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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY. RL. 1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY. RL. 1.8
(RL.1.8 not applicable to literature)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY. RL. 1.9
Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.

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Simply put, reading comprehension is the act of understanding what you are reading.

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What Research Tells Us About Reading, Comprehension, and Comprehension Instruction

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The purpose of reading is comprehension — getting meaning from written text. Find out what else research tells us about the active process of constructing meaning, and how good readers consciously employing comprehension strategies.

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6 essential skills for reading comprehension 

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6 essential skills for reading comprehension 

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Learn the basics of reading comprehension. Here are 6 skills kids need for reading comprehension, and how to help kids build them.

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Strategies for Narrative and Expository Text

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Strategies for Narrative and Expository Text

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Comprehension: The Goal of Reading

Comprehension, or extracting meaning from what you read, is the ultimate goal of reading. Experienced readers take this for granted and may not appreciate the reading comprehension skills required. The process of comprehension is both interactive and strategic. Rather than passively reading text, readers must analyze it, internalize it and make it their own.

In order to read with comprehension, developing readers must be able to read with some proficiency and then receive explicit instruction in reading comprehension strategies (Tierney, 1982).

​ Strategies for reading comprehension in Read Naturally programs

​General Strategies for Reading Comprehension

The process of comprehending text begins before children can read, when someone reads a picture book to them. They listen to the words, see the pictures in the book, and may start to associate the words on the page with the words they are hearing and the ideas they represent.

In order to learn comprehension strategies, students need modeling, practice, and feedback. The key comprehension strategies are described below.

Using Prior Knowledge/Previewing

When students preview text, they tap into what they already know that will help them to understand the text they are about to read. This provides a framework for any new information they read.

Predicting

When students make predictions about the text they are about to read, it sets up expectations based on their prior knowledge about similar topics. As they read, they may mentally revise their prediction as they gain more information.

Identifying the Main Idea and Summarization

Identifying the main idea and summarizing requires that students determine what is important and then put it in their own words. Implicit in this process is trying to understand the author's purpose in writing the text.

Questioning

Asking and answering questions about text is another strategy that helps students focus on the meaning of text. Teachers can help by modeling both the process of asking good questions and strategies for finding the answers in the text.

Making Inferences

In order to make inferences about something that is not explicitly stated in the text, students must learn to draw on prior knowledge and recognize clues in the text itself.

Visualizing

Studies have shown that students who visualize while reading have better recall than those who do not (Pressley, 1977). Readers can take advantage of illustrations that are embedded in the text or create their own mental images or drawings when reading text without illustrations.

Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Narrative Text

Narrative text tells a story, either a true story or a fictional story. There are a number of strategies that will help students understand narrative text.

Story Maps

Teachers can have students diagram the story grammar of the text to raise their awareness of the elements the author uses to construct the story. Story grammar includes:

Setting: When and where the story takes place (which can change over the course of the story).

Characters: The people or animals in the story, including the protagonist (main character), whose motivations and actions drive the story.

Plot: The story line, which typically includes one or more problems or conflicts that the protagonist must address and ultimately resolve.

Theme: The overriding lesson or main idea that the author wants readers to glean from the story. It could be explicitly stated as in Aesop's Fables or inferred by the reader (more common).

​ Printable story map (blank)

Retelling

Asking students to retell a story in their own words forces them to analyze the content to determine what is important. Teachers can encourage students to go beyond literally recounting the story to drawing their own conclusions about it.

Prediction

Teachers can ask readers to make a prediction about a story based on the title and any other clues that are available, such as illustrations. Teachers can later ask students to find text that supports or contradicts their predictions.

Answering Comprehension Questions

Asking students different types of questions requires that they find the answers in different ways, for example, by finding literal answers in the text itself or by drawing on prior knowledge and then inferring answers based on clues in the text.

Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Expository Text

Expository text explains facts and concepts in order to inform, persuade, or explain.

The Structure of Expository Text

Expository text is typically structured with visual cues such as headings and subheadings that provide clear cues as to the structure of the information. The first sentence in a paragraph is also typically a topic sentence that clearly states what the paragraph is about.

Expository text also often uses one of five common text structures as an organizing principle:

Cause and effect

Problem and solution

Compare and contrast

Description

Time order (sequence of events, actions, or steps)

Teaching these structures can help students recognize relationships between ideas and the overall intent of the text.

Main Idea/Summarization

A summary briefly captures the main idea of the text and the key details that support the main idea. Students must understand the text in order to write a good summary that is more than a repetition of the text itself.

​K-W-L

There are three steps in the K-W-L process (Ogle, 1986):

1. What I Know: Before students read the text, ask them as a group to identify what they already know about the topic. Students write this list in the "K" column of their K-W-L forms.

2. What I Want to Know: Ask students to write questions about what they want to learn from reading the text in the "W" column of their K-W-L forms. For example, students may wonder if some of the "facts" offered in the "K" column are true.

3. What I Learned: As they read the text, students should look for answers to the questions listed in the "W" column and write their answers in the "L" column along with anything else they learn.

After all of the students have read the text, the teacher leads a discussion of the questions and answers.

Printable K-W-L chart (blank)

Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers provide visual representations of the concepts in expository text. Representing ideas and relationships graphically can help students understand and remember them. Examples of graphic organizers are:
Tree diagrams that represent categories and hierarchies Tables that compare and contrast data Time-driven diagrams that represent the order of events Flowcharts that represent the steps of a process​
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Teaching students how to develop and construct graphic organizers will require some modeling, guidance, and feedback. Teachers should demonstrate the process with examples first before students practice doing it on their own with teacher guidance and eventually work independently.

Strategies for Reading Comprehension in Read Naturally Programs

Several Read Naturally programs include strategies that support comprehension:

Read Naturally Intervention Program

Strategies for Reading Comprehension

Prediction Step

Retelling Step

Quiz / Comprehension Questions

Graphic Organizers

One Minute Reader Live:
A component of web-based Read Live for supplemental, independent reading that develops fluency with support for vocabulary and comprehension.

Take Aim at Vocabulary: A print-based program with audio CDs that teaches carefully selected target words and strategies for independently learning unknown words. Students work mostly independently or in teacher-led small groups of up to six students.

Main idea

Literal

Vocabulary

Inference

Vocabulary: Clarify target words

Vocabulary: Study word parts and review target words

Vocabulary: Apply the target words

Bibliography

Honig, B., L. Diamond, and L. Gutlohn. (2013). Teaching reading sourcebook, 2nd ed. Novato, CA: Arena Press.

Ogle, D. M. (1986). K-W-L: A teaching model that develops active reading of expository text. The Reading Teacher 38(6), pp. 564-570.

Pressley, M. (1977). Imagery and children's learning: Putting the picture in developmental perspective. Review of Educational Research 47, pp. 586-622.

Tierney, R. J. (1982). Essential considerations for developing basic reading comprehension skills. School Psychology Review 11(3), pp. 299-305.

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To improve comprehension, students must have some reading proficiency and receive explicit instruction in skills and strategies for reading comprehension.

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1. Dole, J. A., Duffy, G. G., Roehler, L. R., & Pearson, P. D. (1991). Moving from the old to the new: Research on reading comprehension instruction. Review of Educational Research, 61, 239-264.

2. Anderson, R. C., & Pearson, P. D. (1984). A schema-theoretic view of basic processes in reading. In P. D. Pearson, R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, & P. Mosenthal (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (pp. 255-292). New York: Longman.

3. Anderson & Pearson, 1984; Anderson, R. C., Reynolds, R. E., Schallert, D. L., & Goetz, E. T. (1977). Frameworks for comprehending discourse. American Educational Research Journal, 14, 367-382.

4. Pichert, J. W., & Anderson, R. C. (1977). Taking different perspectives on a story. Journal of Educational Psychology, 69, 309-315.

5. Armbruster, B. B., Anderson, T. H., & Ostertag, J. (1987). Does text structure/summarization instruction facilitate learning from expository text? Reading Research Quarterly, 22, 331-346.

6. Wood, E., Woloshyn, V. E., & Willoughby, T. (1995). Cognitive strategy instruction for middle and high schools. Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books.

7. Pressley, M., Symons, S., McGoldrick, J. A., & Snyder, B. L. (1995). Reading comprehension strategies. In M. Pressley & V. E. Woloshyn (eds.), Cognitive strategy instruction that really improves children's academic performance. Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books.

8. Anderson & Pearson, 1984; Hansen, J., & Pearson, P.D. (1983). An instructional study: Improving the inferential comprehension of fourth grade good and poor readers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 75, 821-829.

9. Gillet, J. W., & Temple, C. (1994). Understanding reading problems: Assessment and instruction (4th ed.). New York: Harper Collins.

10. Honig, W., Diamond, L, & Gutlohn, L. (Eds.). (2000). Teaching reading sourcebook for kindergarten through eighth grade. Novato, CA: Arena Press; National Reading Panel, 2000.

11. Pressley, G. M. (1976). Mental imagery helps eight-year-olds remember what they read. Journal of Educational Psychology, 68, 355-359.

12. Gambrell, L. B., & Bales, R. J. (1986). Mental imagery and the comprehension-monitoring performance of fourth and fifth-grade poor readers. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 454-464.

13. National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

14. Dole et al., 1991; Palincsar, A. S., & Brown, A. L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and comprehension monitoring activities. Cognition & Instruction, 2, 117-175.15. Paris, S. C., Wasik, B. A., & Turner, J. C. (1991). The development of strategic readers. In R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, & P. D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. 2, pp. 609-640). New York: Longman.

16. National Reading Panel, 2000.

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How can classroom reading instruction help poor readers - indeed, all students - become more like good readers? Research suggests that the answer may lie in providing students with instruction that both teaches them the comprehension strategies that work so well for good readers and helps them to develop the necessary metacognitive awareness of how and when to use these strategies.

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How to support students who struggle with reading comprehension?

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How to support students who struggle with reading comprehension?

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These strategies can help students who are able to decode well but have difficulty understanding what they read-and they're beneficial for all students.

monkeybusinessimages / iStock

When we think of reading issues, we often imagine children who struggle to decode the letters in text and turn them into spoken language. This type of struggling reader has a very difficult time figuring out what many of the words are and has poor phonological (speech-sound) skills. However, there are also many students who sound like they're reading beautifully but have difficulty with understanding vocabulary and figurative language, inferencing, verbal reasoning, grammatical development, and oral expression.

As children get older, if they are decoding text well we assume they are reading well. Once a person learns to decode, reading comprehension becomes more about language comprehension and focus. At this transition, starting around third grade, teachers may begin to notice some students who decode text fluently but are not understanding.

Since this type of struggling reader is less noticeable than ones who have difficulty decoding, they often slip under the radar until they begin to fail standardized state comprehension tests. Even then, their issues may go undetected for a long time, resulting in middle and high school students who sound like they're reading but understand nothing that they have read.

These struggling readers should be targeted for remediation-the earlier the better. However, remediation consisting of practice passages and questions may be ineffective as it focuses too narrowly on text-based skills.

Supporting Students Who Struggle With Comprehension

Here are five strategies to try out with students who read fluently but struggle to comprehend what they're reading.

1. Target overall comprehension of language: Recent research reveals that reading comprehension difficulties may stem from an underlying oral language weakness that exists from early childhood, before reading is even taught. It turns out that students who have poor reading comprehension also often understand fewer spoken words and less of what they hear, and have worse spoken grammar. So, to address reading comprehension deficits effectively, educators may have to use an approach that teaches vocabulary, thinking skills, and comprehension first in spoken language and then in reading and written language.

2. Teach vocabulary: Because students with poor comprehension often have poor vocabulary skills and understand less of what they hear, it's helpful to teach the meanings of new words through the use of multisensory strategies like graphic organizers, pictures, and mnemonics. Improving their overall language skills increases the likelihood that they will understand the words they encounter in written text. Since it is impossible to know every word one might encounter, students should be taught about the different types of context clues and how to use them to determine the meaning of unknown words.

Discussing or activating prior knowledge,

Developing questions while reading,

Connecting what they are reading to another text, something they have seen, or something they have experienced,

Visualizing or picturing what they are reading,

Making predictions about what will come next in the text,

Looking back for keywords and rereading in order to clarify or answer questions, and

Thinking aloud to model the strategies and thought processes needed for comprehension.

3. Teach thinking strategies: Once students have the vocabulary to be able to make it through a text, they often struggle with the complex thinking or sustained attention required to keep up with all of the important details and to access information that is implied but not directly stated. Teachers can instruct students on cognitive strategies they can use. Many common text reading strategies-such as annotation, SQ3R, and the KWL chart -make use of these thinking strategies, including:

Students can learn and then use the strategies that work best for them depending on the text they're reading. Pulling deeper meaning out of text through the use of thinking strategies can be beneficial not just to reading comprehension but also to writing.

Questioner, who poses questions about parts of the lesson, discussion, or text that are unclear or confusing, or to help make connections with previously learned material.

Summarizer, who sums up each important point or detail from the lesson, discussion, or text.

Clarifier, who tries to address the Questioner's issues and make sure that parts they found confusing are clear to others.

Predictor, who makes a prediction about what will happen next based on what was presented, discussed, or read,

4. Have students practice reciprocal teaching: Once taught, cognitive strategies can be consistently practiced and implemented through the use of reciprocal teaching, which encourages students to take a leadership role in their learning and begin to think about their thought process while listening or reading. Teachers can use reciprocal teaching during class discussions, with text that is read aloud, and later with text that is read in groups. The students should rotate between the following roles:

5. Directly teach comprehension skills: Students should be directly taught comprehension skills such as sequencing, story structure using the plot mountain, how to make an inference and draw a conclusion, and the different types of figurative language. Students should have the opportunity to first use the skills with text that they hear the teacher read aloud, and then later with text that they read independently at their own level.

The comprehension skills and strategies listed above can be used with the whole class, as they closely align with reading and language arts standards for elementary and middle school students. Teachers can help students select reading material with vocabulary that matches their current ability levels so that within a classroom, students are reading text and working on vocabulary at levels that are accessible for each of them.

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5 Ways to Support Students Who Struggle With Reading Comprehension

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These strategies can help students who are able to decode well but have difficulty understanding what they read-and they're beneficial for all students.

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1. Cudd, E.T., & Roberts, L.L. (1987). Using story frames to develop reading comprehension in a first grade classroom The Reading Teacher, 41, 75-79.

2. Stauffer, R.G. (1975). Directing the reading-thinking process. New York: Harper & Row.

3. Ogle, D.M. (1986). K-W-L: A teaching model that develops active reading of expository text. The Reading Teacher, 39, 564-570. and Ogle, D.M. (1989). The know, want to know, learn strategy. In K.D. Muth (Ed.), Children's comprehension of text: Research into practice (pp. 205-233). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

4. Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., Hamilton, R.L., & Kucan, L. (1997). Questioning the author: An approach for enhancing student engagement with text. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

5. Palincsar, A. S., & Brown, A. L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension fostering and comprehension-monitoring activities. Cognition and Instruction, 2, 117-175.

6. Brown, R., & Coy-Ogan, L. (1993). The Evolution of transactional strategies instruction in one teacher's classroom. The Elementary School Journal, 94, 221-233; Pressley, M., El-Dinary, P.B., Gaskins, I., Schuder, T., Bergman, J., Almasi, L., & Brown, R. (1992). Beyond direct explanation: Transactional instruction of reading comprehension strategies. The Elementary School Journal, 92, 511-554.

7. Hoffman, J.V. (1992). Critical reading / thinking across the curriculum: Using I-Charts to support learning. Language Arts, 69, 121-127.Language Arts, 69, 121-127.

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Based on research and effective practice, these strategies help students learn how to coordinate and use a set of key comprehension techniques before, during, and after they read a variety of texts.

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Ask anyone about engaging and effective Reading Comprehension activities and you will get a myriad of replies and suggestions. I know, because I asked! I asked educators and non-educators to send me either activities they used or remember being used when they were students. The good news, there are countless recommendations! The bad news, there are countless recommendations. How does one sift through all of them and find the most effective one for their group of scholars? My father always wants to know "What is the bottom line?" The bottom line is you don't have to choose just one and you do not have to reinvent anything... but you can!

Teaching has dramatically changed during my tenure. When I started, we were given the Teacher's Editions with reading materials, reading comprehension activities and told to follow them explicitly. The challenge was that it did not always fit your specific class. Let's be honest, some of it was just really bad teaching and were anything but effective or engaging and fun was nowhere to be found. More good news is that education has transitioned into a collaborative, creative, and dynamic bundle of unlimited resources that provides the most effective reading comprehension activities for your amazing scholars!

Academic Research

For those of us who want evidence from academic research of proven Reading Comprehension activities, there is no end to exploring this path. Using a guideline or litmus test for effective Reading Comprehension activities is helpful. According to Institute of Education Sciences's Find What Works , there are six strategies that improve Reading Comprehension. The six strategies are:

1. Activating Prior Knowledge

2. Asking Questions While Reading

3. Visualizing

4. Monitor/Check For Understanding

5. Drawing Inferences

6. Summarize/Retell

( Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through Third Grade )

If the Reading Comprehension activity has one or more of these strategies, then the likelihood of success is high. Their research also finds that practice reading with peers, teachers and independently is a key factor for effectiveness. In addition, there needs to be a gradual release of responsibility to the learner. The goal is for the learner to have more ownership in their reading growth and success. Therefore, choice of text is important in this process as well.

Transactional Strategy Instruction

One example that follows these strategies is Transactional Strategy Instruction. According to , "Transactional Strategy Instruction (TSI) is a procedure that involves teaching students to construct meaning as they read by emulating good readers' use of comprehension strategies." TSI also helps students (1) set goals and plan for reading, (2) use background knowledge and text cues to construct meaning during reading, (3) monitor comprehension, (4) solve problems encountered during reading, and (5) evaluate progress. The learners use specific strategies such as predicting based on prior knowledge, generating and asking questions, visualizing, summarizing, and others which all are in direct line with the aforementioned six strategies. This activity is done in a small group setting that encourages dialogue between peers and the instructor. TSI's objective is, "to have students independently use the comprehension strategies as they read any text and this goal is for ALL students, not just a few."

L istening to the selection

Another Reading Comprehension activity that is simple and yet an effective strategy is listening to the selection. This is a powerful tool especially for complex texts that may be too difficult for the learner to read on their own. According to Nancy Wexler's article, Good News/bad News On How the Media Covers America's Reading Crisis , "The first step is to build students' knowledge of a topic, through a coherent curriculum that includes having them listen to engaging texts they can't yet read themselves and discuss them." Even though it is a difficult text for the learners, this provides an opportunity for the learners to become familiar with the material or text so that they can make sense of it. The key to this activity is having the discussion.

Too often a "listening comprehension" activity is something the learners do on their own, however the objective with this strategy is to provide some structure and guidance towards accessing the complex text and making it a more enjoyable process through an open discussion. This also connects to the six strategies by activating prior knowledge, asking questions during the activity and even summarizing the selection.

More research-based activities

Here are a few others that also fit the six strategies criteria:

Anticipation Guide -An anticipation guide is a comprehension strategy that is used before reading to activate students' prior knowledge and build curiosity about a new topic. Before reading, students listen to or read several statements about key concepts presented in the text; they're often structured as a series of statements with which the students can choose to agree or disagree. Anticipation guides stimulate students' interest in a topic and set a purpose for reading.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road Retelling - A fun activity for primary grades that uses pre-made yellow cards with the elements of a narrative (Characters, Setting, Problem, etc.) to help the learners retell the story. The students could literally "walk" on the cards or hang them up. It encourages discussion and open conversations about the narratives.

Listen-Read-Discuss - This strategy starts with the students listening to a lesson or presentation from the teacher and then reading a text about the same topic. After reading the selection, the class has a discussion about the presentation and text. It can be whole class or small group discussions and usually compare and contrast the information from the lesson and reading.

Story Maps - A graphic organizer is used to help identify the elements of a narrative. (Characters, Setting, Plot, Problem, Solution) Depending on the grade level, it can be a simple map or advanced that includes plot and character traits.

Game of Quotes - A fun game done after Silent Reading where the students choose their own book to read. When the Silent Reading time is over, the teacher displays a prompt. The students must find a quote from their own book that they think best applies to that prompt. Each round the class decides who has the best response. This encourages students to read carefully and often sparks interest in that book for other students to read it.

Sketch and Tell - A paper or digital activity that gives the students time to read the selection, draw a quick sketch about it, and then write a short description to tell what the sketch or selection is about. Often this is combined with the students sharing it with others in their group or whole class.

Picture Walks - Before the students read the selection, they examine the pictures and make some predictions and conclusions about the text. Typically this is a primary grade activity but can easily be done with upper grade students as well.

Proven Activities Shared by Teachers

Some of the best advice and suggestions comes from teachers using Reading Comprehension activities that work. We all studied about different activities in our credential program and many of them just didn't seem engaging or effective. Thanks to the internet and websites like Teachers Pay Teachers, Pinterest, and Instagram, we are enticed by many of these activities, but just aren't sure it is worth paying or trying it. As always, it is best to go straight to the source and hear directly from educators themselves who are not trying to add followers or make some extra income. (Sidebar: There is nothing wrong with either of those, but I think you get the point.)

Read in chunks & highlight

Kristal is a fifteen year veteran educator who currently teaches third grade. Her advice is to provide structure with the aid of CLOSE Reading strategies which includes reading the text multiple times with a purpose. She also recommends "read in chunks." This could be paragraph by paragraph or by heading. If possible, the learners should write the main idea in margins or even on sticky notes. This could be done whole class or small groups as the learners and teacher discuss each "chunk" one at a time. Kristal strongly recommends that you explicitly teach strategies to find the main idea. This is helpful for struggling readers to make sense of longer texts. Her final recommendation is teaching the learners to properly highlight. The key here is to guide them to only highlight the important parts or evidence, because many of the learners just highlight everything. A bonus idea is to use plastic sheet protectors cut open so they can underline in their textbooks. She states, "I start by teaching to underline based on guided questions."

Use visual supports

Michele just recently retired after more than twenty-five years as an educator and most of that time was in special education. She says that since she worked with students with learning challenges, her "go to" reading comprehension activities always included visual supports. She explains, "I often made black line copies of pictures or story parts and had students put in the correct sequence, then retell the story to the class." At one point in her career she even taught general education Kindergarten and she had them make masks that connected to the characters in the narrative and had the learners act out the story.

Ask them questions (SPED tip)

Pam is another recently retired special education teacher that taught in multiple states and different grade levels. She spent much of her time on decoding because that was what many of her learners needed. However, her reading comprehension activities always worked on finding connections that the students could form with the material. Pam would ask, "What would you do?" or "What do you think?" and many of the other "W" questions.

Learning buddies

Beth is a Kindergarten teacher who likes to put her class in "learning buddies." When she is introducing a book, she covers the title and words of the book so that all they can see are the pictures. She then wants them to develop questions based on the pictures. For example, "I wonder why there is a dog driving a car?" The "learning buddies" discuss this with each other and then she chooses a few to share. Her lessons also include discussing what they think will happen based just on the pictures. The next step is to go back and read the story and ultimately answer the questions they developed.

Student-led Book Clubs

Julie is a former second grade educator and current district instructional coach for teachers. Her suggestion is to create Book Clubs that are student led. She recommends using open ended discussion task cards. In her model, she never assigned roles but just established rules or guidelines. Julie says that "everyone participates and everyone gets to lead the discussion."

Gia is currently a veteran first grade teacher but has taught other grades including third. While in third grade she found using a "jigsaw" activity for reading a selection. This is when you give each learner a part or section to read and they write a short summary or the gist. Each person then presents their part to the group.

An essential question to guide the discussion

Kathy is a twenty five year seasoned teacher and a new teacher mentor. She has been teaching fourth grade for the past twenty years and provides general recommendations for improving reading comprehension. Kathy starts with building background knowledge, visualizing and making connections with the selection. Often she starts with an essential question to guide the discussion and it helps her assess their prior knowledge. As they read through the selection, she stops at certain main points of the story and the class shares with partners what scene they can visualize. She says, "Most kids have similar answers for this activity and this helps English learners get the gist better." After a couple of days on the story and using a journal and having many discussions, they use a graphic organizer for the learners to give more input to the original essential question. She finds that this is effective because they have now grasped more ideas and specific knowledge to the topic.

Literature Circles

Heather is a fourth year teacher who has taught the Read 180 program, third grade, and currently fifth grade. She strongly recommends using Literature Circles. The traditional Literature Circles is when students take on various roles (Discussion Director, Literary Luminary, Connector, etc.) to discuss and understand a topic or specific reading selections. Heather provides a worksheet for them to follow along with their group. They can gather vocabulary information along with answering comprehension questions. There is a built-in "check in" with the teacher at specific intervals. She explains that Literature Circles are "Super simple, but super effective."

Reading activities to use at home

Parents are an integral part of a child's education, especially because they are the child's first teacher! Getting their perspective and advice is always welcomed.

Cathleen is a mother of two girls who are both in college. When her youngest daughter was in elementary school, Cathleen struggled to find ways to motivate her daughter to read. After unsuccessful attempts to bribe her, the video game "Rockband" came out. Cathleen explains, "We always made her the singer. She would have to read the lyrics quickly to keep up." The daughter's teacher was ok with this and "so 'Rockband' was played in excess at our house."

Reading recipes

Michelle has several kids but her oldest was her most challenging to get to read and comprehend what was read. She decided to homeschool him. Neil had multiple challenges including ADHD, dyslexia and possibly on the autism spectrum. Michelle recalls, "The trick that finally helped him was cooking, which was part of his daily homeschooling routine." She used the recipes to get him to read and reread each step. The key was then putting each step into practice which was an enjoyable activity for him. Michelle also used the comic book "Calvin and Hobbes" to motivate and build his reading comprehension. The pictures really helped and, of course, made reading fun! She concludes with, "Several years later Neil went to high school reading at grade level. He still enjoys reading to this day."

Back to the Bottom Line

When planning Reading Comprehension activities, it is about finding what works best for your scholars. That only comes with spending time with each of them to find out their needs and interests.

Cori Orlando is an Instructional Services Specialist in her district and a blogger. In her blog post When You Know Better - Reading Edition , she writes, "we should spend time with students individually-listen to them read, talk to them about their reading and use that information to move them forward." Of course the challenge in every classroom is finding time. Cori continues, "We need to create the time. If we have students working on engaging and empowering collaborative activities, it frees us up to sit with kids. To talk with kids. This doesn't need to be long: 3-5 minutes can make all the difference!"

Choosing a Reading Comprehension activity that is engaging, effective and often fun is easier with any one of these recommendations. Using ReadTheory to support each learner's reading adds to their progress and provides real time data to see if the lessons and activities are working. ReadTheory data will document areas of success and challenges which in turn provides you as the educator to focus on which skills need more instruction.

Even if one activity doesn't work, there are so many others to try or even adjust to meet the needs of your scholar. The bottom line is to use what they enjoy to help them learn! My father would be so proud.

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Reading Comprehension Activities for K-12

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Ask anyone about engaging and effective Reading Comprehension activities and you will get a myriad of replies and suggestions. I know, because I asked! I asked educators and non-educators to send me either activities they used or remember being used when they were students. The good news, there are countless recommendations!

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There was a great article published recently on 10 pre-listening activities by Hall Houston . This inspired me to contribute this article that has 10 fun and engaging pre-reading activities.

What is pre-reading?

What the learner brings to the reading will affect how she or he understands what they read. Many people argue that it can be very important in helping the learner understanding what they read. In other words, pre-reading activities can help learners prepare for the reading activity.

What are the benefits of pre-reading?

There are several benefits to doing pre-reading activities. Pre-reading activities can help the learner to be more prepared for what they are about to read. It can help them anticipate the topic of the reading. In doing this, they can also prepare themselves for the kind of language, vocabulary, and even grammar that might be used in the text. In addition, if done in the right way, it can encourage the learners to want to read and maybe even increase their motivation to read.

Here are 10 pre-reading activities to use in class.

What are your thoughts? Do you use any other pre-reading activities? Also, if you are looking for free graded reading materials for your students, please check out my website - http://dreamreader.net/ .

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10 Pre-Reading Activities - EFL Magazine

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There was a great article published recently on 10 pre-listening activities by Hall Houston . This inspired me to contribute this article that has 10 fun and engaging pre-reading activities. What the learner brings to the reading will affect how she or he understands what they read.

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Think-aloud strategy

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Think Alouds: Modeling Ways to Think About Text (Virtual Tour)

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Story maps

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Adler, C. (2004). Seven Strategies to Teach Students Text Comprehension.

Armbruster, B. B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J. (2001) Put reading first: The research building blocks for teaching children to read kindergarten through grade three. Washington, DC: The U.S. Department of Education.

Boulineau, T., Fore, C, Hagan-Burke, S. and Burke, M. (2004). Use of Story-Mapping to Increase the Story-Grammar Text Comprehension of Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Spring, 2004), pp. 105-121

Nell K. Duke, P. David Pearson, Stephanie L. Strachan, and Alison K. Billman (2011) Essential Elements of Fostering and Teaching Reading Comprehension . From What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction (4th ed.), International Reading Association.

Nell K. Duke, Alessandra E. Ward, and P. David Pearson (2021). The Science of Reading Comprehension Instruction , The Reading Teacher, Vol 74, No. 6 (May-June 2021).

Dunst, C, Simkus, A, Hamby, D. (2012). Children's Story Retelling as a Literacy and Language Enhancement Strategy. CELLreviews 5(4). Asheville, NC: Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute, Center for Early Literacy Learning.

Santa, C., Havens, L., & Valdes, B. (2004). Project CRISS: Creating independence through student owned strategies 3rd Edition. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.

Timothy Shanahan et al., Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (2010). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.

Trabasso, T., & Bouchard, E. (2002) Teaching readers how to comprehend text strategically. In C. Block and M. Pressley, (Eds.) Comprehension instruction: Research-based practices (pp. 176-200). NY: Guilford Press.

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Story maps use graphic organizers to help students learn the elements of a book or story. The most basic story maps focus on the beginning, middle, and end of the story. More advanced organizers focus more on plot or character traits.

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Story sequence

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Scaffolding instruction by providing prompts for each section of the story map you are using. For example, in the "Beginning" box of your map, write in prompts such as: Who is the story about? Where does the story happen?

Varying the complexity of story maps and sequencing words used. Some students may benefit from the very simple beginning-middle-end format. More complex sequences, such as first-next-then-last, can be used with students who are ready.

Using wordless books. There are many wordless books that can be used for sequencing with younger students and with English language learners or students with limited English proficiency. For younger students, Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola, which humorously details a woman making pancakes from scratch, or the wordless adventures by Mark Newgarden about a small dog named Bow-Wow (e.g., Bow-Wow Bugs a Bug) are good options. Books by Barbara Lehmann and David Weisner are helpful for older or more sophisticated students practicing sequencing.

Using books in translation for picture sequencing activities. Providing English-learners with a copy of the text in their first language allows them to participate in sequencing and demonstrate their understanding of the concept and the content.

Modeling sequencing with a smaller group of students using a familiar book with a very clear narrative structure to help students understand each story component.

Extend the learning

Writing

Students can use sequencing words and charts to help them write summaries of texts they have read or heard. They can also use sequencing as a pre-writing technique for planning their own writing or use a sequencing word anchor chart as a writing tool.

Math

Most math curricula include worksheets on ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc). You can support students' sequencing ability by encouraging the use of vocabulary words such as "What bead goes first? Then which bead? Which bead is third?" Encouraging students to write out the steps for solving addition and subtraction problems that include regrouping is an excellent way to have them think through the steps in a logical order.

Science

Scientific inquiry also develops sequencing skills. In order to study or observe changes in something, students must follow along and record, in sequential order, what they notice. Students can document their observations by writing or drawing.

Social Studies

Timelines are a great way to teach sequence in social studies. Students may enjoy making a timeline of their own lives, including important milestones such as when they learned to walk or talk or when they first wrote their name or rode a bike. Once students understand the process of charting important milestones on a timeline, topics from the social studies curricula can be used. Try this printable timeline template.

Other ideas for sequencing

Arts and crafts activities. Quilt-making and other arts and craft activities may reinforce the idea of sequencing and also introduce math concepts (measurement, addition & subtraction and basic computation, etc). Alex Henderson's Kids Start Quilting with Alex Anderson: 7 Fun & Easy Projects Quilts for Kids by Kids, Tips for Quilting with Children provides easy instructions for adults quilting with children.

Cookbooks for children can reinforce math concepts (measurement, etc) and sequencing while making connections to students' reading. The Little House Cookbook: Frontier Foods from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Classic Stories by Barbara Walker presents recipes for foods mentioned in the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Everyday activities. Create a sequence page for a simple activity around the house or at school. Fold a blank piece of paper into squares. Start with 4 large squares. For older students, create more squares. Ask kids to draw the steps they know in the order in which the steps occur. For example, draw each step it takes to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or to brush their teeth.

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Story Sequence | Classroom Strategy | Reading Rockets

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Sequencing refers to the identification of the components of a story - the beginning, middle, and end - and also to the ability to retell the events within a given text in the order in which they occurred. The ability to sequence events in a text is a key comprehension strategy, especially for narrative texts.

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Reading Comprehension Strategies for English Language Learners

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Note: This article originally appeared in ASCD Express: Vol. 5, Issue 11, “Reading to Learn.” Comprehension is the reason for reading, but it can be the most difficult skill to master — especially for English language learners (ELLs). ELLs often have problems learning science, math, or social studies concepts, for example, because they cannot comprehend the textbooks for these subjects.ELLs at all levels of English proficiency and literacy development will benefit from improved comprehension skills, which allow them to:read more accuratelyfollow a text or story more closelyidentify important events and concepts in a textmaster new concepts in their content-area classescomplete assignments and assessmentsfeel motivated to read in school and for pleasureThere are a number of ways to build ELLs’ comprehension skills. Often standard strategies that are used in mainstream classrooms are a good starting point — they just need to be tweaked with ELLs’ language and academic needs in mind! This article focuses on strategies that are part of three main approaches: building background knowledge, teaching vocabulary explicitly, and checking comprehension frequently.I. Build background knowledgeDraw on students’ existing knowledgeStudents may already possess content knowledge that they cannot yet demonstrate in English. Look for opportunities to make associations between students’ experiences and new content. Allow students to use their native language with peers for a quick brainstorm about what they know about a topic before presenting their ideas to the whole class.Related Videos Video bonus: See classroom videos and interviews about reading comprehension in our related resource section and classroom video library!Build students’ background knowledgeStudents with limited or interrupted schooling may not have that same level of knowledge as their peers, especially when it comes to historical or cultural topics. When starting a new lesson, look for references that may need to be explicitly explained.Take students on a “tour of the text”At the beginning of the year and each time you hand out a new textbook, take students on a “virtual tour.” Show them different elements of the text, such as the table of contents and the glossary, and discuss how these sections can be helpful. Explain how the text is organized, pointing out bold print, chapter headings, and chapter summaries. Once students learn how to recognize these elements, they will be able to preview the text independently. Remember that students need to know how to use a tool in order for it to be useful. Learn more about this strategy in Teaching ELLs to Navigate Textbooks Effectively.Use a “picture-walk”This strategy can be used for fiction or non-fiction books. “Walk through” the book with the students, pointing out pictures, illustrations, and other graphic elements. Ask them what they notice about the pictures and how they think those details may be related to the story or content.Use outlines to scaffold comprehensionProvide a brief, simple outline of a reading assignment or an oral discussion in advance of a new lesson. This will help ELLs pick out the important information as they listen or read.II. Teach vocabulary explicitlyFocus on key vocabularyChoose vocabulary that your students need to know in order to support their reading development and content-area learning. Provide student-friendly definitions for key vocabulary.Include signal and directional wordsRemember that students may also need explicit instruction in signal or directional words (“because” and “explain”), in addition to key content vocabulary (“photosynthesis” and “revolution”).Use a “picture-walk” for vocabularyOnce students know a new word’s definition, ask them connect those new words to the pictures they see in the text.Teach students to actively engage with vocabularyTeach students to underline, highlight, make notes, and list unknown vocabulary words as they read.Give student practice with new wordsEnsure that your students can:Define a wordRecognize when to use that wordUnderstand multiple meanings (such as the word “party”)Decode and spell that wordIncorporate new words into discussions and activitiesFor students to really know a word, they must use it — or they will lose it. Use new words in class discussions or outside of class in other contexts if appropriate, such as on field trips. Give the students as many opportunities to use and master the new vocabulary as possible.III. Check comprehension frequentlyUse informal comprehension checksTo test students’ ability to sequence material, for example, print sentences from a section of the text on paper strips, mix the strips, and have students put them in order.Test comprehension with student-friendly questionsAfter reading, test students’ comprehension with carefully crafted questions, using simple sentences and key vocabulary from the text. These questions can be at the:Literal level (Why do the leaves turn red and yellow in the fall?)Interpretive level (Why do you think it needs water?)Applied level (How much water are you going to give it? Why?)No matter what the proficiency level of the student, ask questions that require higher-level thinkingTo probe for true comprehension, ask questions that require students to analyze, interpret, or explain what they have read, such as:What ideas can you add to…?Do you agree? Why or why not?What might happen if…?How do you think she felt…?Use graphic organizersGraphic organizers allow ELLs to organize information and ideas efficiently without using a lot of language. Different types include Venn diagrams, K-W-L charts, story maps, cause-and-effect charts, and timelines.Provide students lots of different ways to “show what they know”Drawings, graphs, oral interviews, posters, and portfolios are just a few ways that students can demonstrate understanding as they are beginning to develop their reading and writing skills in English.SummarizeAsk students to use the following strategies to summarize what they have read (orally or in writing):Retell what you read, but keep it short.Include only important information.Leave out less important details.Use key words from the text.It may be challenging to get ELLs’ comprehension skills where you want them to be, but the extra effort it takes will be well worth it as you put them on the path to becoming successful readers.

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Teaching comprehension to English Learners

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Teaching comprehension to English Learners

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Teaching Reading and Comprehension to English Learners, Grades K-5

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Teacher question: Shanahan's response: I've attached a Student Work Analysis tool that we are using. I have read that you oppose attempts to grade students on the individual reading standards. Although this tool is not used for grading students, it is a standard-by-standard analysis of the students' work, and I wonder what you think of it? [The form that was included provided spaces for teachers to analyze student success with each of their state's math standards].
In the blog entry that you refer to, I spoke specifically about evaluating reading comprehension standards (not math or even the more foundational or skills-oriented decoding, vocabulary, or morphology).

A common error in reading education is to treat reading comprehension as if it were a skill or a collection of discrete skills.

Skills tend to be highly repeatable things...

Many of the items listed as comprehension skills are not particularly repeatable. All these standards or question types aimed at main idea, central message, key details, supporting details, inferencing, application, tone, comparison, purpose, etc. are fine, but none is repeatable in real reading situations.

Each of these actions is unique or at least high particularized. Each time these instances occur they are in completely different contexts. To execute them, it requires different steps from instance to instance.

Not only does each text have its own main ideas, but because the expression of each text is so different, what it takes to locate, identify, or construct a main idea will vary greatly from text to text. Contrast this with forming the appropriate phoneme for /sh/ or /ph/, computing the product of 3 X 3, or defining photosynthesis.

Another problem is that these supposed comprehension skills aren't individually measurable.

My point isn't that teachers can't ask questions that would require students to figure out particular things about a text - of course they can - but performance on such questions is startlingly unreliable. Today, Johnny might answer the tone question like a champ, but tomorrow he won't - since that is a different story, and the author revealed tone in a totally different way.

Also, comprehension questions asked about a particular text aren't independent of each other (and item independence is imperative in assessment). The reason, little Johnny struggled with tone on the day after wasn't because he forgot what he knew about tone, nor even because tone was handled more subtly in text two... but because his reading was deeply affected by that text's more challenging vocabulary, complex sentences, or complicated time sequence - none of which are specifically tone issues.

That means that when teachers try to suss out how well Johnny can meet Standard 6 by asking tone questions, his answers will reveal how well he could make sense of tone in one particular text, but it won't likely be indicative of how well he'll handle tone on any other. (Not at all what one would expect to see with math, decoding, or vocabulary assessments).

Reading comprehension is so affected by the readers' prior knowledge of the subject matter being read about and the language used to express those ideas (e.g., vocabulary, sentence structure, cohesion, text organization, literary devices, graphics), that focusing one's attention on which kinds of question the kids could answer is a fool's errand.

If I were trying to assess reading comprehension information to determine who might need more help, the kind of help to provide, or who I should worry about concerning the end of year testing, then I wouldn't hesitate to ask questions that seemed to reflect the standards... but the information I'd use for assessment would ignore how well the kids could answer particular types of questions.

My interest would be in how well students did with particular types of texts.

Keep track of their overall comprehension with different types of text. I'd record the following information:

1. How the student did on each overall text (the percentage of questions answered correctly, or an estimate of the percentage of key information the student could include in a summary).

2. The topics of the texts (with, perhaps, some rating of each child's familiarity with those topics).

3. An estimate of the text difficulty (in terms of Lexiles or another readability estimate).

4. The lengths of the texts (in numbers of words, preferably).

5. Whether the text was Literary (narrative or poetry), or Informational (expository or argumentative).

Thus, a student record may look something like this:

Over time, you'll get some sense that junior does great with texts that are lower than 500L, but not so well with texts that are harder than 550L (unless they're about robots).

Or, perhaps over the report card marking period you may notice a difference in performance on the the literary or informational texts (which you can see in my example above). But you also need to notice that the informational texts were relatively harder here, so it isn't certain that the student would struggle more with content than literature (though one might make an effort to sort this out to see if there is a consistent pattern). Likewise the student seemed to be able to handle silent reading demands with the shorter texts, but comprehension tended to fall off with the longer texts. That may lead me to try to do more to build stamina with this student.

And so on.

Basically, the information that you are collecting should describe how well the student does with particular types of texts (in terms of discourse types, length, topic familiarity, and difficulty), rather than trying to figure out which comprehension skills the individual question responses may reveal.

If a student does well with many of the passages, then he or she will likely do well with the comprehension standards - as long as these weekly dipsticks are reflective of the difficulty, lengths, and types of texts that will appear on the end-of-year tests.

And, If students perform poorly with many of the passages, then their performance on all question types will be affected.

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How to Analyze or Assess Reading Comprehension

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Teacher question: Shanahan's response: I've attached a Student Work Analysis tool that we are using. I have read that you oppose attempts to grade students on the individual reading standards. Although this tool is not used for grading students, it is a standard-by-standard analysis of the students' work, and I wonder what you think of it?

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The ability to read is one of the most powerful tools teachers and parents can give students. Literacy is strongly correlated with future economic and professional success.

Illiteracy, on the other hand, exacts a steep price. The National Center for Education Statistics notes that 43 percent of adults with the lowest reading levels live in poverty, and according to the National Institute for Literacy, 70 percent of people on welfare have extremely low literacy. Furthermore, 72 percent of children of parents with low literacy will themselves have low literacy, and are more likely to perform poorly in school and drop out.

Early and elementary education offers a key opportunity to break this cycle of economic hardship. And while the mechanics of reading and writing are essential building blocks, reading comprehension allows students to move beyond decoding and into understanding and enjoyment.

The easiest way to explain reading comprehension is to put a reader in the position of someone who is "deciphering" letters and words rather than comprehending (attaching meaning to) them.

Fæder ure
ðu ðe eart on heofenum
si ðin nama gehalgod
to-becume ðin rice
geweorþe ðin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofenum.
Urne ge dæghwamlican hlaf syle us to-deag
and forgyf us ure gyltas
swa swa we forgifaþ urum gyltendum
ane ne gelæde ðu us on costnunge
ac alys us of yfle.

Using your knowledge base of phonetic sounds, you might be able to "read" the text, but you would not understand what you'd just read. You most certainly would not recognize it as The Lord's Prayer.

What about the following sentence?

Fox grape grey shoe on land title base.

You may know each word and its meaning, but that doesn't give the sentence meaning.

Reading comprehension involves three distinct components: processing text (sounding out the syllables to decode the words), understanding what was read, and making connections between the text and what you already know.

Vocabulary knowledge and text comprehension are two vital elements of reading comprehension. Vocabulary knowledge refers to understanding individual words. If a reader doesn't understand the words he is reading, he won't understand the text as a whole.

Because vocabulary knowledge is essential to reading comprehension, children should be exposed to a rich vocabulary and should always be learning new words. Parents and teachers can help by defining potentially unfamiliar words that students will encounter in texts and teaching students to use contextual clues to understand the meaning of new words.

Text comprehension builds on vocabulary knowledge by allowing the reader to combine the meanings of the individual words to understand the overall text. If you've ever read a complicated legal document, a challenging book, or the previous example of a nonsensical sentence, you can understand the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and text comprehension. Understanding the meaning of most of the words does not necessarily translate into understanding the text as a whole.

Text comprehension relies on the reader making connections with what he's reading.

Most standardized tests include sections that assess reading comprehension. These assessments focus on identifying the main idea of a passage, understanding vocabulary in context, making inferences, and identifying the author's purpose.

A student might read a passage such as the following about dolphins.

Dolphins are aquatic mammals (not fish) well-known for their intellect, gregarious nature, and acrobatic abilities. Like other mammals, they are warm-blooded, give birth to live young, feed their babies milk, and breathe air through their lungs. Dolphins have a streamlined body, a pronounced beak, and a blowhole. They swim by moving their tail up and down to propel themselves forward.
A female dolphin is called a cow, a male is a bull, and the babies are calves. Dolphins are carnivores that eat marine life such as fish and squid. They have great eyesight and use this along with echolocation to move about in the ocean and locate and identify objects around them.
Dolphins communicate with clicks and whistles. They develop their own personal whistle, which is distinct from other dolphins'. Mother dolphins whistle to their babies frequently after birth so that the calves learn to recognize their mother's whistle.

After reading the passage, students are asked to answer questions based on what they read to demonstrate their understanding of the passage. Young students might be expected to understand from the text that dolphins are mammals that live in the ocean. They eat fish and communicate with clicks and whistles.

Older students might be asked to apply information gleaned from the passage to facts they already know. They could be asked to infer the meaning of the term carnivore from the text, identify what dolphins and cattle have in common (being identified as a cow, bull, or calf) or how a dolphin's whistle is similar to a human fingerprint (each is distinct to the individual).

There are several ways to evaluate a student's reading comprehension skills. One method is to use a formal assessment, like the example above, with reading passages followed by questions about the passage.

Another method is to use informal assessments. Ask students to tell you about what they read or retell the story or event in their own words. Put students in discussion groups and listen to what they have to say about the book, watching for areas of confusion and students who are not participating.

Ask students for a written response to the text, such as journaling, identifying their favorite scene, or listing the top 3 to 5 facts they learned from the text.

One indicator that a student is struggling with reading comprehension is difficulty reading aloud. If a student struggles to recognize or sound out words when he's reading orally, he's likely encountering the same struggles when reading silently.

Weak vocabulary is another indicator of poor reading comprehension. This is because students who struggle with text comprehension may have difficulting learning and incorporating new vocabulary.

Finally, poor spelling and weak writing skills may be a signal that a student isn't able to comprehend what he's reading. Difficulty spelling may indicate problems remembering letter sounds, which means that the student is likely also having trouble processing text.

It might seem as though reading comprehension skills develop naturally, but that's because students gradually begin to internalize the techniques. Effective reading comprehension skills must be taught, but it's not difficult to do.

There are simple strategies to improve reading comprehension that parents and teachers can employ. The most important step is to ask questions before, during, and after reading. Ask students what they think the story is going to be about based on the title or cover. As you're reading, ask students to summarize what they've read so far or predict what they think will happen next. After reading, ask students to summarize the story, identify the main idea, or highlight the most important facts or events.

Next, help children make connections between what they've read and their experiences. Ask them what they would have done if they had been in the main character's situation or if they've had a similar experience.

Consider reading challenging texts aloud. Ideally, students will have their own copy of the book so that they can follow along. Reading aloud models good reading techniques and allows students to hear new vocabulary in context without disrupting the flow of the story.

There are also steps that students can take to improve their reading comprehension skills. The first, most basic step is to improve overall reading skills. Help students select books about topics that interest them and encourage them to read at least 20 minutes each day. It's okay if they want to start with books below their reading level. Doing so can help students focus on what they're reading, rather than on decoding more challenging text, and improve their confidence.

Next, encourage students to stop every so often and summarize what they've read, either mentally or aloud with a reading buddy. They may want to make notes or use a graphic organizer to record their thoughts.

Remind students to get an overview of what they'll be reading by first reading chapter titles and subheadings. Conversely, students can also benefit from skimming over the material after they've read it.

Students should also take steps to improve their vocabulary. One way to do so without disrupting the flow of reading is to jot down unfamiliar words and look them up after they've finished their reading time.

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How to Assess and Teach Reading Comprehension

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The ability to read is one of the most powerful tools teachers and parents can give students. Literacy is strongly correlated with future economic and professional success. Illiteracy, on the other hand, exacts a steep price.

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Effective interventions for students with learning disabilities

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Effective interventions for students with learning disabilities

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Effective Reading Interventions for Kids with Learning Disabilities

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Research-based information and advice for sizing up reading programs and finding the right one for your child with a learning disability.

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Research on reading has shown that children acquire decoding and reading comprehension skills at the same time, but that each skill develops independently of the other. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) typically perform at average or above average levels when it comes to decoding written language.

However, they are generally better at sounding out and identifying words than understanding what they have read. This may be because comprehension is a more abstract skill than decoding. It relies on a reader's sensitivity to story structure, ability to pick up on referents, make inferences and use prior knowledge of the subject to makes sense of the text.

Attention and working memory are also implicated, as metacognitive monitoring strategies ensure the reader is following along.

Autism spectrum disorder

While no two students with autism will have the same set or degree of symptoms, children with ASD typically struggle with communication and social interaction. They may exhibit repetitive behaviour, focus on small details and lack the ability to "read between the lines."

This means that figurative language encountered during reading can be taken literally and they may have difficulty looking at a text globally in order to grasp gist or identify the author's purpose in writing.

Some students with autism are non-verbal. In these situations, it can be difficult to differentiate between a lack of understanding following a reading and an inability to relate what the child has understood.

For this reason, some educators advocate taking a variety of approaches to assess reading comprehension including allowing students ample time to respond to comprehension questions, providing objects they can manipulate to demonstrate an understanding of what has been read and even encouraging the creation of collages that reflect their reaction to a text.

Learn more in strategies for students with autism.

How reading works

Early reading instruction focuses on teaching children decoding skills so they are able to sound out written language. This requires phonemic awareness, knowledge of the alphabet and the ability to correctly map sounds to letters and letter combinations.

Once a word has been identified, semantic meaning can be accessed. As vocabulary grows, sight-reading skills develop because familiar words are recognized more quickly. When decoding is no longer necessary, the process speeds up and this frees cognitive energy in the brain for focusing on comprehension and making meaning out of what has been read. Learn more about teaching children how to read.

In order to make sense of narrative, students must interact with a text by accessing their prior knowledge of a subject and making inferences. Strong readers pick up on gist and specific details, attribute significance to the order in which information is presented and rely on referents within the text to follow along.

Other factors such as the coherence of a text and the size of a child's vocabulary can also impact reading comprehension. For example, it's important that a ratio of 10:1 known to unknown words exists as too many unfamiliar terms can hinder contextual guessing and cause frustration and cognitive overload.
TOP TIP: An easy way to know if a text is beyond a student's level is to have them read several paragraphs and raise a finger every time an unfamiliar word is encountered. If at the end of the page all five fingers are raised, it may be wise to choose material containing more familiar vocabulary.
Autism and reading comprehension

Students with autism may read and process language in a fluent way. This is in contrast to children with dyslexia who often struggle to decode written language. Nonetheless, these students are not always able to access semantic meaning in the same way.

They can have trouble visualizing action and understanding the social interactions upon which many storylines rely. Subtle hints left by the author can be missed or a detail might absorb all of the child's attention so the rest of the text is not fully processed.

Have you heard of hyperlexia? Some students with autism possess an uncanny ability to read and process text at a very fast pace. Researchers have used brain scans to show that this is due to simultaneous activity in the left and right hemispheres of the brain, allowing for phonological and visual processing to be engaged at the same time.

Helping students with autism

Autism is referred to as a spectrum disorder due to the wide range of symptoms that individuals may present. For this reason, it's important to explore a variety of interventions if one strategy for enhancing comprehension is proving ineffective.

1. Start with audio-books or books that contain images. Some students with autism learn best through sound while others tend to be strong visual learners. Take advantage of this by playing audio-books in the car or on a home stereo or reading picture books that clearly show action and narrative progression.

2. Read together from an early age. The sooner you start reading to a child with ASD the better, as fostering a love of books and familiarity with how they work are important pre-literacy skills for children to develop.

3. Demonstrate active reading skills. Narrate your understanding of a text out loud, even if the child does not seem interested. You might go so far as to ask and answer questions to model the types of internal monitoring that skilled readers engage in.

4. Select material on their favourite subject. Some children take an extreme interest in certain subject areas so try providing them with material that satisfies their thirst for knowledge. Any practice with reading comprehension is helpful even if it means they read several books on the same topic.

5. Show them how to read on a computer or tablet. Technology is often a preferred medium for learning given it doesn't require any social interaction. Show learners how to research online, read material from the web and access digital books.

6. Emphasize top-down strategies. Taking a global perspective in reading can be difficult, as can connecting a text to external ideas. Help learners activate prior-knowledge in order to relate the reading to concepts they're already aware of. You can try making mind-maps or having a discussion about the topic before the reading begins.

7. Highlight referents and annotate paragraphs. Teach children with autism to monitor their understanding as they read. Show them how to re-read for missing information. It may be helpful to highlight and underline text.

8. Discuss figurative language. Making inferences is not always the easiest skill to master, which is why parents and teachers can help by explaining the meaning behind abstract language.

9. Promote sight reading. The more words a child recognizes, the easier it is to understand a sentence. New readers can reduce the amount of decoding needed by familiarizing themselves with sight words or high frequency terms that they are likely to encounter regularly. Read more about teaching sight words.

TTRS can help

The Touch-type Read and Spell programme is a multi-sensory course that enhances literacy through the teaching of keyboarding skills. Learners hear a word spoken out loud, see it on the screen and then type the corresponding keys. Modules follow the phonics based Orton-Gillingham approach and students are repeatedly exposed to high frequency vocabulary in order to teach sight-reading.

TTRS may be particularly helpful for autistic children as it is delivered via a computer and students can take a self-directed approach to learning. This means they can review past lessons until they feel ready to move on. Learners also benefit from personalized feedback and progress monitoring that helps to build self-esteem and confidence in students of all ages.
Do you have any experience with autism and reading comprehension? Join the discussion in the comments!

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Research on reading has shown that children acquire decoding and reading comprehension skills at the same time, but that each skill develops independently of the other. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) typically perform at average or above average levels when it comes to decoding written language.

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There are lots of assistive technology (AT) tools that can help people who have trouble reading, like people with dyslexia. Learn what tools are available.

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Best practices in planning interventions

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Best practices in planning interventions

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Overview

The majority of students who are referred for academic concerns and/or have been identified as having a specific learning disability have difficulties in the area of reading. Among the population of students with learning disabilities, an estimated 80%have reading disabilities (Lerner, 1993). Students with poor reading skills are becoming more apparent to educators and parents due to the results found on criterion-referenced, high stakes mandatory testing that most schools nationwide have incorporated across grade levels.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP; 1997) reported that 40% of fourth graders, 30% of eighth graders, and 25% of twelfth graders were reading below grade level. The percentages are even higher and the gaps even wider between grade levels in schools predominately made up of free or reduced lunch eligible student populations (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). Therefore, it is imperative that school psychologists work with a team of professionals to help students with reading problems by designing interventions from data-based decision-making activities. While data based decision-making practices will be touched upon briefly to establish their important link to targeting interventions, another chapter in this volume more fully addresses diagnostic and assessment issues in the identification of students with reading problems.

This chapter addresses intervention needs of students who have been formally diagnosed with reading disabilities. It also addresses students who may not meet formal criteria for a learning disability in the area of reading but who struggle with identifying and comprehending written language. Moreover, this chapter is congruent with the consultation/problem-solving orientation toward the practice of school psychology and discusses data-based intervention planning without placing emphasis on formal classification.

Problems in reading can affect performance across several academic content areas, occupational endeavors, and other functional skills that are used in everyday life activities. The task of the school psychologist is to work with teachers and parents to define those problems through data-based decision-making methods, to target interventions to address the problems, and to help implement and evaluate those interventions. Specifically, this chapter will describe briefly the characteristics associated with reading problems, delineate a problem-solving/data-based decision-making process to develop effective interventions, and finally focus on a variety of interventions that can be used to address different types of reading problems.

Basic considerations

Characteristics of students with reading problems

Two types of students with reading problems that school psychologists and educators are likely to encounter are students with IQ-reading achievement discrepancies and students with a combination of low ability and low reading achievement. Students who have IQ-reading achievement discrepancies tend to have average to high average IQ and listening comprehension scores (Aaron & Joshi, 1992). Children with developmental dyslexia are included in this group of poor readers. Dyslexia is often associated with some neurological impairment that results in poor word recognition skills including phonological processing. Slow rate of reading, erratic oral reading, misuse of function words and suffixes, and reading comprehension difficulties on timed reading tasks are among the symptoms commonly associated with dyslexia (Aaron & Joshi, 1992).

Low ability readers make up the largest number of poor readers. They tend to have lower than average IQ and have below grade level listening comprehension, word recognition, and reading comprehension performance. Although we tend to classify children with severe reading problems as low ability readers or IQ-achievement discrepant readers, current research indicates that there are no significant differences between these two groups of readers on how they develop reading precursor skills (Wristers, Francis, Foorman, Fletcher, & Swank, 2000).

Earlier research conducted by Stanovich and Siegal (1994) also suggested that IQ did not predict reading difficulties among low ability (garden variety readers) and IQ-discrepant readers. Instead, they found that phonological core variables were better predictors of reading skills. Therefore, differential diagnoses based on IQ scores do not yield different growth patterns in reading development. For this reason, the remainder of this section will describe poor readers according to specific cognitive processes and behaviors they exhibit rather than according to diagnostic categories.

Poor readers with word recognition difficulties generally over rely on textual cues such as pictures and other words to identify words in a passage that are unknown to them (Kim & Goetz, 1994). Overusing textual cues to identify unknown words reduces the likelihood of transforming unknown words into sight words (Pressley, 1998). Many errors are made when children use semantic contextual approaches rather than sounding out words. Children need opportunities to sound out words even if this means they have to struggle (Adams & Henry, 1997). This may be easier said than done as many children do not know how to begin to sound out words. Some poor readers have limited letter-level knowledge or an understanding of the alphabetic principle. Typically, these types of readers are limited to being able to sound out only the beginning letter of a word.

The inability to sound out words can be attributed to phonological processing difficulties. Weak phonological processing accounts for the largest population of students classified as having dyslexia or individuals with severe word recognition difficulties (Pressley, 1998). Phonological awareness is a crucial component to becoming literate. This has been verified through studies that examined long-term effects of phonological awareness training in preschool and kindergarten on subsequent reading achievement performance of first, second, and third graders (Ball & Blachman, 1991; Byrne & Fielding-Barnsley, 1993).

Phonemic awareness is knowing that spoken language is made up of discrete, operable sounds. Rhyme production, sound blending, sound deletion, sound substitution, and sound segmenting are among the many ways individuals can operate on spoken words. Developmentally, children begin with rhyme activities and then progress to segmenting sounds in words. Among phonemic awareness exercises, phonemic segmentation is the best predictor of word identification for primary grade children (Nation & Hulme, 1997). An example of a phonemic segmentation exercise would be to pronounce a word such as "cat" and ask a child to say each sound as three separable sounds in the word such as /c/ /a/ /t/.

Some children develop phonemic awareness through literacy experiences at home before entering school while others have limited exposure to print and role models who engage in reading and writing. Some children, regardless of their environmental conditions, struggle with grasping phonemic awareness. Thus, children who lack phonological skills and have a limited vocabulary will have difficulty phonologically "recoding" letters back into their constituent sounds when they encounter print (McCormick, 1999).

When most children initially encounter a printed word, they go through a process of sequentially decoding the word by attempting to make letter-sound conversions. Phonological recoding occurs as children check to see if the word they made matches a word that has been stored in their memories (Daneman, 1991). At advanced stages of this process, children learn to decode words hierarchically. Hierarchical decoding involves using letters in words to cue the sounds of other letters. For example, using the "e" at the end of the word "came" to say the "a" as a long vowel sound.

Related to phonological recoding is orthographic processing. Orthographic processing refers to recognizing and remembering letters which includes noting sequences of letters in words and being able to distinguish among spelling patterns of words. Although smaller in population compared to those with phonological deficits, some children with reading and spelling problems have difficulty processing words orthographically (Stanovich & West, 1989).

Children need to become automatic at recognizing words to free up their cognitive energies to gain meaning from text. Poor readers not only struggle with recognizing words in text but also have difficulty suppressing irrelevant information in text which places limitations on the use of their short term capacity for comprehending printed material (Pressley, 1998). These students have particular difficulty grasping an understanding of texts that contain words with multiple meanings (McCormick, 1999).

Beyond the word reading level, poor readers have difficulty making inferences about the content presented in text. Poor readers do not connect ideas well and may not grasp the conceptual nature of the material. Problems with making inferences are partly due to poor readers' lack of prior knowledge about the content. On the other hand, good readers read more and gain more knowledge each time they read material.

Good readers also have a repertoire of comprehension strategies to help them construct meaning from text. Poor readers know very few, if any, strategies that aid in the construction of meaning from text and strategies for monitoring understanding of text (Pressley, 1998).

Collaborative team model

Regardless of their diagnostic label, poor readers get poorer without the benefit of effective instruction. This notion is what Stanovich (1986) coined the "Mathew Effects" in reading. In order to prevent the retention of weak literacy skills, appropriate stake-holders such as school psychologists, general education teachers, special education teachers, speech and language specialists, reading specialists, administrators, and parents need to initially establish collective efficacy about the relationship between instruction and performance. In fact, an increase in reading achievement occurred in schools where beliefs about teaching and learning competencies were shared collectively by stakeholders (Goddard, Hoy, & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2000).

Once collective beliefs have been established, collaborative problem solving among interested stakeholders should occur within a data-based decision-making framework. In other words, the process of linking assessment to intervention needs to be shared by the appropriate multidisciplinary team members. Team members need to share the responsibility for determining students' skill levels, identifying instructional environment variables, targeting appropriate interventions, monitoring student progress as a function of interventions, and evaluating outcomes. These responsibilities are carried out though data-based intervention methods.

Data-based intervention methods

Before describing interventions that help students with word identification and reading comprehension skills, it is imperative to discuss the bases for why some interventions are targeted for implementation over others. Decisions made without systematic data collection may result in targeting inappropriate interventions that further exacerbate students' struggles with reading.

When a student experiences difficulty with reading, professionals and other interested stakeholders (i.e., family members) should work in a collaborative fashion by collecting data to define the problem in observable terms. Data can be gathered through various methods according to the nature and severity of the reading problem. For instance, school psychologists may be responsible for conducting systematic observations of students engaged in oral reading and comprehension exercises. This is a good way to begin gathering data.

Following observations, school psychologists may conduct interviews with students and teachers to uncover information that was not detected by observation. Teacher and student interviews can be helpful in gaining information about perceived expectations of competence in literacy and to ascertain efficacious behaviors toward meeting learning goals. Examples of teacher and student interviews can be found in Shapiro's (1996) Academic Skills Problems Workbook. Systematic observations coupled with interviews may be sufficient depending on students' needs or may further guide team members in choosing other appropriate reading assessments that are sensitive to specific difficulties as well as provide baseline measures of performance. Types of reading assessments may include informal reading inventories, curriculum-based measures, miscue analysis inventories, criterion-referenced tests, and standardized diagnostic reading achievement tests.

Practitioners are cautioned about the use of test scores derived from these assessments because they may not be as helpful for targeting interventions in contrast to the strategies students use or fail to use while attempting items involving identifying and understanding print. This is especially the case for students who are older and can identify words accurately but not automatically (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998) and who may take a long time deriving correct answers to comprehension questions about text.

Once interventions are targeted and implemented from assessment information, treatment integrity needs to be assessed. This means that interventions need to be applied consistently as designed. For a comprehensive discussion about this important aspect of implementing interventions, please see Telzrow's chapter on intervention integrity in this volume. Progress monitoring of student performance over time is another critical component that needs to occur to assess whether or not interventions are effective for meeting students' literacy needs.

Curriculum-based measures and other informal measures (e.g., teacher-made probes and informal reading inventories) that indicate specified criterion levels of performance can serve as appropriate assessments for progress monitoring of student performance. School psychologists may support teachers by helping them monitor student progress over time in a systematic fashion. Students should also be encouraged to engage in progress monitoring activities. Graphic representations of data may provide a visual description of whether interventions have been appropriately targeted and applied. The following case study illustrates the use of various assessments that aided in targeting an intervention and conducting systematic progress monitoring.

Case study of Rick

Rick was a third-grade youngster with an attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disability in reading and written expression. His special education teacher consulted with the school psychologist about intervention suggestions for Rick. The school psychologist conducted systematic observations of Rick during oral reading and spelling activities. Observations revealed difficulty with making letter-sound correspondences while attempting to identify basic high frequency words with consonant-vowel-consonant patterns. A teacher and a student interview was conducted, and it was determined that Rick was provided with a buddy to read stories and to assist with classroom assignments. Rick reported that he would feel anxious about completing reading assignments if he did not have his buddy's assistance. Without assistance, Rick was asked to read and spell a list of 100 words with consonant-vowel-consonant patterns. It was determined from this assessment that Rick could only read 5 out of the 100 words on the list. Interestingly, he was able to spell 90% of the words on the list.

The school psychologist assisted the special education teacher in developing procedures including integrity checks during baseline, intervention, and maintenance sessions. Baseline word identification and spelling probes were developed and consisted of 10 words that were randomly selected from a list of 100 words. The 10-item probe was given over three sessions. It was determined that Rick's mean identification score was 5.0, and his mean spelling score was 8.6. Word boxes, an intervention described in detail in the intervention section of this chapter, was implemented to help Rick make letter-sound correspondences while attempting to identify words.

Word identification and spelling probes were administered daily at the completion of intervention. They contained sets of words with consonant-vowel-consonant patterns taken from the list of 100 words. Rick obtained a mean score of 8.6 on word identification probes and 9.8 on spelling probes across instructional sessions. Maintenance probes were also administered, and Rick maintained a high level of performance on probes. Figure 1 depicts a graphic representation of Rick's word identification and spelling performance overtime.

Figure 1. Continuous progress monitoring of Rick's word identification and spelling performance

Best practices

This section provides a description of evidenced-based instructional interventions for students who have difficulty with word identification and reading comprehension. Since many educational professionals are likely to be aware of some of the traditional approaches to literacy instruction that have been used over many years, many of the approaches presented in this section will be those that are considered contemporary approaches for meeting the needs of diverse learners. Of course, the interventions described are not exhaustive of all approaches for the amelioration of reading difficulties. For interventions, it should be realized that "one size does not fit all." It may be desirable to modify or target other interventions based on sufficient data obtained about the unique needs of individual students.

General components of effective instruction

Whether word identification or comprehension interventions are implemented, general psychological components of teaching and learning that apply to how children acquire literacy should be incorporated in lessons. Scaffolding, shaping, connecting to prior knowledge, constructing meaning, motivating students, and providing opportunities to learn have been considered among the key components of best literacy instructional practices (Gambrell, Morrow, Neuman, & Pressley, 1999). School psychologists can work collaboratively with educators by helping them incorporate the following critical components during instruction.

Scaffolding

Several instructional approaches to word identification and reading comprehension employ scaffolding. Scaffolding, a term coined by Wood, Bruner, and Ross (1976), means that necessary support needs to be given to a child and gradually faded once the child approximates independent functioning while completing tasks. The concept of scaffolding is rooted in Vygotsky's (1978) notions about how the mind develops through interactions between teachers and students and how children may be able to achieve more anyone thinking about implementing any of these than what was initially expected given the proper cultural tools. Examples of scaffolding include teacher facilitation and feedback as well as appropriate instructional materials that serve as supportive structures to make tasks solvable (Carnine, Silbert, & Kame'enui, 1990). Instructors who embrace scaffolding procedures often are those who view themselves and the materials they design or select as mediators of learners' development.

Shaping

A behavioral concept that is similar to scaffolding is shaping. Shaping, a term described by Skinner (1957), means to elicit reinforcers for successive approximations toward completing an objective. Delivering reinforcers for efforts made toward achieving a goal can be considered as ways of providing support to students. This cannot be stressed enough when working with children with reading difficulties.

Many children with severe reading problems will become extremely frustrated in the process of becoming literate because they will not experience success immediately. Reinforcers may not have been a systematic part of students' instructional histories. In other words, contingencies for reading behavior may have been inconsistent or delivered haphazardly rather than in successive approximations to desired reading behavior. These are the children who grow up and find reading not enjoyable and may not experience reading as a reinforcer (e.g., gaining information and pleasure). These individuals may later find themselves in limited employment and social situations. Therefore, it is crucial that educators and parents shape reading behaviors through praise and rewards contingent upon efforts made at achieving reading skills.

Connecting to prior knowledge

Effective instruction includes being aware of what students know. Assessing student's prior understandings and experiences will help teachers facilitate links between what students know and what they need to learn. How quickly one grasps information presented in text depends largely on one's prior knowledge of the content (Gambrell et. al., 1999). Students with learning problems often have limited prior knowledge and experiences on which to "hook" new information. It is especially imperative that teachers provide opportunities for students to gain background knowledge through discussions and activities before students are presented with text that is foreign to them.

Constructing Meaning

While specific literacy skills are important to teach, educators must keep in mind that the purpose of reading is to construct meaning from text. Capturing the plot of a story, following instructions for putting things together, and learning about current events are among some of the purposes for reading. Several scholars claim that children acquire decoding, spelling, grammar, and comprehension skills more easily if the context from which they are presented is personally meaningful (Gambrell et al., 1999). Higher-order reasoning and new meanings about text can result from children who were provided with meaning-based literacy activities at school and home.

Motivating students

Motivating students to read is a real challenge particularly for the upper elementary and secondary school teachers. Studies have shown that kindergartners and first graders are more likely to expend efforts toward reading even if they fail (Nicholls, 1990) while older students, especially those with learning difficulties, are less willing to put forth effort if they do not experience success (Jacobson, Lowery, & Ducette, 1986). Young children are more likely to attribute their failures to insufficient effort while older students who struggle with reading often attribute their failures to factors such as task difficulty and unfounded teacher perceptions (e.g., student feels teacher does not like him or thinks he is incapable).

Attribution retraining (i.e., helping students realize their efforts lead to desired outcomes) coupled with strategy instruction has been found to be effective for helping low achieving students improve on their use of reading strategies (Carr & Borkowski, 1989). Literacy activities should be authentic, integrated with other content areas, interesting, and occur within a social context so that students are motivated to participate in them (Pressely, 1998). This includes providing students with opportunities to choose from a range of high quality literature and to exchange dialogue about reading material (Palmer, Codling, & Gambrell, 1994).

Providing opportunities to learn

Within the time allotted for literacy activities, students need opportunities to make frequent responses during oral and silent reading as well as writing lessons. Students also need plenty of opportunities to practice new skills that are learned. This instructional component cannot be emphasized enough while students are acquiring literacy skills. Children with learning disabilities and mental retardation need more opportunities to practice than their peers (McCormick, 1999). Over-learning leads to transferring skills to other tasks more easily.

Word level interventions

Many students who experience difficulty identifying words are not aware that spoken words are made up of discrete sound units (Adams, 1990). Phonemic awareness exercises also help children operate on sounds of spoken language through phonemic blending, segmentation, deletion, and substitution activities. Phonemic blending exercises involve blending individual sounds or clusters of sounds together to form a whole word such as blending the sounds /c-a-t/ to form the word /cat/ and blending /fl-at/ to form the word /flat/. Segmentation exercise involves saying each individual sound in a word such as saying /t-a-p/ for the word /tap/. An example of a phonemic deletion would be removing the /f/ from the word /fin/ and saying the remaining sounds /in/, and substitution consists of adding a different sound (/b/) to the remaining sounds to make a new word (/bin/). Phonemic analysis exercises can involve identifying the position of sounds in words such as identifying the /a/ as the middle sound in the word /tap/.

The purpose of implementing interventions that target word level problems is to help children eventually read words by sight or with automaticity. Some children have difficulty reading words automatically because they do not possess strategies in making letter-sound associations. Word level interventions consist of phonics instructional approaches. Phonics incorporates methods by which children learn letter-sound associations. Stahl, Duffy-Hester, and Stahl (1998) stated that good phonics instruction consists of developing the alphabetic principle, developing phonemic awareness, providing familiarity with forming letters, and providing sufficient practice in reading words. They also indicated that good phonics instruction should not be rule-based and does not dominate literacy instruction programs. Many of the rule-based approaches used workbook exercises that required children to memorize and recall rules. Clymer's (1996) review of commonly used words in children's reading materials revealed that rules were rarely applicable to most words encountered in texts.

Phonic approaches

There are a variety of approaches to teaching phonics. Rule-based approaches are considered to be analytic approaches to teaching phonics (Cunningham, 1999). Children are taught some words and asked to analyze them by breaking the words down into their component parts followed by making phonic generalizations about the words. As alluded to previously, many basal reading programs that include accompanied workbooks are reflective of an analytic approach to teaching phonics (Stahl, Duffy-Hester, & Stahl, 1998). For example, students may read a list of words on a worksheet and mark whether the vowel in each word makes a "long" or a "short" sound. Synthetic approaches to teaching phonics, on the other hand, involve explicit teaching of letter-sound associations. During practice lessons, students pronounce sounds in isolation and then blend them to make words (McCormick, 1999). An example of an empirically supported synthetic phonics program is Direct Instruction (Adams & Englemann, 1996). This approach infuses behavior analysis principles of teaching children to systematically progress from one phonic skill to the next. Initially, individual sounds are taught and then children are asked to blend sounds to form words. Cueing, feedback, and opportunities to make many responses are provided during every lesson.

Drawing from decades of her own research, Cunningham (1995) advocated teaching phonics through primarily an anologic approach. In an anologic approach, children are taught to become word pattern detectors and use words or parts of words they know to figure out unknown words. For instance, if a child can read and spell the word "sit" then the student will also be able to read and spell the words "fit," "kit," "bit," "hit" and other words that belong to this family of words. Cunningham's Four Blocks program follows predominately an anologic approach to teaching phonics (Cunningham, 1999). The Four Blocks program is a combination of four major reading approaches that emphasize multilevel instruction. This program includes guided reading, self-selected reading, writing, and word study approaches. The word study approaches best illustrate the kinds of activities that would represent teaching phonics anologically. Doing the word wall, making words, and guessing the covered word are among some of the activities included in the word study portion of the program.

Doing the word wall consists of putting words up around the classroom where children can easily see them. Displayed words should be carefully selected and correspond to those that children commonly need in their writing. Only approximately five new words need to be added to the wall per week. Words that typically cause confusion can be written in a variety of colors so they stand out among those written in black. Children are asked to write and say the words on the word wall and complete a variety of review activities so words are read and spelled automatically.

Making Words activity consists of providing students with six to eight different letters on letter cards. The teacher says words with two, three, four, and more letters that can be formed with the letter cards. Children are then asked to use all of their letters to make a big word that is related to something they are reading. For instance, the teacher may give the students cards with a letter printed on each. The letters may be, s, a, p, l, r, e, t. The students are instructed to use the letters to form two-letter words and then three-letter words and so forth. At the completion of the lesson, the students are asked to use all of the letters and make a big word such as "stapler" (see Cunningham & Hall, 1994, for a thorough discussion of this activity).

Guessing the covered word consists of writing four to six sentences on the board and covering up one word in each sentence with a sticky note. The first sentence is read, and the students guess the covered word as the teacher writes down all the guesses. The teacher explains to the children that the covered word could be lots of different words when the letters are not shown. All of the letters are uncovered up to the first vowel. Guesses that do not begin with the beginning letters are erased, and the students are encouraged to continue guessing with the remaining words written on the board or make new guesses. Eventually, the whole word is uncovered as students' guesses approximate or match the covered word.

In the Four Blocks program, children are taught to rely on word study strategies to identify unknown words while reading texts (Cunningham, 1999). The words blocks activities can also be considered ways in which children study about words. In fact, these types and other similar approaches have been classified as word study phonic approaches and considered to be contemporary because they employ multisensory methods of helping children understand phonological and orthographic features of words (Stahl, Duffy-Hester, & Stahl, 1998). Other types of contemporary word study approaches include word sorts and word boxes.

Word sorts are an anologic phonic approach for helping children categorize words according to shared phonological, spelling, and meaning components. They can come in the form of closed sorts where the teacher establishes the categories or open sorts in which children induce the categories based on an examination of subsets of given words (Zutell, 1998). Words to be sorted are usually placed on index cards, and the established categories provide a structure for detecting common spelling patterns and discriminating among word elements (Barnes, 1989).

Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, and Johnston (1996) provide a comprehensive guide to creating various types of word sort lessons and other word study phonic activities. For instance, phonemic awareness sorts can be accomplished by having the children place tokens below given respective word categories as the teacher articulates words. Children can also spell words below respective categories as the teacher orally presents words. Howard Street (Morris, Shaw, & Perney, 1990) and Early Steps (Santa & Hoien, 1999), two effective tutoring programs for low achievers, incorporate word sort techniques rather extensively.

Word boxes, a synthetic phonic approach, helps children segment sounds of spoken language. This approach has been effective for helping children with learning disabilities identify and spell words (Joseph, 1998/1999). Typically, word boxes have been used within the comprehensive Reading Recovery program (Clay, 1993). A word box consists of a drawn rectangle that has been divided into sections (boxes) according to individual phonemes in a word. Initially, children place tokens in respective sections as each sound in a word is articulated slowly (see Figure 2). Eventually, children place letters (either magnetic or tile) in respective sections as each sound in a word is articulated. During advanced phases, children are asked to write letters in the respective divided sections of the box.

Joseph (2000) compared beginning first-grade children who were either assigned word boxes lessons, word sorts lessons, or traditional phonics lessons and found both word boxes and word sorts to be effective on children's phonemic segmentation, phonemic blending, word identification, nonsense word naming, and spelling in contrast to the traditional group's performance. There were no significant differences between the word boxes group and the word sort group. Controlled comparative research is still very young, and until more data are obtained, it is best practice to be flexible and choose from a variety of empirically based phonic approaches that facilitate the study of phonological and orthographic components of words.

Sight Word Recognition

Figure 2. Phonemic segmentation phase of word boxes instruction. The word, "rose," has three sounds and, therefore, three connected boxes along with the same number of tokens are presented.

A reciprocal relationship exists between developing sight word recognition and word identification skills for reading new words. Once students are able to read a bank of words fluently, they can easily identify new words by analogy especially if letter sequences contained in words are similar. And, once children break sound to letter codes, they are able to read words more easily by sight or automatically especially if children engage in repeated readings of words (Samuels, 1988). Repeated exposures to words in multiple contexts are also important for storing words in memory and recalling them easily (Pressley, 1998).

Higher-order interventions

Higher order interventions include reading comprehension and concept attainment activities. Learning strategies instruction approaches were found to be effective for helping children with learning problems attain concepts and improve on their reading comprehension performance (Pressley & Woloshyn, 1995). Learning strategies instruction approaches that consist of self-questioning, constructing mental representations to integrate information from text,and identifying text consistencies were among the most effective comprehension strategies (Haller, Child, & Walberg, 1988).

Examples of these approaches include semantic mapping, PQ4R (Preview, Question, Read, Reflect, Recite, and Review), and reciprocal teaching. Semantic mapping typically involves developing word webs that reflect students' understanding of concepts and constructing a diagram connecting events of a story or connecting facts taken from content area textbooks (Novak & Musonda, 1991). Students who struggle with grasping conceptual relationships may find diagrams to be helpful visual aids. Semantic maps can be either process-oriented or product-oriented (McCormick, 1999). Process-oriented maps usually are completed before students read assigned material to help them establish some background knowledge. This type of mapping requires teacher facilitation of student responses. For example, a teacher may write a concept (e.g., satire) in a drawn box and ask the class to give examples of when they experience it. As the class responds, the teacher writes their comments below the concept.

The teacher may then ask the class how it feels when they witness the concept and write their responses, drawing connecting lines to the other comments, and so forth. Product-oriented maps, on the other hand, are produced by students as an outcome activity after they have read material. Students generally work independently or with other peers and construct a map connecting ideas presented in text. An illustration of a semantic map summarizing some aspects of North Carolina's beaches can be seen in Figure 3.

The PQ4R method of comprehending reading material is an extension of SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review) (Thomas & Robinson, 1972). This method involves previewing the reading material, questioning the reading, reading to answer the questions, reflecting upon the reading, reciting the reading, and reviewing the material. Previewing the material means surveying the chapter titles, main topics, and subheadings of the text. Students can turn the headings and subheadings into questions. Questions that were developed can be answered by reading the text. Reflections about the content can occur as the material is being read if the students pause to form connections and create images.

Reciting is retelling what was read from memory. This form of retelling helps students monitor the information they are obtaining from the reading. If some information is not being retained, then students may need to read sections of the text again. Last, review the material by answering questions and referring back to the text for clarification of mistaken responses to questions. This method appears to be most appropriate for older students because it encompasses the application of higher-level metacognitive processes. Although PQ4R is not a new method, it continues to be considered as an effective technique for helping students organize and retain information from texts (Anderson, 1995).

Reciprocal teaching is a reading comprehension approach that has helped delayed readers catch up and even exceed typically developing readers (Palinscar & Brown, 1984). This approach places heavy emphasis on teacher-student interactions in a rather cognitive apprenticeship fashion. After students and teacher read from common text, they confer with each other about the reading material. Initially, the teacher leads the discussion by modeling strategies of predicting, question generating, summarizing, and clarifying text. The students are then asked to lead the discussions and apply the strategies that were demonstrated by the teacher. Guided practice is provided until students can use the strategies effectively. The goal of these reciprocal teaching interactions is to construct meaning from texts.

Figure 3. Semantic map of North Carolina's beaches

Summary

The most frequent type of referral concerning students with academic problems is in the area of reading. Students with reading problems present characteristics that lend themselves to various instructional challenges. Some challenges of intervention design for the amelioration of reading problems lie at the word level, others lie at higher order reading skills, and some lie with both. The best way to target appropriate interventions for children with reading problems is to conduct assessments that lead to appropriate data-based decision-making and problem-solving activities. Assessments that provide information directly linked to intervention design should be used with children who have been referred for having reading difficulties.

School psychologists play a vital role in meeting the needs of students with reading problems. By working collaboratively with teachers, parents, and other interested stakeholders to develop effective instructional interventions, school psychologists can be seen as part of the solution rather than the problem. In order for reading interventions to be effective, fundamental components of teaching and learning such as scaffolding, shaping, connecting to prior knowledge, motivating, and providing opportunities to practice skills should be implemented. Whether students are learning word level skills or higher order skills, mediations such as teacher facilitation and feedback are crucial to helping struggling readers become fluent. Teacher mediation and other cognitive tools can be seen through, for example, word study phonics, semantic mapping, and reciprocal teaching approaches.

In the past, school psychologists have often played a strong role in the diagnosis of children with reading problems. As our nation progresses into the twenty-first century where accountability of instructional and learning outcomes are at the forefront of objectives in most school systems, school psychologists need to move toward a proactive role of designing instructional interventions from data-based decision-making practices.

It is now time for best practices in school psychology to become the rule rather than the exception.

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Best Practices in Planning Interventions for Students With Reading Problems

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Get an overview of the characteristics associated with reading problems as well as the planning and implementation of effective interventions. Fundamental components of teaching such as scaffolding, connecting to prior knowledge, motivating, and providing opportunities to practice skills should be implemented.

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Ways to help students close the reading gap

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Ways to help students close the reading gap

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Raising proficiency and graduation rates for all students regardless of their background or identity has long been a focus of education policy in the United States. As a result, teachers are tasked with closing opportunity and academic gaps.

To help struggling students make the critical reading gains they need, consider incorporating the following 6 tipsinto your everyday instructional plans.

1. Personalize their learning path

With today's large class sizes, it can be difficult for teachers to provide individualized attention when students struggle. One way to help teachers personalize learning for these students is to use adaptive technology. Adaptive technology enables students to work at their own pace and on their own learning path. As they work, data is gathered in the background and can be used to inform all phases of in-person instruction, identify those students who need additional support, and provide enrichment strategies for advanced learners.

According to an ongoing study released by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, when teachers personalize learning experiences based on students' unique needs, great things can happen. The study found that students whose teachers used assessment data to customize their learning significantly improved in reading and math over similar schools not employing personalized instructional approaches.

2. Offer the right level of scaffolding at the right time

In education, scaffolding refers to a variety of instructional techniques used to move students progressively toward stronger understanding and greater independence in the learning process. Incorporating educational scaffolding helps teachers provide successive levels of temporary support and, according to Northern Illinois University's Faculty Development & Instructional Design Center, scaffolding frees up students to ask questions, explore knowledge, and participate in their learning.

These supportive strategies are incrementally removed when they are no longer needed, and the teacher gradually shifts more responsibility of the learning process to the student. For struggling readers, scaffolding provides an extra layer of support that can help reduce frustration or discouragement when students attempt a difficult task without the understanding they need.

3. Provide systematic and cumulative instruction

Formulating an appropriate learning goal is only the first step in effective instruction. A systematic learning plan-one in which students can readily understand-can increase learner engagement because the student always knows their progress. Struggling readers must have instruction that is systematic and cumulative. Systematic instruction is carefully thought out, builds upon prior learning, strategically builds from simple to complex, and is designed before activities and lessons are planned. Cumulative instruction provides multiple opportunities to practice both previously and newly acquired skills, addressing issues of retention and automaticity.

4. Engage in multisensory activities

Multisensory teaching is effective for all learners, but it is especially beneficial for struggling readers. The goal is to find each student's learning strengths and engage those strengths to introduce new information. Instead of telling a student about a particular concept, multisensory activities allow a student to experience the concept. Engaging in strategies and activities that incorporate all of the senses can help students understand new information in ways that work best for them.

5. Supply at-home resources for parents

The involvement of parents in a struggling child's education can make a world of difference. One way to involve parents and keep them informed of their child's literacy development is to offer ways to reinforce newly learned skills at home. Many parents can feel intimidated by extending their child's learning, so think about providing parents with reading strategies that can make at-home reading fun, such as the child retelling passages in their own words as the parent reads a book aloud.

6. Motivate and reward success

It is no surprise to any educator that when students struggle, their motivation and engagement levels can dwindle. To keep students motivated, it is important to positively reinforce progress and celebrate success. You can use simple progress charts and certificates that highlight what the student "can do" or add external motivators such as elements of gamification, like badges. With the appropriate scaffolding, learners can start to track their progress themselves, offering an "always on" intrinsic reinforcement of positive development. That development becomes cyclical; students want to see themselves doing well, so they keep trying. Students are much more willing to keep trying when they feel successful and can see the progress they are making.

Strong reading skills are critical for success across the curriculum, so it is imperative we help students who struggle with reading to close the gap as quickly as possible. Every student learns differently, so try incorporating a few of the above ideas into your classroom routines and make sure to subscribe to the blog for more actionable classroom tips.

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6 Ways to Help Students Struggling with Reading Close the Gap

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Raising proficiency and graduation rates for all students regardless of their background or identity has long been a focus of education policy in the United States. As a result, teachers are tasked with closing opportunity and academic gaps. To help struggling students make the critical reading gains they need, consider incorporating the following 6 tipsinto your everyday instructional plans.