Beyond Decoding: The Behavioral and Biological Foundations of Reading Comprehension

What cognitive processes and skills do children draw on to make meaning from text? How are these capacities consolidated over the course of development? What puts some learners at risk for comprehension difficulties? This authoritative volume presents state-of-the-science research on the behavioral and biological components of successful reading comprehension. Uniquely integrative, the book covers everything from decoding, fluency, and vocabulary knowledge to embodiment theory, eye movements, gene–environment interactions, and neurobiology. The contributors are prominent investigators who describe their methods and findings in depth and identify important implications for the classroom.

Table of Contents:
I. Cognitive Approaches 1. Language and Body, Michael P. Kaschak, John L. Jones, Jacqueline M. Coyle, and Andrea Sell 2. Eye Movements and Moment-to-Moment Comprehension Processes in Reading, Keith Rayner and Timothy J. Slattery 3. The Influence of In-Text Instruction on Declarative Knowledge and Vocabulary Learning in Struggling Readers: How IQ Confounds the Story, Donald L. Compton, Amy M. Elleman, Natalie G. Olinghouse, Jane Lawrence, Emily Bigelow, Jennifer K. Gilbert, and G. Nicole Davis II. Developmental Approaches 4. How Children Read for Comprehension: Eye Movements in Developing Readers, Ralph Radach, Christiane Schmitten, Lisa Glover, and Lynn Huestegge 5. Reading between the Lines: Developmental and Individual Differences in Cognitive Processes in Reading Comprehension, Paul van den Broek, Mary Jane White, Panayiota Kendeou, and Sarah Carlson 6. The Roles of Fluent Decoding and Vocabulary in the Development of Reading Comprehension, Kanu Priya and Richard K. Wagner III. Individual-Differences Approaches 7. Reading Comprehension Development from 8 to 14 Years: The Contribution of Component Skills and Processes, Kate Cain and Jane Oakhill 8. Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary: What’s the Connection?, Kate Nation 9. Examining the Decision Reliability and Validity of Three Reading Fluency Measures for Predicting Outcomes on Statewide Reading Accountability Tests, Jose M. Castillo, Joseph K. Torgesen, Kelly A. Powell-Smith, and Stephanie Al-Otaiba IV. Biological-Based Approaches 10. Assessment and Etiology of Individual Differences in Reading Comprehension, Janice M. Keenan, Richard K. Olson, and Rebecca S. Betjemann 11. Genes, Environments, and the Development of Early Reading Skills, Stephen A. Petrill 12. Examining Sources of Poor Comprehension in Older Poor Readers: Preliminary Findings, Issues, and Challenges, Sarah H. Eason and Laurie E. Cutting V. Epilogue 13. Promising Interfaces, Richard K. Wagner, Christopher Schatschneider, and Caroline Phythian-Sence