Abstract
This systematic review examined whether building content knowledge in science and/or social studies topics during English Language Arts (ELA) instruction enhances vocabulary and comprehension. It also described how ELA instruction has been leveraged to build content knowledge in the elementary years. A systematic search of the extant literature identified eight (quasi)experimental studies. Five of the eight studies met standards of research quality for validating causal inferences. The results of the meta-analysis of the five studies showed that supporting content knowledge in ELA strengthened vocabulary related to content being taught (effect size g =.29). The average effect size for comprehension was positive and significant when standardized comprehension measures and researcher-developed comprehension measures were considered together (g =.24). In addition, we found common and different patterns of content-rich ELA instruction regarding the use of texts, reading, writing, discussion, and/or hands-on activities.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 145-174 |
| Number of pages | 30 |
| Journal | Reading Psychology |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A170635 awarded to Florida State University (PI: Cabell). We thank Dr. Thomas G. White, Xiaoning Natalie Wang, and Sen Wang for their contributions to this study. Author elects to not share data.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
