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In this Nebraska profile, research helps children
across the country make sense of
what they're reading.
Teacher: Who has the marble rock?
Child: I do.
Rock sorting and word play...
Teacher: What's a word that has rock in it and
gets to the moon.
Child: Rocket!
It's fun, but does it help children learn?
Tiffany Hogan: That's an activity that we're
using in the classroom now to see if it improves
they're ability to learn about rocks and the
environment from the books that
they're reading.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is part of
a reseach consortium studying how language
affects reading skills for children from
pre-kindergarten through third grade.
Hogan: What we're trying to do is understand
the language basis of reading so that we can
improve language skills in the classroom and
at home which then will help children to
understand what they read.
By the time they reach fourth grade, about a
quarter of children have trouble understanding
what they read. Kids who struggle with
reading comprehension are less likely to do
well in school.
Researchers are testing thousands of children
and developing activities for the classroom.
So the end goal would be to understand how
language influences reading comprehension
and to have interventions that work in the classroom.
The research consortium led by The Ohio State University
is funded by a $20 million dollar grant from
the Department of Education.
The children and families and teachers and
schools that participate in this research will
make an impact across the nation.
Nebraska's involvement gives UNL students
the opportunity to be involved in research.
It's a great experience because you get to
be here first hand watching the research unfold.
UNL will help write the book on reading comprehension.
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