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As part of integrated instruction, educators aim to efficiently and simultaneously address learning goals across multiple subject areas like English language arts (ELA) and science or social studies. While studies are beginning to show that this instructional approach can be effective, it is challenging to implement in practice, requiring that educators dedicate considerable energy to sourcing interdisciplinary texts. This study explored whether Newsela ELA could enable integrated instruction and lead to stronger reading outcomes for students in upper elementary school. Newsela ELA is a knowledge and skill-building platform with a vast content library that includes thousands of leveled nonfiction texts and standards-aligned multiple-choice quizzes. This study compared upper elementary classes that used Newsela ELA to support integrated instruction throughout an entire school year to control classrooms within the same school that searched the Internet to find texts for integrated instruction. Fourth grade Newsela users exceeded the state's reading performance average. They demonstrated the equivalent of about three additional months of literacy skill growth more than peers in comparison classrooms when evaluated against national normative growth benchmarks. Newsela classes read 44% more nonfiction texts and engaged in more frequent multiple choice practice than comparison classes. Newsela teachers were less reliant on Google to source classroom texts. Results suggest that Newsela ELA can help make integrated instruction feasible for teachers by making it easier for them to find high-quality texts and for their students to engage in valuable skills practice. Newsela ELA appears to have increased the quality of texts students accessed without adding additional instructional time. [This report was produced by newsela.]

The purpose of this feasibility study was to examine the potential impact of reading digital interactive e-books, Word Knowledge e-books (WKe-Books), on essential skills that support reading comprehension with third-fifth grade students. Students (N= 425) read two WKe-Books, that taught word learning and comprehension monitoring strategies in the service of learning difficult vocabulary and targeted science concepts about hurricanes. We investigated whether specific comprehension strategies -- 1) word learning and strategies that supported general reading comprehension, 2) summarization, and 3) question generation, show promise of effectiveness in building vocabulary knowledge and comprehension skills in the WKe-Books. Students were assigned to read one of three versions of each of the two WKe-Books, each version implemented one strategy. The books employed a choose-your-adventure format with embedded comprehension questions that provided students with immediate feedback on their responses. Paired samples t-tests were run to examine pre-to-post differences in learning the targeted vocabulary and science concepts taught in both WKe-Books. For both WKe-Books, students demonstrated significant gains in word learning and on the targeted hurricane concepts. Additionally, Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) revealed that no one strategy was more associated with larger gains than the other. Performance on the embedded questions in the books was also associated with greater posttest outcomes for both WKe-Books. These findings suggest that the affordances offered by technology, which are unavailable in paper-based books, can effectively support students' development of reading-related skills, including strategy use. Further, this work discusses important considerations for implementation and future development of e-books that can enhance student engagement and improve reading comprehension. [This paper was published at "arXiv" 2024.]

Informational text--resources whose purpose is to inform--is essential to daily life and fundamental to literacy. Unfortunately, young children typically have limited exposure to informational text. Two 9-week randomized controlled trials with 263 first-grade children from low-income communities examined whether free educational videos and digital games supported children's ability to use informational text to answer real-world questions. Participants received Internet-enabled tablets and were randomly assigned to condition. Study 1 found significant positive intervention impacts on child outcomes; Study 2 replicated these findings. Combined analyses demonstrated primary impact on children's ability to identify and use structural and graphical features of informational text. Results are discussed in the context of the scalability of educational media to support informational text learning. [This paper was published in "American Educational Research Journal" v59 n6 p1194-1228 Dec 2022 (EJ1355663).]

As the ongoing national indicator of what American students know and can do, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Reading regularly collects achievement information on representative samples of students in grades 4, 8, and 12. Through "The Nation's Report Card," the NAEP Reading Assessment reports how well students perform in reading various texts and responding to those texts by answering selected-response and constructed-response questions. The information NAEP provides about student achievement helps the public, educators, and policymakers understand strengths and weaknesses in student performance and make informed decisions about education. The 2019 NAEP Reading Assessment will measure national, regional, state, and subgroup achievement in reading but is not designed to report individual student or school performance. The assessment will measure students' reading comprehension and their ability to apply vocabulary knowledge to assist them in comprehending what they read. The reading assessment will use the same framework used in 2009. This document presents the conceptual base for and discusses the content of the assessment. [For the 2017 report, see ED604441.]

Reading nonfiction texts with understanding is important to school success, yet many students struggle to do so. This randomized controlled trial extends previous research by contrasting an earlier iteration of a comprehension tutoring program (Comp) against a variant with strategies for transferring learning (Comp+Transfer). Participants were 189 fourth and fifth graders with weak reading comprehension. To evaluate their efficacy, we used commercially developed far-transfer measures and experimenter-made near- and mid-transfer measures of reading comprehension. In contrast to controls, students in both programs significantly improved their understanding of near-transfer passages. Additionally, students in Comp+Transfer improved performance on mid-transfer passages. These findings suggest the value of teaching for transfer and the importance of measuring program efficacy with researcher-made tests alongside commercial tests. [This is the online version of an article published in "Learning Disabilities Research & Practice." For the final published version of this article, see EJ1335914.]

"Achieve3000®" is a supplemental online literacy program that provides nonfiction reading content to students in grades preK-12 and focuses on building phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills. "Achieve3000®" is designed to help students advance their nonfiction reading skills by providing differentiated online instruction. Teachers use the program with an entire class, but the assignments are tailored to each student's reading ability level. The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) identified three studies of "Achieve3000®" that both fall within the scope of the Adolescent Literacy topic area and meet WWC group design standards. Three studies meet WWC group design standards with reservations, and no studies meet WWC group design standards without reservations. Together, these studies included about 32,266 students in grades 2-8 in three school districts in California, New Jersey, and North Carolina. A glossary of terms is included.

"Achieve3000®" is a supplemental online literacy program that provides nonfiction reading content to students in grades preK-12 and focuses on building phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills. "Achieve3000®" is designed to help students advance their nonfiction reading skills by providing differentiated online instruction. Teachers use the program with an entire class but the assignments are tailored to each student's reading ability level. The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) identified one study of "Achieve3000®" that both falls within the scope of the Beginning Reading topic area and meets WWC group design standards. This study meets WWC group design standards with reservations. This study included 14,493 students in grades 2 and 3 in 32 schools in a single school district in North Carolina. A glossary of terms is provided.

The reading framework for the 2017 NAEP describes the types of texts and questions that should be included in the assessment, as well as how the questions should be designed and scored. The assessment measures students' reading comprehension and ability to apply vocabulary knowledge by having them read passages in English and answer questions about what they have read. In some cases, the questions deal with facts in the text or vocabulary. In other cases, a complete answer requires a clear analysis or coherent argument supported by evidence from the reading passage. Students respond to both selected-response and constructed-response questions. This report provides highlights of the "Reading Framework for the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress," (ED604441).

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Reading regularly collects achievement information on representative samples of students in grades 4, 8, and 12. Through The Nation's Report Card, the NAEP Reading Assessment reports how well students perform in reading various texts and responding to those texts by answering selected-response and constructed-response questions. The information NAEP provides about student achievement helps the public, educators, and policymakers understand strengths and weaknesses in student performance and make informed decisions about education. The 2017 NAEP Reading Assessment will measure national, regional, state, and subgroup achievement in reading but is not designed to report individual student or school performance. The assessment will measure students' reading comprehension and their ability to apply vocabulary knowledge to assist them in comprehending what they read. This document, the "Reading Framework for the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress," presents the conceptual base for and discusses the content of the assessment. [For the abridged version, "Abridged Reading Framework for the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress," see ED604443.]

Contemporary nonfiction for young people plays a crucial role in the reading and writing lives of K-12 students. It is a rich and compelling genre that supports students' development as critically, visually, and informationally literate 21st century thinkers and creators. Unlike many textbooks and materials written for online or print-based school curriculum, nonfiction literature for young people does more than communicate information. Nonfiction literature contextualizes primary source evidence, offers multiple perspectives on current and historic events, and shares new scientific discoveries. Contemporary nonfiction addresses historical silences; explores historic and contemporary events rooted in racism, oppression, and violence; and highlights courageous trailblazers and organized groups working toward societal transformation and liberation. The purpose of this position statement is to propose a paradigm shift for teaching and learning with nonfiction literature in K-12 education.

The present study aimed at developing the memoir writing skills as a creative non-fiction genre of second year distinguished governmental language preparatory school pupils using the a WebQuest model. Fifty participants from second year at Hassan Abu-Bakr Distinguished Governmental Language School at Al-Qanater Al-Khairia(Qalubia Governorate) were randomly assigned into two groups: experimental group (N = 25) and control group (N = 25). Two main instruments were used: a creative writing pre-test, and a creative writing post-test with a scoring rubric. Quantitative data analyses were conducted. T-test was used to compare the mean scores of the control group and the experimental one in the pre-post applications. Results showed that the experimental group pupils have developed their skills in memoir writing (eleven skills were developed while one skill is not). It was concluded that the "WebQuest" model was effective in fostering the memoir writing skills of the participants. It was also recommended that the WebQuest model should be integrated into writing instruction programmes.

In fall 2015, Scholastic, in conjunction with YouGov, conducted a survey to explore family attitudes and behaviours in India around reading books for fun. The key findings of this research, which are presented in this report, are based on a sample of 1,752 parents and children, including 350 parents of children aged 0-5; 701 parents of children aged 6-17; plus one child aged 6-17 from the same household. All data presented represent the country's English-speaking population with access to the Internet. The study examines the state of kids & reading, reading aloud at home, reading in school, and what kids want in books.

The reading framework for the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) presents the assessment's conceptual base and discusses its content. The framework describes the types of texts and questions that should be included in the assessment, as well as how the questions should be designed and scored. This report provides highlights of the "Reading Framework for the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress," (ED604434).

As the ongoing national indicator of what American students know and can do, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Reading regularly collects achievement information on representative samples of students in grades 4, 8, and 12. Through The Nation's Report Card, the NAEP Reading Assessment reports how well students perform in reading various texts and responding to those texts by answering multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. The information NAEP provides about student achievement helps the public, educators, and policymakers understand strengths and weaknesses in student performance and make informed decisions about education. This document, the "Reading Framework for the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress," presents the conceptual base for, and discusses the content of, the assessment. This framework recognizes that reading behaviors such as recognizing and using features of text, making sense of sentences and paragraphs, and comprehending vocabulary occur regardless of text type. The framework includes the following cognitive targets, or behaviors and skills, for items from both literary and informational texts: locate/recall, integrate/interpret, and critique/ evaluate. These cognitive targets illustrate the complex nature of the reading process whereas the corresponding behaviors highlight the different behaviors elicited by different text types. [For the "2015 Abridged Reading Framework for the National Assessment of Educational Progress," see ED604435.]

The purpose of this paper is to guide the process of selecting meaningful books to use in pre-K-6 classrooms. With thousands of children's books being published each year, it is difficult for teachers to select which ones hold the most potential to inspire students towards a life time of reading pleasure and purpose. This paper outlines selection criteria and provides lesson examples grounded within past and current pedagogical research. The paper includes the following appendices: (1) Teaching the Book: K is for Kissing a Cool Kangaroo. Andreae, G. (2002); (2) Teaching the Book: Way Out in the Desert. Marsh, T. J., & Ward, J. (1998); (3) Teaching the Book: Runaway Pumpkin. Lewis, K. (2003); (4) Teaching the Book: I Survived: The Nazi Invasion, 1944. Tarshis, L. (2014); (5) Teaching the Book: The Nine Lives of Travis Keating Maclean, J. (2008); and (6) Teaching the Book: Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn by Herge (/erg/) pen name of Gorges Remi, Brussels, Belgium (1943c).

The study reviewed in this paper examined the effects of a web-based tutoring program, "Intelligent Tutoring of the Structure Strategy" ("ITSS"), on the reading comprehension of fourth-grade students in language arts classrooms. The analysis included 1,875 to 2,371 fourth-grade students from 100 to 117 classrooms in Pennsylvania elementary schools (sample sizes varied across outcome measures). Schools volunteered to participate in the study. Within each school or group of similar schools, researchers randomly assigned 131 classrooms to either participate in "ITSS" or serve as the comparison group, which followed the regular school curriculum for language arts. Students in the "ITSS" classrooms used the system for one class period a week for 6-7 months as a partial substitute for their regular language arts curriculum (i.e., time spent using "ITSS" replaced regular instructional time). This study assessed the effectiveness of "ITSS" immediately after the end of the intervention by comparing the reading comprehension of students in the "ITSS" classrooms with students in the comparison class-rooms. Reading comprehension was measured with a standardized test (the Gray Silent Reading Test, or GSRT) and five researcher-designed measures on two types of text structures: comparison type texts and problem/solution type texts. The study authors reported, and the WWC confirmed, that "ITSS" had a statistically significant positive effect on the reading comprehension of fourth-grade students as measured by the researcher-designed tests. The study authors also reported, and the WWC confirmed, no statistically significant effects of the intervention on the GSRT. The research described in this report meets WWC evidence standards without reservations. The study is a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. [The following study is the focus of this "Single Study Review:" Wijekumar, K. K., Meyer, B. J. F., & Lei, P. (2012). "Large-scale randomized controlled trial with 4th graders using intelligent tutoring of the structure strategy to improve nonfiction reading comprehension." "Educational Technology Research and Development," 60(6), 987-1013.] The following are appended: (1) Study details; (2) Outcome measures for the reading comprehension domain; and (3) Study findings for the reading comprehension domain. A glossary of terms is included. (Contains 2 endnotes.)

This study will examine strategies that ESL teachers and content teachers can use to help middle school ESL students acquire science vocabulary and meta-cognitive strategies for writing skills in non-fiction text forms. Two appendixes are included. (Contains 3 figures and 2 footnotes.)

This action research developed as a response to the researcher's experience with struggling and alliterate readers across all content areas in secondary schools. The researcher witnessed the negative impact of a depressed economy and depressed reading proficiency pervasive among students based on classroom experience and standardized testing. The research question became "How can students experience an increase in both reading comprehension in the classroom and reading performance on standardized tests, especially emphasizing non-fiction, informational reading across content areas?" Baseline analysis of data was collected using pre- and post-ACT reading scores, pre- and post-surveys of students, observations/anecdotal data and a post-teacher interview. The researcher, an educational coach and consultant who worked through a high school teacher and two of her classes of sophomores, then correlated and analyzed the data. A series of six bi-weekly guided highlighted readings that included writing summaries and taking a multiple-choice quiz under time constraints, revealed conclusive evidence indicating a pattern of increased student comprehension and engagement in reading, writing, and thinking. This growth appeared across social studies, prose fiction, science and humanities readings. Anecdotal evidence additionally indicated transferability of this advanced habit for skimming and scanning for key information outside of the classroom, indicating a real-life skill and applicability. The following are appended: (1) Student Survey Pre-Close and Critical Guided Highlighted Reading; (2) High-Tech Ways to Extend Your Life (Dr. Oz); (3) Number of Correct Answers; (4) Student Survey Post-Close and Critical Guided Highlighted Reading; and (5) Teacher Interview Post-Close and Critical Guided Highlighted Reading. (Contains 12 tables.)

The Effective Instructional Strategies Series is a collection of six booklets based on the components used in Pacific Communities with High-performance In Literacy Development (Pacific CHILD), a principles-based professional development program consisting of research-based teaching and learning strategies proven to help improve students' reading comprehension using informational text. "Question Generation" shows why questioning is an important tool for all learners. Questioning helps readers fully engage the text, leading to better comprehension. Practitioners learn how to create a questioning environment and use the Question Generation strategy to help students ask text-based questions, turn these ideas into integrative questions, and answer the questions.

The Effective Instructional Strategies Series is a collection of six booklets based on the components used in Pacific Communities with High-performance In Literacy Development (Pacific CHILD), a principles-based professional development program consisting of research-based teaching and learning strategies proven to help improve students' reading comprehension using informational text. This booklet provides strategies for job-embedded professional development based on teachers' needs, which is important to support teachers' growth. Practitioners learn how school-level activities, principles of adult learning, and key findings from research can be implemented to design a professional development program at their school.

Typically, elementary school children read more narrative texts, such as short stories, poems, and fiction books. Some educators have raised concerns over whether elementary school children are developing the skills needed to study the structure and function of expository texts. This topical bibliography and commentary provides examples that show how teachers can incorporate expository text into the school curriculum while making this writing style a rewarding experience for students. The bibliography/commentary notes that expository writing is also considered information literacy since the primary function of this text style is to convey information. It adds that this imbalance between narrative and expository experience has led educators to try to seek methods for closing the gap, and they have found that expository writing can be taught even at an early age. (Contains 2 Internet addresses and 14 references.) (NKA)

The focus of this study will be on the intersection of the following domains: Second Language Acquisition research on cohesion and coherence, discourse acquisition of young children, the effect of text form-focused instruction on student non-fiction writing and the impact of schema theory on student decision-making during the writing process.

This study was conducted at a public school with a population of over 900 students. Among the main language groups represented were Punjabi, Hindi, Tamil, Estonian, Serbian, Arabic as well as 23 other language groups. The author monitored over 75 students, in grades 1, 2 and 4. She was interested in exploring what strategies best promoted coherence in non-fiction writing of the students referred to me by classroom teachers. The focus of this study is on the effect of metacognitive awareness strategies and direct text form-focussed instruction on student non-fiction writing. An appendix presents: (1) Linguistic Profile of the Resource ESL Student Sample (Levels Determined by Board Approved Testing); (2) Vocabulary for Informational Text; (3) The Recall Passages; (4) Results of Student Recall--First Teaching Cycle; (5) Results of Student Recall--Second Teaching Cycle; (6) Results of Vocabulary Awareness--First Teaching Cycle; (7) Results of Vocabulary Awareness--Second Teaching Cycle; and (8) EQAO Results over 3 Years. (Contains 4 footnotes.)

This study examines how young second language learners acquire academic language. Among the main language groups represented were Punjabi, Hindi, Tamil, Estonian, Serbian, Arabic as well as 23 other language groups. I monitored over 75 students, in grades 1, 2 and 4. I was interested in exploring what strategies best promoted coherence in non-fiction writing of the students referred to me by classroom teachers. The focus of this study is on the effect of metacognitive awareness strategies and direct text form-focussed instruction on student non-fiction writing. (Contains 4 footnotes.) [Abstract modified to meet ERIC guidelines.]