A short teacher-led intervention using direct instruction enhances 5th graders' purposeful reading skills

Proficient readers use strategies in order to achieve various types of reading purposes. However, purpose-driven strategies are seldom taught in elementary schools. Based on current theories of purposeful reading and direct explicit instruction, the present study developed and tested an instructional program to promote fifth graders' purposeful reading skills. Teachers from five different schools (10 classes) were trained to implement the pro-gram. The intervention included two weekly 45-min workshops over a period of five weeks. Using a quasi -experimental design, participating classes were assigned to an experimental group (n = 78) or an active con-trol group (n = 89). Trained students outperformed controls on post-tests assessing strategy components. However, the effects on an integrated reading task did not reach significance. The study suggests that the explicit teaching of purposeful reading strategies can effectively support students' skill acquisition. The conditions needed for innovative interventions to yield robust and lasting outcomes are discussed.