comprehension difficulties in struggling readers.pdf
Unraveling Reading Comprehension
Behavioral, Neurobiological, and Genetic Components
About the Editors
Brett Miller, Ph.D.
Program Director of the Reading, Writing, and Related Learning Disabilities Research Program in the Child Development and Behavior Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland
Laurie E. Cutting, Ph.D.
Patricia and Rodes Hart Endowed Chair, Associate Professor, Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
Peggy McCardle, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
Contents
I Introduction
1 Unraveling the Behavioral, Neurobiological, and Genetic Components of Reading Comprehension: An Introduction
Laurie E. Cutting and Brett Miller ... 2
2 Reflections on Transitions in the Field of Dyslexia: Learning from the Past to Benefit the Future
Robin D. Morris ... 8
II What Goes Wrong When Reading Comprehension Fails?
3 Reading Comprehension and Reading Comprehension Problems: A Word-to-Text Integration Perspective
Charles Perfetti, Joseph Z. Stafura, and Suzanne M. Adlof ... 22
4 How Might Comprehension Deficits Be Explained by the Constraints of Text and Multilevel Discourse Processes?
Art Graesser and Haiying Li ... 33
5 Sources of Comprehension Problems During Reading
Anne Helder, Paul van den Broek, Linda Van Leijenhorst, and Katinka Beker ... 43
6 Reading Comprehension Difficulties in Struggling Readers
Kate Cain ... 54
7 Oral Language Disorders and Reading Comprehension Problems
Hugh W. Catts ... 66
III How Can Assessment and Statistical and Computational Modeling Help Us Understand Reading Comprehension?
8 Rationale for a New Generation of Reading Comprehension Assessments
John P. Sabatini and Tenaha O’Reilly ... 100
9 The Development of Eye-Movement Control and Reading Skill
Erik D. Reichle ... 112
10 Taking Models and Neuroimaging to Task: What Do We Know About How People Actually Read?
Jason D. Zevin and Jianfeng Yang ... 123
11 What Can Be Learned About the Reading Comprehension of Poor Readers Through the Use of Advanced Statistical Modeling Techniques?
Donald L. Compton, Amanda C. Miller, Jennifer K. Gilbert, and Laura M. Steacy ... 135
IV The Neurobiology and Genetics of Reading and Reading Comprehension
12 From Words to Text: Neurobiology and Behavioral Bases of Reading Comprehension
Laurie E. Cutting, Sabrina L. Benedict, Allison Broadwater ... 153
13 Neuroimaging Studies of Reading Disabilities: Toward Brain-Based Learning Models
Kenneth R. Pugh, Stephen J. Frost, Nicole Landi, Jonathan L. Preston, W. Einar Mencl, and Jay G. Rueckl ... 164
14 The Proactive Comprehender: What Event-Related Potentials Tell Us About the Dynamics of Reading Comprehension
Gina R. Kuperberg ... 176
15 Relating Reading Comprehension to Language and Broader Reading Skills: A Behavioral Genetics Approach
Stephen A. Petrill ... 193
16 What We Know (or Do Not Know) About the Genetics of Reading Comprehension and Other Reading-Related Processes
Elena L. Grigorenko ... 203
V Intervention: Addressing the Needs of Learners
17 Intervening to Support Reading Comprehension Development with Diverse Learners
Carol McDonald Connor ... 222
18 Why Intensive Interventions Are Necessary for Adolescents with Dyslexia: Findings from 3-Year Intervention and Future Research
Sharon Vaughn and Michael Solis ... 233
19 Future Directions in Reading Comprehension Research
Peggy McCardle, Laurie E. Cutting, and Brett Miller ... 247
Reading Comprehension Difficulties in Struggling Readers
Introduction
Reading is a central role in our educational, working, recreational, and social lives. However, some children struggle to understand content. Comprehension involves recognizing words, accessing their meanings, and integrating those meanings to construct a mental representation of the text. Understanding these processes can help identify why some children have difficulties with comprehension.
Heuristics of Comprehension Failure
Skilled comprehenders can access individual words and their meanings, forming coherent representations. They draw connections and make inferences based on clues in the text, integrating across sentences without the information being explicitly stated.
Barriers to Successful Comprehension
Several barriers contribute to comprehension difficulties, which can include weak language comprehension skills, memory capacity, and decoding challenges. Poor comprehenders might struggle especially in tasks requiring integration of information across multiple sentences.
Interventions
Addressing the needs of struggling readers involves targeted interventions focused on both decoding and language comprehension skills.
| BOX 6.1 |
|---|
| Extract from a Text to Assess Inference Making |
| Example of an Inconsistency Detection Task to Assess Comprehension Monitoring |
| Example of a Story Anagram Task Used to Assess Knowledge of Story Structure |
This structured approach reveals the multifaceted nature of reading comprehension and highlights the need for tailored educational strategies to support diverse learners.