<p> Knowing how to promote the literacy success of all students can be elusive to those aspiring to be school leaders and/or principals. The purpose of this study was to identify the perceived instructional leadership behaviors of principals in schools that experience success in reading on standardized tests. The researcher studied these behaviors by examining school principals&rsquo; instructional leadership as identified by the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders and the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale. Student reading proficiency was measured using the ACT Aspire proficiency rating score. </p><p> Perceptions of principals were gathered from nine principals and 109 teachers in elementary schools in a district in the southeastern region of the United States. The study was a non-experimental, descriptive, mixed methods research design to identify principals&rsquo; leadership behaviors and to determine whether there was a relationship between leadership behavior and student reading proficiency. </p><p> A strong positive correlation was found between principal instructional leadership and reading performance on the ACT Aspire, <i>r</i> = 0.722, <i>p</i> = 0.018. Principals substantiated these findings with responses to interview questions that aligned to the leadership dimensions examined in the study. Their responses revealed that they implement research-based instructional leadership strategies on a regular basis. Findings also provide confirmation of the widely held assumption that principals are the &ldquo;difference-makers&rdquo; in reading achievement in their schools. Further, the findings from this study add to the literature by linking instructional leadership behaviors to student reading achievement. The researcher presents an implementation plan to provide principals with training on the instructional leadership behaviors needed to positively impact student reading achievement. The implementation plan may be customized to meet the needs of any organization. </p><p>

<p> Reading is a fundamental skill that is used throughout life and across various content areas as a means of attaining knowledge. Students struggle with the ability to understand written text. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to determine the degree of effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction on improving the reading achievement skills of eighth-grade students. The sample drawn from a South Florida middle school was randomly assigned to two groups of students and tested at the beginning and end of a nine-week period with the Diagnostic Assessment Test in order to assess growth. One group of students received computer-assisted instruction. The second group of students received traditional instruction. Reading achievement scores of students in the group that received the computer-assisted instruction were lower than those of their peers at pretest. The reading achievement score of both groups of students were the same at posttest. The use of computer-assisted instruction during reading instruction did not result in an increase of reading comprehension. Implications, limitations, and recommendations based on these findings are provided.</p><p>

<p> This particularistic qualitative case study design examined reading strategies, approaches, and resources teachers of ELL students in kindergarten through third grade use to support reading development and promote the home to school connection regarding literacy proficiency. The purpose of this study was to examine strategies, resources, and approaches used to support home-to-school partnerships focused on reading development of K-3 ELLs in the X Public School District. Data analysis resulted in six emergent themes consisting of 22 teacher interviews. The first finding in this study that was revealed through teacher interviews identified guided reading, visual aides, reader&rsquo;s theater, and modeling/oral reading fluency as strategies that contribute to ELLs reading proficiency. In the second finding, teachers identified inviting parents to volunteer in the classroom, sending home a reading log that helps track the students&rsquo; reading at home, and inviting parent participation in extracurricular activities as approaches to encourage partnerships regarding reading development of ELLs. The results of this study provided recommendations for educational leaders to provide teachers specific professional development to encourage parent participation to focus on increasing students&rsquo; reading development that is tailored to the students&rsquo; and caregivers&rsquo; language needs. For future research, it is recommended that the study be replicated using different school districts to determine if similar findings were consistent across different districts.</p>

<p> The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine if the literacy intervention program for reluctant readers in one middle school was effective as measured by an increase in student reading scores measured by the Student Reading Inventory Assessment. I investigated perceptions of 100 students and 28 teachers regarding the literacy intervention program through the use of district-administered surveys. I also interviewed eight teachers regarding their delivery of the literacy interventions in the classroom setting.</p><p> The literacy intervention program targeted the population of students identified as reluctant readers who were not already receiving any reading intervention, but were reading below grade level. The study investigated whether or not the intervention contributed to an increase in student reading abilities with 44 students who read 0 to 6 months below grade level, as measured by the Student Reading Inventory Assessment. The study also investigated eight teachers' opinions of professional development that was implemented in 2014-2015 that focused on literacy instruction across all content areas, other than English Language Arts.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to determine what instructional strategies expert teachers of English language learners (ELLs) in the primary grades perceive as most effective for teaching reading to ELLs. Another purpose of this study was to determine what expert teachers of ELLs in the primary grades perceive as the barriers to the reading achievement of English learners. The final purpose of this study was to determine what strategies expert teachers of ELLs in the primary grades recommend to overcome perceived barriers. Quantitative data were collected from effective teachers who taught primary grades in Riverside County, California, using an electronic format. The effective teachers were identified based on teaching at a school with an API of 800 or more with an ELL population of 40% or more and based on data criteria. Effective teachers in the primary grades were chosen based on student achievement, Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessments, and site principal recommendations. A Likert scale was used for the survey. The effective teachers ranked effective instructional strategies in the five components of reading and had the ability to insert additional instructional strategies, barriers, and ways they overcame barriers in an open-ended question on the survey. The findings indicated the participants found the instructional strategies for teaching the five components of reading to be effective to teach ELLs in the primary grades to read. Based on the data analyzed, all teachers in the primary grades should be knowledgeable in the five components of reading as well as the effective instructional strategies for implementation. In addition to ensuring that teacher preparation programs and all current teachers in Grades K-3 are prepared for teaching reading to ELLs in the primary grades, this researcher also recommends that the leaders at the sites be well-versed in the five components of reading and effective instructional strategies. Additional research is recommended to identify leadership trends at the successful schools, such as accountability, data used to guide instruction, staff development planning, and student intervention programs.</p>

<p>The application of teacher consultation to improve reading comprehension outcomes for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students in a high school setting was investigated. Due to the low-incidence nature of the disability, a multiple baseline study was implemented to monitor DHH students' responses to the interventions teachers generated from teacher consultation sessions. The AIMSweb MAZE measures were used to inform teacher consultation sessions by documenting changes in DHH student performance within the area of comprehension. A visual analysis of DHH students' progress monitoring data prior to and during intervention implementation suggested that teacher consultation led to improved comprehension outcomes due to a positive intervention effect among three DHH students and one teacher of the Deaf. Teachers reported that the use of progress monitoring was beneficial because it allowed them to adapt their instructional delivery based on what their DHH students needed. </p>

<p> Educators have a responsibility to choose and share picture books with young children carefully, with a full understanding of the psychological, cultural and developmental potential that these books have for children. Picture books have a profound and lasting effect on children at a most impressionable age. Children identify with the characters in the picture books, sometimes through the personality of the characters, and that identification allows them to acquire ideas and emotions, conscious and unconscious, that promote developmental growth and teach social and cultural constructs.</p><p> This study employed a mixed methods research design using content analysis to describe the total personality of young characters in picture books from three decades: the 1950s, the 1980s, and the 2000s. This study looked for changes in the personalities of young characters in those time periods, including changes related to the gender of the characters.</p><p> This study found a consistent whole personality for the young characters in the picture books studied that can be described using the Big Five Personality Factors. There were statistically significant differences in the time periods for two of the Big Five Personality Factors. Although there were differences in personality between genders, those differences were not statistically significant. </p><p> Significant differences in the personality factors of extroversion and openness to experience in the time periods studied may be related to changes in society that have impacted the lives of children. The use of media, especially television, had exploded into the lives of children in the time periods studied. The relationship between children and nature had changed over the time periods. </p><p> Children may need adult intervention in terms of providing context, literary analysis, and discussion when reading picture books. Educators using picture books in instruction may need to carefully consider cultural standards, cultural ideals, and cultural change reflected in the books as part of instructional planning. Educational researchers need to examine the whole personality of characters in picture books so that the findings of their studies may inform and influence those in the home and the school using this powerful tool to help our children achieve their potential.</p>

<p>Reading is essential for personal growth and social and economic success. Smith (2002) proposed that reading was the most important subject in American early schools, and explained that reading continues to be the most significant subject in schools throughout the United States. Educators need to consider ways to strengthen our educational system beginning with teacher preparation. Researchers have outlined the close interconnectivity between teacher preparation and reading preparation; however, relatively few researchers have asked questions about the involvement of reading preparation courses, reading-related demographics, and past reading experiences in relation to reading habits and knowledge, specifically of children?s literature. This quantitative study analyzed 12 specific demographic and reading-related variables in the prediction of preservice teachers? knowledge and current reading habits of children?s literature in a teacher preparation program at a public, four-year, Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in South Texas. The correlational study employed bivariate and multivariate analyses on data collected from 168 undergraduate students enrolled in at least one reading course during the fall 2014 semester. Results of correlational analysis indicated that there were statistically significant associations for current reading habits of children?s literature on the basis of READ 3310?Principles and Practices of Early Reading Instruction, READ 3320?Principles and Practices of Reading Instruction, and READ 4380?Children?s and Adolescents? Literature, and daily contact with children outside of school. There were statistically significant associations for knowledge of children?s literature based on READ 3320, READ 4380, and past reading experiences. Results of the regression analysis indicated daily contact with children outside of school, READ 4380, READ 3310, and READ 3320 were significantly correlated with current reading habits. READ 4380, READ 3320, and past reading experiences were the variables used in the prediction of knowledge of children?s literature. The results of the study have implications for teacher preparation programs, literacy scholars, in-service educators, preservice educators, and parents. Some recommendations for future research include: complete a comparison study with in-service teachers, replicate the study to include a larger number of participants, update the Children?s Literature Title Recognition Test to reflect in-class and out of class fiction and non-fiction titles, and add a qualitative aspect.

<p> The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a statistically significant, positive relationship between utilizing the Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) program, Ticket to Read (T2R), as measured by the accumulated number of passages read and reading achievement, as measured by the statewide North Carolina End of Grade (NCEOG) reading assessment scores, within a third-grade elementary school sample. This quantitative, non-experimental correlational study examined the NCEOG reading assessment standardized scores and determined if third-grade students obtained reading achievement with the supplemental use of the T2R program during the 2013-2014 school year. The methodology examined and compared the NCEOG reading assessment scores for third-grade students from schools that utilized T2R schools and NTR schools that did not utilize the T2R program. Archival data were analyzed from a sample of 478 third-grade students of which included 281 students from T2R schools and 206 third-grade students from NT2R schools and conclusions were made about the students&rsquo; reading achievement performance. Using a Pearson <i> r</i> correlational statistic test, this study revealed that the null hypothesis should be rejected because T2R utilization and reading achievement scores were positively correlated and statistically significant with an obtained p value less than .05 (<i>r</i>=.250, <i>p</i>=.000). The study&rsquo;s findings supported the theory that CAI promotes independent opportunities for students to practice and strengthen their reading skills and exhibit reading achievement. The findings can be used to provide educators an evidence-based practical approach or doable practices for planning instruction, monitoring learner&rsquo;s progress, and fostering students&rsquo; reading achievement.</p>

<p> A large body of research has established the existence of a gap in vocabulary knowledge that occurs largely along socioeconomic lines, is evident prior to age two, and continues to widen as children age. Because research has shown that early vocabulary knowledge supports present and later text comprehension, interventions for supporting preschoolers&rsquo; vocabulary development are being explored through research and in classrooms.</p><p> The present study sought to build upon prior research to explore the impact of two intervention conditions, <i>rich instruction</i> + <i> more rich instruction</i> (RI) and <i>rich instruction</i> + <i>play</i> (+P), on preschoolers&rsquo; knowledge of targeted Tier 2 vocabulary words selected from read-alouds of children&rsquo;s literature. The study included 28 preschool students in two full-day, state-funded classrooms, mean age=4.32. A within-subjects design was used to allow all students to experience both conditions by randomly assigning target words to each condition.</p><p> Findings suggest that participation in both the <i>rich instruction </i> + <i>more rich instruction</i> (RI) and <i>rich instruction </i> +<i>play</i> (+P) conditions increased preschoolers&rsquo; learning of targeted Tier 2 vocabulary words. Furthermore, students demonstrated deeper word learning in the +P condition as compared to the RI condition. There is some evidence to suggest that preschoolers may have been more engaged in the classroom activities in the +P condition than when they were in the RI condition. Implications for choosing target words for preschool students are also discussed.</p><p>