Improving language-focused comprehension instruction in primary-grade classrooms:impacts of the Let’s Know! experimental curriculum

This quasi-experimental study was designed to test the impacts of a curriculum supplement, Let’s Know! on the quantity and quality of language-focused comprehension instruction in pre-Kindergarten to third grade classrooms. Sixty classrooms (12 per each of pre-K to grade 3) were enrolled in the study, with 40 teachers assigned to implement one of two versions of the experimental Let’s Know! curriculum and 20 assigned to a control condition, in which they maintained their typical language-arts curriculum. Classroom observations, 90 minutes in duration, were collected near the end of the first unit’s completion, about four to five weeks into the academic year. These observations were coded to examine impacts of Let’s Know! instruction on two outcomes: (a) teachers’ use of 18 language-focused comprehension supports, and (b) general classroom quality. Study results using quantile regression showed that Let’s Know! teachers used a significantly higher number of language-focused comprehension supports during Let’s Know! instruction compared to the control teachers during language-arts instruction; the same finding was also true for general classroom quality. Quantile regression results showed the greatest differentiation in instructional quality, when comparing experimental and control teachers, for teachers in the middle of the distribution of general classroom quality. Study findings highlight the value of language-focused curricula for heightening comprehension-specific supports in pre-K to grade 3 settings

Ten steps to conducting a large, multi-site, longitudinal investigation of language and reading in young children

Purpose: This paper describes methodological procedures involving execution of a large-scale, multi-site longitudinal study of language and reading comprehension in young children. Researchers in the Language and Reading Research Consortium (LARRC) developed and implemented these procedures to ensure data integrity across multiple sites, schools, and grades. Specifically, major features of our approach, as well as lessons learned, are summarized in 10 steps essential for successful completion of a large-scale longitudinal investigation in early grades. Method: Over 5 years, children in preschool through third grade were administered a battery of 35 higher- and lower-level language, listening, and reading comprehension measures (RCM). Data were collected from children, their teachers, and their parents/guardians at four sites across the United States. Substantial and rigorous effort was aimed toward maintaining consistency in processes and data management across sites for children, assessors, and staff. Conclusion: With appropriate planning, flexibility, and communication strategies in place, LARRC developed and executed a successful multi-site longitudinal research study that will meet its goal of investigating the contribution and role of language skills in the development of children’s listening and reading comprehension. Through dissemination of our design strategies and lessons learned, research teams embarking on similar endeavors can be better equipped to anticipate the challenges

Investigating profiles of lexical quality in preschool and their contribution to first grade reading

This longitudinal study investigated profiles of lexical quality domains in preschool children and the extent to which profile membership predicted reading comprehension in first grade. A latent profile analysis was conducted to classify 420 preschool children on lexical quality domains, including orthography, phonology, morphosyntax, and vocabulary. Regression analysis was used to determine whether profile membership was associated with first grade outcomes across reading comprehension and its components (i.e., listening comprehension and word recognition). Results revealed five profiles of lexical quality which were predictive of all three outcomes in first grade. Children in low lexical quality profiles performed more poorly on the outcome measures than children in the higher lexical quality profiles. Additionally, profile membership did differentially predict later reading outcomes. These results suggest that lexical quality profiles are associated with reading and therefore may offer a means of early identification of children who are susceptible to future reading difficulties

Oral language and listening comprehension:same or different constructs?

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to add to our understanding of the dimensionality of oral language in children and to determine whether oral language and listening comprehension are separate constructs in children enrolled in preschool (PK) through third grade. Method: In the spring of the school year children from four states (n=1,869) completed multiple measures of oral language (i.e., expressive and receptive vocabulary and grammar) and listening comprehension as part of a larger study of the language bases of reading comprehension. Results: Initial confirmatory factor analysis found evidence that measures of oral language and listening comprehension loaded on two separate factors in preschool through 3rd grade; however, these factors were highly correlated at all grades. Conclusion: These results suggest that oral language and listening comprehension are best characterized as a single oral language construct in grades PK through 3. The implications for early identification and intervention are discussed

Learning to read:should we keep things simple?

The simple view of reading describes reading comprehension as the product of decoding and listening comprehension and the relative contribution of each to reading comprehension across development. We present a cross-sectional analysis of first, second, and third graders (N = 123–125 in each grade) to assess the adequacy of the basic model. Participants completed multiple measures to inform latent constructs of word reading accuracy, word reading fluency, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and vocabulary. In line with previous research, structural equation models confirmed that the influence of decoding skill decreased with increasing grade and that the influence of listening comprehension increased. However, several additional findings indicate that reading development is not that simple and support an elaboration of the basic model: A strong influence of listening comprehension on reading comprehension was apparent by grade 2, decoding skill was best measured by word and nonword reading accuracy in the early grades and word reading fluency in grade 3, and vocabulary skills indirectly affected reading comprehension through both decoding skill and listening comprehension. This new elaborated model, which provides a more comprehensive view of critical influences on reading in the early grades, has diagnostic and instructional ramifications for improving reading pedagogy

Use of the curriculum research framework (CRF) for developing a reading-comprehension curricular supplement for the primary grades

This article describes nine phases of curriculum-development activities conducted by the Language and Reading Research Consortium (LARRC), the end result of which was to arrive at a research-based supplemental curriculum that could be used by teachers of English-speaking or bilingual Spanish-English-speaking children in prekindergarten and English-speaking children in kindergarten to third grade to bring about significant changes in students’ language skills as a route to improved reading comprehension. LARRC followed the Curriculum Research Framework (CRF) proposed by Douglas Clements as a means for developing curricula that can be called research-based; CRF phases include establishing the foundations of the curriculum (Phases 1–4), establishing the learning model (Phase 5), and evaluation of the curriculum and its components (Phases 6–10). This description of the iterative process followed by LARRC provides the educational field with a substantive example of how research-based curricula in reading comprehension and other areas can be developed using the CRF

The dimensionality of language ability in young children

The purpose of this study was to empirically examine the dimensionality of language ability for young children (4 to 8 years) from pre-kindergarten to third grade (n = 915), theorizing that measures of vocabulary and grammar ability will represent a unitary trait across these ages, and to determine whether discourse skills represents an additional source of variance in language ability. Results demonstrated emergent dimensionality of language across development with distinct factors of vocabulary, grammar, and discourse skills by third grade, confirming that discourse skills are an important source of variance in children’s language ability and represent an important additional dimension to be accounted for in studying growth in language skills over the course of childhood

The Simple View of Reading across development:the prediction of grade 3 reading comprehension by prekindergarten skills

We assessed the simple view of reading as a framework to explain grade 3 reading comprehension in two ways. We first confirmed that a structural equation model in which word recognition, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension were assessed by multiple measures to inform each latent construct provided an adequate fit to this model in grade 3. Together, these variables explained sizeable (95%) variance in reading comprehension. We next examined how well oral language and code-related skills assessed in prekindergarten (PK) predicted reading comprehension in grade 3, through the two core components of the simple view: word recognition and listening comprehension. Multiple measures of vocabulary, grammar, and discourse-level skills were used to inform a latent construct of PK oral language, and multiple measures of letter and print knowledge and phonological processing informed a latent construct of code-related skills that are precursors to word reading. The best-fitting structural equation model explained 96% of the variance in reading comprehension, with strong relations evident between prekindergarten skills and the complementary grade 3 constructs of listening comprehension and word recognition. Of note, the PK latent constructs of oral language and code-related skills were strongly related to each other, with a much weaker (and non significant) relation between the complementary grade 3 constructs of listening comprehension and word recognition. These findings demonstrate a strong influence of PK oral language skills on later reading comprehension, and provide diagnostic and instructional implications for the teaching of early reading

Development of comprehension monitoring in beginner readers

The current study was designed to understand the development of comprehension monitoring among beginner readers from first to third grade, and to determine the extent to which first graders’ comprehension monitoring predicts reading comprehension in grade three. Participants were 113 children (57% female) from four US states who were followed from Grade 1 (M = 7 years, SD = 4 months) to Grade 3 (M = 9 years, SD = 4 months). Measures included decoding, vocabulary, working memory, comprehension monitoring, and reading comprehension. Children’s ability to monitor comprehension grew significantly from first to third grade, with a deceleration in growth over time. In addition, comprehension monitoring in first grade made a significant contribution to reading comprehension in Grade 3, even after controlling for decoding, vocabulary, and working memory. Together, these findings supplement our understanding of young readers’ development of comprehension monitoring as well as its association with reading comprehension at a later time. Practical implications of the results in the context of providing support for higher-level language skills in beginning reading instruction are discussed

English and Spanish predictors of grade 3 reading comprehension in bilingual children

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd-grade predictors of reading comprehension in bilingual children. Specifically, we evaluated the role that Spanish and English skills play in predicting English reading comprehension in 3rd grade. Method: As part of a longitudinal study, 248 bilingual children were followed from prekindergarten to 3rd grade. Participants completed Spanish and English measures in the spring of each academic year. We reported results on measures of oral language, memory, and literacy skills that were administered in kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade. Results: Analysis under the Structural Equation Modeling framework indicated that English oral language and word reading are the strongest predictors of English reading comprehension in 3rd grade. Further, results supported previous evidence indicating that Spanish language skills make significant direct and indirect contributions to the English oral language and word reading skills that predict reading comprehension. Discussion: This study provides a comprehensive view of the language resources that Spanish-English bilinguals use for reading comprehension. In light of previous evidence, we discuss our findings and offer theoretical and practical implications