Bending and Bowing: How Teachers Adapt a Vocabulary-Based Reading Program to Their Students Needs

Abstract

This paper investigates the implementation of a reading program designed for third grade elementary school classrooms in Austria. Using a mixed-methods approach, lesson types were identified, respective class compositions analyzed, and the effects on students’ reading gains examined. The results show that the lesson types seem to reflect learner group needs as students in the different lesson types profited similarly from the reading program. This supports the hypothesis that reading is a highly individualized process and leads to the conclusion that the instructional approach of the reading program investigated supports teachers in conducting reading lessons tailored to their students’ needs.