Building Literacy Skills in Primary School Children and Adolescents

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "Curriculum and Instruction".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2024) | Viewed by 31551

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Curriculum & Instruction, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115 USA
Interests: foundational skills; phonemic awareness; reading fluency; installation of core instruction; quantitative research; implementation science

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Guest Editor
College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University, MS 4232, College Station, TX 77843, USA
Interests: reading acquisition and development; reading assessment and correction; reading comprehension development and text processing; reading in science and mathematics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue titled ‘Building Literacy Skills in Primary School Children and Adolescents’ will have two foci:

  1. Reading processes and instructions, shown through empirical research, that help students to proficiently decode words with fluency and understanding;
  2. Reading issues encountered by students as they transition into adolescence.

For this Special Issue, we welcome submissions of original, quantitative research articles and research reviews. Among others, some potential research areas may include the following:

  • Phonemic awareness;
  • Alphabet knowledge;
  • Letter-sound knowledge (or correspondence);
  • Morphological awareness;
  • Reading fluency;
  • Role of text in reading development;
  • Vocabulary;
  • Reading comprehension.

Articles may focus on a specific grade, or combination of grades across kindergarten through grade eight and may address a single reading process or combinations of processes. Studies focusing on the transition years following formal phonics instruction, quite often encompassing third through fifth grade, are also of interest.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Sincerely,

Prof. Dr. David D. Paige
Prof. Dr. William Rupley
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • foundational skills
  • adolescent reading
  • phonemic awareness
  • developmental spelling
  • phonics
  • decoding
  • reading fluency
  • vocabulary, comprehension

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 311 KiB  
Article
The Implications and Applications of Developmental Spelling After Phonics Instruction
by Shane Templeton
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(2), 195; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15020195 - 6 Feb 2025
Viewed by 1142
Abstract
Examining spelling from a developmental perspective began in the 1970s and has broadened over the years. This research has informed understanding of the nature and development of spelling or orthographic knowledge in children and older students and the role of orthographic knowledge in [...] Read more.
Examining spelling from a developmental perspective began in the 1970s and has broadened over the years. This research has informed understanding of the nature and development of spelling or orthographic knowledge in children and older students and the role of orthographic knowledge in reading and writing. Based on analyses of the errors that students make in their writing and on spelling assessments, developmental spelling has documented the acquisition and integration of progressively more complex spelling patterns that represent both sound and meaning and illuminated how this information supports students’ ability to read as well as to write words. Intended for researchers, teacher educators, and teachers of students in grades 3–12, this article describes the layers of the spelling system that developmental spelling research has investigated, and their progressive integration in learners, including those who struggle, from the intermediate through the middle and secondary grades. It addresses the implications of developmental spelling research for assessment and instruction in spelling, word analysis, vocabulary, and the more specific implications of developmental spelling research for aligning instruction across spelling, word analysis, vocabulary, morphology, and etymology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Literacy Skills in Primary School Children and Adolescents)
24 pages, 1742 KiB  
Article
The Presence and Progression of Rare Vocabulary in Texts Across Elementary Grades and Between Genres
by Elfrieda H. Hiebert, Alia Pugh and Devin M. Kearns
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(12), 1314; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14121314 - 29 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1162
Abstract
This study analyzed the prevalence and characteristics of low-frequency and rare words, together described as rarer words, in elementary-level texts, examining both narrative and expository materials to assess their vocabulary demands. By mapping the nature of shifts in rarer words across grade levels [...] Read more.
This study analyzed the prevalence and characteristics of low-frequency and rare words, together described as rarer words, in elementary-level texts, examining both narrative and expository materials to assess their vocabulary demands. By mapping the nature of shifts in rarer words across grade levels and text types, this research aimed to better understand the lexical challenges students face as they progress as readers. Analyzing a corpus of 300,000 words from narrative and expository texts at grades 1, 3, and 5, the research employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitatively, a digital program categorized words into four frequency groups—high, medium, low, and rare—while examining features of word length and age of acquisition that can influence word meaning recognition. Qualitatively, the analysis classified rarer words into 13 lexical categories and assessed their morphological family membership. The findings reveal an increase in total rarer words from 5.7% to 8.7% across grades, alongside a major rise in unique rarer words (32% to 43%). The complexity of features predicting word recognition—word length and age of acquisition—also escalates with grade level. Notably, 23% of rarer words are forms typically not taught in vocabulary instruction, such as proper names, while 76% of rare words belong to morphological families in the high-, medium-, and low-frequency word zones. These results highlight the need for targeted vocabulary instruction that incorporates the complexities of rarer word usage in authentic texts, ultimately aiming to enhance students’ reading comprehension. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Literacy Skills in Primary School Children and Adolescents)
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23 pages, 299 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Invented Spelling Instruction on Literacy Achievement and Writing Motivation
by Katie Schrodt, Erin FitzPatrick, Sungyoon Lee, Debra McKeown, Alexis McColloch and Kimberly Evert
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(9), 1020; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14091020 - 18 Sep 2024
Viewed by 4413
Abstract
Early writing performance strongly predicts long-term literacy performance. It follows that early underachievement in writing is highly correlated with early underachievement in reading. One strategy teachers and students can use to approach writing in the kindergarten classroom is invented spelling. Invented spelling is [...] Read more.
Early writing performance strongly predicts long-term literacy performance. It follows that early underachievement in writing is highly correlated with early underachievement in reading. One strategy teachers and students can use to approach writing in the kindergarten classroom is invented spelling. Invented spelling is children’s spontaneous or self-directed attempts to represent words in print by matching sounds to known letters or phonics patterns. A quasi-experimental study was used to evaluate the impact of invented spelling on foundational literacy skills and writing motivation in 63 kindergarten students at a rural school in the Mid-South. The research questions focused on the impact of invented spelling instruction on a variety of literacy outcomes, including foundational skills, spelling, and motivation. The results indicate the significant main effects of invented spelling instruction on students’ invented spelling (p < 0.001), conventional spelling (p < 0.001), complex vocabulary use (p < 0.001, writing motivation (p = 0.040), and writing achievement (p < 0.001). Other outcomes as well as implications and future directions are reported. The invented spelling intervention encouraged low-stake risk taking when writing and removed barriers to writing entry. Allowing time and space for invented spellings means students can focus on communicating their ideas in print without being hindered by the expectation to conform to conventional spellings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Literacy Skills in Primary School Children and Adolescents)
20 pages, 1825 KiB  
Article
Automatic Morphological Processing in Middle School Students with and without Word Reading Difficulties
by Leah M. Zimmermann, Derek B. Rodgers and Bob McMurray
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(8), 849; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14080849 - 6 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1499
Abstract
Morphological processing is the use of morphological structure during word reading. This study investigated whether middle school students applied morphological structure automatically when reading words. In addition, this study asked whether students with word reading difficulties (WRD) applied morphological structure in a way [...] Read more.
Morphological processing is the use of morphological structure during word reading. This study investigated whether middle school students applied morphological structure automatically when reading words. In addition, this study asked whether students with word reading difficulties (WRD) applied morphological structure in a way that differed from proficient word readers. Participants were seventh- and eighth-grade students (n = 80). Students were divided into two reading ability groups: proficient word readers (n = 55) and students with word reading difficulties (n = 25). Four computer-administered experimental tasks measured automaticity in reading morphologically complex words and morphologically simple words. A backward masking measure assessed whether students were applying morphological structure automatically to support task accuracy. Students were significantly more accurate in masked performance with morphologically complex words than with morphologically simple words on an oral word reading task. Students with WRD benefitted more from morphological structure on this task than proficient readers did. Findings suggest that proficient word readers and students with WRD automatically apply morphological structure when reading words aloud. In addition, middle school students with WRD may rely more on morphological structure than their proficient peers. However, there may be differences in morphological processing based on the nature of word reading tasks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Literacy Skills in Primary School Children and Adolescents)
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17 pages, 470 KiB  
Article
Critical Thinking in Reading Comprehension: Fine Tuning the Simple View of Reading
by David Paige, William H. Rupley and Leily Ziglari
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(3), 225; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14030225 - 22 Feb 2024
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 20915
Abstract
Critical thinking has been identified as an essential skill for the 21st century, yet little research has investigated its role in reading comprehension. Executive functions (EF) and critical thinking overlap, where the latter often rely on the proficient operation of EF and vice [...] Read more.
Critical thinking has been identified as an essential skill for the 21st century, yet little research has investigated its role in reading comprehension. Executive functions (EF) and critical thinking overlap, where the latter often rely on the proficient operation of EF and vice versa. Extending the simple view of reading, the active view of reading considers the contribution of language comprehension and decoding to reading comprehension by including the role of EF. In the present study, we assess 360 seventh-grade English language learners attending schools in three states in India. We gathered measures of reading comprehension, critical thinking and listening comprehension, reading fluency, academic vocabulary, and encoding. Using multiple regression to fit a linear model, the best-fit model explained 59.3% of the total variance in reading comprehension. Two indicators of critical thinking, induction and deduction, were significant predictors of reading comprehension, along with listening comprehension, encoding, and academic vocabulary. Also of interest was the result showing reading fluency to be a non-significant predictor of reading comprehension. Results of this study add empirical support for the role of critical thinking in reading comprehension. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Literacy Skills in Primary School Children and Adolescents)
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23 pages, 1022 KiB  
Systematic Review
Reading Interventions to Support English Learners with Disabilities in High School: A Systematic Review
by Lisa Bowman-Perrott, Richard T. Boon, Kathy B. Ewoldt, Mack D. Burke, Zohreh Eslami and Azizullah Mirzaei
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(2), 223; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15020223 - 11 Feb 2025
Viewed by 1341
Abstract
This systematic review summarizes the reading intervention literature for English learners (ELs) with disabilities in high school. A robust and exhaustive electronic search of ERIC, PsycINFO, Education Source Ultimate, and Academic Search Ultimate databases using keywords such as “reading interventions”, “English learners”, “disabilities”, [...] Read more.
This systematic review summarizes the reading intervention literature for English learners (ELs) with disabilities in high school. A robust and exhaustive electronic search of ERIC, PsycINFO, Education Source Ultimate, and Academic Search Ultimate databases using keywords such as “reading interventions”, “English learners”, “disabilities”, and “high school” was performed for the period from 1975 to July 2024. To be included in this review, participants had to be an EL with an identified disability enrolled in high school and receiving a reading intervention, while studies that included participants with reading difficulties were excluded. A total of 110 documents were retrieved, including 105 from the initial electronic database search, and an additional five more were found using Google Scholar. After reviewing all of the documents using a four-step process, seven studies met our inclusion criteria and are included in this systematic review. Across the reading intervention studies, key study variables were coded into two categories: (a) participant characteristics and (b) study and intervention characteristics. The findings indicated that all studies reported largely positive effects on improving students’ reading outcomes. Reading interventions included semantic mapping, repeated readings with systematic error correction and performance feedback, summarization strategies (e.g., RAP Paraphrasing Strategy, Modified GIST Strategy), and multi-component instructional packages (e.g., Clue Word Strategy, CLUES strategy, Reading Intervention for Adolescents [RIA]). It is difficult to draw a firm conclusion about effective reading interventions for high school ELs with disabilities because of the limited number of studies, small sample sizes of ELs with disabilities, few disability categories represented, and lack of stand-alone reading interventions. The Discussion section summarizes the key findings, limitations to consider, implications for classroom practice, and directions for future research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Literacy Skills in Primary School Children and Adolescents)
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