this commentary, I consider how comprehension has been taught and the directions in which it is moving. I consider how speech-language pathologists (SLPs), with their distinctive expertise and resources, can contribute to effective reading comprehension instruction. I build from Catts and Kamhi's emphasis on the importance of context and knowledge, using the approaches of staying on topic, close reading, and incorporating quality features of intervention. I consider whether and how SLPs should treat language skills and comprehension strategies to achieve noticeable changes in their students' reading comprehension. Within this multidimensional view of reading comprehension, SLPs can make strategic, meaningful contributions to improving the reading comprehension of students with language impairments.

Developmental, Component-Based Model of Reading Fluency: An Investigation of Predictors of Word-Reading Fluency, Text-Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Young-Suk Grace

2015-01-01

The primary goal was to expand our understanding of text-reading fluency (efficiency or automaticity): how its relation to other constructs (e.g., word reading fluency, reading comprehension) changes over time and how it is different from word-reading fluency and reading comprehension. The study examined (a) developmentally changing relations…

Developmental, Component-Based Model of Reading Fluency: An Investigation of Predictors of Word-Reading Fluency, Text-Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Young-Suk Grace

2015-01-01

The primary goal was to expand our understanding of text-reading fluency (efficiency or automaticity): how its relation to other constructs (e.g., word-reading fluency, reading comprehension) changes over time and how it is different from word-reading fluency and reading comprehension. The study examined (a) developmentally changing relations…

Prologue: Reading Comprehension Is Not a Single Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catts, Hugh W.; Kamhi, Alan G.

2017-01-01

Purpose: In this initial article of the clinical forum on reading comprehension, we argue that reading comprehension is not a single ability that can be assessed by one or more general reading measures or taught by a small set of strategies or approaches. Method: We present evidence for a multidimensional view of reading comprehension that…

Identifying the Effects of Specific CHC Factors on College Students' Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taub, Gordon E.; Benson, Nicholas

2013-01-01

Reading comprehension is an important skill for college academic success. Much of the research pertaining to reading in general, and reading comprehension specifically, focuses on the success of primary and secondary school-age students. The present study goes beyond previous research by extending such investigation to the reading comprehension of…

Reading comprehension of health checkup reports and health literacy in Japanese people.

PubMed

Suka, Machi; Odajima, Takeshi; Okamoto, Masako; Sumitani, Masahiko; Nakayama, Takeo; Sugimori, Hiroki

2014-07-01

To determine the reading comprehension of health checkup reports in the context of health literacy (HL) in Japanese people. A web-based survey was conducted among 424 Japanese adults aged 35-59 years. Participants were asked to read specifically designed health checkup reports and then answer a series of questions to examine whether they accomplished the fundamental purposes of health checkup reports (recognition of the problems, recognition of the risk of illness, recognition of the need for preventive action, and motivation for preventive action). HL was simultaneously measured using the 14-item health literacy scale (HLS-14), the 11-item Lipkus scale (Lipkus-J), and the Newest Vital Sign (NVS-J). About 70 % of the study subjects misread the normal/abnormal classification for at least one items. Those with lower HLS-14 scores were significantly less likely to recognize the problems, the risk of illness, and the need for preventive action for the examinee, and also less likely to express their willingness to take preventive action in compliance with the doctor's advice after having received the health checkup report. Compared with the HLS-14 scores, the Lipkus-J and NVS-J scores showed hardly any association with the reading comprehension of health checkup reports. All examinees do not always have an adequate level of HL. HL may be the major determinant of reading comprehension of health checkup reports. For more effective health checkups, health promotion service providers should become aware of the existence of examinees with inadequate HL and address the problem of misreading health checkup results.

Readability and Its Effects on Reading Rate, Subjective Judgments of Comprehensibility and Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coke, Esther U.

Prose passages read aloud or silently were rated for pronounceability and comprehensibility. The relationships of text-derived readability indices to reading rate, comprehensibility ratings and comprehension test scores were explored. Reading rate in syllables per minute was unrelated to readability. The high correlation between rate in words per…

Morphological awareness and reading comprehension: Examining mediating factors.

PubMed

Levesque, Kyle C; Kieffer, Michael J; Deacon, S Hélène

2017-08-01

The relation between morphological awareness-defined as the awareness of and ability to manipulate the smallest units of meaning in language-and reading comprehension remains in need of specification. In this study, we evaluated four potential intervening variables through which morphological awareness may contribute indirectly to reading comprehension. We assessed word reading and vocabulary as well as children's ability to read and analyze the meaning of morphologically complex words (morphological decoding and morphological analysis, respectively). Controls of phonological awareness and nonverbal ability were included in the model. Participants were 221 English-speaking children in Grade 3. Multivariate path analyses revealed evidence of two indirect relations and one direct relation between morphological awareness and reading comprehension. In the first indirect path, morphological awareness contributed to morphological decoding, which then influenced word reading and finally reading comprehension. In a second indirect path, morphological awareness contributed to morphological analysis, which contributed to reading comprehension. Finally, in a direct path, morphological awareness contributed to reading comprehension beyond all other variables. These findings inform as to the potential mechanisms underlying the relation between morphological awareness and reading comprehension in children. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Oral morphosyntactic competence as a predictor of reading comprehension in children with specific language impairment.

PubMed

Buil-Legaz, Lucía; Aguilar-Mediavilla, Eva; Rodríguez-Ferreiro, Javier

2016-07-01

Children with a diagnosis of specific language impairment (SLI) present impaired oral comprehension. According to the simple view of reading, general amodal linguistic capacity accounts for both oral and reading comprehension. Considering this, we should expect SLI children to display a reading comprehension deficit. However, previous research regarding the association between reading disorders and SLI has yielded inconsistent results. To study the influence of prior oral comprehension competence over reading comprehension during the first years of reading acquisition of bilingual Catalan-Spanish children with SLI (ages 7-8). We assessed groups of bilingual Catalan-Spanish SLI and matched control children at ages 7 and 8 with standardized reading comprehension tasks including grammatical structures, sentence and text comprehension. Early oral competence and prior non-verbal intelligence were also measured and introduced into regression analyses with the participants' reading results in order to state the relation between the comprehension of oral and written material. Although we found no significant differences between the scores of our two participant groups in the reading tasks, data regarding their early oral competence, but not non-verbal intelligence measures, significantly influence their reading outcome. The results extend our knowledge regarding the course of literacy acquisition of children with SLI and provide evidence in support of the theories that assume common linguistic processes to be responsible for both oral and reading comprehension. © 2016 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

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

PubMed

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.

Rapid naming, reading and comprehension in students with learning difficulties.

PubMed

Silva, Cláudia da; Cunha, Vera Lúcia Orlandi; Pinheiro, Fábio Henrique; Capellini, Simone Aparecida

2012-01-01

To compare and correlate the performance of students with learning difficulties in rapid naming, reading and comprehension. Participants were 32 students from 4th grade of elementary school of both genders, with ages between 11 years and 4 months and 12 years and 7 months. The first and second oral reading of a text selected based on the indication of 4th grade teachers were conducted, as well as the first and second reading comprehension task composed by four questions presented right after the reading, to which students should answered orally, and the rapid naming task from the Test of Cognitive-Linguistic Performance, individual version. Differences were found between the first and the second comprehension scores, and between rapid naming, first and second reading. There was a strong correlation between comprehension and reading, suggesting that the performance in the first reading significantly influenced the performance in the second reading, which also occurred for comprehension. The delay in the activities of naming, reading and comprehension in the first evaluation provoked failures in the phoneme-grapheme conversion that may be enough to cause learning difficulties in reading.

Socio-Cultural Variation in Reading Comprehension Development among Fifth Graders in Peru

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silva, Silvia Morales; Verhoeven, Ludo; van Leeuwe, Jan

2011-01-01

In this study, the socio-cultural variation in reading comprehension development was examined in 331 fifth graders from schools in Lima, Peru. Reading comprehension was measured using an adaptation of the PIRLS Reading Literacy test. The fifth graders' reading comprehension results, measured over the course of fifth grade, were related to the…

How Specific Are Specific Comprehension Difficulties? An Investigation of Poor Reading Comprehension in Nine-Year-Olds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rønberg, Louise Flensted; Petersen, Dorthe Klint

2016-01-01

This study explores the incidence of poor comprehenders, that is, children identified as having reading comprehension difficulties, despite age-appropriate word reading skills. It supports the findings that some children do show poor reading comprehension, despite age-appropriate word reading, as measured with a phonological coding test. However,…

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

The comprehension skills of children learning English as an additional language.

PubMed

Burgoyne, K; Kelly, J M; Whiteley, H E; Spooner, A

2009-12-01

Data from national test results suggests that children who are learning English as an additional language (EAL) experience relatively lower levels of educational attainment in comparison to their monolingual, English-speaking peers. The relative underachievement of children who are learning EAL demands that the literacy needs of this group are identified. To this end, this study aimed to explore the reading- and comprehension-related skills of a group of EAL learners. Data are reported from 92 Year 3 pupils, of whom 46 children are learning EAL. Children completed standardized measures of reading accuracy and comprehension, listening comprehension, and receptive and expressive vocabulary. Results indicate that many EAL learners experience difficulties in understanding written and spoken text. These comprehension difficulties are not related to decoding problems but are related to significantly lower levels of vocabulary knowledge experienced by this group. Many EAL learners experience significantly lower levels of English vocabulary knowledge which has a significant impact on their ability to understand written and spoken text. Greater emphasis on language development is therefore needed in the school curriculum to attempt to address the limited language skills of children learning EAL.

How To Tutor Students with Reading Comprehension Problems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Richard; Hasbrouck, Jan E.; Denton, Carolyn

2002-01-01

Suggestions for tutoring students with reading comprehension problems include careful selection of books with readable text segments, use of comprehension strategies such as paraphrasing brief sections, and reading to find specific information. Several reading comprehension strategies for students are summarized. (Contains 7 references.) (DB)

A case for the sentence in reading comprehension.

PubMed

Scott, Cheryl M

2009-04-01

This article addresses sentence comprehension as a requirement of reading comprehension within the framework of the narrow view of reading that was advocated in the prologue to this forum. The focus is on the comprehension requirements of complex sentences, which are characteristic of school texts. Topics included in this discussion are (a) evidence linking sentence comprehension and syntax with reading, (b) syntactic properties of sentences that make them difficult to understand, (c) clinical applications for the assessment of sentence comprehension as it relates to reading, and (d) evidence and methods for addressing sentence complexity in treatment. Sentence complexity can create comprehension problems for struggling readers. The contribution of sentence comprehension to successful reading has been overlooked in models that emphasize domain-general comprehension strategies at the text level. The author calls for the evaluation of sentence comprehension within the context of content domains where complex sentences are found.

Multisyllabic Word Reading as a Moderator of Morphological Awareness and Reading Comprehension

PubMed Central

Gilbert, Jennifer K.; Goodwin, Amanda P.; Compton, Donald L.; Kearns, Devin M.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the relation between morphological awareness on reading comprehension is moderated by multisyllabic word reading ability in fifth grade students (N = 169, 53.7% female, 65.2% minority status, 69.2% free/reduced lunch status), oversampled for poor reading skill, when controlling for general knowledge and vocabulary. Based on the lexical quality hypothesis (Perfetti, 2007), it was expected that morphological awareness would have a stronger effect on comprehension for children with poor word reading skills, suggesting possible use of morphological awareness for word identification support. Results indicated that neither morphological awareness nor word reading was uniquely associated with reading comprehension when both were included in the model along with vocabulary and general knowledge. Instead, the interaction between word reading and morphological awareness explained significant additional variance in reading comprehension. By probing this interaction, it was determined that the effect of morphological awareness on reading comprehension was significant for the 39% of the sample that had more difficulty reading multisyllabic words), but not for students at the higher end of the multisyllabic word reading continuum. We conclude from these results that the relation between morphological awareness and reading comprehension is moderated by multisyllabic word reading ability, providing support for the lexical quality hypothesis (Perfetti, 2007). Although we have only correlational data, we suggest tentative instructional practices for improving the reading skill of upper elementary struggling readers. PMID:24219914

Print Exposure as a Predictor of Word Reading and Reading Comprehension in Disabled and Nondisabled Readers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McBride-Chang, Catherine; And Others

1993-01-01

The relationship of print exposure, measured by the Title Recognition Test (TRT), to word reading and reading comprehension was studied for 36 reading-disabled and 49 nondisabled students in grades 5 through 9. The power of the TRT to predict word reading and reading comprehension is discussed. (SLD)

The role of sustained attention and display medium in reading comprehension among adolescents with ADHD and without it.

PubMed

Stern, Pnina; Shalev, Lilach

2013-01-01

Difficulties in reading comprehension are common in children and adolescents with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The current study aimed at investigating the relation between sustained attention and reading comprehension among adolescents with and without ADHD. Another goal was to examine the impact of two manipulations of the text on the efficiency of reading comprehension: Spacing (standard- vs. double-spacing) and Type of presentation (computer screen vs. hard copy). Reading comprehension of two groups of adolescents (participants with ADHD and normal controls) was assessed and compared in four different conditions (standard printed, spaced printed, standard on computer screen, spaced on computer screen). In addition, participants completed a visual sustained attention task. Significant differences in reading comprehension and in sustained attention were obtained between the two groups. Also, a significant correlation was obtained between sustained attention and reading comprehension. Moreover, a significant interaction was revealed between presentation-type, spacing and level of sustained attention on reading comprehension. Implications for reading intervention and the importance of early assessment of attention functioning are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Genetic and Environmental Foundation of the Simple View of Reading in Chinese

PubMed Central

Ho, Connie Suk-Han; Chow, Bonnie Wing-Yin; Wong, Simpson Wai-Lap; Waye, Mary M. Y.; Bishop, Dorothy V. M.

2012-01-01

The Simple View of Reading (SVR) in Chinese was examined in a genetically sensitive design. A total of 270 pairs of Chinese twins (190 pairs of monozygotic twins and 80 pairs of same-sex dizygotic twins) were tested on Chinese vocabulary and word reading at the mean age 7.8 years and reading comprehension of sentences and passages one year later. Results of behavior-genetic analyses showed that both vocabulary and word reading had significant independent genetic influences on reading comprehension, and the two factors together accounted for most but not all of the genetic influences on reading comprehension. In addition, sentence comprehension had a stronger genetic correlation with word reading while passage comprehension showed a trend of stronger genetic overlap with vocabulary. These findings suggest that the genetic foundation of the SVR in Chinese is largely supported in that language comprehension and decoding are two core skills for reading comprehension in nonalphabetic as well as alphabetic written languages. PMID:23112862

Behavioral Attention: A Longitudinal Study of Whether and How It Influences the Development of Word Reading and Reading Comprehension among At-Risk Readers

PubMed Central

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 predicted students’ word reading growth in first grade even when they were competed against other relevant predictors (phonological awareness, nonword reading, sight word efficiency, vocabulary, listening comprehension, hyperactivity, nonverbal reasoning, and short term memory). Also, student attention demonstrated a significant indirect effect on third grade reading comprehension via word reading, but not via listening comprehension. Results suggest that student attention (indexed by teacher ratings) is an important predictor of at-risk readers’ responsiveness to reading instruction in first grade and that first-grade reading growth mediates the relationship between students’ attention and their future level of reading comprehension. The importance of considering ways to manage and improve behavioral attention when implementing reading instruction is discussed. PMID:25110548

A dynamic developmental link between verbal comprehension-knowledge (Gc) and reading comprehension: verbal comprehension-knowledge drives positive change in reading comprehension.

PubMed

Reynolds, Matthew R; Turek, Joshua J

2012-12-01

Intelligence and general academic achievement have a well-established relation, but the interrelated development of the two constructs over time is less well-known. In this study, the dynamic developmental relation between verbal comprehension-knowledge (Gc) and reading comprehension was examined by applying bivariate dual change score models (McArdle, 2009) to longitudinal data collected from children aged 9 through 15 who were part of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD SECCYD). A unidirectional dynamic link was found in which higher levels of prior Gc led to increased positive change in reading comprehension scores. This unidirectional link was not altered by including intelligence measured at 24-months, SES, sex, basic reading, and reading volume as time-invariant covariates. Gc is a leading indicator of reading comprehension and should be considered when developing and monitoring long-term reading comprehension interventions for children. Copyright © 2012 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Test anxiety and a high-stakes standardized reading comprehension test: A behavioral genetics perspective.

PubMed

Wood, Sarah G; Hart, Sara A; Little, Callie W; Phillips, Beth M

2016-07-01

Past research suggests that reading comprehension test performance does not rely solely on targeted cognitive processes such as word reading, but also on other non-target aspects such as test anxiety. Using a genetically sensitive design, we sought to understand the genetic and environmental etiology of the association between test anxiety and reading comprehension as measured by a high-stakes test. Mirroring the behavioral literature of test anxiety, three different dimensions of test anxiety were examined in relation to reading comprehension, namely intrusive thoughts, autonomic reactions, and off-task behaviors. Participants included 426 sets of twins from the Florida Twin Project on Reading. The results indicated test anxiety was negatively associated with reading comprehension test performance, specifically through common shared environmental influences. The significant contribution of test anxiety to reading comprehension on a high-stakes test supports the notion that non-targeted factors may be interfering with accurately assessing students' reading abilities.

Lexical quality and executive control predict children's first and second language reading comprehension.

PubMed

Raudszus, Henriette; Segers, Eliane; Verhoeven, Ludo

2018-01-01

This study compared how lexical quality (vocabulary and decoding) and executive control (working memory and inhibition) predict reading comprehension directly as well as indirectly, via syntactic integration, in monolingual and bilingual fourth grade children. The participants were 76 monolingual and 102 bilingual children (mean age 10 years, SD  = 5 months) learning to read Dutch in the Netherlands. Bilingual children showed lower Dutch vocabulary, syntactic integration and reading comprehension skills, but better decoding skills than their monolingual peers. There were no differences in working memory or inhibition. Multigroup path analysis showed relatively invariant connections between predictors and reading comprehension for monolingual and bilingual readers. For both groups, there was a direct effect of lexical quality on reading comprehension. In addition, lexical quality and executive control indirectly influenced reading comprehension via syntactic integration. The groups differed in that inhibition more strongly predicted syntactic integration for bilingual than for monolingual children. For a subgroup of bilingual children, for whom home language vocabulary data were available ( n  = 56), there was an additional positive effect of home language vocabulary on second language reading comprehension. Together, the results suggest that similar processes underlie reading comprehension in first and second language readers, but that syntactic integration requires more executive control in second language reading. Moreover, bilingual readers additionally benefit from first language vocabulary to arrive at second language reading comprehension.

For US Students, L2 Reading Comprehension Is Hard Because L2 Listening Comprehension Is Hard, Too

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sparks, Richard; Patton, Jon; Luebbers, Julie

2018-01-01

The Simple View of Reading (SVR) model posits that reading is the product of word decoding and language comprehension and that oral language (listening) comprehension is the best predictor of reading comprehension once word-decoding skill has been established. The SVR model also proposes that there are good readers and three types of poor…

How Does Speed and Accuracy in Reading Relate to Reading Comprehension in Arabic?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abu-Leil, Aula Khateeb; Share, David L.; Ibrahim, Raphiq

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential contribution of decoding efficiency to the development of reading comprehension among skilled adult native Arabic speakers. In addition, we tried to investigate the influence of Arabic vowels on reading accuracy, reading speed, and therefore to reading comprehension. Seventy-five Arabic…

Improving Reading Rates and Comprehension through Timed Repeated Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Anna C-S.; Millett, Sonia

2013-01-01

Thirteen English as a foreign language students read 26 passages during a 13-week period. Each passage was read five times, and students answered comprehension questions after the first and the fifth reading. Another 13 students read the same number of passages but without repetition and only answered the comprehension questions once. All students…

Early Identification of Reading Comprehension Difficulties.

PubMed

Catts, Hugh W; Nielsen, Diane Corcoran; Bridges, Mindy Sittner; Liu, Yi-Syuan

2016-09-01

Most research on early identification of reading disabilities has focused on word reading problems and little attention has been given to reading comprehension difficulties. In this study, we investigated whether measures of language ability and/or response to language intervention in kindergarten uniquely predicted reading comprehension difficulties in third grade. A total of 366 children were administered a battery of screening measures at the beginning of kindergarten and progress monitoring probes across the school year. A subset of children also received a 26-week Tier 2 language intervention. Participants' achievement in word reading was assessed at the end of second grade, and their performance in reading comprehension was measured as the end of third grade. Results showed that measures of language ability in kindergarten significantly added to the prediction of reading comprehension difficulties over and above kindergarten word reading predictors and direct measures of word reading in second grade. Response to language intervention also proved to be a unique predictor of reading comprehension outcomes. Findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for the early identification of reading disabilities. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

Executive Function and Reading Comprehension: A Meta-Analytic Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Follmer, D. Jake

2018-01-01

This article presents a meta-analytic review of the relation between executive function and reading comprehension. Results (N = 6,673) supported a moderate positive association between executive function and reading comprehension (r = 0.36). Moderator analyses suggested that correlations between executive function and reading comprehension did not…

Classroom Talk for Rigorous Reading Comprehension Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolf, Mikyung Kim; Crosson, Amy C.; Resnick, Lauren B.

2004-01-01

This study examined the quality of classroom talk and its relation to academic rigor in reading-comprehension lessons. Additionally, the study aimed to characterize effective questions to support rigorous reading comprehension lessons. The data for this study included 21 reading-comprehension lessons in several elementary and middle schools from…

The Reading Comprehension Strategies of Second Language Learners: A Spanish-English Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acosta Caballero, Karen Anelice

2012-01-01

Reading comprehension of school-aged students is an important topic of research; however, research on the reading comprehension of adult foreign/second language learners whose first language is English is limited, especially studies investigating the reading comprehension strategies that readers of different proficiency levels use when they…

Lexical prosody beyond first-language boundary: Chinese lexical tone sensitivity predicts English reading comprehension.

PubMed

Choi, William; Tong, Xiuli; Cain, Kate

2016-08-01

This 1-year longitudinal study examined the role of Cantonese lexical tone sensitivity in predicting English reading comprehension and the pathways underlying their relation. Multiple measures of Cantonese lexical tone sensitivity, English lexical stress sensitivity, Cantonese segmental phonological awareness, general auditory sensitivity, English word reading, and English reading comprehension were administered to 133 Cantonese-English unbalanced bilingual second graders. Structural equation modeling analysis identified transfer of Cantonese lexical tone sensitivity to English reading comprehension. This transfer was realized through a direct pathway via English stress sensitivity and also an indirect pathway via English word reading. These results suggest that prosodic sensitivity is an important factor influencing English reading comprehension and that it needs to be incorporated into theoretical accounts of reading comprehension across languages. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

On the importance of listening comprehension

PubMed Central

Hogan, Tiffany P.; Adlof, Suzanne M.; Alonzo, Crystle

2015-01-01

The simple view of reading highlights the importance of two primary components which account for individual differences in reading comprehension across development: word recognition (i.e., decoding) and listening comprehension. While assessments and interventions for decoding have been the focus of pedagogy in the past several decades, the importance of listening comprehension has received less attention. This paper reviews evidence showing that listening comprehension becomes the dominating influence on reading comprehension starting even in the elementary grades. It also highlights a growing number of children who fail to develop adequate reading comprehension skills, primarily due to deficient listening comprehension skills: poor comprehenders. Finally it discusses key language influences on listening comprehension for consideration during assessment and treatment of reading disabilities. PMID:24833426

On the importance of listening comprehension.

PubMed

Hogan, Tiffany P; Adlof, Suzanne M; Alonzo, Crystle N

2014-06-01

The simple view of reading highlights the importance of two primary components which account for individual differences in reading comprehension across development: word recognition (i.e., decoding) and listening comprehension. While assessments and interventions for decoding have been the focus of pedagogy in the past several decades, the importance of listening comprehension has received less attention. This paper reviews evidence showing that listening comprehension becomes the dominating influence on reading comprehension starting even in the elementary grades. It also highlights a growing number of children who fail to develop adequate reading comprehension skills, primarily due to deficient listening comprehension skills (i.e., poor comprehenders). Finally we discuss key language influences on listening comprehension for consideration during assessment and treatment of reading disabilities.

Help with Teaching Reading Comprehension: Comprehension Instructional Frameworks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liang, Lauren Aimonette; Dole, Janice A.

2006-01-01

This article presents five instructional frameworks demonstrated by research as being effective in teaching reading comprehension: (1) The Scaffolded Reading Experience (SRE); (2) Questioning the Author (QtA); (3) Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR); (4) Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS); and (5) Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction…

The Effects of Reading Fluency Interventions on the Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension Performance of Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities: A Synthesis of the Research from 2001 to 2014

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevens, Elizabeth A.; Walker, Melodee A.; Vaughn, Sharon

2017-01-01

Fluent word reading is hypothesized to facilitate reading comprehension by improving automatic word reading, thus releasing a reader's cognitive resources to focus on meaning. Many students with learning disabilities (LD) struggle to develop reading fluency, which affects reading comprehension. This synthesis extends Chard, Vaughn, and Tyler's…

Beyond Comprehension Strategy Instruction: What's Next?

PubMed

Elleman, Amy M; Compton, Donald L

2017-04-20

In this article, we respond to Catts and Kamhi's (2017) argument that reading comprehension is not a single ability. We provide a brief review of the impact of strategy instruction, the importance of knowledge in reading comprehension, and possible avenues for future research and practice. We agree with Catts and Kamhi's argument that reading comprehension is a complex endeavor and that current recommended practices do not reflect the complexity of the construct. Knowledge building, despite its important role in comprehension, has been relegated to a back seat in reading comprehension instruction. In the final section of the article, we outline possible avenues for research and practice (e.g., generative language instruction, dialogic approaches to knowledge building, analogical reasoning and disciplinary literacy, the use of graphics and media, inference instruction) for improving reading-comprehension outcomes. Reading comprehension is a complex ability, and comprehension instruction should reflect this complexity. If we want to have an impact on long-term growth in reading comprehension, we will need to expand our current repertoire of instructional methods to include approaches that support the acquisition and integration of knowledge across a variety of texts and topics.

How Word Decoding, Vocabulary and Prior Topic Knowledge Predict Reading Comprehension. A Study of Language-Minority Students in Norwegian Fifth Grade Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rydland, Veslemoy; Aukrust, Vibeke Grover; Fulland, Helene

2012-01-01

This study examined the contribution of word decoding, first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) vocabulary and prior topic knowledge to L2 reading comprehension. For measuring reading comprehension we employed two different reading tasks: Woodcock Passage Comprehension and a researcher-developed content-area reading assignment (the Global…

Necklace: combining reference and assembled transcriptomes for more comprehensive RNA-Seq analysis.

PubMed

Davidson, Nadia M; Oshlack, Alicia

2018-05-01

RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analyses can benefit from performing a genome-guided and de novo assembly, in particular for species where the reference genome or the annotation is incomplete. However, tools for integrating an assembled transcriptome with reference annotation are lacking. Necklace is a software pipeline that runs genome-guided and de novo assembly and combines the resulting transcriptomes with reference genome annotations. Necklace constructs a compact but comprehensive superTranscriptome out of the assembled and reference data. Reads are subsequently aligned and counted in preparation for differential expression testing. Necklace allows a comprehensive transcriptome to be built from a combination of assembled and annotated transcripts, which results in a more comprehensive transcriptome for the majority of organisms. In addition RNA-seq data are mapped back to this newly created superTranscript reference to enable differential expression testing with standard methods.

Teaching Reading Comprehension through Collaborative Strategic Reading.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vaughn, Sharon; Klingner, Janette Kettman

1999-01-01

Provides an overview of collaborative strategic reading (CSR) as an approach to enhancing the reading-comprehension skills of students with learning disabilities. Procedures for implementing CSR with collaborative groups and techniques for teaching reading-comprehension skills are provided. The role of the teacher is described and sample teaching…

The Assessment of Reading Comprehension Difficulties for Reading Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woolley, Gary

2008-01-01

There are many environmental and personal factors that contribute to reading success. Reading comprehension is a complex interaction of language, sensory perception, memory, and motivational aspects. However, most existing assessment tools have not adequately reflected the complex nature of reading comprehension. Good assessment requires a…

Comparing growth in linguistic comprehension and reading comprehension in school-aged children with autism versus typically developing children.

PubMed

Grimm, Ryan P; Solari, Emily J; McIntyre, Nancy S; Zajic, Matthew; Mundy, Peter C

2018-04-01

Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) struggle with reading comprehension. Linguistic comprehension is an important predictor of reading comprehension, especially as children progress through elementary school and later grades. Yet, there is a dearth of research examining longitudinal relations between linguistic comprehensions in school-age children with ASD compared to typically-developing peers (TD). This study compared the developmental trajectories of linguistic and reading comprehension in samples of children with ASD and age-matched TD peers. Both groups were administered measures of linguistic and reading comprehension multiple times over a 30-month period. Latent growth curve modeling demonstrated children with ASD performed at significantly lower levels on both measures at the first timepoint and these deficits persisted across time. Children with ASD exhibited growth in both skills comparable to their TD peers, but this was not sufficient to enable them to eventually achieve at a level similar to the TD group. Due to the wide age range of the sample, age was controlled and displayed significant effects. Findings suggest linguistic comprehension skills are related to reading comprehension in children with ASD, similar to TD peers. Further, intervention in linguistic comprehension skills for children with ASD should begin early and there may be a finite window in which these skills are malleable, in terms of improving reading comprehension skills. Autism Res 2018, 11: 624-635. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. There is relatively little research concerning reading comprehension development in children with ASD and how they compare to TD peers. This study found children with ASD began at lower achievement levels of linguistic comprehension and reading comprehension than TD peers, but the skills developed at a similar rate. Intervening early and raising initial levels of linguistic and reading comprehension may enable children with ASD to perform similarly to TD peers over time. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Effect of phonological and morphological awareness on reading comprehension in Hebrew-speaking adolescents with reading disabilities.

PubMed

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.

Using the Think-Aloud Technique for Determining Different Reading Strategies Used by Iranian EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bakhshalinezhad, Ladan; Nikou, Farahnaz Reymani; Bonyadi, Alireza

2015-01-01

This study explored the reading strategies used by advanced and intermediate Persian EFL learners in both English and Persian reading comprehension texts. Based on the aims of the study reading comprehension texts were administered to the learners and their reading strategies in both English and Persian reading comprehension texts were examined…

Examining the Effectiveness of Pre-Reading Strategies on Saudi EFL College Students' Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al Rasheed, Hana S. S.

2014-01-01

Reading comprehension is a key issue in learning English as a foreign language, and it is critical that teachers utilize pre-reading strategies in reading classes in order to help students enhance their comprehension. The present study investigates the effectiveness of two pre-reading strategies on EFL students' performance in reading…

The Effects of Reading Fluency Interventions on the Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension Performance of Elementary Students With Learning Disabilities: A Synthesis of the Research from 2001 to 2014

PubMed Central

Stevens, Elizabeth A.; Walker, Melodee A.; Vaughn, Sharon

2016-01-01

Fluent word reading is hypothesized to facilitate reading comprehension by improving automatic word reading, thus releasing a reader’s cognitive resources to focus on meaning. Many students with learning disabilities (LD) struggle to develop reading fluency, which affects reading comprehension. This synthesis extends Chard, Vaughn, and Tyler’s (2002) review, synthesizing fluency intervention research from 2001 to 2014. The search yielded 19 studies examining reading fluency and comprehension outcomes of reading fluency interventions for students with LD in kindergarten through 5th grade. Results showed repeated reading (RR), multicomponent interventions, and assisted reading with audiobooks produced gains in reading fluency and comprehension. Providing a model of fluent reading and performance feedback, using easier level text, setting a performance criterion, and practicing RR with peers also contributed to improved outcomes. Findings suggest that RR remains the most effective intervention for improving reading fluency for students with LD. Limitations include sample size, only three group design studies, and infrequent use of standardized measures. PMID:27067939

The Effects of Reading Fluency Interventions on the Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension Performance of Elementary Students With Learning Disabilities: A Synthesis of the Research from 2001 to 2014.

PubMed

Stevens, Elizabeth A; Walker, Melodee A; Vaughn, Sharon

Fluent word reading is hypothesized to facilitate reading comprehension by improving automatic word reading, thus releasing a reader's cognitive resources to focus on meaning. Many students with learning disabilities (LD) struggle to develop reading fluency, which affects reading comprehension. This synthesis extends Chard, Vaughn, and Tyler's (2002) review, synthesizing fluency intervention research from 2001 to 2014. The search yielded 19 studies examining reading fluency and comprehension outcomes of reading fluency interventions for students with LD in kindergarten through 5th grade. Results showed repeated reading (RR), multicomponent interventions, and assisted reading with audiobooks produced gains in reading fluency and comprehension. Providing a model of fluent reading and performance feedback, using easier level text, setting a performance criterion, and practicing RR with peers also contributed to improved outcomes. Findings suggest that RR remains the most effective intervention for improving reading fluency for students with LD. Limitations include sample size, only three group design studies, and infrequent use of standardized measures.

An Investigation of the Relationship between Reading Comprehension and Morphological Awareness Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loudermill, Chenell Smith

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between reading comprehension and morphological awareness skills. Researchers have documented a wide range of skills that influence reading comprehension ability at different times to different degrees. One of the skills identified as having an influence on reading comprehension ability…

How logical reasoning mediates the relation between lexical quality and reading comprehension.

PubMed

Segers, Eliane; Verhoeven, Ludo

The present study aimed to examine the role of logical reasoning in the relation between lexical quality and reading comprehension in 146 fourth grade Dutch children. We assessed their standardized reading comprehension measure, along with their decoding efficiency and vocabulary as measures of lexical quality, syllogistic reasoning as measure of (verbal) logical reasoning, and nonverbal reasoning as a control measure. Syllogistic reasoning was divided into a measure tapping basic, coherence inferencing skill using logical syllogisms, and a measure tapping elaborative inferencing skill using indeterminate syllogisms. Results showed that both types of syllogisms partly mediated the relation between lexical quality and reading comprehension, but also had a unique additional effect on reading comprehension. The indirect effect of lexical quality on reading comprehension via syllogisms was driven by vocabulary knowledge. It is concluded that measures of syllogistic reasoning account for higher-order thinking processes that are needed to make inferences in reading comprehension. The role of lexical quality appears to be pivotal in explaining the variation in reading comprehension both directly and indirectly via syllogistic reasoning.

The role of working memory and fluency practice on the reading comprehension of students who are dysfluent readers.

PubMed

Swanson, H Lee; O'Connor, Rollanda

2009-01-01

The authors investigated whether practice in reading fluency had a causal influence on the relationship between working memory (WM) and text comprehension for 155 students in Grades 2 and 4 who were poor or average readers. Dysfluent readers were randomly assigned to repeated reading or continuous reading practice conditions and compared with untreated dysfluent and fluent readers on posttest measures of fluency, word identification, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Three main findings emerged: (a) The influence of WM on text comprehension was not related to fluency training, (b) dysfluent readers in the continuous-reading condition had higher posttest scores than dysfluent readers in the other conditions on measures of text comprehension but not on vocabulary, and (c) individual differences in WM better predicted posttest comprehension performance than word-attack skills. In general, the results suggested that although continuous reading increased comprehension, fluency practice did not compensate for WM demands. The results were interpreted within a model that viewed reading comprehension processes as competing for a limited supply of WM resources that operate independent of fluency.

Modifying Learning Strategies for Classroom Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Brien, Chris

2005-01-01

Students with Learning Disabilities (LD) often experience significant difficulty with academic content at the secondary level due to weaknesses in reading comprehension, written expression, math skills, and vocabulary learning skills. This article will highlight the usefulness of learning strategies for ensuring success of students with LD in the…

Are First- and Second-Language Factors Related in Predicting Second-Language Reading Comprehension? A Study of Spanish-Speaking Children Acquiring English as a Second Language from First to Second Grade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottardo, Alexandra; Mueller, Julie

2009-01-01

First-language (L1) and 2nd-language (L2) oral language skills and L2 word reading were used as predictors to test the simple view of reading as a model of 2nd-language reading comprehension. The simple view of reading states that reading comprehension is related to decoding and oral language comprehension skills. One hundred thirty-one…

Applying a Multiple Group Causal Indicator Modeling Framework to the Reading Comprehension Skills of Third, Seventh, and Tenth Grade Students

PubMed Central

Tighe, Elizabeth L.; Wagner, Richard K.; Schatschneider, Christopher

2015-01-01

This study demonstrates the utility of applying a causal indicator modeling framework to investigate important predictors of reading comprehension in third, seventh, and tenth grade students. The results indicated that a 4-factor multiple indicator multiple indicator cause (MIMIC) model of reading comprehension provided adequate fit at each grade level. This model included latent predictor constructs of decoding, verbal reasoning, nonverbal reasoning, and working memory and accounted for a large portion of the reading comprehension variance (73% to 87%) across grade levels. Verbal reasoning contributed the most unique variance to reading comprehension at all grade levels. In addition, we fit a multiple group 4-factor MIMIC model to investigate the relative stability (or variability) of the predictor contributions to reading comprehension across development (i.e., grade levels). The results revealed that the contributions of verbal reasoning, nonverbal reasoning, and working memory to reading comprehension were stable across the three grade levels. Decoding was the only predictor that could not be constrained to be equal across grade levels. The contribution of decoding skills to reading comprehension was higher in third grade and then remained relatively stable between seventh and tenth grade. These findings illustrate the feasibility of using MIMIC models to explain individual differences in reading comprehension across the development of reading skills. PMID:25821346

Predictors of Reading Comprehension for Struggling Readers: The Case of Spanish-speaking Language Minority Learners.

PubMed

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.

Predictors of Reading Comprehension for Struggling Readers: The Case of Spanish-speaking Language Minority Learners

PubMed Central

Mancilla-Martinez, Jeannette; Lesaux, Nonie K.

2010-01-01

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. PMID:20856691

Components and context: exploring sources of reading difficulties for language minority learners and native English speakers in urban schools.

PubMed

Kieffer, Michael J; Vukovic, Rose K

2012-01-01

Drawing on the cognitive and ecological domains within the componential model of reading, this longitudinal study explores heterogeneity in the sources of reading difficulties for language minority learners and native English speakers in urban schools. Students (N = 150) were followed from first through third grade and assessed annually on standardized English language and reading measures. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the relative contributions of code-related and linguistic comprehension skills in first and second grade to third grade reading comprehension. Linguistic comprehension and the interaction between linguistic comprehension and code-related skills each explained substantial variation in reading comprehension. Among students with low reading comprehension, more than 80% demonstrated weaknesses in linguistic comprehension alone, whereas approximately 15% demonstrated weaknesses in both linguistic comprehension and code-related skills. Results were remarkably similar for the language minority learners and native English speakers, suggesting the importance of their shared socioeconomic backgrounds and schooling contexts.

Research review: reading comprehension in developmental disorders of language and communication.

PubMed

Ricketts, Jessie

2011-11-01

Deficits in reading airment (SLI), Down syndrome (DS) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In this review (based on a search of the ISI Web of Knowledge database to 2011), the Simple View of Reading is used as a framework for considering reading comprehension in these groups. There is substantial evidence for reading comprehension impairments in SLI and growing evidence that weaknesses in this domain are common in DS and ASD. Further, in these groups reading comprehension is typically more impaired than word recognition. However, there is also evidence that some children and adolescents with DS, ASD and a history of SLI develop reading comprehension and word recognition skills at or above the age appropriate level. This review of the literature indicates that factors including word recognition, oral language, nonverbal ability and working memory may explain reading comprehension difficulties in SLI, DS and ASD. In addition, it highlights methodological issues, implications of poor reading comprehension and fruitful areas for future research. © 2011 The Author. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2011 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Comparing Growth in Linguistic Comprehension and Reading Comprehension in School-Aged Children with Autism versus Typically Developing Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grimm, Ryan P.; Solari, Emily J.; McIntyre, Nancy S.; Zajic, Matthew; Mundy, Peter C.

2017-01-01

Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) struggle with reading comprehension. Linguistic comprehension is an important predictor of reading comprehension, especially as children progress through elementary school and later grades. Yet, there is a dearth of research examining longitudinal relations between linguistic comprehensions in…

Evaluation of use of reading comprehension strategies to improve reading comprehension of adult college students with acquired brain injury.

PubMed

Griffiths, Gina G; Sohlberg, McKay Moore; Kirk, Cecilia; Fickas, Stephen; Biancarosa, Gina

2016-01-01

Adults with mild to moderate acquired brain injury (ABI) often pursue post-secondary or professional education after their injuries in order to enter or re-enter the job market. An increasing number of these adults report problems with reading-to-learn. The problem is particularly concerning given the growing population of adult survivors of ABI. Despite the rising need, empirical evaluation of reading comprehension interventions for adults with ABI is scarce. This study used a within-subject design to evaluate whether adult college students with ABI with no more than moderate cognitive impairments benefited from using reading comprehension strategies to improve comprehension of expository text. Integrating empirical support from the cognitive rehabilitation and special education literature, the researchers designed a multi-component reading comprehension strategy package. Participants read chapters from an introductory-level college anthropology textbook in two different conditions: strategy and no-strategy. The results indicated that reading comprehension strategy use was associated with recall of more correct information units in immediate and delayed free recall tasks; more efficient recall in the delayed free recall task; and increased accuracy recognising statements from a sentence verification task designed to reflect the local and global coherence of the text. The findings support further research into using reading comprehension strategies as an intervention approach for the adult ABI population. Future research needs include identifying how to match particular reading comprehension strategies to individuals, examining whether reading comprehension performance improves further through the incorporation of systematic training, and evaluating texts from a range of disciplines and genres.

Theory of mind in emerging reading comprehension: A longitudinal study of early indirect and direct effects.

PubMed

Atkinson, Lynette; Slade, Lance; Powell, Daisy; Levy, Joseph P

2017-12-01

The relation between children's theory of mind (ToM) and emerging reading comprehension was investigated in a longitudinal study over 2.5years. A total of 80 children were tested for ToM, decoding, language skills, and executive function (EF) at Time 1 (mean age=3;10 [years;months]). At Time 2 (mean age=6;03), children's word reading efficiency, language skills, and reading comprehension were measured. Mediation analysis showed that ToM at Time 1, when children were around 4years old, indirectly predicted Time 2 reading comprehension, when children were 6years old, via language ability after controlling for age, nonverbal ability, decoding, EF, and earlier language ability. Importantly, ToM at 4years also directly predicted reading comprehension 2.5years later at 6years. This is the first longitudinal study to show a direct contribution of ToM to reading comprehension in typical development. Findings are discussed in terms of the simple view of reading (SVR); ToM not only supports reading comprehension indirectly by facilitating language but also contributes to it directly over and above the SVR. The potential role of metacognition is considered when accounting for the direct contribution of early ToM to later reading comprehension. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Examining the Relationships of Component Reading Skills to Reading Comprehension in Struggling Adult Readers: A Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Tighe, Elizabeth L; Schatschneider, Christopher

2016-07-01

The current study employed a meta-analytic approach to investigate the relative importance of component reading skills to reading comprehension in struggling adult readers. A total of 10 component skills were consistently identified across 16 independent studies and 2,707 participants. Random effects models generated 76 predictor-reading comprehension effect sizes among the 10 constructs. The results indicated that six of the component skills exhibited strong relationships with reading comprehension (average rs ≥ .50): morphological awareness, language comprehension, fluency, oral vocabulary knowledge, real word decoding, and working memory. Three of the component skills yielded moderate relationships with reading comprehension (average rs ≥ .30 and < .50): pseudoword decoding, orthographic knowledge, and phonological awareness. Rapid automatized naming (RAN) was the only component skill that was weakly related to reading comprehension (r = .15). Morphological awareness was a significantly stronger correlate of reading comprehension than phonological awareness and RAN. This study provides the first attempt at a systematic synthesis of the recent research investigating the reading skills of adults with low literacy skills, a historically understudied population. Directions for future research, the relation of our results to the children's literature, and the implications for researchers and adult basic education programs are discussed. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

Examining the Relationships of Component Reading Skills to Reading Comprehension in Struggling Adult Readers: A Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Tighe, Elizabeth L.; Schatschneider, Christopher

2015-01-01

The current study employed a meta-analytic approach to investigate the relative importance of component reading skills to reading comprehension in struggling adult readers. A total of 10 component skills were consistently identified across 16 independent studies and 2,707 participants. Random effects models generated 76 predictor-reading comprehension effect sizes among the 10 constructs. The results indicated that six of the component skills exhibited strong relationships with reading comprehension (average rs ≥ .50): morphological awareness, language comprehension, fluency, oral vocabulary knowledge, real word decoding, and working memory. Three of the component skills yielded moderate relationships with reading comprehension (average rs ≥ .30 and < .50): pseudoword decoding, orthographic knowledge, and phonological awareness. Rapid automatized naming (RAN) was the only component skill that was weakly related to reading comprehension (r = .15). Morphological awareness was a significantly stronger correlate of reading comprehension than phonological awareness and RAN. This study provides the first attempt at a systematic synthesis of the recent research investigating the reading skills of adults with low literacy skills, a historically under-studied population. Directions for future research, the relation of our results to the children’s literature, and the implications for researchers and Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs are discussed. PMID:25350926

Reading Comprehension Difficulties in Chinese-English Bilingual Children.

PubMed

Tong, Xiuhong; McBride, Catherine; Shu, Hua; Ho, Connie Suk-Han

2018-02-01

The co-occurrence of reading comprehension difficulties for first language (L1) Chinese and second language (L2) English and associated longitudinal cognitive-linguistic correlates in each language were investigated. Sixteen poor comprehenders in English and 16 poor comprehenders in Chinese, 18 poor readers in both, and 18 children with normal performance in both were identified at age 10. The prevalence rate for being poor in both was 52.94%, suggesting that approximately half of children who are at risk for Chinese reading comprehension difficulty are also at risk for English reading comprehension difficulty. Chinese word reading, phonological, and morphological awareness were longitudinal correlates of poor comprehension in Chinese. English word reading and vocabulary were longitudinal correlates of poor comprehension in English. Chinese phonological awareness was an additional correlate of poor comprehension in English. Moreover, poor comprehenders in both Chinese and English showed slower rapid automatized naming scores than the other groups. Findings highlight some factors that might be critical for reading comprehension in L1 Chinese and L2 English; fluency is likely to be a critical part of reading comprehension across languages. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Phonological working memory and reading in students with dyslexia

PubMed Central

de Carvalho, Carolina A. F.; Kida, Adriana de S. B.; Capellini, Simone A.; de Avila, Clara R. B.

2014-01-01

Purpose: To investigate parameters related to fluency, reading comprehension and phonological processing (operational and short-term memory) and identify potential correlation between the variables in Dyslexia and in the absence of reading difficulties. Method: One hundred and fifteen students from the third to eighth grade of elementary school were grouped into a Control Group (CG) and Group with Dyslexia (GDys). Reading of words, pseudowords and text (decoding); listening and reading comprehension; phonological short-term and working memory (repetition of pseudowords and Digit Span) were evaluated. Results: The comparison of the groups showed significant differences in decoding, phonological short-term memory (repetition of pseudowords) and answers to text-connecting questions (TC) on reading comprehension, with the worst performances identified for GDys. In this group there were negative correlations between pseudowords repetition and TC answers and total score, both on listening comprehension. No correlations were found between operational and short-term memory (Digit Span) and parameters of fluency and reading comprehension in dyslexia. For the sample without complaint, there were positive correlations between some parameters of reading fluency and repetition of pseudowords and also between answering literal questions in listening comprehension and repetition of digits on the direct and reverse order. There was no correlation with the parameters of reading comprehension. Conclusion: GDys and CG showed similar performance in listening comprehension and in understanding of explicit information and gap-filling inference on reading comprehension. Students of GDys showed worst performance in reading decoding, phonological short-term memory (pseudowords) and on inferences that depends on textual cohesion understanding in reading. There were negative correlations between pseudowords repetition and TC answers and total score, both in listening comprehension. PMID:25101021

Developing a universal reading comprehension intervention for mainstream primary schools within areas of social deprivation for children with and without language-learning impairment: a feasibility study.

PubMed

McCartney, Elspeth; Boyle, James; Ellis, Sue

2015-01-01

Some children in areas of social deprivation in Scotland have lower reading attainment than neighbouring children in less deprived areas, and some of these also have lower spoken language comprehension skills than expected by assessment norms. There is a need to develop effective reading comprehension interventions that fit easily into the school curriculum and can benefit all pupils. A feasibility study of reading comprehension strategies with existing evidence of efficacy was undertaken in three mainstream primary schools within an area of social deprivation in west central Scotland, to decide whether further investigation of this intervention was warranted. Aims were to measure comprehension of spoken language and reading via standardised assessments towards the beginning of the school year (T1) in mainstream primary school classrooms within an area of social deprivation; to have teachers introduce previously-validated text comprehension strategies, and to measure change in reading comprehension outcome measures towards the end of the year (T2). A pre- and post-intervention cohort design was used. Reading comprehension strategies were introduced to staff in participating schools and used throughout the school year as part of on-going reading instruction. Spoken language comprehension was measured by TROG-2 at T1, and reading progress by score changes from T1 to T2 on the WIAT-II(UK) -T reading comprehension scale. Forty-seven pupils in five classes in three primary schools took part: 38% had TROG-2 scores below the 10(th) centile. As a group, children made good reading comprehension progress, with a medium effect size of 0.46. Children with TROG-2 scores below the 10(th) centile had lower mean reading scores than others at T1 and T2, although with considerable overlap. However, TROG-2 did not make a unique contribution to reading progress: children below the 10(th) centile made as much progress as other children. The intervention was welcomed by schools, and the measure of reading comprehension proved responsive to change. The outcomes suggest the reading intervention may be effective for children with and without spoken language comprehension difficulties, and warrants further investigation in larger, controlled, studies. © 2014 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Predicting Word Reading and Comprehension with Executive Function and Speed Measures Across Development: A Latent Variable Analysis

PubMed Central

Christopher, Micaela E.; Miyake, Akira; Keenan, Janice M.; Pennington, Bruce; DeFries, John C.; Wadsworth, Sally J.; Willcutt, Erik; Olson, Richard K.

2012-01-01

The present study explored whether different executive control and speed measures (working memory, inhibition, processing speed, and naming speed) independently predict individual differences in word reading and reading comprehension. Although previous studies suggest these cognitive constructs are important for reading, we analyze the constructs simultaneously to test whether each is a unique predictor. We used latent variables from 483 participants (ages 8 to 16) to portion each cognitive and reading construct into its unique and shared variance. In these models we address two specific issues: (a) given that our wide age range may span the theoretical transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn,” we first test whether the relation between word reading and reading comprehension is stable across two age groups (ages 8 to 10 and 11 to 16); and (b) the main theoretical question of interest: whether what is shared and what is separable for word reading and reading comprehension are associated with individual differences in working memory, inhibition, and measures of processing and naming speed. The results indicated that: (a) the relation between word reading and reading comprehension is largely invariant across the age groups; (b) working memory and general processing speed, but not inhibition or the speeded naming of non-alphanumeric stimuli, are unique predictors of both word reading and comprehension, with working memory equally important for both reading abilities and processing speed more important for word reading. These results have implications for understanding why reading comprehension and word reading are highly correlated yet separable. PMID:22352396

Teaching Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Richard R.

2013-01-01

"Teaching Reading" uncovers the interactive processes that happen when people learn to read and translates them into a comprehensive easy-to-follow guide on how to teach reading. Richard Day's revelations on the nature of reading, reading strategies, reading fluency, reading comprehension, and reading objectives make fascinating…

Reading Self-Efficacy Predicts Word Reading But Not Comprehension in Both Girls and Boys.

PubMed

Carroll, Julia M; Fox, Amy C

2016-01-01

The relationship between cognitive skills and reading has been well-established. However, the role of motivational factors such as self-efficacy in reading progress is less clear. In particular, it is not clear how self-efficacy relates to word level reading versus comprehension, and whether this differs in boys and girls. This study examines the relationship between self-efficacy, word reading and reading comprehension across the range of reading abilities after controlling for reading-related cognitive factors. One hundred and seventy nine children (86 males and 93 females) between 8 and 11 years old completed a self-report measure of reading self-efficacy together with measures of reading comprehension and word reading, working memory, auditory short-term memory, phonological awareness, and vocabulary. Boys and girls showed similar levels of attainment and reading self-efficacy. Reading self-efficacy was associated with word reading, but not with reading comprehension in either boys or girls. It is argued that this may reflect important differences between reading self-efficacy and more general measures of reading motivation and engagement. Reading self-efficacy is an element of reading motivation that is closely associated with a child's perceived attainments in reading and is less susceptible to the gender differences seen in broader measures.

Reading Self-Efficacy Predicts Word Reading But Not Comprehension in Both Girls and Boys

PubMed Central

Carroll, Julia M.; Fox, Amy C.

2017-01-01

The relationship between cognitive skills and reading has been well-established. However, the role of motivational factors such as self-efficacy in reading progress is less clear. In particular, it is not clear how self-efficacy relates to word level reading versus comprehension, and whether this differs in boys and girls. This study examines the relationship between self-efficacy, word reading and reading comprehension across the range of reading abilities after controlling for reading-related cognitive factors. One hundred and seventy nine children (86 males and 93 females) between 8 and 11 years old completed a self-report measure of reading self-efficacy together with measures of reading comprehension and word reading, working memory, auditory short-term memory, phonological awareness, and vocabulary. Boys and girls showed similar levels of attainment and reading self-efficacy. Reading self-efficacy was associated with word reading, but not with reading comprehension in either boys or girls. It is argued that this may reflect important differences between reading self-efficacy and more general measures of reading motivation and engagement. Reading self-efficacy is an element of reading motivation that is closely associated with a child’s perceived attainments in reading and is less susceptible to the gender differences seen in broader measures. PMID:28144223

Effect of attention therapy on reading comprehension.

PubMed

Solan, Harold A; Shelley-Tremblay, John; Ficarra, Anthony; Silverman, Michael; Larson, Steven

2003-01-01

This study quantified the influence of visual attention therapy on the reading comprehension of Grade 6 children with moderate reading disabilities (RD) in the absence of specific reading remediation. Thirty students with below-average reading scores were identified using standardized reading comprehension tests. Fifteen children were placed randomly in the experimental group and 15 in the control group. The Attention Battery of the Cognitive Assessment System was administered to all participants. The experimental group received 12 one-hour sessions of individually monitored, computer-based attention therapy programs; the control group received no therapy during their 12-week period. Each group was retested on attention and reading comprehension measures. In order to stimulate selective and sustained visual attention, the vision therapy stressed various aspects of arousal, activation, and vigilance. At the completion of attention therapy, the mean standard attention and reading comprehension scores of the experimental group had improved significantly. The control group, however, showed no significant improvement in reading comprehension scores after 12 weeks. Although uncertainties still exist, this investigation supports the notion that visual attention is malleable and that attention therapy has a significant effect on reading comprehension in this often neglected population.

[Specific learning disabilities - from DSM-IV to DSM-5].

PubMed

Schulte-Körne, Gerd

2014-09-01

The publication of the DSM-5 means changes in the classification and recommendations for diagnosis of specific learning disabilities. Dyslexia and dyscalculia have been reintroduced into the DSM. Three specific learning disorders - impairment in reading, impairment in the written expression, and impairment in mathematics, described by subskills - are now part of the DSM-5. Three subcomponents of the reading disorder are expressly differentiated: word reading accuracy, reading rate, and fluency and reading comprehension. Impaired subskills of the specific learning disorder with impairment in written expression are spelling accuracy, grammar and punctuation accuracy, and clarity and organization of written expression. Four subskills are found in the mathematics disorder: number sense, memorization of arithmetic facts, accurate or fluent calculation, and accurate math reasoning. Each impaired academic domain and subskill should be recorded. A description of the severity degree was also included. The diagnosis is based on a variety of methods, including medical history, clinical interview, school report, teacher evaluation, rating scales, and psychometric tests. The IQ discrepancy criterion was abandoned, though that of age or class discrepancy criterion was retained. The application of a discrepancy is recommended by 1 to 2.5 SD. All three specific developmental disorders are common (prevalence 5 %-15 %), occur early during the first years of formal schooling, and persist into adulthood.

Relationship between Graphical Device Comprehension and Overall Text Comprehension for Third-Grade Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Kathryn L.; Norman, Rebecca R.; Cocco, Jaime

2015-01-01

This study examined relationships between reading comprehension, known predictors of reading comprehension (i.e., cognitive flexibility, fluency, reading motivation and attitude, vocabulary), and graphical device comprehension. One-hundred fifty-six third graders completed assessments of known predictor variables and an assessment tapping…

Reading Comprehension in Children With and Without ASD: The Role of Word Reading, Oral Language, and Working Memory.

PubMed

Davidson, Meghan M; Kaushanskaya, Margarita; Ellis Weismer, Susan

2018-05-25

Word reading and oral language predict reading comprehension, which is generally poor, in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, working memory (WM), despite documented weaknesses, has not been thoroughly investigated as a predictor of reading comprehension in ASD. This study examined the role of three parallel WM N-back tasks using abstract shapes, familiar objects, and written words in children (8-14 years) with ASD (n = 19) and their typically developing peers (n = 24). All three types of WM were significant predictors of reading comprehension when considered alone. However, these relationships were rendered non-significant with the addition of age, word reading, vocabulary, and group entered into the models. Oral vocabulary emerged as the strongest predictor of reading comprehension.

The Role of Reading Time Complexity and Reading Speed in Text Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallot, Sebastian; O'Brien, Beth A.; Haussmann, Anna; Kloos, Heidi; Lyby, Marlene S.

2014-01-01

Reading speed is commonly used as an index of reading fluency. However, reading speed is not a consistent predictor of text comprehension, when speed and comprehension are measured on the same text within the same reader. This might be due to the somewhat ambiguous nature of reading speed, which is sometimes regarded as a feature of the reading…

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

WWC Quick Review of the Report "Effectiveness of Selected Supplemental Reading Comprehension Interventions: Impacts on a First Cohort of Fifth-Grade Students"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2010

2010-01-01

The study, "Effectiveness of Selected Supplemental Reading Comprehension Interventions: Impacts on a First Cohort of Fifth-Grade Students," examined the effects of four supplemental reading comprehension curricula: (1) Project CRISS (CReating Independence through Student-owned Strategies), (2) ReadAbout, (3) Read for Real, and (4) Reading for…

Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition Oral Language and Reading Measures Effects on Reading Comprehension in a Referred Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parkin, Jason R.

2018-01-01

Oral language and word reading skills have important effects on reading comprehension. The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition (WIAT-III) measures both skill sets, but little is known about their specific effects on reading comprehension within this battery. Path analysis was used to evaluate the collective effects of reading and…

Why the Simple View of Reading Is Not Simplistic: Unpacking Component Skills of Reading Using a Direct and Indirect Effect Model of Reading (DIER)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Young-Suk Grace

2017-01-01

Pathways of relations of language, cognitive, and literacy skills (i.e., working memory, vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, inference, comprehension monitoring, word reading, and listening comprehension) to reading comprehension were examined by comparing four variations of direct and indirect effects model of reading. Results from 350…

Identifying children with specific reading disabilities from listening and reading discrepancy scores.

PubMed

Spring, C; French, L

1990-01-01

A method of identifying children with specific reading disabilities by identifying discrepancies between their reading and listening comprehension scores was validated with disabled and nondisabled readers in Grades 4, 5, and 6. The method is based on a modification of the reading comprehension subtest of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (Dunn & Markwardt, 1970). In this modification, even-numbered sentences are read by subjects, and odd-numbered sentences are read by the test administrator as subjects listen. The features of this test that reduce demands on working memory, thereby making it suitable for the detection of a discrepancy between reading and listening comprehension in readers with disabilities, are discussed. A significant group-by-modality interaction was obtained. Children with reading disabilities scored significantly lower on reading than on listening comprehension, while nondisabled readers scored slightly higher, but not significantly so, on reading than on listening comprehension. The appropriateness of this method as a substitute for the traditional method, which is based on the detection of a discrepancy between intelligence and reading and which has recently been proscribed in certain school districts, is discussed. Issues concerning the listening comprehension skills of disabled readers are also discussed.

The Design and Development of the Phillips-Patterson Test of Inference Ability in Reading Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, Linda M.

The design and development of a test of inference ability in reading comprehension for grades 6, 7, and 8 (the Phillips-Patterson Test of Inference Ability in Reading Comprehension) are described. After development of a contemporary theoretical framework for the test of inference ability in reading comprehension, the design, item development, and…

Differential Effects of Oral Reading to Improve Comprehension with Severe Learning Disabled and Educable Mentally Handicapped Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, S. Q.; And Others

1983-01-01

Evaluated the effectiveness of oral reading for improving reading comprehension of 11 educable mentally handicapped or severe learning disabled adolescents who answered comprehension questions from a short factual article. Oral reading appeared to improve comprehension among the poorer readers but not for readers with moderately high ability. (JAC)

Reconsidering the Simple View of Reading in an Intriguing Case of Equivalent Models: Commentary on Tunmer and Chapman (2012)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, Richard K.; Herrera, Sarah K.; Spencer, Mercedes; Quinn, Jamie M.

2015-01-01

Recently, Tunmer and Chapman provided an alternative model of how decoding and listening comprehension affect reading comprehension that challenges the simple view of reading. They questioned the simple view's fundamental assumption that oral language comprehension and decoding make independent contributions to reading comprehension by arguing…

The Role of First-Language Listening Comprehension in Second-Language Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edele, Aileen; Stanat, Petra

2016-01-01

Although the simple view of reading and other theories suggest that listening comprehension is an important determinant of reading comprehension, previous research on linguistic transfer has mainly focused on the role of first language (L1) decoding skills in second language (L2) reading. The present study tested the assumption that listening…

An evaluation of reading comprehension of expository text in adults with traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Sohlberg, McKay Moore; Griffiths, Gina G; Fickas, Stephen

2014-05-01

This project was conducted to obtain information about reading problems of adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) with mild-to-moderate cognitive impairments and to investigate how these readers respond to reading comprehension strategy prompts integrated into digital versions of text. Participants from 2 groups, adults with TBI (n = 15) and matched controls (n = 15), read 4 different 500-word expository science passages linked to either a strategy prompt condition or a no-strategy prompt condition. The participants' reading comprehension was evaluated using sentence verification and free recall tasks. The TBI and control groups exhibited significant differences on 2 of the 5 reading comprehension measures: paraphrase statements on a sentence verification task and communication units on a free recall task. Unexpected group differences were noted on the participants' prerequisite reading skills. For the within-group comparison, participants showed significantly higher reading comprehension scores on 2 free recall measures: words per communication unit and type-token ratio. There were no significant interactions. The results help to elucidate the nature of reading comprehension in adults with TBI with mild-to-moderate cognitive impairments and endorse further evaluation of reading comprehension strategies as a potential intervention option for these individuals. Future research is needed to better understand how individual differences influence a person's reading and response to intervention.

Five Minutes a Day to Improve Comprehension Monitoring in Oral Language Contexts: An Exploratory Intervention Study with Prekindergartners from Low-Income Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Young-Suk Grace; Phillips, Beth

2016-01-01

Comprehension monitoring has received substantial attention as a reading comprehension strategy. However, comprehension monitoring is not limited to the reading context, but applies to the oral context for children's listening comprehension, which is a critical foundation for reading comprehension. Therefore, a systematic and explicit…

Comprehending and Recalling from Text: The Role of Motivational and Cognitive Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tarchi, Christian

2017-01-01

The relative contribution of motivational and cognitive factors to reading comprehension might depend on how reading comprehension is measured. The participants in this study were 146 students attending grade 7. Students' reading comprehension of a history text was assessed through three measures, literal comprehension, inferential comprehension,…

The Effects of Oral and Silent Reading on Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schimmel, Naomi; Ness, Molly

2017-01-01

This study examined the effects of reading mode (oral and silent) and text genre (narrative and expository) on fourth graders' reading comprehension. While controlling for prior reading ability of 48 participants, we measured comprehension. Using a repeated measured design, data were analyzed using analysis of covariance, paired t-tests, and…

Independent Reading of CD-ROM Storybooks: Measuring Comprehension with Oral Retellings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearman, Cathy J.

2008-01-01

CD-ROM storybooks may facilitate reading comprehension for students who are struggling with reading comprehension. Therefore, the use of CD-ROM storybooks in the classroom as part of a reading instruction program, literacy center, or for independent reading time could benefit young readers. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR): Improving Secondary Students' Reading Comprehension Skills. Research to Practice Brief: Improving Secondary Education and Transition Services through Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bremer, Christine D.; Vaughn, Sharon; Clapper, Ann T.; Kim, Ae-Hwa

This brief introduces a research-based practice, Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR). This reading comprehension practice, designed to improve secondary students reading comprehension skills, combines two instructional elements: modified reciprocal teaching and cooperative learning or student pairing. In reciprocal teaching, teachers and…

Graphic Novel Comprehension among Learners with Differential Cognitive Styles and Reading Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Simpson W. L.; Miao, Hoyee; Cheng, Rebecca Wing-yi; Yip, Michael Chi Wing

2017-01-01

Learners with poor reading skills are less able to acquire knowledge through text. Graphic novels may enhance reading comprehension skills owing to fewer words, more pictures, and an engaging storyline. This study considered the reading skills of 188 Chinese-English bilingual undergraduates, comparing their reading comprehension performance after…

Effects of the TWA Strategy on Expository Reading Comprehension of Students with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howorth, Sarah; Lopata, Christopher; Thomeer, Marcus; Rodgers, Jonathan

2016-01-01

High-functioning students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been shown to have significant reading comprehension difficulty. This multiple baseline study examined the effect of the think before reading, think while reading, and think after reading (TWA) strategy on expository text comprehension of four boys with ASD. Following baseline,…

Uneven Profiles: Language Minority Learners' Word Reading, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lesaux, Nonie K.; Crosson, Amy C.; Kieffer, Michael J.; Pierce, Margaret

2010-01-01

English reading comprehension skill development was examined in a group of 87 native Spanish-speakers developing English literacy skills, followed from fourth through fifth grade. Specifically, the effects of Spanish (L1) and English (L2) oral language and word reading skills on reading comprehension were investigated. The participants showed…

Comprehension Strategy Instruction for Two Students with Attention-Related Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hedin, Laura R.; Mason, Linda H.; Gaffney, Janet S.

2011-01-01

Many students struggle to maintain the attention needed to comprehend while reading. One 4th-grade student and 5th-grade student, both with poor comprehension and attention-related disabilities, were taught to use a proven systematic reading comprehension strategy, TWA (Think Before Reading, Think While Reading, Think After Reading), when reading…

The Comprehension Problems of Children with Poor Reading Comprehension despite Adequate Decoding: A Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Spencer, Mercedes; Wagner, Richard K

2018-06-01

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the comprehension problems of children who have a specific reading comprehension deficit (SCD), which is characterized by poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding. The meta-analysis included 86 studies of children with SCD who were assessed in reading comprehension and oral language (vocabulary, listening comprehension, storytelling ability, and semantic and syntactic knowledge). Results indicated that children with SCD had deficits in oral language ( d = -0.78, 95% CI [-0.89, -0.68], but these deficits were not as severe as their deficit in reading comprehension ( d = -2.78, 95% CI [-3.01, -2.54]). When compared to reading comprehension age-matched normal readers, the oral language skills of the two groups were comparable ( d = 0.32, 95% CI [-0.49, 1.14]), which suggests that the oral language weaknesses of children with SCD represent a developmental delay rather than developmental deviance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Forgetting the Literal: The Role of Inhibition in Metaphor Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

George, Tim; Wiley, Jennifer

2016-01-01

In order for a person to comprehend metaphoric expressions, do metaphor-irrelevant aspects of literal information need to be inhibited? Previous research using sentence-verification paradigms has found that literal associates take longer to process after reading metaphorical sentences; however, it is problematic to infer inhibition from this…

Testimony: Writing Cooperatively.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sasser, Linda; Cromwell, Carole

A lesson plan and supportive materials for an exercise in reading comprehension and cooperative writing are presented. The exercise is based on a story entitled "Testimony," in which a writer expresses feelings about a boxing match. The lesson plan outlines procedures for presentation of the exercise to the class, for the cooperative teams to…

Differences in the Predictors of Reading Comprehension in First Graders from Low Socio-Economic Status Families with Either Good or Poor Decoding Skills

PubMed Central

Gentaz, Edouard; Sprenger-Charolles, Liliane; Theurel, Anne

2015-01-01

Based on the assumption that good decoding skills constitute a bootstrapping mechanism for reading comprehension, the present study investigated the relative contribution of the former skill to the latter compared to that of three other predictors of reading comprehension (listening comprehension, vocabulary and phonemic awareness) in 392 French-speaking first graders from low SES families. This large sample was split into three groups according to their level of decoding skills assessed by pseudoword reading. Using a cutoff of 1 SD above or below the mean of the entire population, there were 63 good decoders, 267 average decoders and 62 poor decoders. 58% of the variance in reading comprehension was explained by our four predictors, with decoding skills proving to be the best predictor (12.1%, 7.3% for listening comprehension, 4.6% for vocabulary and 3.3% for phonemic awareness). Interaction between group versus decoding skills, listening comprehension and phonemic awareness accounted for significant additional variance (3.6%, 1.1% and 1.0%, respectively). The effects on reading comprehension of decoding skills and phonemic awareness were higher in poor and average decoders than in good decoders whereas listening comprehension accounted for more variance in good and average decoders than in poor decoders. Furthermore, the percentage of children with impaired reading comprehension skills was higher in the group of poor decoders (55%) than in the two other groups (average decoders: 7%; good decoders: 0%) and only 6 children (1.5%) had impaired reading comprehension skills with unimpaired decoding skills, listening comprehension or vocabulary. These results challenge the outcomes of studies on “poor comprehenders” by showing that, at least in first grade, poor reading comprehension is strongly linked to the level of decoding skills. PMID:25793519

Differences in the predictors of reading comprehension in first graders from low socio-economic status families with either good or poor decoding skills.

PubMed

Gentaz, Edouard; Sprenger-Charolles, Liliane; Theurel, Anne

2015-01-01

Based on the assumption that good decoding skills constitute a bootstrapping mechanism for reading comprehension, the present study investigated the relative contribution of the former skill to the latter compared to that of three other predictors of reading comprehension (listening comprehension, vocabulary and phonemic awareness) in 392 French-speaking first graders from low SES families. This large sample was split into three groups according to their level of decoding skills assessed by pseudoword reading. Using a cutoff of 1 SD above or below the mean of the entire population, there were 63 good decoders, 267 average decoders and 62 poor decoders. 58% of the variance in reading comprehension was explained by our four predictors, with decoding skills proving to be the best predictor (12.1%, 7.3% for listening comprehension, 4.6% for vocabulary and 3.3% for phonemic awareness). Interaction between group versus decoding skills, listening comprehension and phonemic awareness accounted for significant additional variance (3.6%, 1.1% and 1.0%, respectively). The effects on reading comprehension of decoding skills and phonemic awareness were higher in poor and average decoders than in good decoders whereas listening comprehension accounted for more variance in good and average decoders than in poor decoders. Furthermore, the percentage of children with impaired reading comprehension skills was higher in the group of poor decoders (55%) than in the two other groups (average decoders: 7%; good decoders: 0%) and only 6 children (1.5%) had impaired reading comprehension skills with unimpaired decoding skills, listening comprehension or vocabulary. These results challenge the outcomes of studies on "poor comprehenders" by showing that, at least in first grade, poor reading comprehension is strongly linked to the level of decoding skills.

Reading Comprehension: A Computerized Intervention with Primary-age Poor Readers.

PubMed

Horne, Joanna Kathryn

2017-05-01

The current study investigates the effectiveness of a computerized reading comprehension programme on the reading accuracy, reading comprehension and reading rate of primary-age poor readers. There is little published literature relating to computerized reading interventions in UK primary schools, and no previous studies have investigated the Comprehension Booster programme. Thirty-eight children (26 boys and 12 girls; aged 6:7 to 11:0) from two schools in East Yorkshire, UK, took part. Half of the participants (the intervention group) undertook the Comprehension Booster programme for a 6-week period, whilst the other half (the control group) continued with their usual teaching. Significant effects of the intervention were found, with increases in reading accuracy and reading comprehension for the intervention group. It is concluded that computerized reading programmes can be effective in improving reading skills, and these are particularly useful for pupils with reading difficulties in disadvantaged areas, where resources are limited and family support in reading is lower. However, such programmes are not a replacement for good teaching, and regular monitoring of children with reading difficulties is required. Further research is necessary to compare the programme used here to other conventional and computerized intervention programmes, using a larger sample. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Involvement of the right hemisphere in reading comprehension: a DTI study

PubMed Central

Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi; Wang, Yingying; Plante, Elena; Holland, Scott K.

2014-01-01

The Simple View of reading emphasizes the critical role of two factors in normal reading skills: word recognition and reading comprehension. The current study aims to identify the anatomical support for aspects of reading performance that fall within these two components. Fractional anisotropy (FA) values were obtained from Diffusion Tensor images in twenty-one typical adolescents and young adults using the Tract Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) method. We focused on the Arcuate Fasciculus (AF) and Inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus (ILF) as fiber tracts that connect regions already implicated in the distributed cortical network for reading. Our results demonstrate dissociation between word-level and narrative-level reading skills: the FA values for both left and right ILF were correlated with measures of word reading, while only the left ILF correlated with reading comprehension scores. FA in the AF, however, correlated only with reading comprehension scores, bilaterally. Correlations with the right AF were particularly robust, emphasizing the contribution of the right hemisphere, especially the frontal lobe, to reading comprehension performance on the particular passage comprehension test used in this study. The anatomical dissociation between these reading skills is supported by the Simple View theory and may shed light on why these two skills dissociate in those with reading disorders. PMID:24909792

Applicability of the Compensatory Encoding Model in Foreign Language Reading: An Investigation with Chinese College English Language Learners

PubMed Central

Han, Feifei

2017-01-01

While some first language (L1) reading models suggest that inefficient word recognition and small working memory tend to inhibit higher-level comprehension processes; the Compensatory Encoding Model maintains that slow word recognition and small working memory do not normally hinder reading comprehension, as readers are able to operate metacognitive strategies to compensate for inefficient word recognition and working memory limitation as long as readers process a reading task without time constraint. Although empirical evidence is accumulated for support of the Compensatory Encoding Model in L1 reading, there is lack of research for testing of the Compensatory Encoding Model in foreign language (FL) reading. This research empirically tested the Compensatory Encoding Model in English reading among Chinese college English language learners (ELLs). Two studies were conducted. Study one focused on testing whether reading condition varying time affects the relationship between word recognition, working memory, and reading comprehension. Students were tested on a computerized English word recognition test, a computerized Operation Span task, and reading comprehension in time constraint and non-time constraint reading. The correlation and regression analyses showed that the strength of association was much stronger between word recognition, working memory, and reading comprehension in time constraint than that in non-time constraint reading condition. Study two examined whether FL readers were able to operate metacognitive reading strategies as a compensatory way of reading comprehension for inefficient word recognition and working memory limitation in non-time constraint reading. The participants were tested on the same computerized English word recognition test and Operation Span test. They were required to think aloud while reading and to complete the comprehension questions. The think-aloud protocols were coded for concurrent use of reading strategies, classified into language-oriented strategies, content-oriented strategies, re-reading, pausing, and meta-comment. The correlation analyses showed that while word recognition and working memory were only significantly related to frequency of language-oriented strategies, re-reading, and pausing, but not with reading comprehension. Jointly viewed, the results of the two studies, complimenting each other, supported the applicability of the Compensatory Encoding Model in FL reading with Chinese college ELLs. PMID:28522984

Applicability of the Compensatory Encoding Model in Foreign Language Reading: An Investigation with Chinese College English Language Learners.

PubMed

Han, Feifei

2017-01-01

While some first language (L1) reading models suggest that inefficient word recognition and small working memory tend to inhibit higher-level comprehension processes; the Compensatory Encoding Model maintains that slow word recognition and small working memory do not normally hinder reading comprehension, as readers are able to operate metacognitive strategies to compensate for inefficient word recognition and working memory limitation as long as readers process a reading task without time constraint. Although empirical evidence is accumulated for support of the Compensatory Encoding Model in L1 reading, there is lack of research for testing of the Compensatory Encoding Model in foreign language (FL) reading. This research empirically tested the Compensatory Encoding Model in English reading among Chinese college English language learners (ELLs). Two studies were conducted. Study one focused on testing whether reading condition varying time affects the relationship between word recognition, working memory, and reading comprehension. Students were tested on a computerized English word recognition test, a computerized Operation Span task, and reading comprehension in time constraint and non-time constraint reading. The correlation and regression analyses showed that the strength of association was much stronger between word recognition, working memory, and reading comprehension in time constraint than that in non-time constraint reading condition. Study two examined whether FL readers were able to operate metacognitive reading strategies as a compensatory way of reading comprehension for inefficient word recognition and working memory limitation in non-time constraint reading. The participants were tested on the same computerized English word recognition test and Operation Span test. They were required to think aloud while reading and to complete the comprehension questions. The think-aloud protocols were coded for concurrent use of reading strategies, classified into language-oriented strategies, content-oriented strategies, re-reading, pausing, and meta-comment. The correlation analyses showed that while word recognition and working memory were only significantly related to frequency of language-oriented strategies, re-reading, and pausing, but not with reading comprehension. Jointly viewed, the results of the two studies, complimenting each other, supported the applicability of the Compensatory Encoding Model in FL reading with Chinese college ELLs.

The Comprehension Problems for Second-Language Learners with Poor Reading Comprehension despite Adequate Decoding: A Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Spencer, Mercedes; Wagner, Richard K.

2016-01-01

We conducted a meta-analysis of 16 existing studies to examine the nature of the comprehension problems for children who were second-language learners with poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding. Results indicated that these children had deficits in oral language (d = −0.80), but these deficits were not as severe as their reading comprehension deficit (d = −2.47). Second-language learners also had weaker oral language skills compared to native-speaking children regardless of comprehension status (d = −0.84). We discuss theoretical and practical implications of the finding that second-language learners who are poor at reading comprehension despite adequate decoding have deficits in oral language but the deficit is not sufficient to explain their deficit in reading comprehension. PMID:28461711

The Comprehension Problems for Second-Language Learners with Poor Reading Comprehension despite Adequate Decoding: A Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Spencer, Mercedes; Wagner, Richard K

2017-05-01

We conducted a meta-analysis of 16 existing studies to examine the nature of the comprehension problems for children who were second-language learners with poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding. Results indicated that these children had deficits in oral language ( d = -0.80), but these deficits were not as severe as their reading comprehension deficit ( d = -2.47). Second-language learners also had weaker oral language skills compared to native-speaking children regardless of comprehension status ( d = -0.84). We discuss theoretical and practical implications of the finding that second-language learners who are poor at reading comprehension despite adequate decoding have deficits in oral language but the deficit is not sufficient to explain their deficit in reading comprehension.

The Impact of a Close Reading Approach on the Comprehension Level of English I Students at Wavers High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janus, Tina Marie

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact a close reading approach had on the reading comprehension levels of twelve English I students. Studies in literacy theory have suggested that students' reading comprehension levels improve with the use of reading strategies. As part of a larger body of research concerning reading instruction for…

Deep Reading, Cost/Benefit, and the Construction of Meaning: Enhancing Reading Comprehension and Deep Learning in Sociology Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Judith C.; Roberts, Keith A.

2008-01-01

Reading comprehension skill is often assumed by sociology instructors, yet many college students seem to have marginal reading comprehension skills, which may explain why fewer than half of them are actually doing the reading. Sanctions that force students to either read or to pay a price are based on a rational choice model of behavior--a…

Interruptions disrupt reading comprehension.

PubMed

Foroughi, Cyrus K; Werner, Nicole E; Barragán, Daniela; Boehm-Davis, Deborah A

2015-06-01

Previous research suggests that being interrupted while reading a text does not disrupt the later recognition or recall of information from that text. This research is used as support for Ericsson and Kintsch's (1995) long-term working memory (LT-WM) theory, which posits that disruptions while reading (e.g., interruptions) do not impair subsequent text comprehension. However, to fully comprehend a text, individuals may need to do more than recognize or recall information that has been presented in the text at a later time. Reading comprehension often requires individuals to connect and synthesize information across a text (e.g., successfully identifying complex topics such as themes and tones) and not just make a familiarity-based decision (i.e., recognition). The goal for this study was to determine whether interruptions while reading disrupt reading comprehension when the questions assessing comprehension require participants to connect and synthesize information across the passage. In Experiment 1, interruptions disrupted reading comprehension. In Experiment 2, interruptions disrupted reading comprehension but not recognition of information from the text. In Experiment 3, the addition of a 15-s time-out prior to the interruption successfully removed these negative effects. These data suggest that the time it takes to process the information needed to successfully comprehend text when reading is greater than that required for recognition. Any interference (e.g., an interruption) that occurs during the comprehension process may disrupt reading comprehension. This evidence supports the need for transient activation of information in working memory for successful text comprehension and does not support LT-WM theory. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

A Look at Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Etten, Glen

1978-01-01

Reviewed are the literature and research on reading comprehension with elementary aged learning disabled and normal children as well as two specific programs designed to develop reading comprehension skills. (DB)

Instruction in metacognitive strategies to increase deaf and hard-of-hearing students' reading comprehension.

PubMed

Benedict, Kendra M; Rivera, Maria C; Antia, Shirin D

2015-01-01

The purpose of this intervention study was to examine the use of a metacognitive strategy--the Comprehension, Check, and Repair Strategy--on strategic reading behavior, nonstrategic reading behavior, and reading comprehension of students who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH). A multiple baseline design was used across 3 teacher-student dyads. Frequency data were collected on students' strategic reading behavior. Reading comprehension was assessed by counting the number of details the students retold after reading a content area passage. Results showed (a) an increase in strategic reading behavior for Students A, B, and C; and (b) an increase in reading comprehension for Student A, and possibly for Student B. Social validity data indicated high acceptability of the intervention. Teachers not only continued to use the strategy with their students after the study ended but also introduced it to other students with whom they worked. Instruction in metacognitive strategies to increase strategic reading behavior may be an effective means by which to increase reading comprehension for D/HH students. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Improving Reading Comprehension in Reading and Listening Settings: The Effect of Two Training Programmes Focusing on Metacognition and Working Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carretti, Barbara; Caldarola, Nadia; Tencati, Chiara; Cornoldi, Cesare

2014-01-01

Background: Metacognition and working memory (WM) have been found associated with success in reading comprehension, but no studies have examined their combined effect on the training of reading comprehension. Another open question concerns the role of listening comprehension: In particular, it is not clear whether training to improve reading…

Cross-Cultural Reading Comprehension Assessment in Malay and English as It Relates to the Dagostino-Carifio Model of Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dagostino, Lorraine; Carifio, James; Bauer, Jennifer D. C.; Zhao, Qing

2013-01-01

The review of existing literature suggests that few researchers have adopted cross-language comparisons to explore how cultural background affects the assessment of reading comprehension of students. In this present study, the researchers independently reviewed and rated all the items of two reading comprehension tests translated from Malay into…

Reading Comprehension Strategies in Secondary Content Area Classrooms: Teacher Use of and Attitudes towards Reading Comprehension Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ness, Molly K.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this mixed methodology study was to identify the frequency of reading comprehension instruction in middle and high school social studies and science classrooms. An additional purpose was to explore teachers' perceptions of and beliefs about the need for reading comprehension instruction. In 2,400 minutes of direct classroom…

Comparison of the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Text Previewing and Preteaching Keywords as Small-Group Reading Comprehension Strategies with Middle-School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burns, Matthew K.; Hodgson, Jennifer; Parker, David C.; Fremont, Kathryn

2011-01-01

Reading instruction for middle- and high-school students is focused on vocabulary and comprehension, yet research suggests that comprehension skills among these students are alarmingly low. Small-group reading interventions are becoming more prevalent in schools, but there are few studies regarding small-group reading comprehension interventions.…

The Effect of Reading Comprehension and Problem Solving Strategies on Classifying Elementary 4th Grade Students with High and Low Problem Solving Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ulu, Mustafa

2017-01-01

In this study, the effect of fluent reading (speed, reading accuracy percentage, prosodic reading), comprehension (literal comprehension, inferential comprehension) and problem solving strategies on classifying students with high and low problem solving success was researched. The sampling of the research is composed of 279 students at elementary…

Improving 4th Grade Primary School Students' Reading Comprehension Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

EMC[superscript 2] = Comprehension: A Reading Strategy Instruction Framework for All Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klapwijk, Nanda M.

2015-01-01

Comprehension is a critical part of the reading process, and yet learners continue to struggle with it and teachers continue to neglect it in their teaching. Many reasons exist for the lack of focus on reading comprehension instruction, but for the most part, teachers simply do not seem to view comprehension as part of the reading process, are not…

Learning disabled and average readers' working memory and comprehension: does metacognition play a role?

PubMed

Swanson, H L; Trahan, M

1996-09-01

The present study investigates (a) whether learning disabled readers' working memory deficits that underlie poor reading comprehension are related to a general system, and (b) whether metacognition contributes to comprehension beyond what is predicted by working memory and word knowledge. To this end, performance between learning and disabled (N = 60) and average readers (N = 60) was compared on the reading comprehension, reading rate, and vocabulary subtests of the Nelson Skills Reading Test, Sentence Span test composed of high and low imagery words, and a Metacognitive Questionnaire. As expected, differences between groups in working memory, vocabulary, and reading measures emerged, whereas ability groups were statistically comparable on the Metacognitive Questionnaire. A within-group analysis indicated that the correlation patterns between working memory, vocabulary, metacognition, and reading comprehension were not the same between ability groups. For predicting reading comprehension, the metacognitive questionnaire best predicted learning disabled readers' performance, whereas the working memory span measure that included low-imagery words best predicted average achieving readers' comprehension. Overall, the results suggest that the relationship between learning disabled readers' generalised working memory deficits and poor reading comprehension may be mediated by metacognition.

Reaction Time Variability Associated with Reading Skills in Poor Readers with ADHD

PubMed Central

Tamm, Leanne; Epstein, Jeffery N.; Denton, Carolyn A.; Vaughn, Aaron J.; Peugh, James; Willcutt, Erik G.

2014-01-01

Objective Linkages between neuropsychological functioning (i.e., response inhibition, processing speed, reaction time variability) and word reading have been documented among children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and children with Reading Disorders. However, associations between neuropsychological functioning and other aspects of reading (i.e., fluency, comprehension) have not been well-documented among children with comorbid ADHD and Reading Disorder. Method Children with ADHD and poor word reading (i.e., ≤25th percentile) completed a stop signal task (SST) and tests of word reading, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Multivariate multiple regression was conducted predicting the reading skills from SST variables [i.e., mean reaction time (MRT), reaction time standard deviation (SDRT), and stop signal reaction time (SSRT)]. Results SDRT predicted word reading, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. MRT and SSRT were not associated with any reading skill. After including word reading in models predicting reading fluency and reading comprehension, the effects of SDRT were minimized. Discussion Reaction time variability (i.e., SDRT) reflects impairments in information processing and failure to maintain executive control. The pattern of results from this study suggest SDRT exerts its effects on reading fluency and reading comprehension through its effect on word reading (i.e., decoding) and that this relation may be related to observed deficits in higher-level elements of reading. PMID:24528537

Characterization and improvement of RNA-Seq precision in quantitative transcript expression profiling.

PubMed

Łabaj, Paweł P; Leparc, Germán G; Linggi, Bryan E; Markillie, Lye Meng; Wiley, H Steven; Kreil, David P

2011-07-01

Measurement precision determines the power of any analysis to reliably identify significant signals, such as in screens for differential expression, independent of whether the experimental design incorporates replicates or not. With the compilation of large-scale RNA-Seq datasets with technical replicate samples, however, we can now, for the first time, perform a systematic analysis of the precision of expression level estimates from massively parallel sequencing technology. This then allows considerations for its improvement by computational or experimental means. We report on a comprehensive study of target identification and measurement precision, including their dependence on transcript expression levels, read depth and other parameters. In particular, an impressive recall of 84% of the estimated true transcript population could be achieved with 331 million 50 bp reads, with diminishing returns from longer read lengths and even less gains from increased sequencing depths. Most of the measurement power (75%) is spent on only 7% of the known transcriptome, however, making less strongly expressed transcripts harder to measure. Consequently, <30% of all transcripts could be quantified reliably with a relative error<20%. Based on established tools, we then introduce a new approach for mapping and analysing sequencing reads that yields substantially improved performance in gene expression profiling, increasing the number of transcripts that can reliably be quantified to over 40%. Extrapolations to higher sequencing depths highlight the need for efficient complementary steps. In discussion we outline possible experimental and computational strategies for further improvements in quantification precision. rnaseq10@boku.ac.at

Calibration of Comprehension and Performance in L2 Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarac, Seda; Tarhan, Betul

2009-01-01

Comprehension monitoring is crucial for successful reading. Although the researchers appreciate the importance of comprehension monitoring in L2 reading, there are only a few studies done on the comprehension monitoring ability of L2 readers. The main aim of this study was to investigate the comprehension monitoring abilities of university…

Effects of Wide Reading vs. Repeated Readings on Struggling College Readers' Comprehension Monitoring Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ari, Omer

2009-01-01

Fluency instruction has had limited effects on reading comprehension relative to reading rate and prosodic reading (Dowhower, 1987; Herman, 1985; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000a). More specific components (i.e., error detection) of comprehension may yield larger effects through exposure to a wider range of materials…

Effectiveness of Selected Supplemental Reading Comprehension Interventions: Impacts on a First Cohort of Fifth-Grade Students. NCEE 2009-4032

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James-Burdumy, Susanne; Mansfield, Wendy; Deke, John; Carey, Nancy; Lugo-Gil, Julieta; Hershey, Alan; Douglas, Aaron; Gersten, Russell; Newman-Gonchar, Rebecca; Dimino, Joseph; Faddis, Bonnie

2009-01-01

This document reports on the impacts on student achievement for four supplemental reading curricula that use similar overlapping instructional strategies designed to improve reading comprehension in social studies and science text. Fifth-grade reading comprehension for each of three commercially-available curricula (Project CRISS, ReadAbout, and…

Assessing Reading Comprehension in Adolescent Low Achievers: Subskills Identification and Task Specificity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Steensel, Roel; Oostdam, Ron; van Gelderen, Amos

2013-01-01

On the basis of a validation study of a new test for assessing low-achieving adolescents' reading comprehension skills--the SALT-reading--we analyzed two issues relevant to the field of reading test development. Using the test results of 200 seventh graders, we examined the possibility of identifying reading comprehension subskills and the effects…

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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 second and 974 third graders. Results found a significant relationship between error rate, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension performance, and…

The Effects of an Intensive Reading Intervention for Ninth Graders with Very Low Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solís, Michael; Vaughn, Sharon; Scammacca, Nancy

2015-01-01

This experimental study examined the efficacy of a multicomponent reading intervention compared to a control condition on the reading comprehension of adolescent students with low reading comprehension (more than 1½ standard deviations below normative sample). Ninth-grade students were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 25) and comparison (n =…

Relations among Personal Initiative and the Development of Reading Strategy Knowledge and Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warner, Greta J.; Fay, Doris; Spörer, Nadine

2017-01-01

Reading comprehension is a self-regulated activity that depends on the proactive effort of the reader. Therefore, the authors studied the effects of personal initiative (PI) on the development of reading comprehension, mediated by reading strategy knowledge. Structural equation modelling was applied to a longitudinal study with two data waves…

Progressive Achievement Tests in Reading: Comprehension & Vocabulary. Teacher's Handbook. Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Australian Council for Educational Research, Hawthorn.

The teacher handbook for Progressive Achievement Tests (PATs) in Reading presents an overall description of these survey tests in reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge for school years 3 to 9. There are two alternative forms of each test: (1) the Reading Comprehension tests are designed to measure two major aspects of reading skills…

Bringing Together Reading and Writing: An Experimental Study of Writing Intensive Reading Comprehension in Low-Performing Urban Elementary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, James L.; Lee, Jaekyung; Fox, Jeffery D.; Madigan, Timothy P.

2017-01-01

This study examined the hypothesis that assisted writing during reading improves reading comprehension. The hypothesis was derived from sociocognitive and constructivist theory and research and implemented in the form of a curricular intervention called Writing Intensive Reading Comprehension after its main feature of bringing together reading…

The Effect of Summary Writing on Reading Comprehension: The Role of Mediation in EFL Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gao, Yang

2013-01-01

Reading teachers focus more on the instruction of reading content or strategies, but pay relatively less attention to the impact of writing on reading comprehension. Based on mediation theory, the author examined the effect of summary writing about reading texts on readers' comprehension. By reviewing relevant literatures on the topic of…

Roles of Morphological Awareness in the Reading Comprehension of Spanish-Speaking Language Minority Learners: Exploring Partial Mediation by Vocabulary and Reading Fluency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kieffer, Michael J.; Biancarosa, Gina; Mancilla-Martinez, Jeannette

2013-01-01

This study investigated the direct and indirect roles of morphological awareness reading comprehension for Spanish-speaking language minority learners reading in English. Multivariate path analysis was used to investigate the unique contribution of derivational morphological awareness to reading comprehension as well as its indirect contributions…

Developmental Relations Between Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension: A Latent Change Score Modeling Study

PubMed Central

Quinn, Jamie M.; Wagner, Richard K.; Petscher, Yaacov; Lopez, Danielle

2014-01-01

The present study followed a sample of first grade students (N = 316, mean age = 7.05 at first test) through fourth grade to evaluate dynamic developmental relations between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Using latent change score modeling, competing models were fit to the repeated measurements of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension to test for the presence of leading and lagging influences. Univariate models indicated growth in vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension was determined by two parts: constant yearly change and change proportional to the previous level of the variable. Bivariate models indicated previous levels of vocabulary knowledge acted as leading indicators of reading comprehension growth, but the reverse relation was not found. Implications for theories of developmental relations between vocabulary and reading comprehension are discussed. PMID:25201552

Theory of Mind and Reading Comprehension in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Signing Children

PubMed Central

Holmer, Emil; Heimann, Mikael; Rudner, Mary

2016-01-01

Theory of Mind (ToM) is related to reading comprehension in hearing children. In the present study, we investigated progression in ToM in Swedish deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) signing children who were learning to read, as well as the association of ToM with reading comprehension. Thirteen children at Swedish state primary schools for DHH children performed a Swedish Sign Language (SSL) version of the Wellman and Liu (2004) ToM scale, along with tests of reading comprehension, SSL comprehension, and working memory. Results indicated that ToM progression did not differ from that reported in previous studies, although ToM development was delayed despite age-appropriate sign language skills. Correlation analysis revealed that ToM was associated with reading comprehension and working memory, but not sign language comprehension. We propose that some factor not investigated in the present study, possibly represented by inference making constrained by working memory capacity, supports both ToM and reading comprehension and may thus explain the results observed in the present study. PMID:27375532

Theory of Mind and Reading Comprehension in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Signing Children.

PubMed

Holmer, Emil; Heimann, Mikael; Rudner, Mary

2016-01-01

Theory of Mind (ToM) is related to reading comprehension in hearing children. In the present study, we investigated progression in ToM in Swedish deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) signing children who were learning to read, as well as the association of ToM with reading comprehension. Thirteen children at Swedish state primary schools for DHH children performed a Swedish Sign Language (SSL) version of the Wellman and Liu (2004) ToM scale, along with tests of reading comprehension, SSL comprehension, and working memory. Results indicated that ToM progression did not differ from that reported in previous studies, although ToM development was delayed despite age-appropriate sign language skills. Correlation analysis revealed that ToM was associated with reading comprehension and working memory, but not sign language comprehension. We propose that some factor not investigated in the present study, possibly represented by inference making constrained by working memory capacity, supports both ToM and reading comprehension and may thus explain the results observed in the present study.

Predicting reading comprehension academic achievement in late adolescents with velo-cardio-facial (22q11.2 deletion) syndrome (VCFS): A longitudinal study

PubMed Central

Antshel, Kevin M.; Hier, Bridget O.; Fremont, Wanda; Faraone, Stephen V.; Kates, Wendy R.

2015-01-01

Background The primary objective of the current study was to examine the childhood predictors of adolescent reading comprehension in velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS). Although much research has focused on mathematics skills among individuals with VCFS, no studies have examined predictors of reading comprehension. Methods 69 late adolescents with VCFS , 23 siblings of youth with VCFS and 30 community controls participated in a longitudinal research project and had repeat neuropsychological test batteries and psychiatric evaluations every 3 years. The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – 2nd edition (WIAT-II) Reading Comprehension subtest served as our primary outcome variable. Results Consistent with previous research, children and adolescents with VCFS had mean reading comprehension scores on the WIAT-II which were approximately two standard deviations below the mean and word reading scores approximately one standard deviation below the mean. A more novel finding is that relative to both control groups, individuals with VCFS demonstrated a longitudinal decline in reading comprehension abilities yet a slight increase in word reading abilities. In the combined control sample, WISC-III FSIQ, WIAT-II Word Reading, WISC-III Vocabulary and CVLT-C List A Trial 1 accounted for 75% of the variance in Time 3 WIAT-II Reading Comprehension scores. In the VCFS sample, WISC-III FSIQ, BASC-Teacher Aggression, CVLT-C Intrusions, Tower of London, Visual Span Backwards, WCST non-perseverative errors, WIAT-II Word Reading and WISC-III Freedom from Distractibility index accounted for 85% of the variance in Time 3 WIAT-II Reading Comprehension scores. A principal component analysis with promax rotation computed on the statistically significant Time 1 predictor variables in the VCFS sample resulted in three factors: Word reading decoding / Interference control, Self-Control / Self-Monitoring and Working Memory. Conclusions Childhood predictors of late adolescent reading comprehension in VCFS differ in some meaningful ways from predictors in the non-VCFS population. These results offer some guidance for how best to consider intervention efforts to improve reading comprehension in the VCFS population. PMID:24861691

Mathematics is differentially related to reading comprehension and word decoding: Evidence from a genetically-sensitive design

PubMed Central

Harlaar, Nicole; Kovas, Yulia; Dale, Philip S.; Petrill, Stephen A.; Plomin, Robert

2013-01-01

Although evidence suggests that individual differences in reading and mathematics skills are correlated, this relationship has typically only been studied in relation to word decoding or global measures of reading. It is unclear whether mathematics is differentially related to word decoding and reading comprehension. The current study examined these relationships at both a phenotypic and etiological level in a population-based cohort of 5162 twin pairs at age 12. Multivariate genetic analyses of latent phenotypic factors of mathematics, word decoding and reading comprehension revealed substantial genetic and shared environmental correlations among all three domains. However, the phenotypic and genetic correlations between mathematics and reading comprehension were significantly greater than between mathematics and word decoding. Independent of mathematics, there was also evidence for genetic and nonshared environmental links between word decoding and reading comprehension. These findings indicate that word decoding and reading comprehension have partly distinct relationships with mathematics in the middle school years. PMID:24319294

Mathematics is differentially related to reading comprehension and word decoding: Evidence from a genetically-sensitive design.

PubMed

Harlaar, Nicole; Kovas, Yulia; Dale, Philip S; Petrill, Stephen A; Plomin, Robert

2012-08-01

Although evidence suggests that individual differences in reading and mathematics skills are correlated, this relationship has typically only been studied in relation to word decoding or global measures of reading. It is unclear whether mathematics is differentially related to word decoding and reading comprehension. The current study examined these relationships at both a phenotypic and etiological level in a population-based cohort of 5162 twin pairs at age 12. Multivariate genetic analyses of latent phenotypic factors of mathematics, word decoding and reading comprehension revealed substantial genetic and shared environmental correlations among all three domains. However, the phenotypic and genetic correlations between mathematics and reading comprehension were significantly greater than between mathematics and word decoding. Independent of mathematics, there was also evidence for genetic and nonshared environmental links between word decoding and reading comprehension. These findings indicate that word decoding and reading comprehension have partly distinct relationships with mathematics in the middle school years.

Reading skills of students with speech sound disorders at three stages of literacy development.

PubMed

Skebo, Crysten M; Lewis, Barbara A; Freebairn, Lisa A; Tag, Jessica; Avrich Ciesla, Allison; Stein, Catherine M

2013-10-01

The relationship between phonological awareness, overall language, vocabulary, and nonlinguistic cognitive skills to decoding and reading comprehension was examined for students at 3 stages of literacy development (i.e., early elementary school, middle school, and high school). Students with histories of speech sound disorders (SSD) with and without language impairment (LI) were compared to students without histories of SSD or LI (typical language; TL). In a cross-sectional design, students ages 7;0 (years;months) to 17;9 completed tests that measured reading, language, and nonlinguistic cognitive skills. For the TL group, phonological awareness predicted decoding at early elementary school, and overall language predicted reading comprehension at early elementary school and both decoding and reading comprehension at middle school and high school. For the SSD-only group, vocabulary predicted both decoding and reading comprehension at early elementary school, and overall language predicted both decoding and reading comprehension at middle school and decoding at high school. For the SSD and LI group, overall language predicted decoding at all 3 literacy stages and reading comprehension at early elementary school and middle school, and vocabulary predicted reading comprehension at high school. Although similar skills contribute to reading across the age span, the relative importance of these skills changes with children's literacy stages.

Reading Skills of Students With Speech Sound Disorders at Three Stages of Literacy Development

PubMed Central

Skebo, Crysten M.; Lewis, Barbara A.; Freebairn, Lisa A.; Tag, Jessica; Ciesla, Allison Avrich; Stein, Catherine M.

2015-01-01

Purpose The relationship between phonological awareness, overall language, vocabulary, and nonlinguistic cognitive skills to decoding and reading comprehension was examined for students at 3 stages of literacy development (i.e., early elementary school, middle school, and high school). Students with histories of speech sound disorders (SSD) with and without language impairment (LI) were compared to students without histories of SSD or LI (typical language; TL). Method In a cross-sectional design, students ages 7;0 (years; months) to 17;9 completed tests that measured reading, language, and nonlinguistic cognitive skills. Results For the TL group, phonological awareness predicted decoding at early elementary school, and overall language predicted reading comprehension at early elementary school and both decoding and reading comprehension at middle school and high school. For the SSD-only group, vocabulary predicted both decoding and reading comprehension at early elementary school, and overall language predicted both decoding and reading comprehension at middle school and decoding at high school. For the SSD and LI group, overall language predicted decoding at all 3 literacy stages and reading comprehension at early elementary school and middle school, and vocabulary predicted reading comprehension at high school. Conclusion Although similar skills contribute to reading across the age span, the relative importance of these skills changes with children’s literacy stages. PMID:23833280

Longitudinal Stability in Reading Comprehension Is Largely Heritable from Grades 1 to 6

PubMed Central

Soden, Brooke; Christopher, Micaela E.; Hulslander, Jacqueline; Olson, Richard K.; Cutting, Laurie; Keenan, Janice M.; Thompson, Lee A.; Wadsworth, Sally J.; Willcutt, Erik G.; Petrill, Stephen A.

2015-01-01

Reading comprehension is a foundational academic skill and significant attention has focused on reading development. This report is the first to examine the stability and change in genetic and environmental influences on reading comprehension across Grades 1 to 6. This developmental range is particularly important because it encompasses the timespan in which most children move from learning how to read to using reading for learning. Longitudinal simplex models were fitted separately for two independent twin samples (N = 706; N = 976). Results suggested that the shared environment contributed to variance in early but not later reading. Instead, stability in reading development was largely mediated by continuous genetic influences. Thus, although reading is clearly a learned skill and the environment remains important for reading development, individual differences in reading comprehension appear to be also influenced by a core of genetic stability that persists through the developmental course of reading. PMID:25602760

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

PubMed

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.

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

PubMed

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.

The Role of Word Recognition, Oral Reading Fluency and Listening Comprehension in the Simple View of Reading: A Study in an Intermediate Depth Orthography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cadime, Irene; Rodrigues, Bruna; Santos, Sandra; Viana, Fernanda Leopoldina; Chaves-Sousa, Séli; do Céu Cosme, Maria; Ribeiro, Iolanda

2017-01-01

Empirical research has provided evidence for the simple view of reading across a variety of orthographies, but the role of oral reading fluency in the model is unclear. Moreover, the relative weight of listening comprehension, oral reading fluency and word recognition in reading comprehension seems to vary across orthographies and schooling years.…

The Structure of Oral Language and Reading and Their Relation to Comprehension in Kindergarten through Grade 2

PubMed Central

Foorman, Barbara R.; Herrera, Sarah; Petscher, Yaacov; Mitchell, Alison; Truckenmiller, Adrea

2016-01-01

This study examined the structure of oral language and reading and their relation to comprehension from a latent variable modeling perspective in Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2. Participants were students in Kindergarten (n = 218), Grade 1 (n = 372), and Grade 2 (n = 273), attending Title 1 schools. Students were administered phonological awareness, syntax, vocabulary, listening comprehension, and decoding fluency measures in mid-year. Outcome measures included a listening comprehension measure in Kindergarten and a reading comprehension test in Grades1 and 2. In Kindergarten, oral language (consisting of listening comprehension, syntax, and vocabulary) shared variance with phonological awareness in predicting a listening comprehension outcome. However, in Grades 1 and 2, phonological awareness was no longer predictive of reading comprehension when decoding fluency and oral language were included in the model. In Grades 1 and 2, oral language and decoding fluency were significant predictors of reading comprehension. PMID:27660395

The Relations Among Oral and Silent Reading Fluency and Comprehension in Middle School: Implications for Identification and Instruction of Students With Reading Difficulties

PubMed Central

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

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relations among oral and silent reading fluency and reading comprehension for students in Grades 6 to 8 (n = 1,421) and the use of fluency scores to identify middle school students who are at risk for failure on a high-stakes reading test. Results indicated moderate positive relations between measures of fluency and comprehension. Oral reading fluency (ORF) on passages was more strongly related to reading comprehension than ORF on word lists. A group-administered silent reading sentence verification test approximated the classification accuracy of individually administered ORF passages. The correlation between a maze task and comprehension was weaker than has been reported for elementary students. The best predictor of a high-stakes reading comprehension test was the previous year’s administration of the grade-appropriate test; fluency and verbal knowledge measures accounted for only small amounts of unique variance beyond that accounted for by the previous year’s administration. PMID:21637727

The relevance of receptive vocabulary in reading comprehension.

PubMed

Nalom, Ana Flávia de Oliveira; Soares, Aparecido José Couto; Cárnio, Maria Silvia

2015-01-01

To characterize the performance of students from the 5th year of primary school, with and without indicatives of reading and writing disorders, in receptive vocabulary and reading comprehension of sentences and texts, and to verify possible correlations between both. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the institution (no. 098/13). Fifty-two students in the 5th year from primary school, with and without indicatives of reading and writing disorders, and from two public schools participated in this study. After signing the informed consent and having a speech therapy assessment for the application of inclusion criteria, the students were submitted to a specific test for standardized evaluation of receptive vocabulary and reading comprehension. The data were studied using statistical analysis through the Kruskal-Wallis test, analysis of variance techniques, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient with level of significance to be 0.05. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (was constructed in which reading comprehension was considered as gold standard. The students without indicatives of reading and writing disorders presented a better performance in all tests. No significant correlation was found between the tests that evaluated reading comprehension in either group. A correlation was found between reading comprehension of texts and receptive vocabulary in the group without indicatives. In the absence of indicatives of reading and writing disorders, the presence of a good range of vocabulary highly contributes to a proficient reading comprehension of texts.

A Modified Delphi to Identify the Significant Works Pertaining to the Understanding of Reading Comprehension and Content Analysis of the Identified Works

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zunker, Norma D.; Pearce, Daniel L.

2012-01-01

The first part of this study explored the significant works pertaining to the understanding of reading comprehension using a Modified Delphi Method. A panel of reading comprehension experts identified 19 works they considered to be significant to the understanding of reading comprehension. The panel of experts identified the reasons they…

Similar but Different: Differences in Comprehension Diagnosis on the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability and the York Assessment of Reading for Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colenbrander, Danielle; Nickels, Lyndsey; Kohnen, Saskia

2017-01-01

Background: Identifying reading comprehension difficulties is challenging. There are many comprehension tests to choose from, and a child's diagnosis can be influenced by various factors such as a test's format and content and the choice of diagnostic criteria. We investigate these issues with reference to the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability…

Reading Comprehension Strategies: An International Comparison of Teacher Preferences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kissau, Scott; Hiller, Florian

2013-01-01

In response to international concern over poor reading skills among adolescent learners, teachers of these students are encouraged to integrate reading comprehension instruction into their classrooms. To increase the likelihood that reading comprehension strategies are effectively used in schools, teachers in all content areas need extensive…

Executive Dysfunction among Children with Reading Comprehension Deficits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Locascio, Gianna; Mahone, E. Mark; Eason, Sarah H.; Cutting, Laurie E.

2010-01-01

Emerging research supports the contribution of executive function (EF) to reading comprehension; however, a unique pattern has not been established for children who demonstrate comprehension difficulties despite average word recognition ability (specific reading comprehension deficit; S-RCD). To identify particular EF components on which children…

Decoding and Reading Comprehension: A Meta-Analysis to Identify Which Reader and Assessment Characteristics Influence the Strength of the Relationship in English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

García, J. Ricardo; Cain, Kate

2014-01-01

The twofold purpose of this meta-analysis was to determine the relative importance of decoding skills to reading comprehension in reading development and to identify which reader characteristics and reading assessment characteristics contribute to differences in the decoding and reading comprehension correlation. A meta-analysis of 110 studies…

Delayed Effects of a Low-Cost and Large-Scale Summer Reading Intervention on Elementary School Children's Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, James S.; Guryan, Jonathan; White, Thomas G.; Quinn, David M.; Capotosto, Lauren; Kingston, Helen Chen

2016-01-01

To improve the reading comprehension outcomes of children in high-poverty schools, policymakers need to identify reading interventions that show promise of effectiveness at scale. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a low-cost and large-scale summer reading intervention that provided comprehension lessons at the end of the school year and…

The Effects of Repeated Readings and Attentional Cues on the Reading Fluency and Comprehension of Learning Disabled Readers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Shea, Lawrence J.; And Others

1987-01-01

Effects of having 32 learning disabled elementary grade students read passages orally one, three, or seven times with instructions to work for either fluency or comprehension were analyzed. Both fluency and comprehension improved with the number of readings with the greatest improvement being between one and three readings. Attentional cues…

Readers in Adult Basic Education.

PubMed

Barnes, Adrienne E; Kim, Young-Suk; Tighe, Elizabeth L; Vorstius, Christian

The present study explored the reading skills of a sample of 48 adults enrolled in a basic education program in northern Florida, United States. Previous research has reported on reading component skills for students in adult education settings, but little is known about eye movement patterns or their relation to reading skills for this population. In this study, reading component skills including decoding, language comprehension, and reading fluency are reported, as are eye movement variables for connected-text oral reading. Eye movement comparisons between individuals with higher and lower oral reading fluency revealed within- and between-subject effects for word frequency and word length as well as group and word frequency interactions. Bivariate correlations indicated strong relations between component skills of reading, eye movement measures, and both the Test of Adult Basic Education ( Reading subtest) and the Woodcock-Johnson III Diagnostic Reading Battery Passage Comprehension assessments. Regression analyses revealed the utility of decoding, language comprehension, and lexical activation time for predicting achievement on both the Woodcock Johnson III Passage Comprehension and the Test of Adult Basic Education Reading Comprehension.

Improving reading comprehension in reading and listening settings: the effect of two training programmes focusing on metacognition and working memory.

PubMed

Carretti, Barbara; Caldarola, Nadia; Tencati, Chiara; Cornoldi, Cesare

2014-06-01

Metacognition and working memory (WM) have been found associated with success in reading comprehension, but no studies have examined their combined effect on the training of reading comprehension. Another open question concerns the role of listening comprehension: In particular, it is not clear whether training to improve reading comprehension must necessarily be based on processing written material or whether, as suggested in a recent study by Clarke et al. (2010, Psychol. Sci., 21, 1106), a programme based on verbal language could also be effective. The study examined the feasibility of improving text comprehension in school children by comparing the efficacy of two training programmes, both involving metacognition and WM, but one based on listening comprehension, the other on reading comprehension. The study involved a sample of 159 pupils attending eight classes in the fourth and fifth grades (age range 9-11 years). The listening and reading programmes focused on the same abilities/processes strictly related to text comprehension, and particularly metacognitive knowledge and control, WM (per se and in terms of integrating information in a text). The training programmes were implemented by school teachers as part of the class's normal school activities, under the supervision of experts. Their efficacy was compared with the results obtained in an active control group that completed standard text comprehension activities. Our results showed that both the training programmes focusing on specific text comprehension skills were effective in improving the children's achievement, but training in reading comprehension generated greater gains than the listening comprehension programme. Our study suggests that activities focusing specifically on metacognition and WM could foster text comprehension, but the potential benefit is influenced by the training modality, that is, the Reading group obtained greater and longer-lasting improvements than the Active control or Listening groups. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Reading Comprehension Deficits in Adolescents: Addressing Underlying Language Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nippold, Marilyn A.

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to discuss reading comprehension deficits in adolescents in relation to their word reading skills and lexical and syntactic development. Although reading comprehension strategies (e.g., "Find the main idea") are often recommended, it is argued that before these can be effective, students'…

Flow and Reading Comprehension: Testing the Mediating Role of Emotioncy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shahian, Leila; Pishghadam, Reza; Khajavy, Gholam Hassan

2017-01-01

Considering the importance of psychological factors in learners' reading abilities, this study examines the relationship between flow, emotioncy, and reading comprehension. To this end, 238 upper-intermediate and advanced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners were asked to take four tests of reading comprehension along with flow and…

Examining Listening Previewing as a Classwide Strategy to Promote Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkins, Renee O.; Musti-Rao, Shobana; Hale, Andrea D.; McGuire, Shannon; Hailley, Jennifer

2010-01-01

Classwide instructional strategies to improve not only reading fluency but also comprehension and vocabulary knowledge are essential for student reading success. The current study examined the immediate effects of two classwide listening previewing strategies on reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge. Twenty-one, fourth-grade general…

Interactional Scaffolding for Reading Comprehension: A Systematic Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reynolds, Dan

2017-01-01

Understanding how to support student reading comprehension has long been a goal for education research. Yet no existing literature review links interactional scaffolding, defined as the responsive in-person support an expert reader offers to a novice, and reading comprehension. This review employed theories of scaffolding and reading comprehension…

Investigating Patterns of Errors for Specific Comprehension and Fluency Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koriakin, Taylor A.; Kaufman, Alan S.

2017-01-01

Although word reading has traditionally been viewed as a foundational skill for development of reading fluency and comprehension, some children demonstrate "specific" reading comprehension problems, in the context of intact word reading. The purpose of this study was to identify specific patterns of errors associated with reading…

University Students with Poor Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Georgiou, George K.; Das, J. P.

2015-01-01

The present study aimed to examine the nature of the working memory and general cognitive ability deficits experienced by university students with a specific reading comprehension deficit. A total of 32 university students with poor reading comprehension but average word-reading skills and 60 age-word-matched controls with no comprehension…

Cognitive Processing in Oral and Silent Reading Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salasoo, Aita

1986-01-01

Reading rates and comprehension measures that probed recognition of various levels of text structure were collected for passages read orally and silently by 16 college students. Results showed that memory traces of text microstructure created in oral reading were accessed faster during memory-based comprehension tasks than traces established by…

Incremental and Predictive Utility of Formative Assessment Methods of Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marcotte, Amanda M.; Hintze, John M.

2009-01-01

Formative assessment measures are commonly used in schools to assess reading and to design instruction accordingly. The purpose of this research was to investigate the incremental and concurrent validity of formative assessment measures of reading comprehension. It was hypothesized that formative measures of reading comprehension would contribute…

L2 Reading Motivation among Sri Lankan University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dhanapala, Kusumi Vasantha; Hirakawa, Yukiko

2016-01-01

This study investigated the extent of the motivational processes that facilitated the text comprehension among 406 Sri Lankan university students in Sri Lanka. Students' L2 text comprehension and reading motivation were assessed using a reading comprehension test and a reading motivation and attitude questionnaire. The Principal Componential…

Accuracy of the DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency Measure for Predicting Third Grade Reading Comprehension Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roehrig, Alysia D.; Petscher, Yaacov; Nettles, Stephen M.; Hudson, Roxanne F.; Torgesen, Joseph K.

2008-01-01

We evaluated the validity of DIBELS ("Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills") ORF ("Oral Reading Fluency") for predicting performance on the "Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test" (FCAT-SSS) and "Stanford Achievement Test" (SAT-10) reading comprehension measures. The usefulness of previously…

Using E-Readers and Internet Resources to Support Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Sandra; Fugett, April; Caputa, Francine

2013-01-01

The advancements of technology have led to the use of electronic reading systems for digital text. Research indicates similarities and differences in reading performance and comprehension in digital formats compared to paper formats. This study compared vocabulary understanding and reading comprehension scores from two reading sources (electronic…

Providing Independent Reading Comprehension Strategy Practice through Workstations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Chase

2014-01-01

This article describes an action research project undertaken by a second grade teacher looking for research-based ways to increase his students' reading comprehension. He designed fifteen comprehension workstations and evaluated their effect on his second graders' reading comprehension scores as measured by district Imagination Station…

The Effect of Screen Size on Mobile Phone User Comprehension of Health Information and Application Structure: An Experimental Approach.

PubMed

Al Ghamdi, Ebtisam; Yunus, Faisal; Da'ar, Omar; El-Metwally, Ashraf; Khalifa, Mohamed; Aldossari, Bakheet; Househ, Mowafa

2016-01-01

This research analyzes the impact of mobile phone screen size on user comprehension of health information and application structure. Applying experimental approach, we asked randomly selected users to read content and conduct tasks on a commonly used diabetes mobile application using three different mobile phone screen sizes. We timed and tracked a number of parameters, including correctness, effectiveness of completing tasks, content ease of reading, clarity of information organization, and comprehension. The impact of screen size on user comprehension/retention, clarity of information organization, and reading time were mixed. It is assumed on first glance that mobile screen size would affect all qualities of information reading and comprehension, including clarity of displayed information organization, reading time and user comprehension/retention of displayed information, but actually the screen size, in this experimental research, did not have significant impact on user comprehension/retention of the content or on understanding the application structure. However, it did have significant impact on clarity of information organization and reading time. Participants with larger screen size took shorter time reading the content with a significant difference in the ease of reading. While there was no significant difference in the comprehension of information or the application structures, there were a higher task completion rate and a lower number of errors with the bigger screen size. Screen size does not directly affect user comprehension of health information. However, it does affect clarity of information organization, reading time and user's ability to recall information.

Capacity for self-monitoring reading comprehension in Elementary School.

PubMed

Bueno, Gabriela Juliane; Carvalho, Carolina Alves Ferreira; Ávila, Clara Regina Brandão de

2017-06-08

To investigate the capacity for self-monitoring reading comprehension in Brazilian Elementary School students. Fifty-three Elementary students in the 5th and 9th grades from two Public Schools in the city of São Paulo were assessed. They were selected based on their oral reading rate and grouped according to their performance in reading comprehension in the following categories: Group with best comprehension: students with adequate rate and accuracy, without difficulties in reading comprehension; Group with worst comprehension: students with adequate rate and accuracy but with difficulties in reading comprehension. Two narrative texts followed by eight questions to assess reading comprehension were presented. Two sentences and two words were replaced by ungrammatical elements and pseudo-words. Under the condition of spontaneous monitoring, students read the text aloud and answered the questions. The analysis considered the calculation of hesitation, self-correction, repetitions and mistakes. Under the condition of directed monitoring, students were instructed to read the text, either aloud or silently, after being told that certain parts of the text could not make sense, and they were oriented to underline such parts. The analysis was carried out by counting of underlined items. The comparisons were made with the Mann-Whitney test. A difference was observed between the groups only at the sentence level among the 9th grade schoolchildren under the spontaneous monitoring and among the 5th grade schoolchildren under directed monitoring. Students with worst comprehension had a poorer performance to monitor the presence of ungrammatical sentences than their peers with best comprehension.

Speech-language pathology program for reading comprehension and orthography: effects on the spelling of dyslexic individuals.

PubMed

Nogueira, Débora Manzano; Cárnio, Maria Silvia

2018-01-01

Purpose Prepare a Speech-language Pathology Program for Reading Comprehension and Orthography and verify its effects on the reading comprehension and spelling of students with Developmental Dyslexia. Methods The study sample was composed of eleven individuals (eight males), diagnosed with Developmental Dyslexia, aged 09-11 years. All participants underwent a Speech-language Pathology Program in Reading Comprehension and Orthography comprising 16 individual weekly sessions. In each session, tasks of reading comprehension of texts and orthography were developed. At the beginning and end of the Program, the participants were submitted to a specific assessment (pre- and post-test). Results The individuals presented difficulty in reading comprehension, but the Cloze technique proved to be a useful remediation tool, and significant improvement in their performance was observed in the post-test evaluation. The dyslexic individuals showed poor performance for their educational level in the spelling assessment. At the end of the program, their performance evolved, but it remained below the expected, showing the same error pattern at the pre- and post-tests, with errors in both natural and arbitrary spelling. Conclusion The proposed Speech-language Pathology Program for Reading Comprehension and Orthography produced positive effects on the reading comprehension, spelling, and motivation to reading and writing of the participants. This study presents an unprecedented contribution by proposing joint stimulation of reading and writing by means of a program easy to apply and analyze in individuals with Developmental Dyslexia.

Using the Delphi questionnaire technique to create a reading comprehension resource guide for middle school science teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wegner, Molly F.

As students begin middle school, they are expected to possess and apply a wide array of nonfiction reading strategies if they are to comprehend new concepts from nonfiction texts. Although strategies and resource guides for fiction reading are available, an effective nonfiction reading comprehension resource guide tailored to middle school science teachers is lacking. The conceptual framework guiding this study is based on schema theory that supports the use of prior knowledge as a foundation for learning. The purpose of this project study was to address this local problem by providing middle school science teachers with a user-friendly resource for nonfiction reading comprehension strategies in a science context. The research question examined nonfiction reading comprehension strategies that could supplement middle school science teachers' instructional practices to increase student comprehension in science, as reflected on the results of state standardized tests. This project study consulted science and language arts teachers using a Delphi questionnaire technique to achieve a consensus through multiple iterations of questionnaires. Science teachers identified 7 areas of concern as students read nonfiction texts, and language arts teachers suggested effective reading comprehension strategies to address these areas. Based on the consensus of reading comprehension strategies and review of literature, a resource guide for middle school science teachers was created. By improving reading comprehension in content areas, teachers may not only increase student learning, but also underscore the importance of literacy relating to life-long learning through future occupations, academic endeavors, and society as well.

The Impact of Gender, Socioeconomic Status and Home Language on Primary School Children’s Reading Comprehension in KwaZulu-Natal

PubMed Central

Völkel, Gabriela; Seabi, Joseph; Cockcroft, Kate; Goldschagg, Paul

2016-01-01

The current study constituted part of a larger, longitudinal, South African-based study, namely, The Road and Aircraft Noise Exposure on Children’s Cognition and Health (RANCH—South Africa). In the context of a multicultural South Africa and varying demographic variables thereof, this study sought to investigate and describe the effects of gender, socioeconomic status and home language on primary school children’s reading comprehension in KwaZulu-Natal. In total, 834 learners across 5 public schools in the KwaZulu-Natal province participated in the study. A biographical questionnaire was used to obtain biographical data relevant to this study, and the Suffolk Reading Scale 2 (SRS2) was used to obtain reading comprehension scores. The findings revealed that there was no statistical difference between males and females on reading comprehension scores. In terms of socioeconomic status (SES), learners from a low socioeconomic background performed significantly better than those from a high socioeconomic background. English as a First Language (EL1) speakers had a higher mean reading comprehension score than speakers who spoke English as an Additional Language (EAL). Reading comprehension is indeed affected by a variety of variables, most notably that of language proficiency. The tool to measure reading comprehension needs to be standardized and administered in more than one language, which will ensure increased reliability and validity of reading comprehension scores. PMID:26999169

The Impact of Gender, Socioeconomic Status and Home Language on Primary School Children's Reading Comprehension in KwaZulu-Natal.

PubMed

Völkel, Gabriela; Seabi, Joseph; Cockcroft, Kate; Goldschagg, Paul

2016-03-15

The current study constituted part of a larger, longitudinal, South African-based study, namely, The Road and Aircraft Noise Exposure on Children's Cognition and Health (RANCH-South Africa). In the context of a multicultural South Africa and varying demographic variables thereof, this study sought to investigate and describe the effects of gender, socioeconomic status and home language on primary school children's reading comprehension in KwaZulu-Natal. In total, 834 learners across 5 public schools in the KwaZulu-Natal province participated in the study. A biographical questionnaire was used to obtain biographical data relevant to this study, and the Suffolk Reading Scale 2 (SRS2) was used to obtain reading comprehension scores. The findings revealed that there was no statistical difference between males and females on reading comprehension scores. In terms of socioeconomic status (SES), learners from a low socioeconomic background performed significantly better than those from a high socioeconomic background. English as a First Language (EL1) speakers had a higher mean reading comprehension score than speakers who spoke English as an Additional Language (EAL). Reading comprehension is indeed affected by a variety of variables, most notably that of language proficiency. The tool to measure reading comprehension needs to be standardized and administered in more than one language, which will ensure increased reliability and validity of reading comprehension scores.

Language-related values, reading amount, and reading comprehension in students with migration backgrounds.

PubMed

El-Khechen, Wahiba; Ferdinand, Hanna D; Steinmayr, Ricarda; McElvany, Nele

2016-06-01

Although various studies on general language performance have investigated determinants of students' reading comprehension (e.g., reading amount), they have paid insufficient attention to how students perceive parental values influence their language-related values and behaviour - and, as a consequence, their performance. This is particularly the case for bilingual students with a migration background. The present study aims to examine the impact of how students perceive parental values regarding German (attainment, utility, and cost), students' (utility) value of German/Turkish, and students' reading amount in German/Turkish on German reading comprehension. A total of 118 Grade 4 students in Germany with Turkish as their family language. Reading comprehension was measured with a 15-item standardized test. Whereas students' reading amount (German/Turkish) was assessed through students' self-reports on three questions, students' utility value (German/Turkish) and perceived parental values regarding German (attainment, utility, and cost) were each measured with two items. Results of path modelling supported the hypotheses that students' utility value regarding German and their reading amount in German would positively predict their German reading comprehension, whereas their utility value regarding Turkish and their reading amount in Turkish would negatively predict their German reading comprehension. Data also confirmed a direct effect of the negatively perceived parental cost value of German on German reading comprehension. The new evidence is of practical relevance for teachers, educational scientists, and psychologists who are striving to improve the educational outcomes of bilingual students. Further research needs and the significance of the results for educational practice and home environment are discussed. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Differential effects of oral reading to improve comprehension with severe learning disabled and educable mentally handicapped students.

PubMed

Chang, S Q; Williams, R L; McLaughlin, T F

1983-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of oral reading as a teaching technique for improving reading comprehension of 11 Educable Mentally Handicapped or Severe Learning Disabled adolescents. Students were tested on their ability to answer comprehension questions from a short factual article. Comprehension improved following the oral reading for students with a reading grade equivalent of less than 5.5 (measured from the Wide Range Achievement Test) but not for those students having a grade equivalent of greater than 5.5. This association was statistically significant (p = less than .01). Oral reading appeared to improve comprehension among the poorer readers but not for readers with moderately high ability.

Impaired reading comprehension in schizophrenia: evidence for underlying phonological processing deficits.

PubMed

Arnott, Wendy; Sali, Lauren; Copland, David

2011-05-15

The present study examined reading ability in high functioning people with schizophrenia. To this end, 16 people with schizophrenia who were living in the community and 12 matched controls completed tests of passage reading (comprehension, accuracy, and rate), word recognition, and phonological processing (phonological awareness, phonological memory and rapid naming) and ratings of reading self-concept and practices. Performance of the participants with schizophrenia was impaired relative to control participants on reading comprehension and rapid naming and relative to the population norms on phonological awareness, and rapid naming. In addition, self-rating data revealed that participants with schizophrenia had poorer perceptions of their reading ability and engaged in reading activities less frequently than their control counterparts. Consistent with earlier research, significant correlations were found between phonological awareness and reading comprehension. These findings expand on previous research in the area to suggest that community-based individuals with schizophrenia experience problems with reading comprehension that may have a phonological basis. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Differentiated Reading on Elementary Students' Reading Comprehension and Attitudes toward Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaunessy-Dedrick, Elizabeth; Evans, Linda; Ferron, John; Lindo, Myriam

2015-01-01

In this investigation, we examined the effects of a differentiated reading approach on fourth grade students' reading comprehension and attitudes toward reading. Eight Title I schools within one urban district were randomly assigned to treatment (Schoolwide Enrichment Model-Reading [SEM-R]) or control (district reading curriculum) conditions.…

Reading abilities in school-aged preterm children: a review and meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Kovachy, Vanessa N; Adams, Jenna N; Tamaresis, John S; Feldman, Heidi M

2014-01-01

AIM Children born preterm (at ≤32wk) are at risk of developing deficits in reading ability. This meta-analysis aims to determine whether or not school-aged preterm children perform worse than those born at term in single-word reading (decoding) and reading comprehension. METHOD Electronic databases were searched for studies published between 2000 and 2013, which assessed decoding or reading comprehension performance in English-speaking preterm and term-born children aged between 6 years and 13 years, and born after 1990. Standardized mean differences in decoding and reading comprehension scores were calculated. RESULTS Nine studies were suitable for analysis of decoding, and five for analysis of reading comprehension. Random-effects meta-analyses showed that children born preterm had significantly lower scores (reported as Cohen’s d values [d] with 95% confidence intervals [CIs]) than those born at term for decoding (d=−0.42, 95% CI −0.57 to −0.27, p<0.001) and reading comprehension (d=−0.57, 95% CI −0.68 to −0.46, p<0.001). Meta-regressions showed that lower gestational age was associated with larger differences in decoding (Q[1]=5.92, p=0.02) and reading comprehension (Q[1]=4.69, p=0.03) between preterm and term groups. Differences between groups increased with age for reading comprehension (Q[1]=5.10, p=0.02) and, although not significant, there was also a trend for increased group differences for decoding (Q[1]=3.44, p=0.06). INTERPRETATION Preterm children perform worse than peers born at term on decoding and reading comprehension. These findings suggest that preterm children should receive more ongoing monitoring for reading difficulties throughout their education. PMID:25516105

Improving Reading Comprehension by Predicting, Monitoring Comprehension, Remediation, and Personal Response Strategies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobucci, Leanne; Richert, Judy; Ronan, Susan; Tanis, Ariana

This report describes a program for improving inconsistent reading comprehension. The targeted population consisted of first, third, and fifth grade classrooms in a diverse middle class community located in Illinois. The problems of low academic achievement were documented through teacher observation, reading comprehension test scores, and low…

Comprehension of Discourse Markers and Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khatib, Mohamad

2011-01-01

According to many research findings, the presence of discourse markers (DMs) enhances readers' comprehension of the texts they read. However, there is a paucity of research on the relationship between knowledge of DMs and reading comprehension (RC) and the present study explores the relationship between them. Knowledge of DMs is measured through…

Translating Advances in Reading Comprehension Research to Educational Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNamara, Danielle S.; Kendeou, Panayiota

2011-01-01

The authors review five major findings in reading comprehension and their implications for educational practice. First, research suggests that comprehension skills are separable from decoding processes and important at early ages, suggesting that comprehension skills should be targeted early, even before the child learns to read. Second, there is…

Reading Comprehension Requires Knowledge--of Words and the World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hirsch, E. D., Jr.

2003-01-01

The "fourth grade slump" in reading comprehension still exists. Among poor children, low comprehension ruins their chances for academic success. Among all children, comprehension scores are stagnant. Research indicates that key to both problems is systematically building children's vocabulary, fluency, and domain knowledge. To improve reading,…

The contribution of executive skills to reading comprehension.

PubMed

Sesma, Heather Whitney; Mahone, E Mark; Levine, Terry; Eason, Sarah H; Cutting, Laurie E

2009-05-01

Although word recognition deficits (WRD) are a known cause of reading comprehension deficits (RCD), other contributions to RCD, including executive function (EF), have not been fully explored. We examined the contribution of EF (working memory and planning), along with attention, decoding, fluency, and vocabulary to reading comprehension in 60 children (including 16 WRD and 10 RCD), ages 9-15 years. After controlling for commonly accepted contributors to reading comprehension (i.e., attention, decoding skills, fluency, and vocabulary), EF continued to make a significant contribution to reading comprehension but not to word recognition skills. These findings highlight the need for consideration of the role of EF in RCD.

THE CONTRIBUTION OF EXECUTIVE SKILLS TO READING COMPREHENSION

PubMed Central

Sesma, Heather Whitney; Mahone, E. Mark; Levine, Terry; Eason, Sarah H.; Cutting, Laurie E.

2009-01-01

Although word recognition deficits (WRD) are a known cause of reading comprehension deficits (RCD), other contributions to RCD, including executive function (EF), have not been fully explored. We examined the contribution of EF (working memory and planning), along with attention, decoding, fluency, and vocabulary to reading comprehension in 60 children (including 16 WRD and 10 RCD), ages 9–15 years. After controlling for commonly accepted contributors to reading comprehension (i.e., attention, decoding skills, fluency, and vocabulary), EF continued to make a significant contribution to reading comprehension but not to word recognition skills. These findings highlight the need for consideration of the role of EF in RCD. PMID:18629674

The Effects of Visual Attention Span and Phonological Decoding in Reading Comprehension in Dyslexia: A Path Analysis.

PubMed

Chen, Chen; Schneps, Matthew H; Masyn, Katherine E; Thomson, Jennifer M

2016-11-01

Increasing evidence has shown visual attention span to be a factor, distinct from phonological skills, that explains single-word identification (pseudo-word/word reading) performance in dyslexia. Yet, little is known about how well visual attention span explains text comprehension. Observing reading comprehension in a sample of 105 high school students with dyslexia, we used a pathway analysis to examine the direct and indirect path between visual attention span and reading comprehension while controlling for other factors such as phonological awareness, letter identification, short-term memory, IQ and age. Integrating phonemic decoding efficiency skills in the analytic model, this study aimed to disentangle how visual attention span and phonological skills work together in reading comprehension for readers with dyslexia. We found visual attention span to have a significant direct effect on more difficult reading comprehension but not on an easier level. It also had a significant direct effect on pseudo-word identification but not on word identification. In addition, we found that visual attention span indirectly explains reading comprehension through pseudo-word reading and word reading skills. This study supports the hypothesis that at least part of the dyslexic profile can be explained by visual attention abilities. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessing Comprehension During Reading with the Reading Strategy Assessment Tool (RSAT)

PubMed Central

Magliano, Joseph P.; Millis, Keith K.; Levinstein, Irwin

2011-01-01

Comprehension emerges as the results of inference and strategic processes that support the construction of a coherent mental model for a text. However, the vast majority of comprehension skills tests adopt a format that does not afford an assessment of these processes as they operate during reading. This study assessed the viability of the Reading Strategy Assessment Tool (RSAT), which is an automated computer-based reading assessment designed to measure readers’ comprehension and spontaneous use of reading strategies while reading texts. In the tool, readers comprehend passages one sentence at a time, and are asked either an indirect (“What are your thoughts regarding your understanding of the sentence in the context of the passage?”) or direct (e.g., why X?) question after reading each pre-selected target sentence. The answers to the indirect questions are analyzed on the extent that they contain words associated with comprehension processes. The answers to direct questions are coded for the number of content words in common with an ideal answer, which is intended to be an assessment of emerging comprehension. In the study, the RSAT approach was shown to predict measures of comprehension comparable to standardized tests. The RSAT variables were also shown to correlate with human ratings. The results of this study constitute a “proof of concept” and demonstrate that it is possible to develop a comprehension skills assessment tool that assesses both comprehension and comprehension strategies. PMID:23901332

Reading Comprehension Performance of Adolescents with Learning Disabilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snider, Vicki E.

1989-01-01

The study found that instructing 13 learning-disabled junior high students in the necessary prior knowledge (information and vocabulary concepts) led to superior reading comprehension performance. Textually explicit text structure also improved reading comprehension. (DB)

QRAC-the-Code: a comprehension monitoring strategy for middle school social studies textbooks.

PubMed

Berkeley, Sheri; Riccomini, Paul J

2013-01-01

Requirements for reading and ascertaining information from text increase as students advance through the educational system, especially in content-rich classes; hence, monitoring comprehension is especially important. However, this is a particularly challenging skill for many students who struggle with reading comprehension, including students with learning disabilities. A randomized pre-post experimental design was employed to investigate the effectiveness of a comprehension monitoring strategy (QRAC-the-Code) for improving the reading comprehension of 323 students in grades 6 and 7 in inclusive social studies classes. Findings indicated that both general education students and students with learning disabilities who were taught a simple comprehension monitoring strategy improved their comprehension of textbook content compared to students who read independently and noted important points. In addition, students in the comprehension monitoring condition reported using more reading strategies after the intervention. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

To Get Hold of the Wrong End of the Stick: Reasons for Poor Idiom Understanding in Children with Reading Comprehension Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cain, Kate; Towse, Andrea S.

2008-01-01

Purpose: The aim was to identify the source of idiom understanding difficulties in children with specific reading comprehension failure. Method: Two groups (ns = 15) of 9- to 10-year-olds participated. One group had age-appropriate word reading and reading comprehension; the other group had age-appropriate word reading but poor reading…

Language and cognitive predictors of text comprehension: evidence from multivariate analysis.

PubMed

Kim, Young-Suk

2015-01-01

Using data from children in South Korea (N = 145, Mage = 6.08), it was determined how low-level language and cognitive skills (vocabulary, syntactic knowledge, and working memory) and high-level cognitive skills (comprehension monitoring and theory of mind [ToM]) are related to listening comprehension and whether listening comprehension and word reading mediate the relations of language and cognitive skills to reading comprehension. Low-level skills predicted comprehension monitoring and ToM, which in turn predicted listening comprehension. Vocabulary and syntactic knowledge were also directly related to listening comprehension, whereas working memory was indirectly related via comprehension monitoring and ToM. Listening comprehension and word reading completely mediated the relations of language and cognitive skills to reading comprehension. © 2014 The Author. Child Development © 2014 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Examining Associations between Reading Motivation and Inference Generation beyond Reading Comprehension Skill

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clinton, Virginia

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between reading motivation and inference generation while reading. Undergraduate participants (N = 69) read two science articles while thinking aloud, completed a standardized reading comprehension assessment, and self reported their habitual reading motivation. Findings indicate that…

A Dominance Analysis Approach to Determining Predictor Importance in Third, Seventh, and Tenth Grade Reading Comprehension Skills

PubMed Central

Tighe, Elizabeth; Schatschneider, Christopher

2015-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate and rank order by importance the contributions of various cognitive predictors to reading comprehension in third, seventh, and tenth graders. An exploratory factor analysis revealed that for third grade, the best fit was a four-factor solution including Fluency, Verbal Reasoning, Nonverbal Reasoning, and Working Memory factors. For seventh and tenth grade, three-factor solutions with Fluency, Reasoning, and Working Memory factors were the best fit. The three and four-factor models were used in separate dominance analyses for each grade to rank order the factors by predictive importance to reading comprehension. Results indicated that Fluency and Verbal Reasoning were the most important predictors of third grade reading comprehension. For seventh grade, Fluency and Reasoning were the most important predictors. By tenth grade, Reasoning was the most important predictor of reading comprehension. Working Memory was the least predictive of reading comprehension across all grade levels. These results suggest that inferential reasoning skills become an important contributor to reading comprehension at increasing grade levels. PMID:26346315

A Quantile Regression Approach to Understanding the Relations Between Morphological Awareness, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension in Adult Basic Education Students

PubMed Central

Tighe, Elizabeth L.; Schatschneider, Christopher

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the joint and unique contributions of morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge at five reading comprehension levels in Adult Basic Education (ABE) students. We introduce the statistical technique of multiple quantile regression, which enabled us to assess the predictive utility of morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge at multiple points (quantiles) along the continuous distribution of reading comprehension. To demonstrate the efficacy of our multiple quantile regression analysis, we compared and contrasted our results with a traditional multiple regression analytic approach. Our results indicated that morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge accounted for a large portion of the variance (82-95%) in reading comprehension skills across all quantiles. Morphological awareness exhibited the greatest unique predictive ability at lower levels of reading comprehension whereas vocabulary knowledge exhibited the greatest unique predictive ability at higher levels of reading comprehension. These results indicate the utility of using multiple quantile regression to assess trajectories of component skills across multiple levels of reading comprehension. The implications of our findings for ABE programs are discussed. PMID:25351773

[Predictive power of working memory task for reading comprehension: an investigation using reading span test].

PubMed

Morishita, Masanao; Kondo, Hirohito; Ashida, Kayo; Otsuka, Yuki; Osaka, Naoyuki

2007-02-01

This study investigated the crucial factor mediating a correlation between performance of reading span test (RST) and reading comprehension. In the research literature on this issue, one of the remaining controversial points is whether the similarity of sentence processing between RST and comprehension contributes to the correlation. In this study, four RST conditions were created by the combination of two factors: relatedness of stimulus sentences (related or unrelated with each other) and focus of target words (focus or non-focus with respect to sentence meaning). If the correlation is mediated by the similarity of sentence processing, RST performance of related and focus condition, which was most akin to comprehension, would have higher correlation with reading comprehension than other conditions. However, as a result of correlation analysis based on data from ninety-six participants, no such evidence was obtained. On the other hand, RST performance of unrelated conditions that were supposed to strongly require attention control showed significant correlation with reading comprehension. These findings are discussed in terms of the contribution of attention control and short-term memory to performing RST and reading comprehension.

The neural correlates of strategic reading comprehension: cognitive control and discourse comprehension.

PubMed

Moss, Jarrod; Schunn, Christian D; Schneider, Walter; McNamara, Danielle S; Vanlehn, Kurt

2011-09-15

Neuroimaging studies of text comprehension conducted thus far have shed little light on the brain mechanisms underlying strategic learning from text. Thus, the present study was designed to answer the question of what brain areas are active during performance of complex reading strategies. Reading comprehension strategies are designed to improve a reader's comprehension of a text. For example, self-explanation is a complex reading strategy that enhances existing comprehension processes. It was hypothesized that reading strategies would involve areas of the brain that are normally involved in reading comprehension along with areas that are involved in strategic control processes because the readers are intentionally using a complex reading strategy. Subjects were asked to reread, paraphrase, and self-explain three different texts in a block design fMRI study. Activation was found in both executive control and comprehension areas, and furthermore, learning from text was associated with activation in the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC). The authors speculate that the aPFC may play a role in coordinating the internal and external modes of thought that are necessary for integrating new knowledge from texts with prior knowledge. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Utiliser la presse ecrite pour construire son cours (Using the Print Media for Constructing a Course).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Canto, Helene

1991-01-01

Ways in which the French teacher can use print media for language skill development are offered. Classroom techniques for exploiting these texts for instruction in grammar, reading comprehension, writing, and oral expression are presented, including ideas for selecting a variety of authentic materials. (MSE)

Adolescent reading skill and engagement with digital and traditional literacies as predictors of reading comprehension.

PubMed

Duncan, Lynne G; McGeown, Sarah P; Griffiths, Yvonne M; Stothard, Susan E; Dobai, Anna

2016-05-01

This study investigates the concurrent predictors of adolescent reading comprehension (literal, inferential) for fiction and non-fiction texts. Predictors were examined from the cognitive (word identification, reading fluency), psychological (gender), and ecological (print exposure) domains. Print exposure to traditional and digital texts was surveyed using a diary method of reading habits. A cross-sectional sample of 312 students in early (11-13 years) or middle adolescence (14-15 years) participated from a range of SES backgrounds. Word identification emerged as a strong predictor of reading comprehension across adolescence and text genres. Gender effects favouring female students were evident for reading frequency but not for reading skill itself. Reading habits also differed, and comprehension advantages were observed among females for fiction and males for non-fiction. Age effects emerged for reading frequency, which was lower in middle adolescence. Although more time was spent on digital than on traditional texts, traditional extended text reading was the only reading habit to predict inference-making in comprehension and to distinguish skilled from less skilled comprehenders. The theoretical and educational implications of these results are discussed. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Reading comprehension and its underlying components in second-language learners: A meta-analysis of studies comparing first- and second-language learners.

PubMed

Melby-Lervåg, Monica; Lervåg, Arne

2014-03-01

We report a systematic meta-analytic review of studies comparing reading comprehension and its underlying components (language comprehension, decoding, and phonological awareness) in first- and second-language learners. The review included 82 studies, and 576 effect sizes were calculated for reading comprehension and underlying components. Key findings were that, compared to first-language learners, second-language learners display a medium-sized deficit in reading comprehension (pooled effect size d = -0.62), a large deficit in language comprehension (pooled effect size d = -1.12), but only small differences in phonological awareness (pooled effect size d = -0.08) and decoding (pooled effect size d = -0.12). A moderator analysis showed that characteristics related to the type of reading comprehension test reliably explained the variation in the differences in reading comprehension between first- and second-language learners. For language comprehension, studies of samples from low socioeconomic backgrounds and samples where only the first language was used at home generated the largest group differences in favor of first-language learners. Test characteristics and study origin reliably contributed to the variations between the studies of language comprehension. For decoding, Canadian studies showed group differences in favor of second-language learners, whereas the opposite was the case for U.S. studies. Regarding implications, unless specific decoding problems are detected, interventions that aim to ameliorate reading comprehension problems among second-language learners should focus on language comprehension skills.

A New Measure of Reading Habit: Going Beyond Behavioral Frequency

PubMed Central

Schmidt, Fabian T. C.; Retelsdorf, Jan

2016-01-01

Reading habit is considered an important construct in reading research as it serves as a significant predictor of reading achievement. However, there is still no consensus on how to best measure reading habit. In recent research, it has mostly been measured as behavioral frequency; this approach neglects the fact that repeated behavior does not cover the broad content of habitual behavior—such as automaticity and the expression of one’s identity. In this study, we aimed to adapt a 10-item scale on the basis of the Self-Report Habit Index by Verplanken and Orbell (2003) that is comprehensive but still economical for measuring reading habit. It was tested by drawing on a sample of N = 1,418 upper secondary school students. The scale showed good psychometric properties and the internal and external validity was supported. Moreover, the scale predicted reading achievement and decoding speed over and above reading frequency. The implications of an elaborated but still economical way of measuring reading habit are discussed giving new impetus on research on reading habit, challenging conventional approaches of traditional measures. PMID:27660619

Reading Argumentative Texts: Comprehension and Evaluation Goals and Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diakidoy, Irene-Anna N.; Ioannou, Melina C.; Christodoulou, Stelios A.

2017-01-01

The study is situated at the interface between reading comprehension and critical thinking research. Its purpose was to examine the influence of reading goals and argument quality on the comprehension and critical evaluation of argumentative texts. Young adult readers read to comprehend or evaluate texts on two different controversial issues.…

A Comparison of Deaf and Hearing Children's Reading Comprehension Profiles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kyle, Fiona E.; Cain, Kate

2015-01-01

Purpose: Although deaf children typically exhibit severe delays in reading achievement, there is a paucity of research looking at their text-level comprehension skills. We present a comparison of deaf and normally hearing readers' profiles on a commonly used reading comprehension assessment: the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability II. Methods:…

Shadow-Reading Effect on Reading Comprehension: Actualization of Interactive Reading Comprehension: (A Vygotskyan View!)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadeghi, Elahe; Afghari, Akbar; Zarei, Gholam-Reza

2016-01-01

Reading comprehension has been the main concern for second language learners and researchers. Today with rising interests towards Vygotskyan Sociocultural Theory (SCT), attempts have been made to insert Vygotskyan approach into Foreign/Second Language classrooms emphasizing the role of scaffolding and meaningful interactions to promote learners'…

Evaluating Student Comprehension Performance Measured by Oral Reading Fluency and Retell Fluency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGann, Rachel M.

2017-01-01

This dissertation investigated student comprehension and its relationship to oral reading fluency. The DIBELS Next reading assessment was used to determine the relationship between these reading skills. This research also examined the relationship between the two comprehension measures of the DIBELS Next assessment that are identified by the…

Reading Comprehension in Children with Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laws, Glynis; Brown, Heather; Main, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

Two studies aimed to investigate the reading comprehension abilities of 14 readers with Down syndrome aged 6 years 8 months to 13 years relative to those of typically developing children matched on word reading ability, and to investigate how these abilities were associated with reading accuracy, listening comprehension, phonological awareness and…

The Effects of Self-Questioning on Reading Comprehension: A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joseph, Laurice M.; Alber-Morgan, Sheila; Cullen, Jennifer; Rouse, Christina

2016-01-01

The ability to monitor one's own reading comprehension is a critical skill for deriving meaning from text. Self-questioning during reading is a strategy that enables students to monitor their reading comprehension and increases their ability to learn independently. The purpose of this article was to review experimental research studies that…

Investigating a Reading Comprehension Intervention for High School Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reutebuch, Colleen K.; El Zein, Farah; Kyung Kim, Min; Weinberg, Aron N.; Vaughn, Sharon

2015-01-01

We adapted and piloted Collaborative Strategic Reading-High School, a reading comprehension intervention, with three high school students with autism spectrum disorder to investigate its effects on their reading comprehension. Using a nonconcurrent, multiple-baseline design, participants with autism spectrum disorder were paired with a…

A Cognitive View of Reading Comprehension: Implications for Reading Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kendeou, Panayiota; Broek, Paul; Helder, Anne; Karlsson, Josefine

2014-01-01

Our aim in the present paper is to discuss a "cognitive view" of reading comprehension, with particular attention to research findings that have the potential to improve our understanding of difficulties in reading comprehension. We provide an overview of how specific sources of difficulties in inference making, executive functions, and…

Epilogue: Reading Comprehension Is Not a Single Ability--Implications for Assessment and Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kamhi, Alan G.; Catts, Hugh W.

2017-01-01

Purpose: In this epilogue, we review the 4 response articles and highlight the implications of a multidimensional view of reading for the assessment and instruction of reading comprehension. Method: We reiterate the problems with standardized tests of reading comprehension and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of recently developed…

Digital Peers to Help Children's Text Comprehension and Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Yanghee

2013-01-01

Affable Reading Tutor (ART) is an online reading lesson designed for children who are starting to comprehend reading. A digital, human-like character (virtual peer) in ART serves as a peer model that demonstrates the use of the reading comprehension strategy called "questioning" to help improve the learners' comprehension of expository…

Reading and Comprehension Levels in a Sample of Urban, Low-Income Persons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delgado, Cheryl; Weitzel, Marilyn

2013-01-01

Objective: Because health literacy is related to healthcare outcomes, this study looked at reading and comprehension levels in a sample of urban, low-income persons. Design: This was a descriptive exploration of reading comprehension levels, controlled for medical problems that could impact on vision and therefore ability to read. Setting: Ninety…

The Effect of Text-to-Self Reading Strategies on Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cutright, Cathy Arlene

2010-01-01

Middle-school male students currently face a disadvantage in reading comprehension compared to female students. Research suggests the problem is that more male students score below grade level in reading comprehension because they require more cognitive scaffolding. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of text-to-self…

Lexical Threshold Revisited: Lexical Text Coverage, Learners' Vocabulary Size and Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laufer, Batia; Ravenhorst-Kalovski, Geke C.

2010-01-01

We explore the relationship between second language (L2) learners' vocabulary size, lexical text coverage that their vocabulary provides and their reading comprehension. We also conceptualize "adequate reading comprehension" and look for the lexical threshold for such reading in terms of coverage and vocabulary size. Vocabulary size was…

Supporting Social Studies Reading Comprehension with an Electronic Pop-Up Dictionary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fry, Sara Winstead; Gosky, Ross

2008-01-01

This study investigated how middle school students' comprehension was impacted by reading social studies texts online with a pop-up dictionary function for every word in the text. A quantitative counterbalance design was used to determine how 129 middle school students' reading comprehension test scores for the pop-up dictionary reading differed…

Inference Instruction to Support Reading Comprehension for Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Colby; Barnes, Marcia A.

2017-01-01

Making inferences during reading is a critical standards-based skill and is important for reading comprehension. This article supports the improvement of reading comprehension for students with learning disabilities (LD) in upper elementary grades by reviewing what is currently known about inference instruction for students with LD and providing…

A Synthesis of Reading Interventions and Effects on Reading Comprehension Outcomes for Older Struggling Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edmonds, Meaghan S.; Vaughn, Sharon; Wexler, Jade; Reutebuch, Colleen; Cable, Amory; Tackett, Kathryn Klingler; Schnakenberg, Jennifer Wick

2009-01-01

This article reports a synthesis of intervention studies conducted between 1994 and 2004 with older students (Grades 6-12) with reading difficulties. Interventions addressing decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension were included if they measured the effects on reading comprehension. Twenty-nine studies were located and synthesized.…

Learning to Read: Should We Keep Things Simple?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reading Research Quarterly, 2015

2015-01-01

The simple view of reading describes reading comprehension as the product of decoding and listening comprehension and the relative contribution of each to reading comprehension across development. We present a cross-sectional analysis of first, second, and third graders (N = 123-125 in each grade) to assess the adequacy of the basic model.…

Reading comprehension of deaf students in regular education.

PubMed

Luccas, Marcia Regina Zemella; Chiari, Brasília Maria; Goulart, Bárbara Niegia Garcia de

2012-01-01

To evaluate and compare the reading comprehension of deaf students included in regular classrooms of public schools with and without specialized educational support. Observational analytic study with 35 students with sensorineural hearing loss, with and without educational support. All subjects were assessed with the Word Reading Competence Test (WRCT), the Picture-Print Matching Test by Choice (PPMT-C), and the Sentence Reading Comprehension Test (SRCT). In the tests regarding comprehension of words (WRCT and PPMT-C), the results showed no difference in the performance of deaf students who attend and do not attend educational support. Regarding reading comprehension of sentences, the application of the SRCT also did not show differences between the groups of deaf students. A significant correlation was found between age and grade, indicating that the older the students and the higher their educational level, the better their performance in reading sentences. The results indicate that deaf students, regardless of attending educational support, read words better than sentences. There is no difference in reading comprehension between deaf students who receive and do not receive specialized pedagogical monitoring.

The Reading-Writing Connection II: Text Structure and Reading Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schatzberg-Smith, Kathleen

1987-01-01

Distinguishes between macrostructures and microstructures in text, reviews research on the comprehension of text structures, and concludes that both theory and research support the presence of a link between text structure and reading comprehension. (DMM)

Epilogue: Reading Comprehension Is Not a Single Ability-Implications for Assessment and Instruction.

PubMed

Kamhi, Alan G; Catts, Hugh W

2017-04-20

In this epilogue, we review the 4 response articles and highlight the implications of a multidimensional view of reading for the assessment and instruction of reading comprehension. We reiterate the problems with standardized tests of reading comprehension and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of recently developed authentic tests of reading comprehension. In the "Instruction" section, we review the benefits and limitations of strategy instruction and highlight suggestions from the response articles to improve content and language knowledge. We argue that the only compelling reason to administer a standardized test of reading comprehension is when these tests are necessary to qualify students for special education services. Instruction should be focused on content knowledge, language knowledge, and specific task and learning requirements. This instruction may entail the use of comprehension strategies, particularly those that are specific to the task and focus on integrating new knowledge with prior knowledge.

Perceptual organization, phonological awareness, and reading comprehension in adults with and without learning disabilities.

PubMed

Stothers, Margot; Klein, Perry D

2010-12-01

It is not clear from research whether, or to what extent, reading comprehension is impaired in adults who have learning disabilities (LD). The influence of perceptual organization (PO) and phonological awareness (PA) on reading comprehension was investigated. PO and PA are cognitive functions that have been examined in previous research for their roles in nonverbal LD and phonological dyslexia, respectively. Nonverbal tests of PO and non-reading tests of PA were administered to a sample of adults with postsecondary education. Approximately two thirds of the sample had previously been diagnosed as having LD. In a multiple regression analysis, tests of PO and PA were used to predict scores for tests of reading comprehension and mechanics. Despite the nonverbal nature of the perceptual organizational test stimuli, PO strongly predicted reading comprehension. Tests of PA predicted decoding and reading speed. Results were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that integrative processes usually characterized as nonverbal were nonetheless used by readers with and without disabilities to understand text. The study's findings have implications for understanding the reading of adults with learning disabilities, and the nature of reading comprehension in general.

Evaluation of attention training and metacognitive facilitation to improve reading comprehension in aphasia.

PubMed

Lee, Jaime B; Moore Sohlberg, McKay

2013-05-01

This pilot study investigated the impact of direct attention training combined with metacognitive facilitation on reading comprehension in individuals with aphasia. A single-subject, multiple baseline design was employed across 4 participants to evaluate potential changes in reading comprehension resulting from an 8-week intervention using Attention Process Training-3 (APT-3). The primary outcome measure was a maze reading task. Pre- and posttesting included attention and reading comprehension measures. Visual inspection of graphed performance data across conditions was used as the primary method of analysis. Treatment effect sizes were calculated for changes in reading comprehension probes from baseline to maintenance phases. Two of the study's 4 participants demonstrated improvements in maze reading, with corresponding effect sizes that were small in magnitude according to benchmarks for aphasia treatment research. All 4 participants made improvements on select standardized measures of attention. Interventions that include a metacognitive component with direct attention training may elicit improvements in participants' attention and allocation of resources. Maze passage reading is a repeated measure that appears sensitive to treatment-related changes in reading comprehension. Issues for future research related to measurement, candidacy, and clinical delivery are discussed.

Effects of audio-visual aids on foreign language test anxiety, reading and listening comprehension, and retention in EFL learners.

PubMed

Lee, Shu-Ping; Lee, Shin-Da; Liao, Yuan-Lin; Wang, An-Chi

2015-04-01

This study examined the effects of audio-visual aids on anxiety, comprehension test scores, and retention in reading and listening to short stories in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. Reading and listening tests, general and test anxiety, and retention were measured in English-major college students in an experimental group with audio-visual aids (n=83) and a control group without audio-visual aids (n=94) with similar general English proficiency. Lower reading test anxiety, unchanged reading comprehension scores, and better reading short-term and long-term retention after four weeks were evident in the audiovisual group relative to the control group. In addition, lower listening test anxiety, higher listening comprehension scores, and unchanged short-term and long-term retention were found in the audiovisual group relative to the control group after the intervention. Audio-visual aids may help to reduce EFL learners' listening test anxiety and enhance their listening comprehension scores without facilitating retention of such materials. Although audio-visual aids did not increase reading comprehension scores, they helped reduce EFL learners' reading test anxiety and facilitated retention of reading materials.

Reading Comprehension in a Large Cohort of French First Graders from Low Socio-Economic Status Families: A 7-Month Longitudinal Study

PubMed Central

Gentaz, Edouard; Sprenger-Charolles, Liliane; Theurel, Anne; Colé, Pascale

2013-01-01

Background The literature suggests that a complex relationship exists between the three main skills involved in reading comprehension (decoding, listening comprehension and vocabulary) and that this relationship depends on at least three other factors orthographic transparency, children’s grade level and socioeconomic status (SES). This study investigated the relative contribution of the predictors of reading comprehension in a longitudinal design (from beginning to end of the first grade) in 394 French children from low SES families. Methodology/Principal findings Reading comprehension was measured at the end of the first grade using two tasks one with short utterances and one with a medium length narrative text. Accuracy in listening comprehension and vocabulary, and fluency of decoding skills, were measured at the beginning and end of the first grade. Accuracy in decoding skills was measured only at the beginning. Regression analyses showed that listening comprehension and decoding skills (accuracy and fluency) always significantly predicted reading comprehension. The contribution of decoding was greater when reading comprehension was assessed via the task using short utterances. Between the two assessments, the contribution of vocabulary, and of decoding skills especially, increased, while that of listening comprehension remained unchanged. Conclusion/Significance These results challenge the ‘simple view of reading’. They also have educational implications, since they show that it is possible to assess decoding and reading comprehension very early on in an orthography (i.e., French), which is less deep than the English one even in low SES children. These assessments, associated with those of listening comprehension and vocabulary, may allow early identification of children at risk for reading difficulty, and to set up early remedial training, which is the most effective, for them. PMID:24250802

An Examination of Reading Skills and Reading Outcomes for Youth Involved in a Crime Prevention Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Metsala, Jamie L.; David, Margaret D.; Brown, Sarah

2017-01-01

This study examined the incidence of reading impairments, the reading profiles, and the outcomes of a reading intervention for youth involved in a comprehensive crime prevention program. Rates of reading impairments were between 55% and 61%. Reading profiles for participants with reading comprehension impairments showed deficits in phonological…

Testing and Refining the Direct and Inferential Mediation Model of Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cromley, Jennifer G.; Azevedo, Roger

2007-01-01

A significant proportion of American high school students struggle with reading comprehension. Theoretical models of reading comprehension might help researchers understand these difficulties, because they can point to variables that make the largest contributions to comprehension. On the basis of an extensive review of the literature, we created…

Direct Instruction of Comprehension: Instructional Examples from Intervention Research on Listening and Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coyne, Michael D.; Zipoli, Richard P., Jr.; Chard, David J.; Faggella-Luby, Michael; Ruby, Maureen; Santoro, Lana E.; Baker, Scott

2009-01-01

This article examines the role of direct instruction in promoting listening and reading comprehension. Instructional examples from 2 programs of intervention research focused on improving comprehension; the Story Read Aloud Program and the Embedded Story Structure Routine are used to illustrate principles of direct instruction. An analysis of…

ESL Elementary Teachers' Use of Children's Picture Books to Initiate Explicit Instruction of Reading Comprehension Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al Khaiyali, Al Tiyb S.

2014-01-01

Reading comprehension instruction has been recognized as a key factor in developing any reading and literacy program. Therefore, many attempts were devoted to improve explicit comprehension strategy instruction at different school levels and fields including EFL and ESL. Despite these efforts, explicit comprehension instruction is still drought…

Promoting the Comprehension of Teachers and Students Using Young Adult Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henderson, Shannon C.; Buskist, Connie

2011-01-01

Adolescents who struggle with reading most often encounter problems with comprehension, rather than the ability to read words. Comprehension is a dynamic process that requires the reader to use multiple strategies as meaning is constructed. To improve the reading comprehension of their students, teachers must be knowledgeable about what…

Study on Morphological Awareness and Rapid Automatized Naming through Word Reading and Comprehension in Normal and Disabled Reading Arabic-Speaking Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Layes, Smail; Lalonde, Robert; Rebaï, Mohamed

2017-01-01

This study explored the role and extent of the involvement of morphological awareness (MA) in contrast to rapid automatized naming (RAN) in word reading and comprehension of Arabic as a morphologically based orthography. We gave measures of word reading, reading comprehension, MA, and RAN in addition to a nonverbal mental ability test to 3 groups…

Mental juggling: when does multitasking impair reading comprehension?

PubMed

Cho, Kit W; Altarriba, Jeanette; Popiel, Maximilian

2015-01-01

The present study investigated the conditions under which multitasking impairs reading comprehension. Participants read prose passages (the primary task), some of which required them to perform a secondary task. In Experiment 1, we compared two different types of secondary tasks (answering trivia questions and solving math problems). Reading comprehension was assessed using a multiple-choice test that measured both factual and conceptual knowledge. The results showed no observable detrimental effects associated with multitasking. In Experiment 2, the secondary task was a cognitive load task that required participants to remember a string of numbers while reading the passages. Performance on the reading comprehension test was lower in the cognitive load conditions relative to the no-load condition. The present study delineates the conditions under which multitasking can impair or have no effect on reading comprehension. These results further our understanding of our capacity to multitask and have practical implications in our technologically advanced society in which multitasking has become commonplace.

Embedding perseverative interest of a child with autism in text may result in improved reading comprehension: A pilot study.

PubMed

El Zein, Farah; Solis, Michael; Lang, Russell; Kim, Min Kyung

2016-06-01

We investigated the effects of embedding the perseverative interest (PI) of a child with autism (i.e. cars) within texts on reading comprehension. A PI text condition (text altered to include cars) was compared with a non-PI text condition (same story without cars inserted) in an alternating treatment design. Dependent variables were responses to reading comprehension questions and number of words uttered during an oral retell (i.e. curriculum-based measures [CBMs]). The reading level, instructional routines, and therapist where held constant across the randomly alternated conditions. Both CBMs suggested that reading comprehension was enhanced when the story included the child's PI. These preliminary findings suggest that embedding the PIs of students with autism spectrum disorder within readings may result in more accurate responses to reading comprehension questions and more detailed oral retelling. These findings are discussed in terms of potential directions for future research.

The Contributions of Oral and Silent Reading Fluency to Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Price, Katherine W.; Meisinger, Elizabeth B.; Louwerse, Max M.; D'Mello, Sidney

2016-01-01

Silent reading fluency has received limited attention in the school-based literatures across the past decade. We fill this gap by examining both oral and silent reading fluency and their relation to overall abilities in reading comprehension in fourth-grade students. Lower-level reading skills (word reading, rapid automatic naming) and vocabulary…

Reading in a Root-Based-Morphology Language: The Case of Arabic.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abu-Rabia, S.

2002-01-01

Reviews the reading process in Arabic as a function of vowels and sentence context. Reviews reading accuracy and reading comprehension results in light of cross-cultural reading to develop a more comprehensive reading theory. Presents the phonology, morphology and sentence context of Arabic in two suggested reading models for poor/beginner Arabic…

The Effect of Word- And Comprehension-Emphasis Instruction on Reading Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleisher, Lisa S.; Jenkins, Joseph R.

1983-01-01

The effects of three instructional procedures on reading comprehension and word recognition were compared with 21 learning disabled elementary school students. No differences were found among treatment effects on comprehension and oral reading. (Author/SW)

Reading and writing skills in young adults with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

PubMed

Barnes, Marcia; Dennis, Maureen; Hetherington, Ross

2004-09-01

Reading and writing were studied in 31 young adults with spina bifida and hydrocephalus (SBH). Like children with this condition, young adults with SBH had better word decoding than reading comprehension, and, compared to population means, had lower scores on a test of writing fluency. Reading comprehension was predicted by word decoding and listening comprehension. Writing was predicted by fine motor finger function, verbal intelligence, and short-term and working memory. These findings are consistent with cognitive models of reading and writing. Writing, but not reading, was related to highest level of education achieved and writing fluency predicted several aspects of functional independence. Reading comprehension and writing remain deficient in adults with SBH and have consequences for educational attainments and functional independence.

A computational modeling of semantic knowledge in reading comprehension: Integrating the landscape model with latent semantic analysis.

PubMed

Yeari, Menahem; van den Broek, Paul

2016-09-01

It is a well-accepted view that the prior semantic (general) knowledge that readers possess plays a central role in reading comprehension. Nevertheless, computational models of reading comprehension have not integrated the simulation of semantic knowledge and online comprehension processes under a unified mathematical algorithm. The present article introduces a computational model that integrates the landscape model of comprehension processes with latent semantic analysis representation of semantic knowledge. In three sets of simulations of previous behavioral findings, the integrated model successfully simulated the activation and attenuation of predictive and bridging inferences during reading, as well as centrality estimations and recall of textual information after reading. Analyses of the computational results revealed new theoretical insights regarding the underlying mechanisms of the various comprehension phenomena.

The Contribution of Segmental and Suprasegmental Phonology to Reading Comprehension

PubMed Central

Veenendaal, Nathalie J.; Groen, Margriet A.; Verhoeven, Ludo

2016-01-01

The aim of the present study was to examine the relation between decoding and segmental and suprasegmental phonology, and their contribution to reading comprehension, in the upper primary grades. Following a longitudinal design, the performance of 99 Dutch primary school children on phonological awareness (segmental phonology) and text reading prosody (suprasegmental phonology) in fourth-grade and fifth-grade, and reading comprehension in sixth-grade were examined. In addition, decoding efficiency as a general assessment of reading was examined. Structural path modeling firstly showed that the relation between decoding efficiency and both measures of phonology from fourth- to fifth grade was unidirectional. Secondly, the relation between decoding in fourth- and fifth-grade and reading comprehension in sixth-grade became indirect when segmental and suprasegmental phonology were added to the model. Both factors independently exerted influence on later reading comprehension. This leads to the conclusion that not only segmental, but also suprasegmental phonology, contributes substantially to children's reading development. PMID:27551159

Developing Reading Comprehension Modules to Facilitate Reading Comprehension among Malaysian Secondary School ESL Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Javed, Muhammad; Eng, Lin Siew; Mohamed, Abdul Rashid

2015-01-01

The study aims to develop a set of 6 Reading Comprehension Modules (RCMs) for Malaysian ESL teachers to facilitate different reading abilities of ESL students effectively. Different skill categories were selected for developing the RCMs. This article describes how and why diverse texts of varying length were adopted and adapted from various…

Effects of Electronic Reading Environments' Structure on L2 Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Seghayer, Khalid

2017-01-01

This study examines the effects of an electronic reading environment's structure on second language (L2) reading comprehension. In particular, this study explores whether clarifying the underlying structure of an electronic text, along with the ways in which its units or nodes are organized and interrelated results in better comprehension as well…

Modeling Local Item Dependence in Cloze and Reading Comprehension Test Items Using Testlet Response Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baghaei, Purya; Ravand, Hamdollah

2016-01-01

In this study the magnitudes of local dependence generated by cloze test items and reading comprehension items were compared and their impact on parameter estimates and test precision was investigated. An advanced English as a foreign language reading comprehension test containing three reading passages and a cloze test was analyzed with a…

What Is the Basis for Self-Assessment of Comprehension When Reading Mathematical Expository Texts?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Österholm, Magnus

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to characterize students' self-assessments when reading mathematical texts, in particular regarding what students use as a basis for evaluations of their own reading comprehension. A total of 91 students read two mathematical texts, and for each text, they performed a self-assessment of their comprehension and…

Reading for Meaning: Reading Comprehension Skills in ASD and the Role of Oral Language, Central Coherence, and Executive Function

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidson, Meghan M.

2016-01-01

Reading comprehension is a complex interactional process whereby the accumulated meaning of sounds, words, and sentences is integrated to form a meaningful representation of text. It is well established that many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have reading comprehension difficulties, but less is understood about the underlying…

Paths to Reading Comprehension in At-Risk Second-Grade Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berninger, Virginia W.; Abbott, Robert D.; Vermeulen, Karin; Fulton, Cynthia M.

2006-01-01

Two studies of second graders at risk for reading disability, which were guided by levels of language and functional reading system theory, focused on reading comprehension in this population. In Study 1 (n = 96), confirmatory factor analysis of five comprehension measures loaded on one factor in both fall and spring of second grade. Phonological…

It Matters Whether Reading Comprehension Is Conceptualised as Rate or Accuracy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rønberg, Louise Flensted; Petersen, Dorthe Klint

2016-01-01

This study shows that it makes a difference whether accuracy measures or rate measures are used when assessing reading comprehension. When the outcome is reading comprehension accuracy (i.e., the number of correct responses), word reading skills (measured as access to orthographic representations) account for a modest amount of the variance in the…

Reading Comprehension in Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Role of Oral Language and Social Functioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ricketts, Jessie; Jones, Catherine R. G.; Happe, Francesca; Charman, Tony

2013-01-01

Reading comprehension is an area of difficulty for many individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). According to the Simple View of Reading, word recognition and oral language are both important determinants of reading comprehension ability. We provide a novel test of this model in 100 adolescents with ASD of varying intellectual ability.…

The Utility of Maze Accurate Response Rate in Assessing Reading Comprehension in Upper Elementary and Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCane-Bowling, Sara J.; Strait, Andrea D.; Guess, Pamela E.; Wiedo, Jennifer R.; Muncie, Eric

2014-01-01

This study examined the predictive utility of five formative reading measures: words correct per minute, number of comprehension questions correct, reading comprehension rate, number of maze correct responses, and maze accurate response rate (MARR). Broad Reading cluster scores obtained via the Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ III) Tests of Achievement…

The Effect of a Course Management System (CMS)-Supported Strategy Instruction on EFL Reading Comprehension and Strategy Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Yea-Ru; Talley, Paul C.

2014-01-01

This paper reports on the effect of a Moodle-supported strategy instruction on both reading comprehension and strategy use among EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students. Specific reading strategy training was first integrated into a Moodle system, which included reading exercises on problem identification, monitoring comprehension,…

Looking at CIRC through Quantitative Lenses: Can It Improve the Reading Comprehension of Filipino ESL Learners?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonzales, Wilkinson Daniel Wong; Torres, Patrisha Lliane

2015-01-01

Several pressing issues in reading instruction have prompted educators world-wide to conduct researches on how to best improve reading comprehension skills. Although there is a wealth of reading comprehension researches done with EFL learners and native English speakers, there seems to be limited published studies conducted in the Philippine ESL…

A Longitudinal Study of Reading Comprehension Achievement from Grades 3 to 10: Investigating Models of Stability, Cumulative Growth, and Compensation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kwiatkowska-White, Bozena; Kirby, John R.; Lee, Elizabeth A.

2016-01-01

This longitudinal study of 78 Canadian English-speaking students examined the applicability of the stability, cumulative, and compensatory models in reading comprehension development. Archival government-mandated assessments of reading comprehension at Grades 3, 6, and 10, and the Canadian Test of Basic Skills measure of reading comprehension…

Effect of Music on Reading Comprehension of Junior High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Stacey A.; Fuller, Gerald B.

2010-01-01

This quantitative study was an investigation of the effect of lyrical music on reading comprehension by adolescents. Existing research has produced results that range from concluding such distraction may be detrimental to finding it could be helpful. The reading comprehension subtest of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, 4th edition (MacGinitie,…

Relationships between Reading Comprehension and Its Components in Young Chinese-as-a-Second-Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Yu Ka

2017-01-01

Based on the Simple View of Reading model, this study examines the relationships among Chinese reading comprehension and its two componential processes, Chinese character reading and listening comprehension, in young learners of Chinese as a second language (CSL) using a longitudinal design. Using relevant measures, a sample of 142 senior primary…

Language deficits in poor comprehenders: a case for the simple view of reading.

PubMed

Catts, Hugh W; Adlof, Suzanne M; Ellis Weismer, Susan

2006-04-01

To examine concurrently and retrospectively the language abilities of children with specific reading comprehension deficits ("poor comprehenders") and compare them to typical readers and children with specific decoding deficits ("poor decoders"). In Study 1, the authors identified 57 poor comprehenders, 27 poor decoders, and 98 typical readers on the basis of 8th-grade reading achievement. These subgroups' performances on 8th-grade measures of language comprehension and phonological processing were investigated. In Study 2, the authors examined retrospectively subgroups' performances on measures of language comprehension and phonological processing in kindergarten, 2nd, and 4th grades. Word recognition and reading comprehension in 2nd and 4th grades were also considered. Study 1 showed that poor comprehenders had concurrent deficits in language comprehension but normal abilities in phonological processing. Poor decoders were characterized by the opposite pattern of language abilities. Study 2 results showed that subgroups had language (and word recognition) profiles in the earlier grades that were consistent with those observed in 8th grade. Subgroup differences in reading comprehension were inconsistent across grades but reflective of the changes in the components of reading comprehension over time. The results support the simple view of reading and the phonological deficit hypothesis. Furthermore, the findings indicate that a classification system that is based on the simple view has advantages over standard systems that focus only on word recognition and/or reading comprehension.

Improving text comprehension strategies in upper primary school children: a design experiment.

PubMed

De Corte, E; Verschaffel, L; Van De Ven, A

2001-12-01

With respect to the acquisition of competence in reading, new standards for primary education stress more than before the importance of learning and teaching cognitive and metacognitive strategies that facilitate text comprehension. Therefore, there is a need to design a research-based instructional approach to strategic reading comprehension. The design experiment aimed at developing, implementing and evaluating a research-based, but also practically applicable learning environment for enhancing skilled strategy use in upper primary school children when reading a text. Four text comprehension strategies (activating prior knowledge, clarifying difficult words, making a schematic representation of the text, and formulating the main idea) and a metacognitive strategy (regulating one's own reading process) were trained through a variety of highly interactive instructional techniques, namely modelling, whole class discussion, and small group work in the format of reciprocal teaching. Participants in the study were four experimental 5th grade classes (79 children) and eight comparable control classes (149 pupils). The effects of the learning environment were measured using a pretest-post-test-retention design. Multilevel hierarchical linear regression models were used to analyse the quantitative data of a Reading Strategy Test, a standardised Reading Comprehension Test, a Reading Attitude Scale, a Transfer Test and an interview about strategy use during reading. The data of the Reading Strategy Test, the Transfer Test and the interviews about strategy use showed that the experimental group out-performed the control group in terms of the strategy adoption and application during text reading. Whilst the experimental group also scored higher on the Reading Comprehension Test than the control group, the difference was not significant. This design experiment shows that it is possible to foster pupils' use and transfer of strategic reading comprehension skills in regular classrooms by immersing them in a powerful learning environment. But this intervention does not automatically result in improvement of performance on a standardised reading comprehension test.

Altered neural circuits accompany lower performance during narrative comprehension in children with reading difficulties: an fMRI study.

PubMed

Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi; Buck, Catherine; Dorrmann, Dana

2016-10-01

Narrative comprehension is a linguistic ability that is foundational for future reading ability. The aim of the current study was to examine the neural circuitry of children with reading difficulties (RD) compared to typical readers during a narrative-comprehension task. We hypothesized that due to deficient executive functions, which support narrative comprehension abilities, children with RD would display altered activation and functional connectivity, as well as lower performance on a narrative-comprehension task. Children with RD and typical readers were scanned during a narrative-comprehension task and administered reading behavioral tests. Children with RD scored significantly lower on the narrative-comprehension task than did typical readers. Composite activation maps showed more diffused activation during narrative comprehension in the RD group. Maps comparing the two reading groups showed more activation in the frontal lobes (regions responsible for executive functions), and functional connectivity showed higher global efficiency in children with RD than in typical readers. Global efficiency was negatively correlated with phonological awareness and reading and executive function scores in the entire study group. Children with RD may suffer from narrative-comprehension difficulties due to diffused activation of language areas, as was observed during a narrative-comprehension task. Greater effort in this task may be reflected by the engagement of brain regions related to executive functions and higher functional connectivity or attributed to difficulties in phonological processing and reading and executive functions. Therefore, the accommodation given to children with RD of reading aloud may need to be revised due to the observed difficulty in this domain.

Reading for Understanding: Methodist Youths' Shared Scripture-Reading Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rackley, Eric D.

2018-01-01

Informed by reading comprehension and comprehension strategies research, this study explores the Scripture-reading practices of four Methodist youths. Several rounds of inductive thematic analyses of Scripture-reading protocols revealed a set of five strategic reading practices youths used to understand Scripture. They drew inferences about the…

The Differential Effects of Three Methods of Teaching on the Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary of Ninth Grade Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hafner, Lawrence E.; Palmer, Barbara C.

1980-01-01

Two successful teaching strategies for improving students' reading comprehension, vocabulary, and speed of reading comprehension are the MRM method (identifying sentence kernels) and the LOGANAR method (logically analyzing cognitive relationships). (CJ)

The Development and Evaluation of a Reading Comprehension Strategy with Learning Disabled Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flaro, Lloyd

1987-01-01

Discusses a learning strategy, employing imaginal processes and verbal mediations procedures, designed to improve reading comprehension in 24 learning disabled students. Indicates significant gains and improvement in reading comprehension over a 15 week treatment period. (MM)

Examining the Effects of Skill Level and Reading Modality on Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dickens, Rachel H.; Meisinger, Elizabeth B.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of reading skill and reading modality (oral versus silent) on reading comprehension. A normative sample of sixth-grade students (N = 74) read texts aloud and silently and then answered questions about what they read. Skill in word reading fluency was assessed by the Test of Word Reading…

The Impact of Cross-Age Peer Tutoring on Third and Sixth Graders' Reading Strategy Awareness, Reading Strategy Use, and Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Keer, Hilde; Vanderlinde, Ruben

2010-01-01

The present study explores the impact of an experimental reading intervention focusing on explicit reading strategy instruction and cross-age peer tutoring on third and sixth graders' reading strategy awareness, cognitive and metacognitive reading strategy use, and reading comprehension achievement. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was…

Exploring the Co-development of Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension: A Twin Study

PubMed Central

Little, Callie W.; Hart, Sara A.; Quinn, Jamie M.; Tucker-Drob, Elliot M.; Taylor, Jeanette; Schatschneider, Chris

2016-01-01

The present study explores the co-development of two related but separate reading skills, reading fluency and reading comprehension, across grades 1–4. A bivariate biometric dual change score model was applied to longitudinal data collected from 1784 twin pairs between the ages of 6 and 10 years. Grade 1 skills were influenced by highly overlapping genetic and environmental factors. Growth in both skills was influenced by highly overlapping shared environmental factors. Cross-lagged parameters indicated bidirectional effects, with stronger effects from fluency to comprehension change than from comprehension to fluency change. PMID:27859016

Idea units in notes and summaries for read texts by keyboard and pencil in middle childhood students with specific learning disabilities: Cognitive and brain findings

PubMed Central

Richards, Todd; Peverly, Stephen; Wolf, Amie; Abbott, Robert; Tanimoto, Steven; Thompson, Rob; Nagy, William; Berninger, Virginia

2016-01-01

Seven children with dyslexia and/or dysgraphia (2 girls, 5 boys, M=11 years) completed fMRI connectivity scans before and after twelve weekly computerized lessons in strategies for reading source material, taking notes, and writing summaries by touch typing or groovy pencils. During brain scanning they completed two reading comprehension tasks—one involving single sentences and one involving multiple sentences. From before to after intervention, fMRI connectivity magnitude changed significantly during sentence level reading comprehension (from right angular gyrus→right Broca’s) and during text level reading comprehension (from right angular gyrus→cingulate). Proportions of ideas units in children’s writing compared to idea units in source texts did not differ across combinations of reading-writing tasks and modes. Yet, for handwriting/notes, correlations insignificant before the lessons became significant after the strategy instruction between proportion of idea units and brain connectivity at all levels of language in reading comprehension (word-, sentence-, and text) during scanning; but for handwriting/summaries, touch typing/notes, and touch typing/summaries changes in those correlations from insignificant to significant after strategy instruction occurred only at text level reading comprehension during scanning. Thus, handwriting during note-taking may benefit all levels of language during reading comprehension, whereas all other combinations of modes and writing tasks in this exploratory study appear to benefit only the text level of reading comprehension. Neurological and educational significance of the interdisciplinary research findings for integrating reading and writing and future research directions are discussed. PMID:28133634

Idea units in notes and summaries for read texts by keyboard and pencil in middle childhood students with specific learning disabilities: Cognitive and brain findings.

PubMed

Richards, Todd; Peverly, Stephen; Wolf, Amie; Abbott, Robert; Tanimoto, Steven; Thompson, Rob; Nagy, William; Berninger, Virginia

2016-09-01

Seven children with dyslexia and/or dysgraphia (2 girls, 5 boys, M =11 years) completed fMRI connectivity scans before and after twelve weekly computerized lessons in strategies for reading source material, taking notes, and writing summaries by touch typing or groovy pencils. During brain scanning they completed two reading comprehension tasks-one involving single sentences and one involving multiple sentences. From before to after intervention, fMRI connectivity magnitude changed significantly during sentence level reading comprehension (from right angular gyrus→right Broca's) and during text level reading comprehension (from right angular gyrus→cingulate). Proportions of ideas units in children's writing compared to idea units in source texts did not differ across combinations of reading-writing tasks and modes. Yet, for handwriting/notes, correlations insignificant before the lessons became significant after the strategy instruction between proportion of idea units and brain connectivity at all levels of language in reading comprehension (word-, sentence-, and text) during scanning; but for handwriting/summaries, touch typing/notes, and touch typing/summaries changes in those correlations from insignificant to significant after strategy instruction occurred only at text level reading comprehension during scanning. Thus, handwriting during note-taking may benefit all levels of language during reading comprehension, whereas all other combinations of modes and writing tasks in this exploratory study appear to benefit only the text level of reading comprehension. Neurological and educational significance of the interdisciplinary research findings for integrating reading and writing and future research directions are discussed.

Psychometric Research in Reading.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

Metacognitive Reading Strategies, Motivation, and Reading Comprehension Performance of Saudi EFL Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meniado, Joel C.

2016-01-01

Metacognitive reading strategies and reading motivation play a significant role in enhancing reading comprehension. In an attempt to prove the foregoing claim in a context where there is no strong culture for reading, this study tries to find out if there is indeed a relationship between and among metacognitive reading strategies, reading…

E-Readers and the Effects on Students' Reading Motivation, Attitude and Comprehension during Guided Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

Reading Development in European Portuguese: Relationships between Oral Reading Fluency, Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernandes, Sandra; Querido, Luís; Verhaeghe, Arlette; Marques, Catarina; Araújo, Luísa

2017-01-01

This study investigated direct and indirect effects between oral reading fluency, vocabulary and reading comprehension across reading development in European Portuguese. Participants were 329 children attending basic education, from grade 1 to grade 6. The results of path analyses showed that text reading fluency is much more dependent on the…

A Quantile Regression Approach to Understanding the Relations Among Morphological Awareness, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension in Adult Basic Education Students.

PubMed

Tighe, Elizabeth L; Schatschneider, Christopher

2016-07-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the joint and unique contributions of morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge at five reading comprehension levels in adult basic education (ABE) students. We introduce the statistical technique of multiple quantile regression, which enabled us to assess the predictive utility of morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge at multiple points (quantiles) along the continuous distribution of reading comprehension. To demonstrate the efficacy of our multiple quantile regression analysis, we compared and contrasted our results with a traditional multiple regression analytic approach. Our results indicated that morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge accounted for a large portion of the variance (82%-95%) in reading comprehension skills across all quantiles. Morphological awareness exhibited the greatest unique predictive ability at lower levels of reading comprehension whereas vocabulary knowledge exhibited the greatest unique predictive ability at higher levels of reading comprehension. These results indicate the utility of using multiple quantile regression to assess trajectories of component skills across multiple levels of reading comprehension. The implications of our findings for ABE programs are discussed. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

Does Monitoring Event Changes Improve Comprehension?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bohn-Gettler, Catherine M.

2014-01-01

During narrative comprehension, reading times increase for changes in time, space, characters, goals, and causation. This study examined the extent to which instructional manipulations modify dimension monitoring during reading and whether this affects comprehension. Sixty-seven participants read three narratives (pretest). Half of the…

The Role of Vocabulary, Working Memory and Inference Making Ability in Reading Comprehension in Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

Using Prompt Fading to Teach Self-Questioning to Fifth Graders with LD: Effects on Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rouse, Christina A.; Alber-Morgan, Sheila R.; Cullen, Jennifer M.; Sawyer, Mary

2014-01-01

Students with LD who struggle with reading comprehension can benefit from instruction on how to read strategically. One strategy that has been demonstrated to increase reading comprehension is self-questioning. In this study, two fifth graders with LD were taught to self-generate questions using a prompt fading procedure. The participants were…

Computer-Based and Paper-Based Reading Comprehension in Adolescents with Typical Language Development and Language-Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Srivastava, Pradyumn; Gray, Shelley

2012-01-01

Purpose: With the global expansion of technology, our reading platform has shifted from traditional text to hypertext, yet little consideration has been given to how this shift might help or hinder students' reading comprehension. The purpose of this study was to compare reading comprehension of computer-based and paper-based texts in adolescents…

The Role of Morphological Awareness in Reading Comprehension among Typical and Learning Disabled Native Arabic Speakers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahfoudhi, Abdessatar; Elbeheri, Gad; Al-Rashidi, Mousa; Everatt, John

2010-01-01

This work examines the role of morphological awareness in contrast to phonological processing in reading comprehension amongst two groups of native Arabic children: a group with learning disabilities (LD) and a mainstream group who were matched to the LD group in age or reading level. Measures of reading comprehension fluency, phonological skills,…

Accommodating Remedial Readers in the General Education Setting: Is Listening-while-Reading Sufficient to Improve Factual and Inferential Comprehension?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmitt, Ara J.; Hale, Andrea D.; McCallum, Elizabeth; Mauck, Brittany

2011-01-01

Word reading accommodations are commonly applied in the general education setting in an attempt to improve student comprehension and learning of curriculum content. This study examined the effects of listening-while-reading (LWR) and silent reading (SR) using text-to-speech assistive technology on the comprehension of 25 middle-school remedial…

Comparing the Impact of Rates of Text-to-Speech Software on Reading Fluency and Comprehension for Adults with Reading Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coleman, Mari Beth; Killdare, Laura K.; Bell, Sherry Mee; Carter, Amanda M.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of text-to-speech software on reading fluency and comprehension for four postsecondary students with below average reading fluency and comprehension including three students diagnosed with learning disabilities and concomitant conditions (e.g., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, seizure…

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

Reading Processes of University Students with Dyslexia - An Examination of the Relationship between Oral Reading and Reading Comprehension.

PubMed

Pedersen, Henriette Folkmann; Fusaroli, Riccardo; Lauridsen, Lene Louise; Parrila, Rauno

2016-11-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the quality of oral reading and how it relates to reading comprehension in students with dyslexia. A group of Danish university students with dyslexia (n = 16) and a comparison group of students with no history of reading problems (n = 16) were assessed on their oral reading performance when reading a complex text. Along with reading speed, we measured not only the number and quality of reading errors but also the extent and semantic nature of the self-corrections during reading. The reading comprehension was measured through aided text retellings. The results showed that, as a group, the dyslexics performed poorer on most measures, but there were notable within-group differences in the reading behaviours and little association between how well university students with dyslexia read aloud and comprehended the text. These findings suggest that many dyslexics in higher education tend to focus their attention on one subcomponent of the reading process, for example, decoding or comprehension, because engaging in both simultaneously may be too demanding for them. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Individualized Prediction of Reading Comprehension Ability Using Gray Matter Volume.

PubMed

Cui, Zaixu; Su, Mengmeng; Li, Liangjie; Shu, Hua; Gong, Gaolang

2018-05-01

Reading comprehension is a crucial reading skill for learning and putatively contains 2 key components: reading decoding and linguistic comprehension. Current understanding of the neural mechanism underlying these reading comprehension components is lacking, and whether and how neuroanatomical features can be used to predict these 2 skills remain largely unexplored. In the present study, we analyzed a large sample from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) dataset and successfully built multivariate predictive models for these 2 skills using whole-brain gray matter volume features. The results showed that these models effectively captured individual differences in these 2 skills and were able to significantly predict these components of reading comprehension for unseen individuals. The strict cross-validation using the HCP cohort and another independent cohort of children demonstrated the model generalizability. The identified gray matter regions contributing to the skill prediction consisted of a wide range of regions covering the putative reading, cerebellum, and subcortical systems. Interestingly, there were gender differences in the predictive models, with the female-specific model overestimating the males' abilities. Moreover, the identified contributing gray matter regions for the female-specific and male-specific models exhibited considerable differences, supporting a gender-dependent neuroanatomical substrate for reading comprehension.

Assessing reading comprehension with narrative and expository texts: Dimensionality and relationship with fluency, vocabulary and memory.

PubMed

Santos, Sandra; Cadime, Irene; Viana, Fernanda L; Chaves-Sousa, Séli; Gayo, Elena; Maia, José; Ribeiro, Iolanda

2017-02-01

Reading comprehension assessment should rely on valid instruments that enable adequate conclusions to be taken regarding students' reading comprehension performance. In this article, two studies were conducted to collect validity evidence for the vertically scaled forms of two Tests of Reading Comprehension for Portuguese elementary school students in the second to fourth grades, one with narrative texts (TRC-n) and another with expository ones (TRC-e). Two samples of 950 and 990 students participated in Study 1, the study of the dimensionality of the TRC-n and TRC-e forms, respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence of an acceptable fit for the one-factor solution for all test forms. Study 2 included 218 students to collect criterion-related validity. The scores obtained in each of the test forms were significantly correlated with the ones obtained in other reading comprehension measures and with the results obtained in oral reading fluency, vocabulary and working memory tests. Evidence suggests that the test forms are valid measures of reading comprehension. © 2016 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Imitated Prosodic Fluency Predicts Reading Comprehension Ability in Good and Poor High School Readers

PubMed Central

Breen, Mara; Kaswer, Lianne; Van Dyke, Julie A.; Krivokapić, Jelena; Landi, Nicole

2016-01-01

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. PMID:27486409

Cognitive flexibility predicts early reading skills

PubMed Central

Colé, Pascale; Duncan, Lynne G.; Blaye, Agnès

2014-01-01

An important aspect of learning to read is efficiency in accessing different kinds of linguistic information (orthographic, phonological, and semantic) about written words. The present study investigates whether, in addition to the integrity of such linguistic skills, early progress in reading may require a degree of cognitive flexibility in order to manage the coordination of this information effectively. Our study will look for evidence of a link between flexibility and both word reading and passage reading comprehension, and examine whether any such link involves domain-general or reading-specific flexibility. As the only previous support for a predictive relationship between flexibility and early reading comes from studies of reading comprehension in the opaque English orthography, another possibility is that this relationship may be largely orthography-dependent, only coming into play when mappings between representations are complex and polyvalent. To investigate these questions, 60 second-graders learning to read the more transparent French orthography were presented with two multiple classification tasks involving reading-specific cognitive flexibility (based on words) and non-specific flexibility (based on pictures). Reading skills were assessed by word reading, pseudo-word decoding, and passage reading comprehension measures. Flexibility was found to contribute significant unique variance to passage reading comprehension even in the less opaque French orthography. More interestingly, the data also show that flexibility is critical in accounting for one of the core components of reading comprehension, namely, the reading of words in isolation. Finally, the results constrain the debate over whether flexibility has to be reading-specific to be critically involved in reading. PMID:24966842

Early Identification of Reading Comprehension Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catts, Hugh W.; Nielsen, Diane Corcoran; Bridges, Mindy Sittner; Liu, Yi-Syuan

2016-01-01

Most research on early identification of reading disabilities has focused on word reading problems and little attention has been given to reading comprehension difficulties. In this study, we investigated whether measures of language ability and/or response to language intervention in kindergarten uniquely predicted reading comprehension…

Kindergarten predictors of second versus eighth grade reading comprehension impairments.

PubMed

Adlof, Suzanne M; Catts, Hugh W; Lee, Jaehoon

2010-01-01

Multiple studies have shown that kindergarten measures of phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge are good predictors of reading achievement in the primary grades. However, less attention has been given to the early predictors of later reading achievement. This study used a modified best-subsets variable-selection technique to examine kindergarten predictors of early versus later reading comprehension impairments. Participants included 433 children involved in a longitudinal study of language and reading development. The kindergarten test battery assessed various language skills in addition to phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, naming speed, and nonverbal cognitive ability. Reading comprehension was assessed in second and eighth grades. Results indicated that different combinations of variables were required to optimally predict second versus eighth grade reading impairments. Although some variables effectively predicted reading impairments in both grades, their relative contributions shifted over time. These results are discussed in light of the changing nature of reading comprehension over time. Further research will help to improve the early identification of later reading disabilities.

Reading Research in 1984: Comprehension, Computers, Communication. Fifth Yearbook of the American Reading Forum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNinch, George H., Ed.; And Others

Conference presentations of research on reading comprehension, reading instruction, computer applications in reading instruction, and reading theory are compiled in this yearbook. Titles and authors of some of the articles are as follows: "A Rationale for Teaching Children with Limited English Proficiency" (M. Zintz); "Preliminary Development of a…

Second Language Reading: Reading, Language, and Metacognition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carrell, Patricia L.

A study investigated the role of metacognitive skills and the conception of reading in the reading comprehension of adult native speakers of Spanish and English. The study differed from others in its examination of reading conceptions and comprehension in both the first and second languages. Results suggest that both first language reading ability…

Cognitive Development and Reading: The Relation of Reading-Specific Multiple Classification Skill to Reading Comprehension in Elementary School Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cartwright, Kelly B.

2002-01-01

A reading-specific multiple classification task was designed that required children to classify printed words along phonological and semantic dimensions simultaneously. Reading-specific multiple classification skill made a unique contribution to children's reading comprehension over contributions made by age, domain-general multiple classification…

The Relationship between Good Readers' Attention, Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yildiz, Mustafa; Çetinkaya, Ezgi

2017-01-01

This study aimed to examine the relationship between fourth-graders' reading fluency, reading comprehension and attention. It was conducted using the relational screening model and included 132 fourth-graders with grade level adequate reading skills. The study results showed that good readers' attention had significant effects on reading speed,…

Reading to a Different DRUM: The Directed Reading Using Music Strategy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marchionda, Denise B.

The Directed Reading Using Music Strategy (DRUMS) is a type of reading strategy that can lead to the teaching of reflective thinking skills, increased reading comprehension and vocabulary, along with increased motivation for learning. Research indicates that contemporary song lyrics aid reading comprehension and can be used as motivational text. A…

The Relationship between Different Measures of Oral Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension in Second-Grade Students Who Evidence Different Oral Reading Fluency Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2010-01-01

Purpose: 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…

Assessment of oral storytelling abilities of Latino junior high school students with learning handicaps.

PubMed

Goldstein, B C; Harris, K C; Klein, M D

1993-02-01

This study investigated the relationship between reading comprehension and oral storytelling abilities. Thirty-one Latino junior high school students with learning handicaps were selected as subjects based on learning handicapped designation, home language, and language proficiency status. Reading comprehension was measured by the Reading Comprehension subtest of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test. Storytelling was measured by (a) the Oral Production subtest of the Language Assessment Scales using the standard scoring protocol and (b) a story structure analysis. A comparison of the standard scoring protocol and reading comprehension revealed no relationship, while the comparison of the story structure analysis and reading comprehension revealed a significant correlation. The implications of these results for language assessment of bilingual students are discussed.

The Potentiation of Meaning through Translative Reading: Poetic Translation and the Case of Gottfried Benn

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan, Ian Egon

2009-01-01

The theory of literary translation has been plagued by a disregard of the comprehensive aspect of the task since its inception, largely focusing on the challenges of the expressive aspect instead. This development throughout the history of translation--with the notable exceptions of Martin Luther and Friedrich Schleiermacher--has led to…

Otros amigos, otras culturas: Libro de actividades, 2 (Other Friends, Other Cultures: Workbook 2).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez, Emiliano; And Others

This workbook was designed for use with the textbook of the same name. It contains exercises for the recognition of sounds and letters, reading comprehension, oral expression, and the use of diphthongs, compound words, idioms, synonyms and antonyms, word families, and dictionaries. The presentation includes drawings, puzzles, and games with color…

Effects of FLES on Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Achievement: A Multi-Method Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Gregory; Feyten, Carine; Meros, John; Nutta, Joyce

2008-01-01

Historically, school officials, parents, teachers and others have expressed concerns about the implementation of foreign language in the elementary school (FLES) programs believing that precious time was sacrificed from the rest of the curriculum to make room for foreign language study. Some wondered if second language instruction made sense for…

Benefits and Pitfalls of Multimedia and Interactive Features in Technology-Enhanced Storybooks: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Takacs, Zsofia K.; Swart, Elise K.; Bus, Adriana G.

2015-01-01

A meta-analysis was conducted on the effects of technology-enhanced stories for young children's literacy development when compared to listening to stories in more traditional settings like storybook reading. A small but significant additional benefit of technology was found for story comprehension (g+ = 0.17) and expressive vocabulary (g+ =…

Why does working memory capacity predict variation in reading comprehension? On the influence of mind wandering and executive attention.

PubMed

McVay, Jennifer C; Kane, Michael J

2012-05-01

Some people are better readers than others, and this variation in comprehension ability is predicted by measures of working memory capacity (WMC). The primary goal of this study was to investigate the mediating role of mind-wandering experiences in the association between WMC and normal individual differences in reading comprehension, as predicted by the executive-attention theory of WMC (e.g., Engle & Kane, 2004). We used a latent-variable, structural-equation-model approach, testing skilled adult readers on 3 WMC span tasks, 7 varied reading-comprehension tasks, and 3 attention-control tasks. Mind wandering was assessed using experimenter-scheduled thought probes during 4 different tasks (2 reading, 2 attention-control). The results support the executive-attention theory of WMC. Mind wandering across the 4 tasks loaded onto a single latent factor, reflecting a stable individual difference. Most important, mind wandering was a significant mediator in the relationship between WMC and reading comprehension, suggesting that the WMC-comprehension correlation is driven, in part, by attention control over intruding thoughts. We discuss implications for theories of WMC, attention control, and reading comprehension.

Computerized trainings in four groups of struggling readers: Specific effects on word reading and comprehension.

PubMed

Potocki, Anna; Magnan, Annie; Ecalle, Jean

2015-01-01

Four groups of poor readers were identified among a population of students with learning disabilities attending a special class in secondary school: normal readers; specific poor decoders; specific poor comprehenders, and general poor readers (deficits in both decoding and comprehension). These students were then trained with a software program designed to encourage either their word decoding skills or their text comprehension skills. After 5 weeks of training, we observed that the students experiencing word reading deficits and trained with the decoding software improved primarily in the reading fluency task while those exhibiting comprehension deficits and trained with the comprehension software showed improved performance in listening and reading comprehension. But interestingly, the latter software also led to improved performance on the word recognition task. This result suggests that, for these students, training interventions focused at the text level and its comprehension might be more beneficial for reading in general (i.e., for the two components of reading) than word-level decoding trainings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Chaotic Home Environment Accounts for the Association between Respect for Rules Disposition and Reading Comprehension: A Twin Study

PubMed Central

Taylor, Jeanette; Hart, Sara A.

2014-01-01

This study examined the association between socioemotional dispositions from the developmental propensity model and reading comprehension and whether those associations could be accounted for by level of chaos in the home. Data from 342 monozygotic and 333 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs age 7-13 years were used. A parent rated the twins on sympathy, respect for rules, negative emotionality, and daring and level of chaos in the twins’ home. Reading comprehension was measured using a state-wide school assessment. Only respect for rules significantly and uniquely predicted reading comprehension. Biometric models indicated that respect for rules was positively associated with reading comprehension via the shared environment and home chaos accounted for a significant amount of that shared environmental variance even after controlling for family income. Children with higher respect for rules have better reading comprehension scores in school and this relationship owes partly to the level of chaos in the family home. PMID:25328362

Modeling the Relations Among Morphological Awareness Dimensions, Vocabulary Knowledge, and Reading Comprehension in Adult Basic Education Students

PubMed Central

Tighe, Elizabeth L.; Schatschneider, Christopher

2016-01-01

This study extended the findings of Tighe and Schatschneider (2015) by investigating the predictive utility of separate dimensions of morphological awareness as well as vocabulary knowledge to reading comprehension in adult basic education (ABE) students. We competed two- and three-factor structural equation models of reading comprehension. A three-factor model of real word morphological awareness, pseudoword morphological awareness, and vocabulary knowledge emerged as the best fit and accounted for 79% of the reading comprehension variance. The results indicated that the constructs contributed jointly to reading comprehension; however, vocabulary knowledge was the only potentially unique predictor (p = 0.052), accounting for an additional 5.6% of the variance. This study demonstrates the feasibility of applying a latent variable modeling approach to examine individual differences in the reading comprehension skills of ABE students. Further, this study replicates the findings of Tighe and Schatschneider (2015) on the importance of differentiating among dimensions of morphological awareness in this population. PMID:26869981

Modeling the Relations Among Morphological Awareness Dimensions, Vocabulary Knowledge, and Reading Comprehension in Adult Basic Education Students.

PubMed

Tighe, Elizabeth L; Schatschneider, Christopher

2016-01-01

This study extended the findings of Tighe and Schatschneider (2015) by investigating the predictive utility of separate dimensions of morphological awareness as well as vocabulary knowledge to reading comprehension in adult basic education (ABE) students. We competed two- and three-factor structural equation models of reading comprehension. A three-factor model of real word morphological awareness, pseudoword morphological awareness, and vocabulary knowledge emerged as the best fit and accounted for 79% of the reading comprehension variance. The results indicated that the constructs contributed jointly to reading comprehension; however, vocabulary knowledge was the only potentially unique predictor (p = 0.052), accounting for an additional 5.6% of the variance. This study demonstrates the feasibility of applying a latent variable modeling approach to examine individual differences in the reading comprehension skills of ABE students. Further, this study replicates the findings of Tighe and Schatschneider (2015) on the importance of differentiating among dimensions of morphological awareness in this population.

Passageless Comprehension on the "Nelson-Denny Reading Test": Well above Chance for University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coleman, Chris; Lindstrom, Jennifer; Nelson, Jason; Lindstrom, William; Gregg, K. Noel

2010-01-01

The comprehension section of the "Nelson-Denny Reading Test" (NDRT) is widely used to assess the reading comprehension skills of adolescents and adults in the United States. In this study, the authors explored the content validity of the NDRT Comprehension Test (Forms G and H) by asking university students (with and without at-risk…

The Influence of Properties of the Test and Their Interactions with Reader Characteristics on Reading Comprehension: An Explanatory Item Response Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kulesz, Paulina A.; Francis, David J.; Barnes, Marcia A.; Fletcher, Jack M.

2016-01-01

Component skills and discourse frameworks of reading have identified characteristics of readers and texts that influence comprehension. However, these 2 frameworks have not previously been integrated in a comprehensive and systematic way to explain performance on any standardized assessment of reading comprehension that is in widespread use across…

Reading Comprehension Tests Vary in the Skills They Assess: Differential Dependence on Decoding and Oral Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keenan, Janice M.; Betjemann, Rebecca S.; Olson, Richard K.

2008-01-01

Comprehension tests are often used interchangeably, suggesting an implicit assumption that they are all measuring the same thing. We examine the validity of this assumption by comparing some of the most popular reading comprehension measures used in research and clinical practice in the United States: the Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT), the two…

The Impact of Reading for Pleasure on Georgian University EFL Students' Reading Comprehension (IBSU Case)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goctu, Ramazan

2016-01-01

Reading is one of the most significant skills, particularly for EFL students. Many students today do not have the reading skills needed to do effective work in their courses. This paper explores reading for pleasure, its importance and impact on reading comprehension. Pleasure reading helps students to communicate, listen and, most importantly, to…

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a State-Mandated Benchmark Reading Assessment: mClass Reading 3D (Text Reading and Comprehension)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snow, Amie B.; Morris, Darrell; Perney, Jan

2018-01-01

We examined which of two instruments (Text Reading and Comprehension inventory [TRC] or a traditional informal reading inventory [IRI]) provides the more valid assessment of a primary-grade student's reading instructional level. The TRC is currently the required, benchmark reading assessment for students in grades K-3 in the state of North…

ReadXplorer—visualization and analysis of mapped sequences

PubMed Central

Hilker, Rolf; Stadermann, Kai Bernd; Doppmeier, Daniel; Kalinowski, Jörn; Stoye, Jens; Straube, Jasmin; Winnebald, Jörn; Goesmann, Alexander

2014-01-01

Motivation: Fast algorithms and well-arranged visualizations are required for the comprehensive analysis of the ever-growing size of genomic and transcriptomic next-generation sequencing data. Results: ReadXplorer is a software offering straightforward visualization and extensive analysis functions for genomic and transcriptomic DNA sequences mapped on a reference. A unique specialty of ReadXplorer is the quality classification of the read mappings. It is incorporated in all analysis functions and displayed in ReadXplorer's various synchronized data viewers for (i) the reference sequence, its base coverage as (ii) normalizable plot and (iii) histogram, (iv) read alignments and (v) read pairs. ReadXplorer's analysis capability covers RNA secondary structure prediction, single nucleotide polymorphism and deletion–insertion polymorphism detection, genomic feature and general coverage analysis. Especially for RNA-Seq data, it offers differential gene expression analysis, transcription start site and operon detection as well as RPKM value and read count calculations. Furthermore, ReadXplorer can combine or superimpose coverage of different datasets. Availability and implementation: ReadXplorer is available as open-source software at http://www.readxplorer.org along with a detailed manual. Contact: rhilker@mikrobio.med.uni-giessen.de Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:24790157

Effects of Tier I Differentiation and Reading Intervention on Reading Fluency, Comprehension, and High Stakes Measures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jefferson, Ruth E.; Grant, Christina E.; Sander, Janay B.

2017-01-01

This quasi-experimental study examined differences in student reading outcomes. Participants were third grade non-struggling readers. Intervention classrooms included core curriculum instruction plus evidence-based reading comprehension instruction and differentiated repeated readings. Comparison classrooms provided core curriculum instruction…

Approaching Authentic Peer Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graff, Nelson

2009-01-01

Some scholars writing about improving students' reading and integrating reading and writing instruction suggest using think-aloud techniques to teach students reading comprehension skills. Using think-alouds to teach reading comprehension and then the read-aloud protocol technique (which is based on think-alouds) for peer review has two major…

Choice of Reading Comprehension Test Influences the Outcomes of Genetic Analyses

PubMed Central

Betjemann, Rebecca S.; Keenan, Janice M.; Olson, Richard K.; DeFries, John C.

2010-01-01

Does the choice of test for assessing reading comprehension influence the outcome of genetic analyses? A twin design compared two types of reading comprehension tests classified as primarily associated with word decoding (RC-D) or listening comprehension (RC-LC). For both types of tests, the overall genetic influence is high and nearly identical. However, the tests differed significantly in how they covary with the genes associated with decoding and listening comprehension. Although Cholesky decomposition showed that both types of comprehension tests shared significant genetic influence with both decoding and listening comprehension, RC-D tests shared most genetic variance with decoding, and RC-LC tests shared most with listening comprehension. Thus, different tests used to measure the same construct may manifest very different patterns of genetic covariation. These results suggest that the apparent discrepancies among the findings of previous twin studies of reading comprehension could be due at least in part to test differences. PMID:21804757

English Word-Level Decoding and Oral Language Factors as Predictors of Third and Fifth Grade English Language Learners' Reading Comprehension Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landon, Laura L.

2017-01-01

This study examines the application of the Simple View of Reading (SVR), a reading comprehension theory focusing on word recognition and linguistic comprehension, to English Language Learners' (ELLs') English reading development. This study examines the concurrent and predictive validity of two components of the SVR, oral language and word-level…

Reading Strategies to Develop Higher Thinking Skills for Reading Comprehension (Estrategias de lectura para el desarrollo de habilidades de pensamiento para la comprensión de lectura)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Echeverri Acosta, Luz Marina; McNulty Ferri, Maria

2010-01-01

This paper reports an action research project which examined the foreign language reading comprehension of public school eighth graders who experienced a directed reading-thinking approach with strategies for comprehension and application. The strategies used were prediction, prior knowledge, graphic organizers, and questions. Data analyzed…

"Decoding versus comprehension": Brain responses underlying reading comprehension in children with autism.

PubMed

Bednarz, Haley M; Maximo, Jose O; Murdaugh, Donna L; O'Kelley, Sarah; Kana, Rajesh K

2017-06-01

Despite intact decoding ability, deficits in reading comprehension are relatively common in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, few neuroimaging studies have tested the neural bases of this specific profile of reading deficit in ASD. This fMRI study examined activation and synchronization of the brain's reading network in children with ASD with specific reading comprehension deficits during a word similarities task. Thirteen typically developing children and 18 children with ASD performed the task in the MRI scanner. No statistically significant group differences in functional activation were observed; however, children with ASD showed decreased functional connectivity between the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) and the left inferior occipital gyrus (LIOG). In addition, reading comprehension ability significantly positively predicted functional connectivity between the LIFG and left thalamus (LTHAL) among all subjects. The results of this study provide evidence for altered recruitment of reading-related neural resources in ASD children and suggest specific weaknesses in top-down modulation of semantic processing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The contribution of phonological knowledge, memory, and language background to reading comprehension in deaf populations

PubMed Central

Hirshorn, Elizabeth A.; Dye, Matthew W. G.; Hauser, Peter; Supalla, Ted R.; Bavelier, Daphne

2015-01-01

While reading is challenging for many deaf individuals, some become proficient readers. Little is known about the component processes that support reading comprehension in these individuals. Speech-based phonological knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of reading comprehension in hearing individuals, yet its role in deaf readers is controversial. This could reflect the highly varied language backgrounds among deaf readers as well as the difficulty of disentangling the relative contribution of phonological versus orthographic knowledge of spoken language, in our case ‘English,’ in this population. Here we assessed the impact of language experience on reading comprehension in deaf readers by recruiting oral deaf individuals, who use spoken English as their primary mode of communication, and deaf native signers of American Sign Language. First, to address the contribution of spoken English phonological knowledge in deaf readers, we present novel tasks that evaluate phonological versus orthographic knowledge. Second, the impact of this knowledge, as well as memory measures that rely differentially on phonological (serial recall) and semantic (free recall) processing, on reading comprehension was evaluated. The best predictor of reading comprehension differed as a function of language experience, with free recall being a better predictor in deaf native signers than in oral deaf. In contrast, the measures of English phonological knowledge, independent of orthographic knowledge, best predicted reading comprehension in oral deaf individuals. These results suggest successful reading strategies differ across deaf readers as a function of their language experience, and highlight a possible alternative route to literacy in deaf native signers. Highlights: 1. Deaf individuals vary in their orthographic and phonological knowledge of English as a function of their language experience. 2. Reading comprehension was best predicted by different factors in oral deaf and deaf native signers. 3. Free recall memory (primacy effect) better predicted reading comprehension in deaf native signers as compared to oral deaf or hearing individuals. 4. Language experience should be taken into account when considering cognitive processes that mediate reading in deaf individuals. PMID:26379566

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

PubMed

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.

Improving Reading Comprehension through Higher-Order Thinking Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKown, Brigitte A.; Barnett, Cynthia L.

2007-01-01

This action research project report documents the action research project that was conducted to improve reading comprehension with second grade and third grade students. The teacher researchers intended to improve reading comprehension by using higher-order thinking skills such as predicting, making connections, visualizing, inferring,…

Narrative Language and Reading Comprehension in Students with Mild Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barton-Hulsey, Andrea; Sevcik, Rose A.; Romski, MaryAnn

2017-01-01

Past research shows positive correlations between oral narrative skill and reading comprehension in typically developing students. This study examined the relationship between reading comprehension and narrative language ability of 102 elementary students with mild levels of intellectual disability. Results describe the students' narrative…

Exploration of the Components of Children's Reading Comprehension Using Rauding Theory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rupley, William H.; And Others

A study explored an application of rauding theory to the developmental components that contribute to elementary-age children's reading comprehension. The relationships among cognitive power, auditory accuracy level, pronunciation (word recognition) level, rauding (comprehension) accuracy level, rauding rate (reading rate) level, and rauding…

Proverb Comprehension as a Function of Reading Proficiency in Preadolescents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nippold, Marilyn A.; Allen, Melissa M.; Kirsch, Dixon I.

2001-01-01

Proverb comprehension through reading was examined in 42 preadolescent students, 24 of whom were identified as "proficient readers," and 18 as "less proficient readers." Comprehension on both unfamiliar concrete and abstract proverbs was associated with reading proficiency, word knowledge, and analogical reasoning. (Contains references.)…

Some Relationships between Operativity and Reading Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stack, Wesner Brown

Samples of 98 fourth graders and 111 sixth graders participated in a study of the relationships between operational thinking and reading comprehension of texts involving operational structures. Tests of operational thinking, reading comprehension, IQ, and vocabulary were administered in class groups. Results from correlational and factor analyses…

Development and validation of a reading-related assessment battery in Malay for the purpose of dyslexia assessment.

PubMed

Lee, Lay Wah

2008-06-01

Malay is an alphabetic language with transparent orthography. A Malay reading-related assessment battery which was conceptualised based on the International Dyslexia Association definition of dyslexia was developed and validated for the purpose of dyslexia assessment. The battery consisted of ten tests: Letter Naming, Word Reading, Non-word Reading, Spelling, Passage Reading, Reading Comprehension, Listening Comprehension, Elision, Rapid Letter Naming and Digit Span. Content validity was established by expert judgment. Concurrent validity was obtained using the schools' language tests as criterion. Evidence of predictive and construct validity was obtained through regression analyses and factor analyses. Phonological awareness was the most significant predictor of word-level literacy skills in Malay, with rapid naming making independent secondary contributions. Decoding and listening comprehension made separate contributions to reading comprehension, with decoding as the more prominent predictor. Factor analysis revealed four factors: phonological decoding, phonological naming, comprehension and verbal short-term memory. In conclusion, despite differences in orthography, there are striking similarities in the theoretical constructs of reading-related tasks in Malay and in English.

Speech Perception Deficits in Mandarin-Speaking School-Aged Children with Poor Reading Comprehension

PubMed Central

Liu, Huei-Mei; Tsao, Feng-Ming

2017-01-01

Previous studies have shown that children learning alphabetic writing systems who have language impairment or dyslexia exhibit speech perception deficits. However, whether such deficits exist in children learning logographic writing systems who have poor reading comprehension remains uncertain. To further explore this issue, the present study examined speech perception deficits in Mandarin-speaking children with poor reading comprehension. Two self-designed tasks, consonant categorical perception task and lexical tone discrimination task were used to compare speech perception performance in children (n = 31, age range = 7;4–10;2) with poor reading comprehension and an age-matched typically developing group (n = 31, age range = 7;7–9;10). Results showed that the children with poor reading comprehension were less accurate in consonant and lexical tone discrimination tasks and perceived speech contrasts less categorically than the matched group. The correlations between speech perception skills (i.e., consonant and lexical tone discrimination sensitivities and slope of consonant identification curve) and individuals’ oral language and reading comprehension were stronger than the correlations between speech perception ability and word recognition ability. In conclusion, the results revealed that Mandarin-speaking children with poor reading comprehension exhibit less-categorized speech perception, suggesting that imprecise speech perception, especially lexical tone perception, is essential to account for reading learning difficulties in Mandarin-speaking children. PMID:29312031

Examining the genetic and environmental associations among spelling, reading fluency, reading comprehension and a high stakes reading test in a combined sample of third and fourth grade students

PubMed Central

Little, Callie W.

2015-01-01

The present study is an examination of the genetic and environmental effects on the associations among reading fluency, spelling and earlier reading comprehension on a later reading comprehension outcome (FCAT) in a combined sample of 3rd and 4th grade students using data from the 2011-2012 school year of the Florida Twin project on Reading (Taylor et al., 2013). A genetically sensitive model was applied to the data with results indicating a common genetic component among all four measures, along with shared and non-shared environmental influences common between reading fluency, spelling and FCAT. PMID:26770052

E-Readers and the Effects on Students' Reading Motivation, Attitude, and Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

Reading-Specific Flexibility Moderates the Relation between Reading Strategy Use and Reading Comprehension during the Elementary Years

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gnaedinger, Emily K.; Hund, Alycia M.; Hesson-McInnis, Matthew S.

2016-01-01

The goal was to test whether cognitive flexibility moderates the relation between reading strategy use and reading comprehension during the elementary years. Seventy-five second- through fifth-grade students completed a think aloud task and a metacognitive questionnaire to measure reading strategies, two card-sorting tasks to measure general and…

An Investigation of Chinese University EFL Learner's Foreign Language Reading Anxiety, Reading Strategy Use and Reading Comprehension Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lu, Zhongshe; Liu, Meihua

2015-01-01

The present study explored the interrelations between foreign language (FL) reading anxiety, FL reading strategy use and their interactive effect on FL reading comprehension performance at the tertiary level in China. Analyses of the survey data collected from 1702 university students yielded the following results: (a) Both Foreign Language…

Does mClass Reading 3D Predict Student Reading Proficiency on High-Stakes Assessments?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowles, Amy S.

2015-01-01

This quantitative, correlational study investigated the relationship between the North Carolina End of Grade Assessment of Reading Comprehension (NCEOG) and mClass Reading 3D assessment in a North Carolina elementary school. It especially examined the degree to which mClass Reading 3D measures predict scores on the reading comprehension portion of…

Assessment of Reading Comprehension, Panel 5; Conference on Studies in Reading (Washington, D.C., August 1974).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Marshall S., Ed.

The aim of the panel on reading comprehension, sponsored by the National Institute of Education Conference on Studies in Reading, was to determine the influence of intellectual factors, general experiences with the world, knowledge specific to the particular reading task, and general decoding skills to successful reading performance. In addition,…

The Importance of Metacognitive Reading Strategy Awareness in Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahmadi, Mohammad Reza; Ismail, Hairul Nizam; Abdullah, Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan

2013-01-01

Metacognitive reading strategy awareness plays a significant role in reading comprehension and educational process. In spite of its importance, metacognitive strategy has long been the ignored skill in English language teaching, research, learning, and assessment. This lack of good metacognitive reading strategy skill is exacerbated by the central…

Importance of Context Dependence in the Measurement of Reading Skills.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oaster, T. R. F.; Thomas, Rick D.

Past reading research suggests that measures of reading comprehension should be made context dependent. Reading comprehension test questions that are context dependent are best answered by examinees only after the accompanying passages have been read. Recently, there has been some disagreement concerning the exact importance of context dependence…

The use of music to enhance reading skills of second grade students and students with reading disabilities.

PubMed

Register, Dena; Darrow, Alice-Ann; Standley, Jayne; Swedberg, Olivia

2007-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to determine the efficacy of using music as a remedial strategy to enhance the reading skills of second-grade students and students who have been identified as having a specific learning disability (SLD) in reading. First, an intensive short-term music curriculum was designed to target reading comprehension and vocabulary skills at the second grade level. The curriculum was then implemented in classrooms at two public schools in the Southeast. Reading skills were evaluated pre and post curriculum intervention via the vocabulary and reading comprehension subtests of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test for second grade. Analysis of pre/posttest data revealed that students with a specific disability in reading improved significantly from pre to post on all three subtests: word decoding (p = .04), word knowledge (p = .01), reading comprehension (p = .01), and test total (p = .01). Paired t-tests revealed that for 2nd grade students, both treatment and control classes improved significantly from pre to post on the subtests word decoding, word knowledge, and test total. While both classes made gains from pre to post on the subtest, reading comprehension, neither improved significantly. Analysis of Covariance revealed that the treatment class made greater gains pre to post than the control class on all 3 subtests (Including reading comprehension), and significantly greater gains on the subtest, word knowledge (p = .01).

Cognitive coupling during reading.

PubMed

Mills, Caitlin; Graesser, Art; Risko, Evan F; D'Mello, Sidney K

2017-06-01

We hypothesize that cognitively engaged readers dynamically adjust their reading times with respect to text complexity (i.e., reading times should increase for difficult sections and decrease for easier ones) and failure to do so should impair comprehension. This hypothesis is consistent with theories of text comprehension but has surprisingly been untested. We tested this hypothesis by analyzing 4 datasets in which participants (N = 484) read expository texts using a self-paced reading paradigm. Participants self-reported mind wandering in response to pseudorandom thought-probes during reading and completed comprehension assessments after reading. We computed two measures of cognitive coupling by regressing each participant's paragraph-level reading times on two measures of text complexity: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and Word Concreteness scores. The two coupling measures yielded convergent findings: coupling was a negative predictor of mind wandering and a positive predictor of both text- and inference-level comprehension. Goodness-of-fit, measured with Akaike information criterion, also improved after adding coupling to the reading-time only models. Furthermore, cognitive coupling mediated the relationship between mind wandering and comprehension, supporting the hypothesis that mind wandering engenders a decoupling of attention from external stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

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

PubMed

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.

A Technique for Tracking the Reading Rate to Identify the E-Book Reading Behaviors and Comprehension Outcomes of Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Yueh-Min; Liang, Tsung-Ho

2015-01-01

Tracking individual reading behaviors is a difficult task, as is carrying out real-time recording and analysis throughout the reading process, but these aims are worth pursuing. In this study, the reading rate is adopted as an indicator to identify different reading behaviors and comprehension outcomes. A reading rate tracking technique is thus…

Improving Student Comprehension Skills through Instructional Strategies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharp, Patricia; Ashby, Doris

This report intends to describe a program designed to enhance reading comprehension. Reading comprehension relies on skills that enable students to remember facts, draw out main ideas, make inferences, and relate reading to personal experiences. The focus group consisted of middle and high school students in a metropolitan area in northern…

The Effect of Project-Based Activities on Intermediate EFL Students' Reading Comprehension Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shiraz, Mona Poorverdi; Larsari, Ebrahim Ezati

2014-01-01

The present study investigates the relationship between the use of Project-based activities and intermediate EFL students' reading comprehension. The study addresses the questions of whether students' reading comprehension differs after implementing Project-based activities, and whether different projects lead to different degrees of reading…

Impact of a Technology-Mediated Reading Intervention on Adolescents' Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fogarty, Melissa; Clemens, Nathan; Simmons, Deborah; Anderson, Leah; Davis, John; Smith, Ashley; Wang, Huan; Kwok, Oi-man; Simmons, Leslie E.; Oslund, Eric

2017-01-01

In this experimental study we examined the effects of a technology-mediated, multicomponent reading comprehension intervention, Comprehension Circuit Training (CCT), for middle school students, the majority of whom were struggling readers. The study was conducted in three schools, involving three teachers and 228 students. Using a within-teacher…

Reading Comprehension and Autism in the Primary General Education Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Neal Nghia; Leytham, Patrick; Schaefer Whitby, Peggy; Gelfer, Jeffrey I.

2015-01-01

Reading comprehension is a critical building block for effective early literacy development. Many students with autism spectrum disorder demonstrate difficulties in reading comprehension. These difficulties may be attributed to deficits in Theory of Mind, Weak Central Coherence, and Executive Functioning. Given the rise in the number of students…

The Relation of Morphological Awareness and Syntactic Awareness to Adults' Reading Comprehension: Is Vocabulary Knowledge a Mediating Variable?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guo, Ying; Roehrig, Alysia D.; Williams, Rihana S.

2011-01-01

The authors' goal was to examine the structural relationships among vocabulary knowledge, morphological awareness, syntactic awareness, and reading comprehension in English-speaking adults. Structural equation analysis of data collected from 151 participants revealed that morphological awareness affected reading comprehension directly. Syntactic…

A Dramatic Approach to Reading Comprehension: Strategies and Activities for Classroom Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelner, Lenore Blank; Flynn, Rosalind M.

2006-01-01

Integration occurs when separate parts or elements are combined into a unified whole. This book focuses on classroom arts integration--equally incorporating skills in drama and reading comprehension into all lessons. Drama and reading comprehension share a multitude of authentic connections, including meaning making and interpretation. Each…

Technical Advances and Fifth Grade Reading Comprehension: Do Students Benefit?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fountaine, Drew

This paper takes a look at some recent studies on utilization of technical tools, primarily personal computers and software, for improving fifth-grade students' reading comprehension. Specifically, the paper asks what benefits an educator can expect students to derive from closed-captioning and computer-assisted reading comprehension products. It…

The Listening and Reading Comprehension (LARC) Program....Experiential Based Sequential Training.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blumenstyk, Holly; And Others

The LARC (Listening and Reading Comprehension) Program, an experiential based story grammar approach to listening and reading comprehension is described, and a pilot study of its effectiveness with communication handicapped children is reviewed. The LARC framework translates children's own recent experiences into sequenced story episodes which are…

The Effects of Pre-Learning Vocabulary on Reading Comprehension and Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webb, Stuart A.

2009-01-01

This study investigates the effects of pre-learning vocabulary on reading comprehension and writing. Japanese students studying English as a foreign language (EFL) learned word pairs receptively and productively; four tests were used to measure reading comprehension, writing, and receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge. The findings suggest…

Evaluation of Attention Training and Metacognitive Facilitation to Improve Reading Comprehension in Aphasia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Jaime B.; Sohlberg, McKay Moore

2013-01-01

Purpose: This pilot study investigated the impact of direct attention training combined with metacognitive facilitation on reading comprehension in individuals with aphasia. Method: A single-subject, multiple baseline design was employed across 4 participants to evaluate potential changes in reading comprehension resulting from an 8-week…

Relations of Cognitive Style to Assessment Components of Reading Comprehension for Deaf Adolescents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davey, Beth; LaSasso, Carol

The study examined the relations of cognitive style (field independence) to reading comprehension test performance for 48 prelingually, profoundly deaf adolescents. Ss read passages and answered comprehension questions consisting of two Information Types (text-explicit, text-implicit), Lookback Conditions (lookback, no-lookback), and Question…

Enhancing Reading Comprehension with Student-Centered iPad Applications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moon, Andria L.; Wold, Cheryl M.; Francom, Gregory M.

2017-01-01

Reading comprehension, or understanding the author's message, is a critical component of teaching literacy (Hougen and Smartt 2012). Student-centered activities using the iPad with the goal of improving reading comprehension in a fifth-grade classroom were implemented for this action research study. University teacher candidates guided fifth-grade…

The Association between Mathematical Word Problems and Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vilenius-Tuohimaa, Piia Maria; Aunola, Kaisa; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

2008-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the interplay between mathematical word problem skills and reading comprehension. The participants were 225 children aged 9-10 (Grade 4). The children's text comprehension and mathematical word problem-solving performance was tested. Technical reading skills were investigated in order to categorise participants as…

The Contribution of Attentional Control and Working Memory to Reading Comprehension and Decoding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arrington, C. Nikki; Kulesz, Paulina A.; Francis, David J.; Fletcher, Jack M.; Barnes, Marcia A.

2014-01-01

Little is known about how specific components of working memory, namely, attentional processes including response inhibition, sustained attention, and cognitive inhibition, are related to reading decoding and comprehension. The current study evaluated the relations of reading comprehension, decoding, working memory, and attentional control in…

Describing Comprehension: Teachers' Observations of Students' Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vander Does, Susan Lubow

2012-01-01

Teachers' observations of student performance in reading are abundant and insightful but often remain internal and unarticulated. As a result, such observations are an underutilized and undervalued source of data. Given the gaps in knowledge about students' reading comprehension that exist in formal assessments, the frequent calls for teachers'…

Augmented Reality Game-Based Learning: Enriching Students' Experience during Reading Comprehension Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tobar-Muñoz, Hendrys; Baldiris, Silvia; Fabregat, Ramon

2017-01-01

Program for International Student Assessment results indicate that while reading comprehension needs to be promoted, teachers are struggling to find ways to motivate students to do reading comprehension activities and although technology-enhanced learning approaches are entering the classroom, researchers are still experimenting with them to…

A Low Vision Reading Comprehension Test.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, G. R.; And Others

1996-01-01

Fifty adults (ages 28-86) with macular degeneration were given the Low Vision Reading Comprehension Assessment (LVRCA) to test its reliability and validity in evaluating the reading comprehension of those with vision impairments. The LVRCA was found to take only nine minutes to administer and was a valid and reliable tool. (CR)

Comprehension Tools for Teachers: Reading for Understanding from Prekindergarten through Fourth Grade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connor, Carol McDonald; Phillips, Beth M.; Kaschak, Michael; Apel, Kenn; Kim, Young-Suk; Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Crowe, Elizabeth C.; Thomas-Tate, Shurita; Johnson, Lakeisha Cooper; Lonigan, Christopher J.

2014-01-01

This paper describes the theoretical framework, as well as the development and testing of the intervention, "Comprehension Tools for Teachers" (CTT), which is composed of eight component interventions targeting malleable language and reading comprehension skills that emerging research indicates contribute to proficient reading for…

Activation of Background Knowledge for Inference Making: Effects on Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elbro, Carsten; Buch-Iversen, Ida

2013-01-01

Failure to "activate" relevant, existing background knowledge may be a cause of poor reading comprehension. This failure may cause particular problems with inferences that depend heavily on prior knowledge. Conversely, teaching how to use background knowledge in the context of gap-filling inferences could improve reading comprehension in…

Domain-Specific Knowledge and General Skills in Reading Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuhara-Kojima, Keiko; Hatano, Giyoo

A study examined whether the reading comprehension of students with rich domain-specific knowledge will be better than that of students without it and whether assessed general skills will be correlated significantly with reading comprehension performance for students without specific knowledge, but negligible for the students with much specific…

Improving Content Knowledge and Comprehension for English Language Learners: Findings from a Randomized Control Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vaughn, Sharon; Martinez, Leticia R.; Wanzek, Jeanne; Roberts, Greg; Swanson, Elizabeth; Fall, Anna-Mária

2017-01-01

Supporting the reading comprehension and content knowledge acquisition of English language learners (ELs) requires instructional practices that continue beyond developing the foundational skills of reading. In particular, the challenges ELs face highlight the importance of teaching reading comprehension practices in the middle grades through…

Correlates of Early Reading Comprehension Skills: A Componential Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Babayigit, Selma; Stainthorp, Rhona

2014-01-01

This study had three main aims. First, we examined to what extent listening comprehension, vocabulary, grammatical skills and verbal short-term memory (VSTM) assessed prior to formal reading instruction explained individual differences in early reading comprehension levels. Second, we examined to what extent the three common component skills,…

Lexical decision as an endophenotype for reading comprehension: An exploration of an association

PubMed Central

NAPLES, ADAM; KATZ, LEN; GRIGORENKO, ELENA L.

2012-01-01

Based on numerous suggestions in the literature, we evaluated lexical decision (LD) as a putative endophenotype for reading comprehension by investigating heritability estimates and segregation analyses parameter estimates for both of these phenotypes. Specifically, in a segregation analysis of a large sample of families, we established that there is little to no overlap between genes contributing to LD and reading comprehension and that the genetic mechanism behind LD derived from this analysis appears to be more complex than that for reading comprehension. We conclude that in our sample, LD is not a good candidate as an endophenotype for reading comprehension, despite previous suggestions from the literature. Based on this conclusion, we discuss the role and benefit of the endophenotype approach in studies of complex human cognitive functions. PMID:23062302

Syntax and reading comprehension: a meta-analysis of different spoken-syntax assessments.

PubMed

Brimo, Danielle; Lund, Emily; Sapp, Alysha

2018-05-01

Syntax is a language skill purported to support children's reading comprehension. However, researchers who have examined whether children with average and below-average reading comprehension score significantly different on spoken-syntax assessments report inconsistent results. To determine if differences in how syntax is measured affect whether children with average and below-average reading comprehension score significantly different on spoken-syntax assessments. Studies that included a group comparison design, children with average and below-average reading comprehension, and a spoken-syntax assessment were selected for review. Fourteen articles from a total of 1281 reviewed met the inclusionary criteria. The 14 articles were coded for the age of the children, score on the reading comprehension assessment, type of spoken-syntax assessment, type of syntax construct measured and score on the spoken-syntax assessment. A random-effects model was used to analyze the difference between the effect sizes of the types of spoken-syntax assessments and the difference between the effect sizes of the syntax construct measured. There was a significant difference between children with average and below-average reading comprehension on spoken-syntax assessments. Those with average and below-average reading comprehension scored significantly different on spoken-syntax assessments when norm-referenced and researcher-created assessments were compared. However, when the type of construct was compared, children with average and below-average reading comprehension scored significantly different on assessments that measured knowledge of spoken syntax, but not on assessments that measured awareness of spoken syntax. The results of this meta-analysis confirmed that the type of spoken-syntax assessment, whether norm-referenced or researcher-created, did not explain why some researchers reported that there were no significant differences between children with average and below-average reading comprehension, but the syntax construct, awareness or knowledge, did. Thus, when selecting how to measure syntax among school-age children, researchers and practitioners should evaluate whether they are measuring children's awareness of spoken syntax or knowledge of spoken syntax. Other differences, such as participant diagnosis and the format of items on the spoken-syntax assessments, also were discussed as possible explanations for why researchers found that children with average and below-average reading comprehension did not score significantly differently on spoken-syntax assessments. © 2017 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Oral Language and Listening Comprehension: Same or Different Constructs?

PubMed

2017-05-24

The purpose of this study was to add to our understanding of the dimensionality of oral language in children and to determine whether oral language and listening comprehension are separate constructs in children enrolled in preschool (PK) through 3rd grade. In the spring of the school year, children from 4 states (N = 1,869) completed multiple measures of oral language (i.e., expressive and receptive vocabulary and grammar) and listening comprehension as part of a larger study of the language bases of reading comprehension. Initial confirmatory factor analysis found evidence that measures of oral language and listening comprehension loaded on two separate factors in PK through 3rd grade; however, these factors were highly correlated at all grades. These results suggest that oral language and listening comprehension are best characterized as a single oral language construct in PK through 3rd grade. The implications for early identification and intervention are discussed.

Beyond Cognition: Reading Motivation and Reading Comprehension

PubMed Central

Wigfield, Allan; Gladstone, Jessica; Turci, Lara

2016-01-01

The authors review research on children’s reading motivation and its relation to their reading comprehension. They begin by discussing work on the development of school motivation in general and reading motivation in particular, reviewing work showing that many children’s reading motivation declines over the school years. Girls tend to have more positive motivation for reading than do boys, and there are ethnic differences in children’s reading motivation. Over the last 15 years researchers have identified in both laboratory and classroom-based research instructional practices that positively impact students’ reading motivation and ultimately their reading comprehension. There is a strong need for researchers to build on this work and develop and study in different age groups of children effective classroom-based reading motivation instructional programs for a variety of narrative and informational materials. PMID:27617030

Graphic organizers and their effects on the reading comprehension of students with LD: a synthesis of research.

PubMed

Kim, Ae-Hwa; Vaughn, Sharon; Wanzek, Jeanne; Wei, Shangjin

2004-01-01

Previous research studies examining the effects of graphic organizers on reading comprehension for students with learning disabilities (LD) are reviewed. An extensive search of the professional literature between 1963 and June 2001 yielded a total of 21 group design intervention studies that met the criteria for inclusion in the synthesis. Using graphic organizers (i.e., semantic organizers, framed outlines, cognitive maps with and without a mnemonic) was associated with improved reading comprehension overall for students with LD. Compared to standardized reading measures, researcher-developed comprehension measures were associated with higher effect sizes. Initial gains demonstrated when using graphic organizers were not revealed during later comprehension tasks or on new comprehension tasks.

Quantifiers are incrementally interpreted in context, more than less

PubMed Central

Urbach, Thomas P.; DeLong, Katherine A.; Kutas, Marta

2015-01-01

Language interpretation is often assumed to be incremental. However, our studies of quantifier expressions in isolated sentences found N400 event-related brain potential (ERP) evidence for partial but not full immediate quantifier interpretation (Urbach & Kutas, 2010). Here we tested similar quantifier expressions in pragmatically supporting discourse contexts (Alex was an unusual toddler. Most/Few kids prefer sweets/vegetables…) while participants made plausibility judgments (Experiment 1) or read for comprehension (Experiment 2). Control Experiments 3A (plausibility) and 3B (comprehension) removed the discourse contexts. Quantifiers always modulated typical and/or atypical word N400 amplitudes. However, only the real-time N400 effects only in Experiment 2 mirrored offline quantifier and typicality crossover interaction effects for plausibility ratings and cloze probabilities. We conclude that quantifier expressions can be interpreted fully and immediately, though pragmatic and task variables appear to impact the speed and/or depth of quantifier interpretation. PMID:26005285

A Book for Two

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Keer, Hilde; Vanderlinde, Ruben

2013-01-01

To close the gap between reading research and the reality of instruction, the authors developed a reading comprehension approach for elementary school, aiming at explicit instruction and practice of reading comprehension strategies. Their approach encompasses two complementary cornerstones: explicit instruction in reading strategies and creating…

Reading Comprehension Improvement with Individualized Cognitive Profiles and Metacognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Kathleen D.; Hancock, Thomas E.

2008-01-01

This study models improving classroom reading instruction through valid assessment and individualized metacomprehension. Individualized cognitive profiles of Woodcock-Johnson III cognitive abilities correlated with reading comprehension were used during classroom independent reading for judgments of learning, feedback, self-reflection, and…

Right is not always wrong: DTI and fMRI evidence for the reliance of reading comprehension on language-comprehension networks in the right hemisphere.

PubMed

Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi; Grainger, Molly; DiFrancesco, Mark; Vannest, Jennifer; Holland, Scott K

2015-03-01

The Simple View theory suggests that reading comprehension relies on automatic recognition of words combined with language comprehension. The goal of the current study was to examine the structural and functional connectivity in networks supporting reading comprehension and their relationship with language comprehension within 7-9 year old children using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and fMRI during a Sentence Picture Matching task. Fractional Anisotropy (FA) values in the left and right Inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus (ILF) and Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus (SLF), known language-related tracts, were correlated from DTI data with scores from the Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III) Passage Comprehension sub-test. Brodmann areas most proximal to white-matter regions with significant correlation to Passage Comprehension scores were chosen as Regions-of-Interest (ROIs) and used as seeds in a functional connectivity analysis using the Sentence Picture Matching task. The correlation between percentile scores for the WJ-III Passage Comprehension subtest and the FA values in the right and left ILF and SLF indicated positive correlation in language-related ROIs, with greater distribution in the right hemisphere, which in turn showed strong connectivity in the fMRI data from the Sentence Picture Matching task. These results support the participation of the right hemisphere in reading comprehension and may provide physiologic support for a distinction between different types of reading comprehension deficits vs difficulties in technical reading.

Instruction of Research-Based Comprehension Strategies in Basal Reading Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pilonieta, Paola

2010-01-01

Research supports using research-based comprehension strategies; however, comprehension strategy instruction is not highly visible in basal reading programs or classroom instruction, resulting in many students who struggle with comprehension. A content analysis examined which research-based comprehension strategies were presented in five…

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

PubMed

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.

The Genetic Architecture of Oral Language, Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension: A Twin Study From 7 to 16 Years

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

This study examines the genetic and environmental etiology underlying the development of oral language and reading skills, and the relationship between them, over a long period of developmental time spanning middle childhood and adolescence. It focuses particularly on the differential relationship between language and two different aspects of reading: reading fluency and reading comprehension. Structural equation models were applied to language and reading data at 7, 12, and 16 years from the large-scale TEDS twin study. A series of multivariate twin models show a clear patterning of oral language with reading comprehension, as distinct from reading fluency: significant but moderate genetic overlap between oral language and reading fluency (genetic correlation rg = .46–.58 at 7, 12, and 16) contrasts with very substantial genetic overlap between oral language and reading comprehension (rg = .81–.87, at 12 and 16). This pattern is even clearer in a latent factors model, fit to the data aggregated across ages, in which a single factor representing oral language and reading comprehension is correlated with—but distinct from—a second factor representing reading fluency. A distinction between oral language and reading fluency is also apparent in different developmental trajectories: While the heritability of oral language increases over the period from 7 to 12 to 16 years (from h2 = .27 to .47 to .55), the heritability of reading fluency is high and largely stable over the same period of time (h2 = .73 to .71 to .64). PMID:28541066

The genetic architecture of oral language, reading fluency, and reading comprehension: A twin study from 7 to 16 years.

PubMed

Tosto, Maria G; Hayiou-Thomas, Marianna E; Harlaar, Nicole; Prom-Wormley, Elizabeth; Dale, Philip S; Plomin, Robert

2017-06-01

This study examines the genetic and environmental etiology underlying the development of oral language and reading skills, and the relationship between them, over a long period of developmental time spanning middle childhood and adolescence. It focuses particularly on the differential relationship between language and two different aspects of reading: reading fluency and reading comprehension. Structural equation models were applied to language and reading data at 7, 12, and 16 years from the large-scale TEDS twin study. A series of multivariate twin models show a clear patterning of oral language with reading comprehension, as distinct from reading fluency: significant but moderate genetic overlap between oral language and reading fluency (genetic correlation r g = .46-.58 at 7, 12, and 16) contrasts with very substantial genetic overlap between oral language and reading comprehension (r g = .81-.87, at 12 and 16). This pattern is even clearer in a latent factors model, fit to the data aggregated across ages, in which a single factor representing oral language and reading comprehension is correlated with-but distinct from-a second factor representing reading fluency. A distinction between oral language and reading fluency is also apparent in different developmental trajectories: While the heritability of oral language increases over the period from 7 to 12 to 16 years (from h² = .27 to .47 to .55), the heritability of reading fluency is high and largely stable over the same period of time (h² = .73 to .71 to .64). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Validity of CBM Measures of Oral Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension on High-Stakes Reading Assessments in Grades 7 and 8

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Doris Luft; Biancarosa, Gina; Park, Bitnara Jasmine; Bousselot, Tracy; Smith, Jean-Louise; Baker, Scott K.; Kame'enui, Edward J.; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

2015-01-01

We examined the criterion validity and diagnostic efficiency of oral reading fluency (ORF), word reading accuracy, and reading comprehension (RC) for students in Grades 7 and 8 taking into account form effects of ORF, time of assessment, and individual differences, including student designations of limited English proficiency and special education…

The Impact of Reading Self-Efficacy and Task Value on Reading Comprehension Scores in Different Item Formats

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solheim, Oddny Judith

2011-01-01

It has been hypothesized that students with low self-efficacy will struggle with complex reading tasks in assessment situations. In this study we examined whether perceived reading self-efficacy and reading task value uniquely predicted reading comprehension scores in two different item formats in a sample of fifth-grade students. Results showed…

An Investigation of Basic and Borderline Proficient Students' Comprehension Reading Achievement Using the Read 180 Computerized Instructional Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piper, Deborah L.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to see if students made gains in reading achievement in the area of reading comprehension by having used a computerized reading instructional program entitled "READ 180RTM." The researcher included a qualitative component to gather teacher and parent perceptions of the use of this program. The theoretical…

The Effects of Conditioned Reinforcement for Reading on Reading Comprehension for 5th Graders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cumiskey Moore, Colleen

2017-01-01

In three experiments, I tested the effects of the conditioned reinforcement for reading (R+Reading) on reading comprehension with 5th graders. In Experiment 1, I conducted a series of statistical analyses with data from 18 participants for one year. I administered 4 pre/post measurements for reading repertoires which included: 1) state-wide…

A Longitudinal Study of the Role of Reading Motivation in Primary Students' Reading Comprehension: Implications for a Less Simple View of Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

Reading Fluency and Students with Reading Disabilities: How Fast Is Fast Enough to Promote Reading Comprehension?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connor, Rollanda E.

2018-01-01

The goal of improving reading rate and fluency is to positively impact reading comprehension; however, it is unclear how fast students with learning disabilities (LD) need to read to reap this benefit. The purpose of this research was to identify the point of diminishing return for students who were dysfluent readers. Participants included 337…

The Effect of Speed Reading Instruction on Japanese High School Students' English Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Underwood, Paul; Myskow, Gordon; Hattori, Takahiko

2012-01-01

This study investigated the effects of a six-month course in speed reading in three areas of reading proficiency development: 1) general reading comprehension, 2) knowledge of high-frequency vocabulary, and 3) reading-rate and accuracy. The participants (N = 105) were Japanese students studying English as a foreign language in Grade 10 at a…

Examining the Simple View of Reading Model for United States High School Spanish Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sparks, Richard; Patton, Jon

2016-01-01

The Simple View of Reading (SVR) model, which posits that reading comprehension is the product of word decoding and language comprehension that make independent contributions to reading skill, has been found to explain the acquisition of first language (L1) reading and second language (L2) reading in young English language learners (ELLs).…

Lexical-Semantic Processing and Reading: Relations between Semantic Priming, Visual Word Recognition and Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nobre, Alexandre de Pontes; de Salles, Jerusa Fumagalli

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate relations between lexical-semantic processing and two components of reading: visual word recognition and reading comprehension. Sixty-eight children from private schools in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from 7 to 12 years, were evaluated. Reading was assessed with a word/nonword reading task and a reading…

Word Reading Efficiency, Text Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension among Chinese Learners of English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jiang, Xiangying; Sawaki, Yasuyo; Sabatini, John

2012-01-01

This study examined the relationship among word reading efficiency, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension for adult English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Data from 185 adult Chinese EFL learners preparing to take the Test-of-English-as-a-Foreign-Language[TM] (TOEFL[R]) were analyzed in this study. The participants completed a…

Effectiveness of Corrective Reading on Reading Comprehension and Fluency in At-Risk Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weaver, Barbara Jean Alexander

2012-01-01

One of the greatest predictors and characteristics of a high school dropout has been poor reading skills. Students with low achievement levels in reading by the end of third grade are at greater risk of becoming a dropout. The study sought to determine whether the Corrective Reading Program impacted reading comprehension and fluency skills of…

Writing-Reading Relationships: Effectiveness of Writing Activities as Pre-Reading Tasks to Enhance L2 Inferential Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wickramaarachchi, Thilina Indrajie

2014-01-01

The study examines the interaction between reading and writing processes in general and more specifically the impact of pre-reading tasks incorporating writing tasks (referred to as "prw tasks") in helping the development of inferential reading comprehension. A sample of 70 first year ESL students of the University of Kelaniya were…

Easy-to-read texts for students with intellectual disability: linguistic factors affecting comprehension.

PubMed

Fajardo, Inmaculada; Ávila, Vicenta; Ferrer, Antonio; Tavares, Gema; Gómez, Marcos; Hernández, Ana

2014-05-01

The use of 'easy-to-read' materials for people with intellectual disabilities has become very widespread but their effectiveness has scarcely been evaluated. In this study, the framework provided by Kintsch's Construction-Integration Model (1988) is used to examine (i) the reading comprehension levels of different passages of the Spanish text that have been designed following easy-to-read guidelines and (ii) the relationships between reading comprehension (literal and inferential) and various linguistic features of these texts. Sixteen students with mild intellectual disability and low levels of reading skills were asked to read easy-to-read texts and then complete a reading comprehension test. The corpus of texts was composed of a set of forty-eight pieces of news selected from www.noticiasfacil.es, a Spanish digital newspaper that publishes daily journalistic texts following international guidelines for the design of easy-to-read documents (IFLA, Tronbacke B. (1997) Guidelines for Easy-to-read Materials. IFLA, The Hague). Participants correctly answered 80% of the comprehension questions, showing significantly higher scores for literal questions than for inferential questions. The analyses of the texts' linguistic features revealed that the number of coreferences was the variable that best predicted literal comprehension, but contrary to what the previous literature seemed to indicate, the relationship between the two variables was inverse. In the case of inferential comprehension, the number of sentences was a significant negative predictor; that is, the higher the sentence density, the lower the ability of these students to find relationships between them. The effects of the rest of linguistic variables, such as word frequency and word length, on comprehension were null. These results provide preliminary empirical support for the use of easy-to-read texts but bring into question the validity of some popular design guidelines (e.g. augmenting word frequency) to optimally match texts and reading levels of students with intellectual disability. Two factors are suggested as contributing to the effect of sentence density on inferential comprehension: (i) long texts present higher conceptual density, so there are more ideas to store, retrieve and integrate, which increases the demand on inferential reasoning and (ii) long texts are perceived as difficult, which affects reading motivation and, consequently, induces passive reading strategies. The need for further research to elucidate the origin of our main findings with a larger and more heterogeneous sample of students with intellectual disability is highlighted. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

"To Gloss or Not To Gloss": An Investigation of Reading Comprehension Online.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lomika, Lara L.

1998-01-01

Investigated effects of multimedia reading software on reading comprehension. Twelve college students enrolled in a second semester French course were instructed to think aloud during reading of text on the computer screen. They read text under one of three conditions: full glossing, limited glossing, no glossing. Suggests computerized reading…

The Effects of Pre-Reading Activities on Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moghaddam, Nahid Nemati; Mahmoudi, Asgar

2016-01-01

This study investigated the effects of three types of pre-reading activities (movie-watching, vocabulary presentation, and pre-reading summarization) on the reading comprehension of 76 elementary-level EFL Iranian learners. The participants were randomly assigned to one control and three experimental conditions and then a pretest was given to…

Predictors of Foreign Language Reading Comprehension in a Hypermedia Reading Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

Promoting Reading Comprehension, Content Learning, and English Acquisition through Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klingner, Janette K.; Vaughn, Sharon

1999-01-01

Describes procedures for teaching Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), in which students of mixed reading and achievement levels work in small, cooperative groups to assist one another in applying reading strategies to facilitate their comprehension of content-area text. Discusses whole-class instruction of CSR strategies, implementing CSR in…

Online versus Paper-Based Instruction: Comparing Two Strategy Training Modules for Improving Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Hsin-chou

2014-01-01

This study investigates the effectiveness of online versus paper-based reading strategy instruction on EFL learners' reading comprehension. Fifty-seven university students from two intact reading classes with comparable proficiency levels were assigned to participate in either a paper-based or an online reading instructional module. Both groups…

Neural Correlates of Oral Word Reading, Silent Reading Comprehension, and Cognitive Subcomponents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xia, Zhichao; Zhang, Linjun; Hoeft, Fumiko; Gu, Bin; Gong, Gaolang; Shu, Hua

2018-01-01

The ability to read is essential for cognitive development. To deepen our understanding of reading acquisition, we explored the neuroanatomical correlates (cortical thickness; CT) of word-reading fluency and sentence comprehension efficiency in Chinese with a group of typically developing children (N = 21; 12 females and 9 males; age range…

Augmenting Paper-Based Reading Activity with Direct Access to Digital Materials and Scaffolded Questioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Nian-Shing; Teng, Daniel Chia-En; Lee, Cheng-Han; Kinshuk

2011-01-01

Comprehension is the goal of reading. However, students often encounter reading difficulties due to the lack of background knowledge and proper reading strategy. Unfortunately, print text provides very limited assistance to one's reading comprehension through its static knowledge representations such as symbols, charts, and graphs. Integrating…

The Relationship among Correct and Error Oral Reading Rates and Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Michael; Smith, Deborah Deutsch

1980-01-01

Eight learning disabled boys (10 to 12 years old) who were seriously deficient in both their oral reading and comprehension performances participated in the study which investigated, through an applied behavior analysis model, the interrelationships of three reading variables--correct oral reading rates, error oral reading rates, and percentage of…

Are Learning Disabled Students "Test-Wise?": An Inquiry into Reading Comprehension Test Items.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scruggs, Thomas E.; Lifson, Steve

The ability to correctly answer reading comprehension test items, without having read the accompanying reading passage, was compared for third grade learning disabled students and their peers from a regular classroom. In the first experiment, fourteen multiple choice items were selected from the Stanford Achievement Test. No reading passages were…

Using Repeated Reading to Improve Reading Speed and Comprehension in Students with Visual Impairments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savaiano, Mackenzie E.; Hatton, Deborah D.

2013-01-01

Introduction: This study evaluated whether children with visual impairments who receive repeated reading instruction exhibit an increase in their oral reading rate and comprehension and a decrease in oral reading error rates. Methods: A single-subject, changing-criterion design replicated across three participants was used to demonstrate the…