Knowledge of the implementation practices of successful elementary schools will be beneficial to other elementary principals who seek to improve student success in reading. This study examined perceptions of principals from elementary schools in Texas whose schools received the Gold Performance Acknowledgement (GPA) from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for Continuous Improvement in Reading (CIR) on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) in 2002. The study had two purposes: (1) to identify the principal??s perception of the levels of implementation and impact of selected reading strategies used by selected elementary schools in Texas to improve student success in reading and (2) to determine the principal??s perception of the extent to which Accelerated Reader (AR) and AR-like recommend practices were used in selected elementary schools in Texas. The research design for this study was descriptive. Parameters, which are descriptive measures of a population, were used since all 721 members of the population were mailed questionnaires. Research was conducted during the winter of2004. Two hundred fifty-two principals responded. A questionnaire using a Likerttype scale for the principals?? responses was used to collect the data. Principals?? perceptions were measured to determine the degree of implementation and impact of AR and other selected reading strategies. Data were analyzed for all 252 respondents for selected reading strategies and by the categories of AR and non-AR schools for AR recommended reading strategies and AR-like recommended reading strategies, respectively. This study identified the characteristics of a successful reading program in Texas elementary schools. To maximize their budgets while improving student success in reading, principals should provide their teachers with professional development, implement student/teacher conferences to direct reading practice, allow students to self-select books on their independent reading level for independent reading practice, consider use of literature circles, classroom libraries and reading textbooks, review the use of rewards and posting of goals to determine if these practices increase students?? success in reading, assess computer reading programs to determine if there are less costly options available, and in schools using the AR program, review implementation practices for greater impact.

The purposes of this study are to determine the level of growth by reading improvement students when metacognitive skills are taught and to determine which instructional approach is the most effective in maximizing reading comprehension.

This study examined a first grade, general education teacher's changing practices related to reading intervention for struggling readers as she worked with a group of university researchers to develop and implement a first grade reading instruction model. This study also investigated the following research questions: What changes in a first grade, general education teacher’s reading instructional practices occurred because of a year long university-teacher collaborative relationship in implementing evidence-based reading instruction for struggling students? What were the facilitators and barriers for implementing evidence-based reading practices for struggling readers? Analyses of classroom observations, teacher interviews, intervention validity checklists (IVC's), observations, support team meeting notes, research team meeting notes, field notes, and other forms of documentation provided a view into the process of change of one teacher. / text

Thesis (D. Ed.)--University of Oregon, 2005. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-135). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

To read and understand are essential competences for everyone in our society; at the same time reading comprehension among Swedish pupils is on the decline. The Swedish school must therefore try to improve their instructions to increase the students' reading comprehension. The aim of the study was to describe how three reading comprehension strategies, if possible, could improve the reading comprehension for the students, including children with learning disabilities, when reading texts of natural science in a third-grade class. The three strategies that were introduced were: to activate prior knowledge, to structure information and to record contents. The questions of the study were: How are the three strategies introduced in the classroom? Can the children with learning disabilities see any benefits for their reading comprehension when working with the strategies? How do the children with learning disabilities experience working with the strategies? Can the teacher see any benefits when working with the strategies? Is it possible to see any differences among the students' results, before and after completed intervention? Method: The results have been collected through observations and qualitative interviews, which make this a qualitative study. The reading test is the quantitative part of the study. The results show that the three strategies, in different ways, support the reading comprehension for all pupils in the class and the children with learning disabilities. The children with learning disabilities mostly find different things in the strategies that can support their reading comprehension. To activate prior knowledge and to structure information were the strategies that the teacher and the children with learning disabilities experienced took too long. Both the teacher and the children with learning disabilities felt that the strategy to record contents was the easiest to follow through. The results from the reading test could unfortunately not say anything about the children's reading comprehension development, since it did not test reading comprehension, but decoding and speed of reading.

Thesis (D.Ed.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Rachel A. Karchmer-Klein, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2004. / Title from title page screen, viewed May 23, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Barbara M. Fulk, Jeffrey P. Bakken (co-chairs), Kenneth H. Strand, Mary M. O'Brian. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-120) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Duquesne University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p.168-183) and index.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Esta pesquisa tem como objeto de estudo a compreensÃo das expressÃes idiomÃticas em lÃngua materna, visando ao aprimoramento no reconhecimento do sentido das EIs atravÃs do contexto do texto. Com bases teÃricas que congregam a Fraseologia e a PsicolinguÃstica, o presente trabalho tem cunho metodolÃgico experimental. Para a geraÃÃo de dados, ela se utilizou da pesquisa-aÃÃo, atravÃs da aplicaÃÃo de uma sequÃncia didÃtica adaptada de Dolz, Noverraz & Schneuwly (2004), em uma turma do sÃtimo ano do Ensino Fundamental de uma escola pÃblica municipal de Fortaleza, com um teste diagnÃstico aplicado antes dos mÃdulos da SD e um teste avaliativo, aplicado no final. AlÃm disso, a pesquisa utilizou uma turma controle em que foram aplicados somente os testes, para que os dados coletados nas duas turmas pudessem ser comparados. As atividades constaram de textos projetados em slides em que eram destacadas expressÃes idiomÃticas cujo sentido poderia ser reconhecido pelo contexto. Assim, o professor incentivou a ativaÃÃo do conhecimento prÃvio dos alunos, a prediÃÃo e a inferenciaÃÃo para que eles pudessem compreender melhor o significado da EI. Como resultados, a pesquisa demonstrou que as estratÃgias de leitura podem ser uma ferramenta muito importante para a desautomatizaÃÃo do processo de apreensÃo do sentido das expressÃes idiomÃticas, alÃm de ampliar as habilidades de leitura dos alunos de uma maneira participativa e reflexiva.

The local district in this study has not made adequate yearly progress in the past several years in language arts literacy on state assessments. Particularly problematic were poor reading skills among district students. Poor literacy skills negatively affect student learning across the curriculum. The purpose of this case study was to identify teachers' and administrators' perceptions of best literacy practices, professional development, and administrative decisions regarding literacy learning for primary students in reading at a strong performing elementary school in the district. The target school was selected to help address reading failure for the low-performing schools in this district. Bloom's taxonomy of learning, which indicates that higher-level learning is based on foundational knowledge that is often provided at the primary level, was the framework for this study. A bounded case study was conducted that included a purposeful sample of 7 elementary teachers of language arts from Pre-K to 2nd grades and 2 administrators at the target elementary school. Classroom observations and interviews were used to collect data. NVivo was used to assist in coding, analysis of data, and identification of recurring themes. The findings indicated that an outcome-based curriculum incorporating Bloom's levels of learning coupled with supportive district decisions regarding literacy were key components driving literacy success at the target school. The findings were incorporated into a policy paper as a project to propose and support elementary level reading curriculum changes and administrative decisions regarding literacy success for elementary students in the local district. Implications for positive social change might be far reaching as elementary school students in this district benefit from literacy skills that improve their academic success and ultimately their overall quality of life.