Content Coverage and Contextual Reading in Reading Groups

Teacher logs for 600 reading group sessions from grades 1, 3, and 5 were analyzed in an effort to identify whether the amount and mode of assigned contextual reading differed systematically between reading groups. Analyses indicated that groups designated as good readers read more total words and more words silently than groups designated as poor readers ( p < .01). There were, however, no significant differences in the number of words read orally by the two groups, which indicated that the greater amounts of silent reading done by good reader groups account primarily for differences in amount of contextual reading noted. These data reinforce and extend the findings of other research on differences in content coverage and the pacing of students through reading materials.