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Educators' support when using informational text in kindergarten is foundational to children's comprehension and future learning. Prior research has not offered clear insight into their help when children experience difficulties during informational text comprehension instruction. The current study examined one kindergarten educator's support. Mrs. Swanson's teaching was observed two to three times per week for 15 weeks, and lesson artifacts were collected. Discourse analytic coding procedures, constant comparison, and thematic analysis revealed that the educator consistently provided verbal scaffolding but inconsistently supported the individual children who were experiencing comprehension difficulty. An expanded focus on educators' scaffolding at children's points of difficulty when using informational text in kindergarten is required in future research and teacher education.

Previous research demonstrates that integration of science and literacy instruction in primary grades has positive outcomes for students' science and literacy development. However, variations in how science and literacy are enacted suggest integration may not be sufficient to meet the literacy and science needs of all students in an equitable manner. The purpose of this study was to examine two first-grade teachers' science integration during literacy instruction in one high- and one low-income school context within one urban district. Analysis of field notes, transcripts of lessons, and interviews revealed that expectations to integrate science during time set aside for literacy instruction without consideration of contextual factors perpetuated and concealed ongoing inequities in science education for students from the lowest income school. Further, this study adds to evidence from prior studies demonstrating that reading of science-related texts alone, as a substitute for instruction in science as a discipline, does not provide students with the resources needed to learn to think, talk, and act as scientists. Findings from this study require researchers and policy-makers to address the context-specific factors that shape instructional contexts in ways that limit or expand the potential of integrated science--literacy instruction in urban schools.

This mixed methods study sought to extend what is known about preservice teachers' [PSTs'] enactment of the core practice of reading and responding to students' writing by examining their reading of elementary students' writing at the start and end of writing-focused methods coursework. PSTs' reading of students' writing involves analysis of children's writing strengths and needs and undergirds their teaching of writing, influencing their feedback and instructional decision-making. Participants included 115 elementary PSTs. Their identifications of local and global text features on a beginning- and end-of-semester assessment task were examined. Overall, PSTs showcased differences in their reading of children's writing at the two time points, displaying a lessened focus on local features (e.g., spelling, punctuation) and a greater focus on global features (e.g., content, structure) at the end of the semester. This trend was especially apparent in their identification of children's instructional needs. Moreover, PSTs' reading of children's informative and persuasive writing tended to be similar to their reading of children's narrative writing at both time points. The results offer insight into the text features PSTs make available for use in their subsequent responding and suggest the importance of highlighting global text features among children's instructional needs.

Disciplinary literacy instruction during kindergarten through second grade enables students to begin developing facility with consuming, producing, and learning from texts in academic disciplines across their school careers and for full civic participation. Extant intervention studies and descriptions of practice in the primary grades offer understanding of disciplinary literacy instruction when it is enacted with researchers' help and/or by teachers with expertise in disciplinary literacy. To address disciplinary literacy in the primary grades, insight into what primary teachers focus on and how they support students' disciplinary literacy learning during their naturally-occurring instruction is needed. This exploratory collective case study examined the disciplinary literacy learning opportunities available in first-grade teachers' instruction. Participants included four teachers in four elementary schools situated in a large city in the Midwest. Audio records and field notes were collected over a period of five months during teachers' literacy instruction. Open coding, progressive refinement of codes, and categorical analyses revealed limited instructional emphasis on disciplinary literacy. When learning opportunities were observed, teachers' foci and support centered on the social foundations of disciplinary literacy and included sharing of information and student practice. Also, problematic disciplinary literacy learning opportunities were noted. This study underscores the urgent need for additional attention to disciplinary literacy as it is situated within the primary grades, with particular import for how first-grade teachers enact disciplinary literacy instruction.

The authors explored elementary students' comprehension of informational text in disciplinary learning. Forty on-grade-level readers in Grades 2-5 participated. A priori and emergent coding was used to analyze 120 verbal protocols and 120 oral recalls. Analyses of variance and correlations showed students' processing and recall of procedural text contrasted with their processing and recall of biography or persuasive text. Also, second-grade students did not process informational text as actively or recall informational text as well as third- through fifth-grade students did. An expanded focus on students' comprehension of informational text in disciplinary learning and further study of the relationships among students' text use, text processing and recall, and development are warranted.

U.S. adolescents' prior technology experiences and exposure to digital genres vary, but they will often write digital texts as they enter college and adulthood. We explored middle school students' digital writing instructional experience in the context of a university-based summer digital writing camp. The sixth- through eighth-grade adolescents fell into three profile groups: digital passengers, digital navigators, and digital drivers. Each group displayed distinct patterns of prior technology experiences and exposure to digital genres, digital writing processes, and instructional needs. Their digital writing instructional experience suggests that prior technology experiences and exposure to digital genres influence the ways adolescents envision and enact digital writing. In the middle school classroom, teachers may need to address a range of instructional needs during digital writing instruction.

A personal narrative is presented which explores the authors experience of asking children for developing solutions to problems or creating products helping others.

As educators interested in texts and reading, literacy teachers and school librarians share a kinship. While we might approach literacy from different backgrounds and varied perspectives, we are all focused [...]

The purpose of this article is to discuss the insights gained from Mrs. Foster's reading lesson. Topics include includes teaching moves that showcase and use children's questions and statements to achieve learning goals. In her lessons, children have time and support for developing their voices.

Students' strategic processing is foundational to reading and success and can inform reading and instruction in postsecondary education. The present study explored students' strategy use when reading different kinds of expository text. Participants included 12 postsecondary students. Sixty verbal protocols were collected and coded using codes drawn from prior research. Analyses of Variance and correlations revealed differences in students' use of strategies when reading biography, exposition, narrative nonfiction, persuasive text, and procedural text. An expanded focus on postsecondary students' strategic processing of different kinds of expository text and investigation of the effects of using different strategies in instruction are now needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem Preservation of biospecimen quality is critical to accurately and reliably assessing genes and proteins. We evaluated the effect of preparation method and storage duration on RNA quality in placenta and decidua. Method of study Aliquots of nine placentas and decidua were placed in RNA later® (RL) or flash frozen (FF) within 30 minutes of delivery. RNA was extracted immediately (baseline) and from matched samples stored at −80°C for 1 and 8-10 months. RNA Integrity Number (RIN) and housekeeping gene expression were quantified. Results At both time points, RL placenta had RIN and housekeeping gene Ct values similar to baseline. However, FF placenta had significantly lower RIN and higher Ct values at 1 and 8-10 months. In RL and FF decidua, RIN was unchanged from baseline. Conclusion We found RNA later more effectively and consistently preserved placenta, compared to flash freezing. However, for decidua, which is less dense than placenta, both modes yielded comparable RNA integrity over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents summaries of studies of interest to reading professionals. They include "Shared Book Reading: When and How Questions Affect Young Children's Word Learning," by P. Blewitt, "Examining the Effects of Classroom Discussion on Students' Comprehension of Text: A Meta-Analysis," by P. K. Murphy, and "The Relation Between DIBELS, Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary in Urban First-Grade Students," by B. W. Riedel.

This study focuses on an examination of the learning-to-learn strategies of seventh-grade students as they highlight, take notes, plan, organize, and write expository texts. Participants consist of 125 students, 41 with disabilities and 84 without disabilities. The results reveal that the students with disabilities have more difficulties in using the learning-to-learn strategies as they read, study, and write expository texts, although neither group is judged to be highly proficient. The implications point to a renewed emphasis on preparing content-area teachers to teach the literacy and learning strategies that support the development of learners who know how to read to learn and how to write to learn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]