Reading for comprehension

For many years, reading instruction was based on a concept of reading as the application of a set of isolated skills such as identifying words, finding main ideas, identifying cause and effect relationships, comparing and contrasting and sequencing. Comprehension was viewed as the mastery of these skills. One important classroom study conducted during the 1970s found that typical comprehension instruction followed what the study called a mentioning, practicing and assessing procedure. That is, teachers mentioned a specific skill that students were to apply, had students practice the skill by completing workbook pages, and then assessed them to find out if they could use the skill correctly.[1]  Such instruction did little to help students learn how or when to use the skills, nor was it ever established that this particular set of skills enabled comprehension.

At about this time, a group of psychologist, linguists, and computer scientists began to focus research attention on how the mind works – how people think and learn. A goal of this new research movement, called cognitive science, was to produce an applied science of learning.

In the field of reading, a number of cognitive scientists focused their attention on how readers construct meaning as they read. Specifically, they studied the mental activities that good readers engage in to achieve comprehension. From these studies an entirely new concept emerged about what reading is. According to the new concept, reading is a complex, active process of constructing meaning – not skill application. [2]

The act of construction meaning is:

• Interactive – it involves not just the reader but also the text and the context in which reading takes place[3]
• Strategic – readers have purposes for their reading and use a variety of strategies and skills as they construct meaning [4]
• Adaptable – readers change the strategies they use as they read different kinds of text or as they read for different purposes[5]

While cognitive science research was producing valuable information about comprehension processes, reading education researchers were reporting important findings about what comprehension instruction looks like in the most effective reading classrooms.

The convergence of these strands of research has provided a wealth of information about what good readers do as they read, about how good and poor readers differ, and about the kind of instruction that is needed to help students become good readers.

Gluten Free Chocolate "dirt"

Ingredient

1 handful dark chocolate chips

Directions

1. Place chips in a coffee grinder
2. Grind until the texture of  coarse sand
3. Serve over cream, berries or cupcakes

Dirt Cake with "worms"

Ingredients

• 2 (20 oz.) pkgs. Oreo cookies
• 1 (8 oz.) pkg. low fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 c. powdered sugar
• 1/2 stick butter, softened
• 2 pkgs. instant French vanilla pudding
• 3 1/2 c. milk
• 1 (12 oz.) Cool whip
• Gummy worms

Directions

Crush the cookies. Mix the butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar. Mix the pudding and milk to directions and add cream cheese mixture to pudding. Fold in Cool Whip. Use clean flower pot for the “cake pan”. Using 1-inch layers layer the cookies, then pudding, then cookies, etc., ending with cookies (dirt) on top. Put fake flowers in it and add gummy worms on top.

Kids loved them at the Southlake Central Market Cooking School

Collaboration among the professionals

8. Children with special needs benefit from collaborative efforts among school personnel and parents that support the children’s unique learning abilities and needs

Collaboration among parents, teachers, and administrators is essential for children with special needs to achieve academic and behavioral success. School personnel and family members can share valuable information about early reading skills, teaching strategies, co-teaching possibilities, and school/home coordination. The personnel involved may include the speech-language pathologist, school nurse, counselor, vision impairment teacher, physical therapist, occupational therapist, and/or behavioral specialist. Collaborative activities that can enhance successful early reading instruction include:

• Discussion of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) reading goals and objectives among the parents and all professionals who work with the child.
• Identification by professionals and parents of appropriate adaptations to promote success with reading, such as assistive technology tools, multiple practice opportunities, use of specialized materials and family support.
• Discussion of the children’s progress on a frequent basis to ensure that reading skills and strategies are being learned, maintained, and generalized across materials, people and settings.
• Identification of and shared responsibility for gathering resources.
• Coordination of schedules to ensure that reading instruction occurs during optimal learning time, to support co-teaching opportunities, or to provide the children with multiple times to participate in reading instruction.

7. Children with special needs benefit from technology-assisted reading instruction

Assistive technology devices and services can be used to help children with special needs access and comprehend text more successfully. Assistive technology devices should be selected based on the reading tasks in the classroom and the special needs of children. Assistive technology services should be provided to ensure that devices are obtained and training given in how to use the devices. Some possible assistive technology devices include:

• Computer-assisted instruction that features specialized software that provides pop-up menus for key vocabulary, modeling of fluent reading, and many opportunities for children to practice word recognition skills independently.
• Computer software that includes speech synthesis capabilities so that children can hear directions, hear the text read, and have words pronounced.
• Computer software programs that require children to give frequent responses and that provide corrective feedback.
• Books on tape paired with teacher-facilitated comprehension strategies so that children can access text.
• Tools that spell and define vocabulary words.
• Specialized input devices (e.g., modified/enhanced keyboards, switches) to allow children to use computers
• Voice input devices to help student make words and create stories.

Join me on Friday as we explore how Children with special needs benefit from collaborative efforts among school personnel and parents that support the children’s unique learning abilities and needs. 

6. Children with special needs benefit from flexible grouping and intense instruction

When Children with special needs have been taught the routines for working together, they learn best from instruction in small same-ability groups and from working with more capable peers. They benefit from small-group instruction that is intense (e.g., five days a week for at least 20 minutes) so that they can develop their reading skills. Flexible grouping patterns include:

• Whole class grouping for teacher read-alouds, book discussions, and the introduction of new vocabulary and strategies.
• Mixed-ability grouping (e.g., cooperative learning activities) in which children have different roles and can support each other’s reading.
• Small same-ability grouping (5:1 or less) for explicit instruction in specific reading skills.
• Flexible-skills grouping for instruction on particular skills such as onset-rime, blending and segmenting phonemes, making a story map, and vocabulary development.
• Pairing of children for skills practice such as oral reading to build fluency and comprehension, peer editing and word study activities such as sorting and making words with movable letters.

Join me on Wednesday as we explore how Children with special needs benefit from technology-assisted reading instruction.

Raspberry Dressing

Raspberry Dressing

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup raspberry vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon salt

1. Put vinegar, honey and salt in blender. Close the lid and turn it on.
2. Open the top part of the lid and SLOWLY add the olive oil until it is all added in

(In class we used a tuber ware with a tight lid and the kids took turn shaking the container)

Tossed Salad

Salad

1 head of lettuce, chopped

Sliced cucumber

Cherry tomatoes

Shredded carrots

Sliced mushrooms

1. Add all salad ingredients
2. Toss well
3. Drizzle with dressing and toss again

5. Children with special needs benefit from instruction using materials at their reading level

Children learn best when they work with materials that are challenging but not so difficult as to be frustrating. It is important, therefore, to have in the classroom materials with various difficult levels. Materials can also be adapted to better match the learning levels of children with special needs. In gathering and selecting materials, teachers should consider providing the following:

• Classroom libraries in which books are grouped by reading level so that children can select interesting materials at their reading levels (e.g., high interest/controlled vocabulary books, children’s magazines, humorous books, books with same-age characters).
• Decodable texts that emphasize the letter-sound relationships the children are learning and provide opportunities for them to practice their new knowledge while reading.
• Books on CD-ROM that enable children to read repeatedly so as to build automatic word recognition, fluency, and listening comprehension.
• Materials tailored to individual needs, such as large print materials, material with a limited number of words per page, materials that use pictures paired with untaught words, and materials that contain text features to facilitate comprehension (e.g., headings, inserted questions).
• Materials for developing early reading skills such as counters for children to push into boxes to count phonemes; letter tiles for making words; and story maps to teach parts of simple stories.
• Materials to assist children with spelling and handwriting such as textured letters to trace, pencil grips, and paper with raised lines.

Join me on Monday as we explore how children with special needs benefit from flexible grouping and intense instruction.

4. Children with special needs benefit from instruction in which their progress is monitored regularly and adjustments made as needed

Children learn at various rates. Keeping track of the progress of children with special needs through regular monitoring helps ensure that they are learning efficiently. Based on information gained from monitoring, instruction can be adjusted, extra assistance can be given, or reteaching can occur. Children also like to monitor their own progress and set their own goals. Progress monitoring strategies include:

• One-minute timed reading and writing activities collected on a regular schedule.
• Portfolios in which the children place their best work and a list of their accomplishments.
• Quick checking of learning such as having children read the words posted on the word wall for monitoring word recognition.
• Self-monitoring progress charts for books read, spelling, vocabulary, and sight words learned that the children keep – to track their progress.
• Rubrics with the major features such as setting, characters, problems, etc. to judge the quality of children’s oral language and the content of retellings.
• Questioning that requires children to think aloud so that their thinking processes become visible to the teacher (e.g., tell me how you figured out that word. Show me how you got that answer.)
• Anecdotal notes of observation when children are involved in reading – strengths, weaknesses, interests, work habits. These notes can be written on sticky notes and attached to work.

Join me on Friday as we explore how children with special needs benefit from instruction using materials at their reading level. 

3. Children with special needs benefit from instruction that includes opportunities to maintain and transfer (generalize) the skills and strategies learned

Children with special needs benefit from activities that allow them to use their newly learned reading skills and strategies during independent practice activities (maintenance) and with a variety of materials, in different settings, and with different people (generalization). Different setting might include the special and general education teachers, the teaching assistant, and the family. Activities that promote maintenance and generalization include:

• Application of word recognition skills to word games, different texts, spelling activities, and reading in different content areas.
• Application of previously taught vocabulary in activities across the curriculum, with vocabulary games, and as part of homework.
• Comprehension strategies used with both listening and reading such as learning how to identify the parts of a story or the main idea, or how to stop and ask questions to check their understanding.
• Reminders of previously taught reading strategies posted in the classroom, presented on cue cards, and reinforced by teachers and parents.
• Reading instruction using texts at children’s reading level whether in general education, special education, or other special programs.

Join me on Wednesday as we explore how children with special needs benefit from instruction in which their progress is monitored regularly and adjustments made as needed.