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Reading
Reading Instruction for Students with Disabilities
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Principles and Tips
Theoretical
- Reading
comprehension difficulties for students with disabilities can
be understood through the Conceptual Framework for Reading Comprehension
which summarizes that three components must be considered when
understanding the interrelated nature of comprehension problems.
These components include strategic processing (cognitive and metacognitive
processes, relevant background knowledge, and student motivation.
- The
"Matthew Effect" principle is applied to students with
disabilities because it refers to the widening gap that develops
between effective and non-effective readers. Reading itself is
what facilitates the general knowledge and skills that are needed
for strong reading comprehension. When students don't read, they
actually lose the abilities needed to become better readers. Additionally,
for beginning readers, students who do not practice reading because
it is too difficult, do not progress. Students who do practice
reading actually improve the skills needed to be better readers.
Thus, the gap between readers and non-readers widens as those
who most need the skills lose the ability to gain them (the "rich
get richer and the poor get poorer" concept).
Instructional
- The
teaching required in both direct and strategy
instruction relies on organized lessons, deliberate teacher
oral presentation and feedback, and students' oral responses.
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The foundation for strategy
instruction for reading comprehension is to teach students
how to think while they read, thus supporting more thoughtful
and active reading.
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Utilize
one-to-one
instruction coupled with a small interactive group to facilitate
the greatest changes in student reading comprehension.
- Allow
or arrange for students to read texts more than once, as repeated
readings can help with comprehension.
- When
teaching vocabulary to hearing-impaired students, use mental imagery
and teach high image words first, increasing difficulty by gradually
moving to less visually charged words.
- Reduce
the use of basal readers and increase language experience approaches.
- Pair
spoken and written stimuli when teaching vocabulary, sight words,
or concepts.
- Use
scaffolding
and other cognitive thinking techniques that encourage "elaborated
dialogue" whenever possible.
- Encourage
students to think aloud.
Tutoring
- Consider
the role of other members of the classroom when providing instruction
to students with disabilities in mainstream settings.
- Peer
tutors should be trained ahead of time to: (a) be familiar with
the content of what they are going to teach; (b) be aware of procedures
for managing the instructional situation, including the behavior
of the tutee, and (c) use explicit procedures, provided by teachers,
regarding giving positive feedback to the tutee.
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When implementing peer
tutoring, be cognizant of the ethical issues of establishing
group relationships, and ask the question, "Will both the
tutor and the tutee benefit?"
- When
possible, use older students with disabilities as tutors for lower-grade
level students with disabilities to facilitate effective outcomes
of the peer-mediated process.
- Create
opportunities for peer teaching and mediation when appropriate.
This will help you better manage your classroom by providing you
with more pairing possibilities. Further, this reciprocal tutoring
role has benefits for students with and without disabilities.
However, keep in mind that peer tutoring approaches are designed
primarily for practice and not as a substitute for teacher-led
instruction.
Text Components
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Use
graphic
organizers, such as concept maps, in lieu of or in addition
to traditional study guides.
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Create
strong links between the format and content of the graphic organizer
to the measure of learning.
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Elaborate
illustrations integrated into expository texts can be distracting,
and may actually hinder reading comprehension. Remove illustrations
or choose passages without them when giving students expository,
or beginning and remedial texts.
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When
writing texts for students with disabilities, structure critical
pieces of information within close proximity to each other.
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