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SECONDARY STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES IN READING: DEVELOPING READING COMPREHENSION

By Diane Pedrotty Bryant, Judy Englehard, and Linda Reetz

What is reading comprehension?

Reading comprehension is the process of gaining meaning from text, which is the purpose of reading. The act of comprehending text involves a person's ability to know and use strategies (metacognition) before, during, and after reading to successfully understand what is being read.

Why is reading comprehension important for secondary struggling readers?

Reading comprehension is an important ability for secondary (middle and high school) students to possess because of the large amounts of text students must read in content-area classes.
Textbook-based instruction assumes that students can read and derive meaning from the text.
Text comprehension means that the reader is able to understand how the reading material is structured, that is, the way ideas are interrelated and the subordination of some ideas to others to convey meaning to readers (Weaver & Kintsch, 1991).
Text may be organized by a narrative (story) or expository (informational) structure. Effective reading comprehension strategies are needed to gain meaning from these different text structures.

What is the goal of reading comprehension instruction for secondary struggling readers?

The goal of reading comprehension instruction for secondary struggling readers is to teach them when and how to use effective comprehension-monitoring strategies before, during, and after reading so that they can "repair" comprehension problems and understand text.

What are some instructional guidelines for teaching reading comprehension?

Before Reading

Students should learn how to activate their background knowledge in connection with the topic to be read.
Students should be explicitly taught key specialized vocabulary related to the topic.
Students should know the purpose for reading.
Students should be given a strategy for helping them to preview and think about the text so that they have a sense of the content to be read.

During Reading

Students should be taught self-questioning strategies to monitor their comprehension of the text being read.
Students may find the use of graphic organizers (e.g., semantic maps) and study guides helpful to facilitate comprehension.
Students should be taught how to use strategies when they don't understand what they are reading.

After Reading

Students should be taught how to use self-questioning strategies to reflect on what they have read.
Students should be able to summarize and retell what they have read. Students should be able to summarize and retell what they have read.

What are some research-based interventions for teaching reading comprehension to secondary struggling readers?

Text Preview : Text Preview is a pre-reading strategy that includes a teacher-developed introductory passage containing a framework for understanding a section of text. Text Preview can be used with narrative and expository text. Text Preview includes a section to motivate students, a synopsis of the passage, and questions to guide reading.

Paraphrasing Strategy : Using specific instructional procedures from the Strategy Intervention Model, students learn how to recall the main idea and specific details of text they have read. Students use the mnemonic RAP to remind themselves to read, ask questions, and put the main idea and details into their own words.

Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) : Students learn four reading strategies that can be used before, during, and after reading. They apply Preview before reading, Click and Clunk and Get the Gist during reading, and Wrap-Up after reading. The strategies emphasize predicting, brainstorming, finding the main idea, determining meaning of unknown words, and summarizing the text they have read.

POSSE Strategy : Students discuss their reading and use the strategies of predicting, organizing, searching/summarizing, and evaluating to comprehend expository text.

Story-Mapping : Using the elements of story grammar (e.g., setting, problem statement, goals) in narrative text, Story-Mapping provides a framework for identifying and recording important information and for answering implicit and explicit comprehension questions about the story.

What are some guidelines for English-language learners?

Provide background information prior to reading so that the students will know more about the context of the topic. Relate the students' experiences to the topic.
During reading, pause and ask questions to determine students' comprehension of the material just read.
Facilitate comprehension by conducting discussions with students.

What materials can be used to teach reading comprehension?

magazines for secondary students (e.g., Time for Kids )
age-appropriate/controlled vocabulary text,
graphic organizers, study guides, logs

What are some examples of publishers that offer age-appropriate/controlled vocabulary text?

Capstone Press
Curriculum Associates
Educators Publishing Service
Globe Fearo
New Readers Press
PCI Educational Publishing
Remedia
Steck-Vaughn
Sundance
High Noon Books

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Resources and References
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