Barbara J. Frye's research while affiliated with University of South Florida and other places

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an experimental set of reading lessons focusing on strategies applied to social studies textbook material. Students received weekly lessons in comprehension monitoring, reciprocal teaching, and independent self‐questioning and summarizing. Procedures were carried out for four months by classroom teachers with fifth‐ and sixth‐grade students of average or above average reading ability. In three of four comparisons students receiving the weekly strategy lessons became better at summarizing social studies material than control subjects. However, no differences were found between groups in terms of students’ ability to generate questions on the social studies material they read. Results pertaining to students’ scores on short‐answer questions were mixed. Recommendations for further research are presented.

A series of three studies was conducted, the first two at the intermediate grade level and the third at the primary grade level. The purpose of these studies was to investigate the effects of an experimental classroom reading program in which students who passed pretests on basal skills were excused from subsequent instruction and practice on these skills. Most students were able to pass pretests on reading skills before the skills were covered in the basal reader program. Without instruction their performance on end-of-book skill tests remained high. Results suggest that it may be possible to excuse many students in the elementary grades from many of the skill activities in the basal reader program and that students' attention could be directed, instead, to other reading activities.

Despite the perceived importance of time spent reading on reading growth, research supporting this notion is limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of time spent reading at school and at home on intermediate grade students' reading achievement. One hundred and ninety-five students in Grades 5 and 6 kept daily reading logs from mid-January through mid-May. A stepwise multiple regression analysis, in which standardized reading comprehension scores prior to the study served as a covariate, revealed that amount of time spent on reading during the reading period contributed significantly to gains in students' reading achievement. Time spent on reading at home was not significantly related to reading achievement gains. Findings provide needed research support for the idea that time engaged in silent reading at school is beneficial to intermediate grade students.