TextProject, Inc

We've taken the plunge and TextProject is now officially incorporated as a not-for-profit in California. Its specific focus is on increasing literacy levels of beginning and struggling readers through access to the best possible texts. Freddy is full-time at TextProject as of January 2011 and we have already initiated activities that support the goal of accessible texts.

We've reorganized and revamped the textproject.org website to reflect the following priorities and we will be rolling out improvements and new initiatives on an ongoing basis. Be sure to visit soon to see our progress.

What does this mean for visitors to textproject.org? We intend to bring:

• more tools that will help educators better match appropriate text to students
• more products like SummerReads™ to support struggling readers
• the latest information on reading education and reading research

QuickReads: Word Pictures™

QuickReads: Word Pictures™ is designed to provide vocabulary support for students, especially English language learners. Students may have the concept of gardening but may not have specific terminology (e.g., germinate). Through pictures, students can connect words to existing ideas as well as extend their vocabularies about a topic.

We currently have available a selection of Word Pictures for topics in QuickReads Levels A-D. We intend to add a new QuickReads: Word Pictures™ every Thursday over the 2010–11 school year. Click here to see which titles are now available.

An Examination of Current Text Difficulty Indices with Early Reading Texts

TextProject, Inc. released its first Reading Research Report. In this first Reading Research Report, Drs. Hiebert and Pearson take a close look at the strengths and weaknesses of the two quantitative indices identified in the Common Core State Standards—Lexiles and Coh-Metrix. What do these two indices measure? Are they sufficient in matching text to reader?

The goal of the Reading Research Report series is to provide educators with timely, data-driven information on critical issues. Each report is reviewed by at least three members of the TextProject Editorial Board.

Click here to download the first Reading Research Report.

New Publications

Hiebert, E.H. & Reutzel, R. (Eds.) (2010), Revisiting Silent Reading: New Directions for Teachers and Researchers. Newark, DE. IRA.

Menon, S., & Hiebert, E.H., (Aug, 2010). Instructional texts and the fluency of learning disabled readers. In R. Allington & A. McGill-Franzen (Eds.), Handbook of Reading Disability Research. NY: Longman/Taylor & Francis.

Nagy, W.E., Hiebert, E.H., (October, 2010). Toward a theory of word selection. In P.D. Pearson et al. (Eds.), Handbook of Reading Research (Vol. 4). NY: Longman.

Rasinski, T., Samuels, S.J., Hiebert, E., Petscher, Y., & Feller, K. (Jan, 2011). The Relationship Between a Silent Reading Fluency Instructional Protocol on Students‚ Reading Comprehension and Achievement in an Urban School Setting. Reading Psychology, 32(1), 75-97.

Updated Version of The Role of Text in Developing Reading Fluency and Comprehension Webinar

Freddy has updated her webinar The Role of Text in Developing Reading Fluency and Comprehension to include the new Common Core Standards. Click here to view the webinar.

Keep an eye out for…

New Events

2/3/11 Nineteenth Annual Pacific Coast Research Conference

3/23/11 Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk Traveling Lecturer Series

Publications In Press

Freddy currently has 6 articles and chapters in press.  As you can see from the selections below, Freddy has been thinking about fluency and how it relates to the Common Core Standards.  Click on each title to download the preprint version of the chapter/article.

• Samuels, S.J., Rasinski, T., & Hiebert, E.H. (in press). Eye movements and reading: What teachers need to know. In A. Farstrup & S.J. Samuels (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction (4th Ed.). Newark, DE: IRA.
• Hiebert, E.H., Samuels, S.J., & Rasinski, T.V. (in press). Comprehension-based silent reading rates: What do we know? What do we need to know? Literacy Research and Instruction.