Executive Skills and Reading Comprehension

Kelly B. Cartwright, PhD, is Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Teacher Preparation at Christopher Newport University, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in cognitive, language, and literacy processes. Her research focuses on the development of skilled reading comprehension and the neurocognitive and affective factors that underlie comprehension processes and difficulties from preschool through adulthood. Dr. Cartwright is the editor of the book Literacy Processes: Cognitive Flexibility in Learning and Teaching. She regularly works with teachers in schools throughout the United States to better understand and improve comprehension instruction for struggling readers.

1. Executive Skills: What Are They, and Why Are They Important for Developing Thinking Readers?
2. Plans and Goals: Getting Ready to Read
3. Organization: Why Text and Reader Organization Matter
4. Cognitive Flexibility: Juggling Multiple Aspects of Reading
5. Working Memory: Holding and Linking Ideas in Mind While Reading
6. Inhibition and Impulse Control: Resisting Distractions to Support Comprehension
7. Social Understanding: The Importance of Mind Reading for Reading Comprehension
Epilogue: Linking the New with the Old: How Are Familiar Comprehension Skills and Strategies Related to Executive Skills?
Appendix A. Rubric for Assessing Executive Skills in Observations of Your Students’ Reading Behavior
Appendix B. List of Games Related to the Executive Skills Described in This Book
References
Children’s Literature Cited