Understanding and writing about expository material is difficult for many students. Content classroom activities and assessment tasks, however, are often structured within a framework of student reading followed by extended written response. This multiple probe design across subjects study examined the expository comprehension and informative writing performance of 9 fourth-grade low-achieving students, 4 with disabilities and 5 without disabilities, following SelfRegulated Strategy Development (SRSD) instruction for TWA (Think before reading, think While reading, think After reading) and PLANS (Pick goals, List ways to meet goals, And, make Notes and Sequence notes). Student performance, as measured by oral and written retells, improved and was maintained following instruction. Students also liked the strategies as well as instruction, and believed that TWA + PLANS improved their reading and writing.

Early reading exposure is important in setting a foundation for students to acquire the basic literacy skills that set them up for school and life success. More importantly, parent involvement at an early age is a critical component of reading skills development. This report presents an overview of the Reading Together Program that introduced families of young children ages 6-36 months in a community-based setting to the necessary skills, techniques, and resources to enhance their knowledge of how to effectively develop a reading partnership with their children. Additionally, this free reading program that was sponsored by a faculty development grant invited parents to play an active role in their children's reading journey. Results indicated that parents understood and appreciated the value of early reading habits, and would continue to nurture the reading relationship with their children. This article also presents responses of the initial and final reading perception surveys as well as implications for future research and practice.

This study examines the effects of oral repeated reading, with and without corrective feedback, on the fluency and comprehension skills of 60 struggling readers in 7th Grade. Comparisons were made by group on narrative and expository reading ability and by comprehension question type. Students were randomly assigned to one of two reading groups (oral repeated reading with corrective feedback and oral repeated reading without corrective feedback). Participants in each group were required to repeatedly read a narrative and an expository passage. Statistical analyses (namely, repeated measures ANOVA and ANCOVA) were used to determine the overall effects on fluency and comprehension and differential effects demonstrated by groups on text type and comprehension question type. Results indicated that both forms of intervention improved fluency and comprehension. Limitations and implications for research and practice are discussed.

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