Sixth-grade Readers Research Articles

The Effect of the Linguistic Status of Text Previewing in Arabic on the Reading Comprehension Outcomes Among Second and Sixth Grade Native Arabs Readers: A Cross-Sectional View.

The current study examined the effect of the linguistic status of the verbal previewing strategy on the outcomes of reading comprehension tasks among second (N = 25, age 7.08 ± .3), and sixth-grade students (N = 25, age 11.75 ± .25), with typical reading development. The texts for each group were carefully matched and were divided into three conditions of verbal previewing: (a) Standard Arabic previewing (hereafter: StA previewing); (b) spoken Arabic previewing (hereafter: SpA previewing); (c) without previewing. The results showed that for the second-grade readers, SpA previewing had a significant contribution to the reading comprehension outcomes compared to the other conditions of previewing while for the sixth-grade readers; StA previewing had a significant contribution to the outcomes of reading comprehension. The findings were explained according to the assumption that relatively native Arab speaking students develop a progressive change toward activation of StA representations for verbal learning. Such representations become more efficient as a result of the dominant exposure to StA during performing reading and writing tasks.

Addressing the Practice-to-Research Gap: A Rigorous Evaluation of Local Education Agency–Based Interventions for Struggling Readers in Sixth Grade

We present the results of a study of local education agency (LEA)-based interventions to improve the reading outcomes of struggling readers in sixth grade. The sample included 1,076 intervention students and 3,644 comparison students. Regression discontinuity was used to evaluate intervention impact. The study contributes to the field by demonstrating (a) the importance of conducting rigorous evaluations of existing school interventions to understand the true impact of evidence-based practices when implemented under local circumstances and constraints, and (b) the use of regression discontinuity as an evaluation design is feasible within typical school settings. Implications for the study are discussed, especially in terms of providing a model for evaluation of LEA-driven interventions in the middle grades.

The Simple View, Instructional Level, and the Plight of Struggling Fifth-/Sixth-Grade Readers

ABSTRACTThis study explored print-processing and vocabulary differences among a group of 5th- and 6th-grade students who had scored below the 50th percentile on a standardized reading test. Guided by the simple view of reading, we applied cut scores (low/high) to the students’ performance on print-processing and vocabulary tasks. The design allowed for the placement of students in 1 of 4 reader profiles: (a) high print processing/low vocabulary (25%), (b) high print processing/high vocabulary (14%), (c) low print processing/high vocabulary (14%), or (d) low print processing/low vocabulary (48%). An important finding was that 62% of the students could not read grade-level text with adequate accuracy and rate. In fact, many could not read comfortably a full level below their grade placement. We consider instructional implications.

Learning From Rising Sixth Grade Readers: How Nooks Shaped Students’ Reading Behaviors During a Summer Independent Reading Initiative

ABSTRACTResearchers have documented a “summer reading setback” where an achievement gap between proficient and struggling readers expands during the summer. This research focuses on 20 rising sixth graders who participated in a summer independent reading initiative using Nook digital readers. Using a qualitative exploratory design and content analysis, students’ voices were recorded and analyzed to investigate how students’ reading perceptions and reported reading behaviors were shaped by participation in a summer independent reading initiative using digital readers. Important implications were generated and exemplified the following: (1) Social reading relationships were cultivated, (2) Access to texts shaped students’ reading, and (3) Nooks helped to foster reading behaviors. Most notably, 80% of the students reported a preference for digital readers. This study serves as a foundation to consider how and in what ways technology can shape students’ literacy experiences in a technologically saturated society.

Two Studies of Tier II Literacy Development: Throwing Sixth Graders a Lifeline

Abstract Two experimental studies at one urban middle school investigated the effects of the combination of Tier I and Tier II evidence-based reading instruction compared to Tier I alone on struggling sixth-grade readers (N = 109). All participants received free or reduced-price lunch, and 95% were considered English learners at some point in their school history. In both studies, Tier II intervention consisted of intensive instruction in word analysis, fluency building, comprehension, and vocabulary for 30 hours across 10 weeks. Results of both studies taken individually and combined indicated significant differences in favor of the intervention groups on oral reading fluency. The second study indicated significantly stronger performances for the intervention group on the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test—Revised (WRMT-R/NU) passage comprehension subtest. Tier II interventions and Response to Intervention (RTI) for older struggling readers are discussed related to educational implications and future research.

The Effect of Word Length and Other Sublexical, Lexical, and Semantic Variables on Developmental Reading Deficits

To examine the effect of word length and several sublexical, and lexico-semantic variables on the reading of Italian children with a developmental reading deficit. Previous studies indicated the role of word length in transparent orthographies. However, several factors that may interact with word length were not controlled for. Seventeen impaired and 34 skilled sixth-grade readers were presented words of different lengths, matched for initial phoneme, bigram frequency, word frequency, age of acquisition, and imageability. Participants were asked to read aloud, as quickly and as accurately as possible. Reaction times at the onset of pronunciation and mispronunciations were recorded. Impaired readers' reaction times indicated a marked effect of word length; in skilled readers, there was no length effect for short words but, rather, a monotonic increase from 6-letter words on. Regression analyses confirmed the role of word length and indicated the influence of word frequency (similar in impaired and skilled readers). No other variables predicted reading latencies. Word length differentially influenced word recognition in impaired versus skilled readers, irrespective of the action of (potentially interfering) sublexical, lexical, and semantic variables. It is proposed that the locus of the length effect is at a perceptual level of analysis. The independent influence of word frequency on the reading performance of both groups of participants indicates the sparing of lexical activation in impaired readers.

Best Books for Children: Preschool through Grade 6 (review)

Reviewed by: Best Books for Children: Preschool through Grade 6 Cindy Welch Barr, Catherine Best Books for Children: Preschool through Grade 6; by Catherine Barr and John T. Gillespie. 8th ed. Libraries Unlimited, 20061783p (Children's and Young Adult Literature Reference Series) ISBN 1-59158-085-4$80.00 Updated from the 2001 seventh edition (and 2003 supplement), this new version of the classic supplies short annotated entries for over 25,000 titles arranged alphabetically by author, within nearly fifty thematic categories from Artists to Zoos. Author/Illustrator and Book Title indices add alternative routes to particular titles while the Subject/Grade Level index helps users quickly target grade-appropriate materials. In addition to bibliographic information and citations, individual entries direct users to professional reviews and note Caldecott and Newbery winners (perhaps the next edition will expand the awards to include multicultural honors such as the Pura Belpré and Coretta Scott King awards). Out-of-print titles and books considered "no longer timely or suitable" were weeded to make space for 5,000 new entries covering items "published and reviewed from 1985 through July 2005." The authors stick rather conservatively to the Grade 6 cutoff, noting that books for advanced sixth grade readers are more likely found in Best Books for Middle School and Junior High Readers. Barr and Gillespie also opt not to include dictionaries, encyclopedias, resources directed at professionals, and "mass-market series [such] as the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books." This is a standard reference for a reason, and this edition continues the tradition of providing an abundance of information in an easily navigated form. Copyright © 2006 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Neurological Impress Method PLUS

The purpose of these two studies was to redirect interest to the Neurological Impress Method, a multisensory approach to reading instruction that occurs between a teacher and a student, which has been largely forgotten in mainstream and special education circles over the past decades. In addition to its emphasis on oral reading, we included a comprehension component that we call the plus (+) to NIM Plus. In our first study, third through sixth-grade below-level readers in a San Diego county school participated in NIM tutoring. On each of the three measures—oral reading fluency, silent reading fluency, and comprehension—students performed statistically better after the five-week (3.3 hours) NIM training than they had at the beginning of the training. In oral reading fluency, the students' scores significantly increased from an average of 96.7 words correct per minute to 112 words correct per minute (p < .0001). In silent reading fluency measure, students' scores increased from an average of 132 words per minute to 154 words per minute (p < .002). On the comprehension assessment, students' scores increased from an average of 3.2 questions correct to 4.5 correct (p < .001). In our second study, which was conducted in an urban San Diego school, similar results were found; the students scored significantly higher on all three measures. In this second study, however, we focused on “glimpses” into the reasons why NIM Plus was so effective. The tutors who provided the NIM Plus training reported that NIM Plus helped both teacher and student to focus on prior knowledge, making connections between and among texts and the world, and overall construction of comprehension. Our findings support the idea that the NIM Plus is adaptable and that it requires further investigation, in experimental settings, as well as in schools and clinics.

Knowledge of suffixed words: A comparison of reading disabled and nondisabled readers

The present study was undertaken to measure and compare reading disabled and nondisabled readers’ semantic and syntactic knowledge about derivational suffixes as a function of modality (reading versus listening) and as a function of the “neutrality” of the derivative (neutral versus nonneutral). In the present study, neutrality refers to how straightforward and productive is the relationship between the root and derived form, with “completeness” qualifying as a neutral derivative and “completion” a nonneutral derivative. Two experimental tests were designed for the study. The Semantics test measured ability to extract lexical-semantic information from suffixed words, and the Syntax test measured knowledge regarding the part-of-speech contribution of derivational suffixes. In each test the target words were divided equally between neutral and nonneutral derivatives and between items that were either read or listened to. Participants included 20 sixth-grade reading disabled students (6RD), 20 fourth-grade normal readers (4N), and 20 sixth-grade normal readers (6N).

Syntactic context effects on word recognition: A developmental study

In the present study, grammatical context effects on word recognition were examined among skilled and less skilled second and sixth grade readers. Of particular interest was how the word decoding ability may correlate with the grammatical context effect. For this purpose the rich case-marking system of the Finnish language was exploited. Recognition latencies for sentence-final nouns were measured as a function of their syntactic agreement with the preceding adjective. The naming and lexical decision tasks were used as critical measures. The study showed a clear syntactic context effect for each of the four experimental groups. The magnitude of the observed syntactic effect was substantially larger compared to earlier results. Furthermore, the effect emerged both in naming and lexical decision. In naming, less skilled 2nd grade decoders were more affected by grammatical incongruency than their more competent peers, whereas in lexical decision the skilled 6th graders differed from other groups by showing a smaller syntactic effect. The results are discussed in the light of Stanovich's interactive-compensatory model of word recognition.

The Use of Contextual and Graphic Information in Word Recognition by Second-, Fourth-, and Sixth-Grade Readers

This study evaluated the relative importance of graphic and contextual information in word recognition as well as the relative importance of several specific sources of contextual information (lexical, semantic, syntactic, discourse) among students at three different grade levels (second, fourth, and sixth). In addition, word recognition behavior was compared at both target word locations where various aspects of context were disrupted and at non-target word locations where naturally occurring oral reading errors appeared. Results indicated that all students used greater graphic than contextual information at target word locations. The use of graphic information during word recognition tended to increase with development. The use of contextual information tended to decrease with development. These results are interpreted as being generally consistent with recent work by Stanovich (1980) and others who emphasize the importance of automatic context-free word recognition ability. Context use at non-target word locations occurred largely at function word locations that were rich in syntactic context. These results suggest that word recognition processing varies not only with the proficiency level of a reader, as Stanovich's model suggests, but also with the amount of contextual richness that surrounds any particular word.

Comprehension Breakdown with inductively Organized Text

Comprehension differences between inductively and deductively organized text were investigated. Main idea recall of average fourth-grade readers and disabled sixth-grade readers was contrasted on both inductively organized and deductively organized paragraphs. Half of each ability group was tested with a retell and half with a multiple-choice measure. The results indicate that inductively organized text presented problems for almost all the children tested. The error patterns or. the retell measure suggest that the average readers were approaching the text in a more systematic manner. These ability group differences were not indicated on the multiple-choice measure. Results are discussed in regard to the effect of organizational structure and type of comprehension measure on comprehension performance.

A Test of Alternative Cloze Test Formats at the Sixth-Grade Level

AbstractIn seeking a more valid and reliable doze test format, a repeated-measures design was used to compare performances of sixth-grade readers on a traditional and three alternative types of cloze tests. Significant main effects were found for deletion pattern and cue-condition factors. The most accurate performance occurred on the total random deletion plus word length and initial-letter cue format. Validity coefficients for all three alternatives were at least comparable to the traditional cloze format, and each of their reliability coefficients surpassed the traditional form. Results confirm and extend the findings of earlier studies investigating cloze alternatives. Psychometric and psycholinguistic advantages of the alternate cloze forms are discussed.

Types of Texts: The Match between What Students Read in Basals and What They Encounter in Tests

EIGHT LEADING basal reading programs were analyzed to determine the types of writing included in each program from preprimers to sixth-grade readers and to determine the array of writing types in three standardized reading tests and assessment tests which are included in the basal programs. Teachers' manuals were also examined to determine whether provision was included for teaching children how to read a wide variety of writing types. The preponderance of selections in all of the readers was narrative (41 %); poems accounted for 24% of the total selections, and exposition accounted for 16%. A second measure examining page allocation indicated narrative writings accounted for more than 66% of the total pages. Two discrepancies between reading programs and standardized tests were noted: (1) Few whole texts were included in tests before the end of the second grade, and (2) most test passages were either narrative or expository; poetry and plays were not assessed.

Use of orthographic structure and reading ability: What relationship?

Previous research has shown that good readers are superior to poor readers in their use of orthographic structure. The purpose of the present study was to assess the role of experience in determining these differences. Results showed that poor sixth-grade readers used orthographic structure to speed their matching judgments just as effectively as good sixth-grade readers. The apparent discrepancy in results between the present study and previous work is explained in terms of the “partial-information hypothesis” which states that the performance of good readers is superior to that of poor readers in situations which depend on the use of partial information. Support for this view was provided by the fact that good readers recognized significantly more items on a recognition test than did the poor readers.

Reading and Listening to Expository Text

Poor reading comprehension may result from a general comprehension problem, a decoding problem, or a combination of these problems. Using a counterbalanced design, 38 good and poor sixth-grade readers read aloud and listened to easy and hard texts. Immediately after reading and listening, students orally retold what they had read or heard. Their recalls were scored for number of idea units produced. Results indicated no difference in listening comprehension between good and poor readers for either easy or hard texts, but a significant difference in oral reading comprehension in favor of good readers on both easy and hard texts. The finding of no difference in listening suggests that the poor readers in this sample did not have a general comprehension problem, while their poor oral reading performance indicates that they did have a decoding problem. These findings support a more complex comprehension process model of listening and reading than has typically been described in the literature.

An Analysis of Poetry Teaching Procedures in Sixth-Grade Basal Manuals

THE MANUALS of sixth-grade basal readers were analyzed to determine whether the suggested poetry teaching procedures reflect the pedagogical procedures recommended by expert opinion. Stated objectives for poetry instruction were also examined. In order to initiate the study, first the recommendations of authorities in children's literature and related areas were synthesized into a set of five criteria deemed necessary for effective poetry instruction. An assessment instrument, developed from these criteria, was applied to every poetry lesson in eight sixth-grade basal manuals and served as the basis for a descriptive analysis of the suggested poetry teaching procedures. It was found that objectives for poetry instruction in the manuals reflect a superficial view of what children's experiences with poetry should be. The majority of the objectives are intended to teach cognitive rather than affective response to poetry, with an emphasis on poetic form rather than content. The suggested poetry teaching procedures in general do not reflect the pedagogical procedures recommended by authorities in the field.

EFFECTS OF ALTERNATIVE DELETION PATTERNS, BLANK CONDITIONS, AND SCORING SYSTEMS ON INTERMEDIATE LEVEL CLOZE TEST PERFORMANCE

The majority of cloze research has focused on a traditional test format whereby (1) deletions occur on an every‐nth word basis, (2) standard length blank spaces are provided, and (3) only exact word replacements of the original text receive credit. In this study, an analysis was made of the effects of selected deletion patterns (every‐nth versus total random), blank conditions (standard versus cued), and scoring modes (verbatim versus synonymic) on the cloze test performance of 64 sixth grade readers. Neither the deletion pattern nor blank condition main effects achieved significance; however, as expected, increased performance was observed for synonymic scoring. Most importantly, all first‐order interaction effects attained significance. In the total random/cued/ verbatim cloze format, context distances of less than four words generated correct responses as effectively as context distances of four, the equivalent of an every‐5th word deletion strategy. Further, this format exceeded all others in internal consistency and in its ranking of subjects' performance relative to their synonymic cloze test scores.

Good and Poor Readers' Comprehension of Story Structure across Different Input and Output Modalities

STORY COMPREHENSION patterns of good and poor sixth-grade readers were examined across four modality combinations for input and output: listening-oral recall, reading-oral recall, listening-written recall, reading-written recall. Twenty-one good readers and 21 poor readers were asked to summarize important information in a different short story presented for each condition. The subjects were tested individually in one 45-minute session. The results showed that good readers recalled more story propositions, but that the organization of the story schemata represented in the summaries was similar for the two groups. This included the pattern of story grammar categories for explicit propositions recalled, the number and types of additions, and the levels of importance of summary propositions in the hierarchical structures of the stories. Differences in the types of information emphasized as important were found for explicit information as compared to implicit information, suggesting variations in schema organization related to the nature of the text. There were no significant differences between the groups related to input or output modalities, though oral recall conditions produced longer summaries overall. Results and implications are discussed in terms of different types of internal cognitive schemata for stories and the effects of variations in the complexity of story texts.

Selective attention and rehearsal in the auditory short-term memory task performance of poor and normal readers.

The performance of poor and normal sixth-grade readers was compared on an auditory short-term memory task in two studies. In the first study, the effects of distraction, list length, and speed of stimulus presentation were investigated to test the hypothesis that the performance of the poor readers is affected by deficits in selective attention. Group differences in performance, however, were obtained for both distraction and no-distraction conditions. The second experiment examined the hypothesis that group differences may reflect differences in the use of rehearsal. In the second experiment, half the reading-disabled children and half the controls were provided with rehearsal training prior to completing the same short-term memory task a second time. Rehearsal training resulted in improved performance relative to children who were not trained; however, there was no rehearsal training X reading group interaction. The poor readers continued to show deficits in performance relative to the performance of control children. The results of these two studies suggest that deficits observed for poor readers on short-term memory tasks may reflect processing difficulties in some area that precedes rehearsal and affects performance under both distraction and no-distraction conditions.