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Abstract
The study examines comprehension after oral and silent reading in elementary- and middle-school students. It investigates whether and when one mode is superior to the other for comprehension as children develop, independent of reading ability levels. One hundred and seventy three children in first through seventh grades orally and silently read grade-appropriate passages and answered comprehension questions. A clear grade-related trend was found in which oral reading was the superior mode for comprehension in first through fifth grades. In sixth grade, neither mode was superior to the other for comprehension. Finally, silent reading emerged as the better mode for comprehension in seventh grade. A Vygotskian model of the internalization of reading is discussed as well as implications of the findings for reading instruction.
Acknowledgments
Rachel Ouellette is now at the Department of Pediatrics, Queen's University, Kingston, ON. We are grateful to School District 18 and the children, teachers, principals, and parents of Forest Hill, Liverpool Street, and New Maryland Elementary Schools and Albert Street Middle School who so generously participated in our research. We also thank Leo Berk, M.A., L.Psych. for training the researchers in the use of the PIAT-R and scoring the participants' responses. This article is based in part on honours theses completed by Katie Saunders, Rachel Ouellette, Chantell O'Quinn, and Shannon Harvey in the Department of Psychology, St. Thomas University. Portions of the research were presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Boston, MA (2007).
Notes
1In the province of New Brunswick, there are no longer any schools identified as “junior high.” All schools at the intermediate level are known as “middle schools.” Middle schools in New Brunswick include sixth through eighth grade. http://www.gnb.ca/0000/anglophone-e.asp