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Effective Interventions forStruggling Readers

Comprehension: The Essence of Reading

Dr. Melissa Comer

Tennessee Tech University

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• Impact of Reading Interventions

• Factors That Interfere With Comprehension

• Assessment

• Strategies and Practice

• Processing

Outline

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NCLB

Assessments

Standards

Teachers

Students

The Connections Between Reading Interventions, NCLB, and YOU!

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Targeted Interventions

Benefit:StudentsTeachersSchoolsDistrictsStates

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Essential Components of Reading

1. Phonemic Awareness

2. Phonics

3. Fluency

4. Vocabulary

5. Comprehension

Comprehension: “Components of an Effective Reading Program” http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/effectivereadingcomponents.asp

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Discussion

• Share with your partner examples of students you know who struggle with comprehension. Discuss why you think they may be having difficulty.

• Share with your partner any comprehension strategies you currently use, or know about.

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Students Who Struggle • Students with disabilities:

– Dyslexia

– Traumatic brain injury

– Learning disability

– Cognitive deficit

– Attention deficit disorder

– Sensory Impairment

• Students with skill deficits in the reading components

• Students who are not task persistent

• Students who lack appropriate background knowledge

• Students who are not engaged in reading

• Students who are not motivated to read

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What Can Practitioners Do

• Students with disabilities:– Increase your knowledge base – Provide accommodations

• Skill deficits:– Conduct screening assessments– Provide remediation

• Lack of appropriate background knowledge:– Conduct screening assessments– Implement pre-reading activities

• Lack of engagement:– Select appropriate text– Allow for choice

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Comprehension AssessmentsThings to Consider

• Different tests tap different abilities.

• Tests do not usually help pinpoint difficulties in individual students.

• Tests are not geared toward distinguishing specific comprehension processes that might underlie poor comprehension in both listening and reading.

Spear-Swerling (2006)

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What Practitioners Can Do

• Look for and use tests that are technically adequate • If possible, use more than one test • Assess key component skills • Take everyday classroom performance into account • Consider both current and upcoming grade expectations

For more information about comprehension assessments, go to the Web site of the Southwest Education Development Laboratory: http://www.sedl.org/reading/framework/assessment.html

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How Do YouAssess Comprehension

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Instructional Strategies and

Practice

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National Reading Panel (2000)Key Findings

• Teaching a combination of reading comprehension techniques is the most effective.

• When students use comprehension techniques appropriately, they assist in recall, question answering, question generation, and summarization of texts.

• When reading comprehension techniques are used in combination, these can improve results in standardized comprehension tests.

• Teachers must be provided with appropriate and intensive training to ensure that they know when and how to teach specific strategies.

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Evidenced-BasedComprehension Strategies

1. Cooperative Learning 2. Comprehension Monitoring3. Graphic Organizers 4. Answering Questions5. Summarization

National Reading Panel (2000)

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Cooperative Learning

• A successful teaching strategy in which small teams use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject

• Key Elements:Positive Interdependence (sink or swim together) Face-to-Face Interaction (promote each other's

success) Individual and Group Accountability (no hitchhiking

or social loafing) Interpersonal and Small-Group Skills Group Processing

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“The Jigsaw”

• All students:

– Learn about pieces of the puzzle of material

– Share their findings

– Solidify their learning by teaching to other students