Middle School Reading Research Articles

Extending the Simple View of Reading to Account for Variation Within Readers and Across Texts: The Complete View of Reading (CVRi)

This study leverages advances in multivariate cross-classified random effects models to extend the Simple View of Reading to account for variation within readers and across texts, allowing for both the personalization of the reading function and the integration of the component skills and text and discourse frameworks for reading research. We illustrate the Complete View of Reading (CVRi) using data from an intensive longitudinal design study with a large sample of typical (N = 648) and struggling readers (N = 865) in middle school and using oral reading fluency as a proxy for comprehension. To illustrate the utility of the CVRi, we present a model with cross-classified random intercepts for students and passages and random slopes for growth, Lexile difficulty, and expository text type at the student level. We highlight differences between typical and struggling readers and differences across students in different grades. The model illustrates that readers develop differently and approach the reading task differently, showing differential impact of text features on their fluency. To be complete, a model of reading must be able to reflect this heterogeneity at the person and passage level, and the CVRi is a step in that direction. Implications for reading interventions and 21st century reading research in the era of "Big Data" and interest in phenotypic characterization are discussed.

"남북한 중등학교 읽기 영역의 교육 내용 비교 : 남한의 ‘2015 개정 국어과 교육과정’과 북한의 ‘2013 개정 국어 교육강령’을 대상으로 "

"남북한 중등학교 읽기 영역의 교육 내용 비교 : 남한의 ‘2015 개정 국어과 교육과정’과 북한의 ‘2013 개정 국어 교육강령’을 대상으로 "

Quantitative Text Mining Analysis of the Testimonies for the Church: Implications for Non-Native English Readers

With its international constituency, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has a large a membership that primarily comprises non-native English speakers. Students have had challenges in understanding and appreciating the writings of one of the church’s co-founders, Ellen White. The purpose of this study was to analyze the Testimonies for the Church and to quantitatively identify the difficulties with comprehending White’s writing. The results reveal that the readability is consistent with a middle school reading level; the text is moderately formal in nature; the sentiment of the text is neutral; and White’s writing style varies little over time.

Collaborative resistance to digitized instruction in a rural middle school

How can middle-level educators improve reading achievement when digitized texts and tests manage their instruction? Experienced Osage Middle School reading teachers and school administrators addressed this question as they examined their Istation reading curriculum, and higher education faculty partners were invited to portray this work. Teaching to standardized tests, assigning low interest texts, and even digitizing controlled reading instruction were accepted practices at Osage Middle School. This portrait of reform illustrates how these practices were successfully resisted and reconstructed in just one academic year. The Osage educators’ resistance was portrayed in three stages. First, the school’s accepted literacy practices were named as digitized managed events that diminished educator authority. Then co-investigations of new reading instruction deconstructed these accepted practices. Eventually the new reading instruction practices transformed the school’s reading curriculum. Possibilities for further research suggested by the Osage Middle School reform portrait include examining the invisibility of low achieving readers, investigating the paradoxes of managing controlled instruction, and testing the utility of collaborative educator inquiry.

Facing Frederick: The Life of Frederick Douglass, a Monumental American Man by Tonya Bolden

Reviewed by: Facing Frederick: The Life of Frederick Douglass, a Monumental American Man by Tonya Bolden Elizabeth Bush Bolden, Tonya Facing Frederick: The Life of Frederick Douglass, a Monumental American Man. Abrams, 2018 [208p] illus. with photographs Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-4197-2546-3 $19.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-68335-117-7 $15.54 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 5-9 Lots of children know the early parts of Frederick Douglass' story, the easy to relate parts, the parts that condense neatly onto a monument: self-educated slave, runaway, abolitionist. Bolden yanks the monumental man off his pedestal and lets him hit his own stride—as a husband who wouldn't win any prizes for 21st-century helpmate; as an anti-slavery crusader who exited the speaker circuit when it cramped his message; as a businessman who often fell short of success; as a guy who took a long time to settle on how to part his hair. Most importantly, Bolden excels at presenting just how difficult it was for a black man, who was always in imminent danger of losing his own freedom, to be an abolitionist, and he was often at odds [End Page 194] with fellow abolitionists over the road map. Should immediate or gradual progress be the aim? Should abolition come with or without reparations to slaveowners? Is the movement demanding or selling out women's suffrage? Is it nonviolent or violent? After emancipation, what happens when support dries up from former allies who now consider the job done? Bolden's signature narrative style, concise and controlled but with a dashes of storyteller panache, allows the big issues to flow easily among the biographical details, making this a strong choice for middle school readers ready to tackle some historical complexity. A timeline, notes, a list of selected sources, an index, and illustrations (including a dozen portrait photographs of Douglass) are included. EB Copyright © 2017 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

“What Kind of Reader Are You?” Self-Regulating Middle School Reading Practices

In order for students to become empowered readers who read strategically and regulate their practices, they must learn to assess their own progress. This article draws on classroom practice and research to explore how Carrie, a seventh-grade language arts teacher, helped her students evaluate their reading habits and then use these evaluations to self-monitor and self-regulate their reading practices. Specifically, it describes how integrating strategies such as reader quizzes, goal-setting, and reflective questions about students' experiences into her curriculum helped Carrie empower students to take ownership for their reading while also providing scaffolded instruction to support student growth.

From the Editors

From the Editors

Comparing Curriculum-Based Measures and Extant Datasets for Universal Screening in Middle School Reading

As a school-wide framework, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) relies on the prevention and early identification of students at risk of academic failure. Approaches to early identification of students in need of support include the administration of universal screening assessments and the analysis of existing student data such as attendance, grades, office discipline referrals, and prior performance on statewide assessments. However, there is little research that directly compares the accuracy and reliability of these approaches, particularly in middle grades. This investigation provides a direct comparison of curriculum-based measures in reading and the examination of archival data at the middle school level for the identification of students at risk for academic failure. Data were collected for students in Grades 7 ( n = 197) and 8 ( n = 237). Data were analyzed through hierarchical logistic regression using statewide reading achievement tests as the dependent variable. Results inform how data from universal screening assessments and existing sources can be used to accurately and efficiently identify students in need of academic support.

Why It's Time Schools Stopped Teaching <em>To Kill a Mockingbird</em>

Though it continues to be a mainstay on middle and high school reading lists, Naa Baako Ako-Adjei argues that Harper Lee’s novel is nothing short of apologia for prolonging white supremacy.

Effects of a Text-processing Comprehension Intervention on Struggling Middle School Readers.

Purpose:We examined the effects of a text-processing reading comprehension intervention emphasizing listening comprehension and expressive language practices with middle school students with reading difficulties.Method:A total of 134 struggling readers in grades 6–8 were randomly assigned to treatment (n= 83) and control conditions (n= 51) using a 2:1 ratio (two students randomized to treatment for every one student randomized to control). Students in the treatment condition received 40 min of daily instruction in small groups of four to six students for approximately 17 hr.Results:One-way analysis of covariance models on outcome measures with the respective pretest scores as a covariate revealed significant gains on proximal measures of vocabulary and key word and main idea formulation. No significant differences were found on standardized measures of listening and reading comprehension.Discussion:Results provide preliminary support for integrating listening comprehension and expressive language practices within a text-processing reading comprehension intervention framework for middle-grade struggling readers.

Understanding How Teachers Listen in a Reading Enrichment Program

Asking questions that invite students to access advanced thinking skills during classroom discourse is a key strategy for challenging and supporting high-ability middle school readers. This critical teaching practice requires careful teacher listening. However, empirical research around teachers’ listening orientations, or how teachers listen, is sparse. We investigated five middle school reading teachers’ listening orientations as they conducted differentiated reading conferences as part of their first year implementing the Schoolwide Enrichment Model–Reading Framework (SEM-R). Our qualitative analysis of multiple data sources revealed evidence of differing teacher listening orientations, including evaluative, interpretive, student oriented, teacher oriented, undetermined, and combinations of these. This exploratory study has important implications for understanding how teachers’ listening orientations contribute to classroom discourse. Specific implications pertaining to high-ability readers are highlighted in the article.

Motivation for reading among struggling middle school readers: A mixed methods study

Employing a mixed methods design, we explore motivation for reading comprehension (RC) among 112 struggling middle school readers at two sites, one semi-urban and one urban. Data sources included student self-reported reading motivation surveys, a standardized reading comprehension assessment, and a random sample of 44 1-on-1 student reading motivation interviews. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to model growth in reading comprehension and assess the contribution of three dimensions of reading motivation - self-efficacy, intrinsic, and extrinsic motivation - to intercepts and slopes of reading comprehension. Student interviews were also coded for the presence or absence of these three motivation constructs. Although initial HLM and interview analyses were done concurrently, follow-up analyses were conducted using each data technique based on initial findings from the other. Three main findings emerged. First, quantitative results revealed 1) a significant main effect of self-efficacy on initial RC status; 2) paradoxical site differences such that the semi-urban site's students had significantly higher RC scores, while the urban site's students had significantly higher motivation scores. Explanatory qualitative analyses of interview data further revealed that 3) the quantitative effect of self-efficacy predicting RC can be better explained through qualitative findings that struggling readers hold different motivational beliefs (which impact them differently) depending on learning environment.

Middle School Reading Comprehension and Content Learning Intervention for Below-Average Readers

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to determine the efficacy of a content knowledge and reading comprehension treatment implemented by 8th-grade social studies teachers over the course of 1 school year. We randomly assigned 8th-grade students with reading difficulties to the intervention treatment condition (n = 45) or the business-as-usual comparison condition (n = 33). Students in the treatment condition scored statistically higher than students in the comparison condition on measures of knowledge acquisition (effect size [ES] = 0.35), content reading comprehension (ES = 0.59), and vocabulary recall (ES = 0.65). The small ES on standardized reading comprehension (ES = 0.10) favoring the treatment condition was not statistically significant.

Motivating Struggling Middle School Readers: Digital Images as an Aid for Self-Monitoring and Enhancing Retellings of Text

Motivating Struggling Middle School Readers: Digital Images as an Aid for Self-Monitoring and Enhancing Retellings of Text

Effect of the Reread-Adapt and Answer-Comprehend Intervention on the Reading Achievement of Middle and High School Readers Who are Deaf

Two studies were conducted to determine if the Reread-Adapt and Answer-Comprehend (RAAC) repeated reading fluency intervention is effective in improving the reading achievement of deaf middle school and high school students. Participants included six middle school students and eight high school students. We found consistently good comprehension during the interventions sessions and consistent improvement in ability to read fluently increasingly more difficult passages in both studies. We also found statistical and practical significance for pre- and post-tests on the Woodcock-Johnson for reading comprehension for the high school students but not for the middle school students and no statistical significance for reading fluency in either study.

Searching for Evidence—Teaching Students to Become Effective Readers by Visualizing Information in Texts

Four reading strategies and several web tools that are effective for reading closely and identifying textual evidence are described and explained. As teacher-educators with many years of experience teaching reading and the language arts, we have found these reading strategies and web tools helpful for middle school students as they consider evidence when forming opinions and making decisions about their reading. Using close reading as our theoretical framework, the reading strategies and web tools presented here provide visual displays of evidence found in the texts that students read. These strategies are helpful for all students and especially for struggling middle school readers as they learn to read closely, think clearly, and construct arguments about evidence found in the texts they read.

Effects of Planning and Goal Setting on Reducing Latency to Task Engagement for Struggling Readers in Middle School

The current study examined the effect of a planning and goal-setting intervention in reducing latency to task engagement. This study used a multiple baseline design across participants for two seventh-grade and two eighth-grade students in a remedial reading class. The behavioral intervention was administered in small groups at the start of each class period. Latency for transitions was mea- sured from the conclusion of teacher directions to the initiation of assigned aca- demic tasks. Results showed the implementation of the intervention was closely associated with immediate decreases in latency to task engagement. The interven- tion reduced the mean latency to task engagement for all participants and reduced the variability over baseline. Visual analysis indicate a functional relation between the intervention and changes in latency. Implications for results and suggestions for future research are discussed.

A comparison of food safety programs using the Customizable Tool for Online Training Evaluation

Food safety training for restaurant and food service employees is essential to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. With the large variety of food safety training programs available, it is critical to have an objective evaluation tool, which will allow managers, supervisors or purchasing agents to assessment strengths and weakness among multiple programs. The objective of this study was to use a newly created evaluation tool, the Customizable Tool for Online Training Evaluation (CTOTE) to assess and compare four online food safety training programs currently available to the food service industry. Through a comparison of the objectives of each training programs, a delivery method for training to front-line employees was identified. The preferred training approach was a blended method, which uses multiple delivery methods in a single training module to reinforce of the material being taught. The food safety training program containing the highest overall rating among respondents uses this blended delivery method and was taught at a middle school reading level. Results from this study show supervisors that front-line employees want clear, easy-to-follow instructions, the ability to check their progress, save their work and continue at a later time and include relevant examples and scenarios. Additionally, based on these results, retail employers and food processors can employ the most preferred food safety training methods for their employees.

Implementation of Evidence-Based Literacy Practices in Middle School Response to Intervention

The authors report findings from a systematic observational study of middle school educators (Grades 6–8) in two states who provided reading interventions within Tier 2 and Tier 3 of a Response to Intervention (RTI) framework. Intervention sessions were coded and analyzed to understand (a) the frequency and type of evidence-based strategies implemented for students with learning disabilities and reading difficulties, and (b) whether observed practices within secondary and tertiary intervention settings align with researcher recommendations regarding middle school reading instruction based on extant research. The findings indicated that more than 12% of time was devoted to logistical and non-academic activities, and evidence-based interventions including explicit instruction, cognitive strategy instruction, content enhancements, and independent practice opportunities were reported infrequently, although instructional differences across sites were demonstrated. Encouraging findings include evidence of peer-mediated reading and explicit performance feedback. Implications for teacher preparation, professional development, and future research for RTI are discussed.

The Potential Impact of Structured Read-Aloud on Middle School Reading Achievement

Read-aloud is a technique predominantly utilized at the elementary level. This study was designed to research the effectiveness of this technique at the middle school level, specifically, students who were not receiving special education or additional reading intervention services. For the current investigation, students in two middle schools within the same Virginia school district were assigned to receive the treatment of Structured Read-Aloud or received traditional middle-school reading instruction. These students were tested using the Diagnostic Online Reading Assessment (DORA) both in the fall before the intervention was implemented, and then again in the spring of the same year to assess gains. Results indicate that the use of Read-Aloud instruction had an impact on student DORA scores and implications of the research are considered. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v3i3.6463