how can i help my students who struggle with reading...

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 15

David* is in the 8th grade.His test results indicatethat his oral reading abil-ity for word analysis (de-coding) is instructionallevel** using 1st-grade

reading materials. His tested oral read-ing rate and oral reading comprehen-sion test scores show that he can han-dle 3rd-grade reading materials at aninstructional level. Yet, the results of

his silent reading comprehension testindicate an independent reading levelusing 8th-grade reading materials.David has good receptive vocabulary,but has problems with expressive vo-cabulary, both written and verbal.

Jill* is in the 2nd grade. She can-not read even 10 percent of her DolchSight Words, indicating a significantconcern in the area of word recogni-tion. Jill does know the names of herletters, the sounds of beginning con-sonants, and short and long vowelsounds. However, she does not knowher ending consonants or the CVC/-

CVCe patterns. Jill also has problemswith rhyming, and when reading textorally, demonstrates word-by-wordprosody. When the teacher uses 1st-grade materials to test Jill’s oral readingcomprehension, the results indicatethat she is functioning on a frustrationreading level.

Matt* is in the 11th grade. Hisjourney through the school system hasbeen difficult. Matt reads well; how-ever, he is a “word-caller.” He knowsall of his Dolch Sight Words, so clearlyhe has no problems with word-recog-nition skills. He also has good phone-

How Can I Help My StudentsWho Struggle With Reading

Comprehension?

BY CANDICE HOLLINGSEAD AND RAY OSTRANDER

_______________________________* Not their real names.** Words in purple are defined in the Glos-sary on page 21.

JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:36 AM 5

mic awareness and can apply phonicsand word analysis to almost any text.

Matt’s reading rate, both oral andsilent, matches that of his peers. How-ever, results of his comprehension testsindicate that for him to be successful,classroom materials will have to be at a4th-grade level, whether he reads themorally or silently, or hears them readaloud.

Reading and Comprehension Defined

Each of these students has a com-prehension problem. Their needs aredifferent due to the complexity of thereading comprehension process. A pre-cise definition of reading and readingcomprehension will help teachers under-stand how to choose appropriate class-room interventions for individualneeds.

How is reading defined? Reutzeland Cooter asked their university stu-dents what reading meant. Here aresome of the responses:

“I think reading is when you makethe sounds of the letters and put themtogether to make words.”

“Reading is understanding what ison the page.”

“Phonics is the first part of readingand comprehension is the last.”1

These students did grasp the fun-damentals of reading—taking wordsapart and putting them back togetherto understand the whole. However, itis not a simple process, though itseems so for those who are adept at it.

Reading text requires an interactiveand complex process of (1) decoding,the use of symbol/sound associations,(2) word recognition, the ability to in-stantly associate a printed word withits spoken corresponding word, (3) en-coding, transforming phonologicallycoded information into a semanticcode for storage in long-term memory,which is related to impairments inshort-term (working) memory, and (4)information retrieval, which can be re-lated to memory capacity, prior knowl-edge, and a host of other variablessuch as central executive function. Acompetent reader applies a coordi-nated structure of knowledge and

16 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006

A precise definition of read-ing and reading comprehen-sion will help teachers un-derstand how to chooseappropriate classroom in-terventions for individualneeds.

JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:36 AM Page 16


skills concurrently, using a number ofinterrelated information sources, in or-der to gain meaning.2

The most important skill in readingis constructing meaning. Success inthis area depends upon many factors:text structure understanding, vocabu-lary comprehension, use of priorknowledge, the ability to focus oncomprehension rather than decoding(in order to read with confidence andfluency), and the value the readerplaces on the process of completingthe task.3 Keene and Zimmerman likenthe comprehension process to “a mo-saic constructed of diverse pieces, eachintegral to the whole, each essential tothe texture of learning.”4

Relevance in Schools TodayAlthough teaching students to read

remains a prime objective in U.S.schools, a 2000 U.S. Department ofEducation study indicated that “ap-proximately 37% of fourth-grade stu-dents did not achieve at the most basicreading level on a recent nationaltest.”5 Societal trends such as increasedimmigration, the elimination of track-ing systems in U.S. schools, and theinclusion movement have increasedthe number of classrooms with ethnic,linguistic, and academic diversity. Theaverage public elementary classroom inthe U.S. contains 22 students who, inone minute, can read between 0 and183 words correctly. Teachers respondto this diversity in a number of ways,the worst of which are to ignore itand/or plan their instruction to reachthe “average student.”6

Although today’s high-stakes test-ing requires that students achieve ex-cellent comprehension in all academicareas, comprehension is usually notexpressly taught. In 2000, the NationalReading Panel Report outlined fivecritical reading skill areas. One of thesewas text comprehension strategies. Re-search has acknowledged the necessityof early intervention using the alpha-betic principle in order to improveword-level decoding and reading.However, there are still many “wordcallers” who can read whole words yetstruggle with comprehension skills be-

cause they do not understand themeaning of the text.7

Good readers bring an internalizedset of expectations to the readingprocess, a “reader’s rudder” they use toensure that they comprehend the con-tent. They self-monitor what they readand demand that the material “makesense.” A poor reader’s inadequatesilent reading comprehension skills fre-quently go unnoticed because teachersusually assess these skills by listeningto children read aloud. Thus, manyteachers do not recognize that studentsare underperforming in this importantarea and lack a “reader’s rudder.”8

The “reader’s rudder” is the meta-cognitive component of reading com-prehension. Students with strongmetacognitive reading skills are ac-tively aware of how well they compre-hend what they are reading, and areable to organize, direct, and evaluatetheir own cognitive abilities. Severalstrategies can be used to improvemetacognition by teaching studentshow to monitor their comprehension.This improves their strategic process-ing of material and encourages them tobecome active readers.9

Since reading comprehension de-pends upon the mastery of readingpreskills, how important is it to teachreading comprehension rather than thepreskills? Many teachers ask this ques-tion, and in fact, reading comprehen-sion skills are frequently left untaughtfor this reason. Opitz and Eldridge,however, stress a critical point in read-ing instruction, “Comprehension is the

essence of reading . . . it has to betaught and cannot be left to chance!”10

Mastropieri and Scruggs echo this sen-timent, “reading comprehension re-quirements increase substantially asstudents progress through school.”11

Comprehension instruction will bean integral part of the new reading/lan-guage-arts program that will be intro-duced in North American Adventistschools this fall. The instructionalframework for this program recom-mends that comprehension instructiontake place during the Guided Readingsegment. Mini-lessons in comprehen-sion strategies, conducted during the“Before” segment of the Guided Read-ing lesson, will teach the critical skillsnecessary for students to create mean-ing from text.

Reading Comprehension Interven-tions

Reading comprehension interven-tions can significantly improve stu-dents’ academic performance.12 Twoapproaches are supported by research:(a) small, interactive instructional group-ing; and (b) specific format teaching tohelp students generate self-monitoring textquestions.13 Small interactive instruc-tional grouping strategies includeCoop-Dis-Q, PALS, and POSSE. Spe-cific format teaching strategies includetechniques such as visual-spatial or-ganization of passage content, in-textmnemonic illustrations, instructionalstudy guides, Multi-Pass, and metacog-nitive instruction.

Small Interactive Instructional Grouping

Coop-Dis-Q consists of five stepsthat combine cooperative learning, dis-cussion, and questioning. The teachershould actively participate in and mod-erate the discussion, modeling all be-haviors expected from students. Therecommended procedure is as follows:

1. Create the groups: Choose five tosix students for each heterogeneous orhomogeneous group.

2. Prepare a set of questions: Aftercarefully considering the essential in-formation in the reading passage, for-mulate questions on different cognitive

The funda-mentals ofreading [in-volve] takingwords apartand puttingthem backtogether tounderstandthe whole.


levels (literal, inferential, critical).3. Groups discuss the story and divide

questions: Organize the groups and be-gin a general discussion of the reading.Following the discussion, provide thegroups with questions written on stripsof paper. Subdivide the groups into tri-ads to facilitate more discussion.

4. Triads discuss, answer, and addquestions: Have each group choose ascribe, while encouraging all students

to take notes and generate new ques-tions or ideas.

5. Triads present and discuss their an-swers: Ask members from each triad torejoin their original group and discusstheir answers to the teacher’s ques-tions. Each group is to form a consen-sus answer for each question, whichwill be reported to the class by indi-viduals assigned this role. The groupmay add questions and answers if theywish.14

PALS stands for Peer-AssistedLearning Strategy, which has provedeffective in reading and math. It cantransform instruction through the useof routines that improve reading com-prehension and other reading skills.Students are paired, with each duoconsisting of a high-performing and alow-performing student. Tutoring rolesare reciprocal. The higher-performingstudent reads first, modeling the de-sired oral reading behavior. Becausethe first reader is higher performingthan his or her partner, the text is onthe independent reading level for thisstudent; therefore, oral reading of thetext should not present any problemsfor the high-performing student. Thetext used is at the lower-performingstudent’s instructional reading level.15

Students are also assigned to groupteams where they earn points for coop-erative effort and achievement. Everyfour weeks, the teacher assigns new

pairs and teams. The PALS session in-cludes three activities:

1. Partner reading: Each studentreads the text aloud for five minutes.Then for two minutes, the lower per-former retells the sequence of whatwas read.

2. Paragraph shrinking: One studentreads aloud, a paragraph at a time,then pauses to identify who or what,

and to state the main idea of the para-graph in 11 words or less. After fiveminutes, the students switch roles.

3. Prediction relay: Students enlargethe paragraph shrinking describedabove to larger chunks of text. This ac-tivity requires students to make predic-tions and check them for accuracy af-ter reading. Students switch roles afterfive minutes.16


The most im-portant skillin reading isconstructingmeaning.



POSSE was originally developedand validated by Englert and Mari-age17 and has since been replicated.18

The acronym stands for Predicting, Or-ganizing, Searching, Summarizing, andEvaluating. During the reading com-prehension period, students take turnsleading a small-group discussion. Theyassume the role of teacher by askingrelevant questions about the text. Cuecards provide students with practiceand application activities until theyachieve mastery. The application stepsare:

1. Predicting ideas from priorknowledge,

2. Organizing predictions based onthe forthcoming text structure,

3. Searching for the main ideas, 4. Summarizing the main ideas

within the text structure, and5. Evaluating comprehension.19

Specific Format TeachingVisual-spatial organization provides

a “code” that depicts passage contentand interrelationships.20 Gersten,Fuchs, Williams, and Baker21 say thatknowledge of “text structure” or “storygrammar” is essential for comprehen-sion. Using arrows, lines, colors, andspatial arrangements of text content al-lows the students to construct theirown understanding of the story gram-mar. This activity helps students to fo-cus on relevant information and to linkprevious knowledge with the newlylearned information, thereby enhanc-ing recall.22

Mnemonic illustrations can helpstudents remember important facts bylinking new information to some-thing familiar through the use of visualcues.23 For example, the “keywordstrategy” is a commonly used mne-

monic device to promote vocabularydevelopment. The student remembersthe definition of a new word by relat-ing it to a familiar word or “keyword”through the aid of an illustration. Forinstance, to remember the meaning ofthe word goatee (beard), a studentmight use a picture of a beard on agoat. Because most reading textbooksdo not include mnemonic strategies,they must be overtly taught.

Instructional study guides help stu-dents focus on critical information andrelationships. The guides serve as ad-junct aids rather than independentlearning guides. The activities shouldbe scheduled to occur before, during,and after text reading. Some ideas toinclude: semantic charts, interactivevocabulary procedures, predictive andevaluative questions, and self-monitor-ing for comprehension accuracy.24 In-structional approaches that increasethe reader’s cognitive engagement dur-

ing reading thereby enhance compre-hension and learning. The plannedcomprehension activities should trans-form thinking rather than merely in-form knowledge.25

MultiPass, a strategy similar toSQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite,Review), prompts students to progressthrough the reading material three

times. Here are the instructions thatare given to students:

1. Survey Pass: Become familiarwith the text organization and mainideas in the chapter. Search for rela-tionships to previous learning andsummarize in your own words.

2. Size-up Pass: Read questions pro-vided in the chapter/at the end of asection or chapter, skimming the mate-rial to find the answers. Paraphrase theanswers without prompts.

3. Sort-out Pass: Conduct a self-assessment of the chapter content toensure that you understand it and canremember its content.

Students who learn how to useself-monitoring significantly boosttheir reading comprehension achieve-ment.26 A necessary component ofcomprehending what one reads is theability to reflect on a skill and to ex-amine and evaluate how well one isusing it. For students to do this, they

Good readers bring an inter-nalized set of expectationsto the reading process, a“reader’s rudder” they useto ensure that they compre-hend the content.


must be taught to notice how well theycomprehend and then provided with“repair strategies” when they realizethat they do not understand the text.This is referred to as “comprehensionmonitoring” and involves reader meta-cognition. Metacognitive instructionovertly teaches how to apply a strategyto text and provides structured prac-tice. Systematic teacher monitoringand feedback must be provided untilthe student achieves mastery. At thispoint, teacher support can fade as thestudent assumes responsibility for hisor her own learning.

Throughout the process, it is im-portant for the teacher to model andobserve how students use metacogni-tive strategies. The purpose is to getstudents to use a deliberate and activeprocessing procedure to attack the textand to remind them to monitor theircomprehension as they read.

Many metacognitive strategies en-courage students to think aloud aboutwhat they have read. Verbalizing whatthey are thinking helps them to inte-grate information from different partsof the text, build their metacognitiveskills, and improve their comprehen-sion.27 Most researchers agree that onesignificant explanation for poor com-prehension is students’ failure to readstrategically and to spontaneouslymonitor their own understanding.Metacognitive instruction’s success canbe attributed to its more overt methodof structuring comprehension activi-ties, which forces students to think.This approach provides them withhelpful hints through the use of ques-tions and/or steps that guide theirjudgment and engage them in the ap-plication of comprehension strategies.Two such strategies have been de-scribed in this article: POSSE and Mul-tiPass.28

ConclusionImproving student reading compre-

hension should be the goal of everyteacher. Over the years, numerous in-terventions have been proposed, re-searched, corroborated, and employedto achieve this goal.29 What can theteacher do for David, Jill, and Matt, the

hypothetical students described at thebeginning of this article?

Eighth-grader David would benefitfrom a reading comprehension pro-gram that included PALS and visual-spatial organization of passage content.This method would pair him withsomeone who could model readingcomprehension using reading materialson his instructional reading level. Thevisual-spatial method would use his re-ceptive vocabulary strengths to buildhis expression vocabulary.


Severalstrategiescan be usedto improvemetacogni-tion by teach-ing studentshow to moni-tor their com-prehension.



Second-grader Jill’s reading com-prehension program should includeCoop-Dis-Q and the use of studyguides to increase her metacognitiveskills. The Cooperative Discussion ac-tivities will build her comprehensionskills in a non-threatening and sociallyaccepting atmosphere. The study guidewill provide her with tools to build the

specific skills she needs to work on,while at the same time teaching her toself-monitor and evaluate her own per-formance.

Eleventh-grader Matt definitelycould improve his reading comprehen-sion through the use of POSSE, Multi-Pass, and study guides that includevisual-spatial organization tools and

metacognitive self-monitoring strate-gies. The teacher’s biggest challengeswill be teaching Matt how to thinkabout what he is reading and how toself-monitor his comprehension insmall chunks, rather than waiting untilthe end of a large section of text.

Changing to a new reading pro-gram takes time and hard work; how-

G L O S S A R YAlphabetic Principle: Understanding, at least implicitly,

that a letter (the minimal unit of print) represents a phoneme(the minimal unit of speech) rather than a unit of meaning.

Central Executive Function: The term psychologistsuse to describe self-regulation—the ability to problem solveand control one’s emotions.

CVC Pattern: A consonant-vowel-consonant letter patternin a word.

CVCe Pattern: A consonant-vowel-consonant-e letter pat-tern in a word.

Dolch Sight Words: A list of 200 frequently used wordsthat E. W. Dolch believed should be mastered by 3rd grade.Many of these words cannot be sounded out because they donot follow decoding rules.

Expressive Vocabulary: Speaking and writing (all thewords that a person can use appropriately in speaking and inwriting).

Frustration Reading Level: The level at which a child’sreading skills break down. Fluency disappears, word-recog-nition errors are numerous, comprehension is faulty, recall issketchy, and signs of emotional tension and discomfort be-come evident.

Heterogeneous: diverse, assorted, mixed (e.g., differentreading levels; both genders).

Homogeneous: uniform, identical, all the same (e.g.,same reading level; only girls or boys).

In-Text Mnemonic Illustration: A memorization strat-egy where a picture is devised to represent the meaning of anew vocabulary word. The child draws the picture on a pieceof paper and places it next to the word in the book (e.g., aloftmeans “high in the air”). The student pictures “a leaf” blownhigh in the air, which sounds similar to aloft and remindshim of its meaning.

Independent Reading Level: The highest reading levelat which a child can read easily and fluently without assis-tance, with few word-recognition errors, and with good com-prehension and recall.

Instructional Reading Level: The highest level at whicha child can do satisfactory reading with teacher preparationand supervision: word-recognition errors are not frequent,and comprehension and recall are satisfactory.

Phonemic Awareness: The ability to discriminate amongthe sounds that make up the English language, such as com-paring pan, pen, pin, and pun.

Phonologically Coded Information: Readers transforma spoken or written word into a string of phonemes by usingphonologic and morphophonologic rules. They then com-pare the phonemic string to ones in their lexicons in order toidentify the word. Phonological coding assists in the storageand retrieval of information.

Receptive Vocabulary: Listening and reading (all of thespoken words a child can understand; all of the printedwords a child can recognize and whose meanings he or sheunderstands).

Semantic Charts (Mapping): Using a graphic organizerbefore or after reading to connect new vocabulary words to avariety of ideas and events.

Semantic Code: Linguistic representations of meaning-ful concepts as encoded in both individual words and groupsof words. (Coding is defined as changing information into acode. Encoding is defined as changing a message into sym-bols.) Word meaning comes to exist in a complex network ofinterrelated associations, stored in long-term memory. Thesebecome more elaborated and better defined during thecourse of lexical development. Semantic coding is the processwhereby meanings are attached to and conveyed by certainlanguage components.

Word-by-Word Prosody/Reading: The person reads veryslowly, pausing noticeably after almost every word. He or sheoften uses finger pointing and lip movements during silentreading, and a monotonous voice during oral reading. Theperson frequently needs to reread materials in order to com-prehend them. He or she often groups the wrong words to-gether and may ignore or misinterpret punctuation._____________________________________________

SOURCES

Friend, M. Special Education: Contemporary Perspectives for School Professionals (2004 updated ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, 2006.

Graves, M. F .; C. Juel; and B. B. Graves. Teaching Reading in the 21st Century (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, 2004.

Hallahan, D. P.; J. W. Lloyd; J. M. Kauffman; M. P. Weiss; and E. A. Martinez. Learning Disabilities: Foundations, Character-istics, and Effective Teaching (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson Edu-cation, 2005.

Harris, A. J. and E. R. Sipay. How to Increase Reading Ability: A Guide to Developmental and Remedial Methods (9th ed.). White Plains, N.Y.: Longman, 1990.


ever, it is well worth the effort, con-sidering the potential for studentimprovement. Six essential steps arenecessary to create a strong readingcomprehension program:

1. Create an inviting learning com-munity using books at appropriatereading levels and on topics that are ofinterest to your students.

2. Communicate your own passionabout reading.

3. Use direct instruction and mod-eling to show students how to en-gage in the assigned tasks—for exam-ple, talk about how to think aloud,and provide many opportunities forstudents to become engaged in thereading process (peer tutoring, visual-spatial organization, vocabulary devel-opment, study guides).

4. Provide multiple opportunitiesfor guided practice while gradually en-couraging students to take ownershipof their learning and independentlyuse the comprehension skills they havemastered.

5. Collect and use student assess-ment data to monitor and modify in-struction using line graphs and goalsetting each time practice occurs. Useapproaches validated by data derivedfrom student assessments.

6. Celebrate students’ success andencourage them to reflect upon andshare techniques that work for them.30

Remember that under the façade ofthe unwilling reader is an individualwho truly desires to learn and enjoyreading as much as the other studentsin your classroom. It is your responsi-bility to nurture that desire by buildingupon small successes.

Even though specific techniquesand strategies are essential to readingacquisition and improvement andhave been proven effective by research,the most important tool you have isprayer. God and His love in your class-room can multiply all of your methodsand hard work. Using reading strate-gies, without prayer, for a student hav-ing significant difficulty can be com-pared to providing health care to anindividual with a broken leg, but notgiving him a pair of crutches to useduring the healing process. Use prayer

daily to reach the seemingly unreach-able. It is your most powerful tech-nique. With it and the applicationof proven methods, you will be ableto reach all your Davids, Jills, andMatts. ✐_______________________________

This article was peer reviewed._________________

Candice Hollingseadis Professor and Depart-ment Chair for the De-partment of Teaching,Learning, and Curriculumin the School of Educationat Andrews University inBerrien Springs, Michigan.Ray Ostrander is Di-rector of the Master of Artsin Teaching Program in theDepartment of Teaching,Learning, and Curriculumat Andrews University.

_________________

REFERENCES

1. D. Ray Reutzel and Robert B. Cooter, Jr.,Teaching Children to Read: Putting the Pieces To-gether, Fourth Edition (Upper Saddle River, N.J.:Pearson, 2004), p. 5.

2. Cynthia Fischer, “Revisiting the Reader’sRudder: A Comprehension Strategy,” Journal ofAdolescent & Adult Literacy 47:3 (November2003), pp. 248-256; Margo A. Mastropieri andThomas E. Scruggs, “Best Practices in PromotingReading Comprehension in Students WithLearning Disabilities: 1976 to 1996,” Remedialand Special Education 18 (July/August 1997), pp.197-213; Karen Rabren, Craig Darch, andRonald C. Eaves, “The Differential Effects of TwoSystematic Reading Comprehension ApproachesWith Students With Learning Disabilities,” Jour-nal of Learning Disabilities 32:1 (January/February1999), pp. 36-47; H. Lee Swanson, “ReadingComprehension and Working Memory in Learn-ing-Disabled Readers: Is the Phonological LoopMore Important Than the Executive System?”Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 72 (Janu-ary 1999), pp. 1-31.

3. Russell Gersten, Lynn S. Fuchs, Joanna P.Williams, and Scott Baker, “Teaching ReadingComprehension Strategies to Students WithLearning Disabilities: A Review of Research,”Review of Educational Research 71:2 (Summer2001), pp. 279-320.

4. Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmer-mann, Mosaic of Thought: Teaching Comprehensionin a Reader’s Workshop (Portsmouth, N.H.: Heine-mann, 1997), p. 11.

5. William J. Therrien, “Fluency and Com-prehension Gains as a Result of Repeated Read-

ing: A Meta-Analysis,” Remedial and Special Edu-cation 25:4 (July/August 2004), p. 252.

6. Douglas Fuchs and Lynn S. Fuchs, “Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies: Promoting WordRecognition, Fluency, and Reading Comprehen-sion in Young Children,” Journal of Special Educa-tion 39:1 (March 2005), pp. 34-44.

7. Fischer; Sharon Vaughn, Janette K.Klingner, and Diane P. Bryant, “CollaborativeStrategic Reading as a Means to Enhance Peer-Mediated Instruction for Reading Comprehen-sion and Content-Area Learning,” Remedial andSpecial Education 22:2 (March/April 2001), pp.66-74.

8. Fischer.9. Gersten, Fuchs, Williams, and Baker.10. Michael F. Opitz and Roger G. Eldridge,

Jr., “Remembering Comprehension: DelvingInto the Mysteries of Teaching Reading Com-prehension,” Reading Teacher 57:8 (May 2004),p. 272.

11. Mastropieri and Scruggs, p. 197.12. Ibid.13. Gersten, Fuchs, Williams, and Baker.14. Lane R. Gauthier, “Coop-Dis-Q: A Read-

ing Comprehension Strategy,” Intervention inSchool and Clinic 36:4 (March 2001), pp. 217-220.

15. Fischer; Therrien.16. Fuchs and Fuchs.17. Carol S. Englert and Troy V. Mariage,

“Making Students Partners in the Comprehen-sion Process: Organizing the Reading ‘POSSE,’”Learning Disability Quarterly 14:2 (Spring 1991),pp. 123-138.

18. Carol S. Englert, Kathi L. Tarrant, TroyV. Mariage, and Tina Oxer, “Lesson Talk as theWork of Reading Groups: The Effectiveness ofTwo Interventions,” Journal of Learning Disabilities27:3 (March 1994), pp. 165-185.

19. Mastropieri and Scruggs.20. Ibid.21. Gersten, Fuchs, Williams, and Baker.22. Ae-Hwa Kim, Sharon Vaughn, Jeanne

Wanzek, and Shangjin Wei, “Graphic Organizersand Their Effects on the Reading Comprehen-sion of Students With LD: A Synthesis of Re-search,” Journal of Learning Disabilities 37:2(March/April 2004), pp. 105-118.

23. Mastropieri and Scruggs.24. Ibid.25. Fischer; Jeffrey J. Walczyk, Kathryn E.

Kelly, Scott D. Meche, and Hillary Braud, “TimeLimitations Enhance Reading Comprehension,”Contemporary Educational Psychology 24 (April1999), pp. 156-165.

26. Mastropieri and Scruggs.27. Fischer; Linda Kucan and Isabel L. Beck,

“Thinking Aloud and Reading ComprehensionResearch: Inquiry, Instruction, and Social Inter-action,” Review of Educational Research 67:3 (Fall1997), pp. 271-292; Mastropieri and Scruggs.

28. Mastropieri and Scruggs.29. Gauthier.30. Sharon Grimes, “The Search for Mean-

ing: How You Can Boost Kids’ Reading Compre-hension,” School Library Journal 50 (May 2004),pp. 48-52.


Candice Hollingsead

Ray Ostrander


how can i help my students who struggle with reading...

Documents