The purpose of this paper is to describe how Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) for beginning writers might be used within a Response to Intervention (RTI) framework. First, we describe CBM, and review research on CBM for beginning writers. Next, we discuss how CBM for beginning writers might fit within RTI, including use for universal screening…

In this article we present a detailed Dual Coding Theory (DCT) model of decoding. The DCT model reinterprets and subsumes The LaBerge and Samuels (1974) model of the reading process which has served well to account for decoding behaviors and the processes that underlie them. However, the LaBerge and Samuels model has had little to say about…

This article describes a 2-year exploratory research study of alphabet knowledge instruction in 13 kindergarten classrooms in four at-risk urban schools. Based on insights for teaching from five evidence-based advantages that influence acquisition of letter names and sounds, instruction of letter names and sounds was enhanced to increase students'…

In spite of calls for increased literacy instruction in secondary content classes, there appears to be little change in practice. One reason for this may be that content area literacy courses inadequately prepared teachers to teach literacy skills specific to their content area. This article describes a program that embeds content area literacy…

Within this article, we introduce our conception of text accessibility. First, we synthesize recent research on informational text quality and present key attributes proven to contribute to comprehension of science texts beyond the readability formula. These features include (a) the concreteness of text, (b) the voice of the author, (c) coherent…

In the social studies of science, visuals and graphical representations are theorized by means of the concept of inscription, a term that denotes all representations other than text inscribed in some medium including graphs, tables, photographs, and equations. Inscriptions constitute an intrinsic and integral part of scientific practice; their…

This study explored the relationship between childhood traumatic exposure, such as violence and loss of a significant other, and reading achievement. With a sample of 163 urban elementary children (grades 2-5), the impact of traumatic events on 3 years of reading scores was examined. Results suggested that violence exposure had an adverse effect…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that an Individualized Education Program (IEP) be developed for each child that receives special education services. To develop the most effective IEP, information is gathered from everyone who has worked with the child. In many schools the child receives early intervention services prior to…

Many schools mandate that teachers use scripted lessons and specific reading programs. To minimize the many problems that such instructional inflexibility can create for struggling readers, this article describes five principles of motivation and shows how teachers can apply these principles with struggling readers within the framework of mandated…

William S. Gray is considered by many literacy authorities today to have been the premier reading educator of the last century. He was most noted for his extensive research and writing in many aspects of literacy. The following interview with Gray was originally published in "School and Community," a Missouri state teachers' journal, in 1949.…

First and second grade public school teachers were trained through interactive video-conferencing to implement "Language Enrichment," an Orton-Gillingham-based literacy instruction. The effectiveness of the linguistically informed training was demonstrated by documenting the longitudinal third grade reading comprehension achievement of their…

Struggling readers often fail to complete homework or complete it in a slipshod, haphazard fashion. Often, this adversely affects grades, erodes motivation for academics, and causes conflict between readers, parents, and school personnel. To help teachers and educational consultants (e.g., reading specialists, school psychologists) help struggling…

Considers what educators can do to promote quality instruction that prevents, or at least lessens, the incidence of school failure in minority children. Discusses a brief perspective of "The School Development Program," and presents a description of three workshops. (SC)

Describes a program where at-risk fifth-grade students were treated to a writing program that utilized prewriting activities to see if their written expression and writing anxiety would improve. Compares students' before and after papers utilizing their holistic scores on written expression. Demonstrates that student writing anxiety can be lowered…

Describes a model for assessment of vocabulary difficulty within the framework of dynamic reading assessment. Follows two seventh-grade students, both experiencing difficulty with vocabulary, through the assessment process. Discusses how one student was referred for speech and language evaluation and the other was not. Presents instructional…