Building a Science of Teaching Reading and Vocabulary: Experimental Effects of Structured Supplements for a Read Aloud Lesson on Third Graders’ Domain-Specific Reading Comprehension

This CEPR READS Lab study tested whether adding structured supplements—short, embedded prompts and teacher supports—could make read-aloud lessons more effective for improving students’ reading comprehension. Conducted with 80 third-grade teachers using the Model of Reading Engagement (MORE) framework, the study found that students whose teachers used structured supplements outperformed peers across four reading comprehension measures after just one 30–40 minute lesson. These supplements helped teachers use more academic language, elaborate on key vocabulary, and connect new ideas to prior knowledge, demonstrating that even small, low-lift instructional adjustments can enhance comprehension and engagement.

Read more about the READS Lab at readslab.org/research.