Building Comprehension

in Adolescents

Powerful Strategies for Improving

Reading and Writing in Content Areas

by Linda H. Mason, Ph.D. The Pennsylvania State University Robert Reid, Ph.D. University of Nebraska, Lincoln and Jessica L. Hagaman, Ph.D. University of Wisconsin–Whitewater

Contents

I Developing Strategy Acquisition and Self-Regulation 1
1 Introduction 3
2 Effective Strategy Instruction. 7
3 Teaching Self-Regulation 13

II Reading to Learn 25
4 Reading to Learn in Content Text 27
5 TRAP for Reading Comprehension 33
6 TRAP IDEAS for Summarizing. 55
7 Thinking About Reading with TWA 75

III Writing to Learn 105
8 Writing to Learn 107
9 C-SPACE for Narrative Writing 115
10 STOP & DARE for Persuasive Writing 141
11 TWA and PLANS for Informative Writing 167
12 Quick Writes 185

IV Homework 211
13 Homework Strategies 213

Appendix: Reading to Learn: Instructions for Using Retells 243

Index 257

About the Authors

Linda H. Mason, Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Linda H. Mason has a joint appointment in the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education and the Children, Youth, and Families Consortium at The Pennsylvania State University. Prior to completing her Ph.D., Dr. Mason taught special education in an inclusive public elementary school for six years. She has been awarded two U.S. Department of Education grants focusing on reading comprehension and writing intervention for low-achieving students. Dr. Mason serves on six editorial boards, including journals focused on research-to-practice. At Penn State, she teaches courses in literacy for students with special needs, curriculum development, reading and writing methods, assessment, and effective instruction. Dr. Mason was awarded the Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Research Distinguished Early Career Award in 2011 and a Fulbright Scholarship to teach in Hungary in fall 2011.

Robert Reid, Ph.D., University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Dr. Reid specializes in the education and treatment of children with learning disabilities and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. He teaches courses on mainstreaming, cognitive strategy instruction, and special education methods. His current interests include functional assessment, treatment of attention-deficit disorder, and strategy instruction. He has done extensive work in the area of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in the schools. Dr. Reid received the Jeannie Balilies Award for contributions to child mental health research. Dr. Reid also serves as a consulting editor and field reviewer for a number of special education journals.

Jessica L. Hagaman, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin–Whitewater

Dr. Hagaman specializes in the education of students with learning disabilities and at-risk students. Prior to completing her Ph.D., Dr. Hagaman taught at the early childhood and elementary levels. Her research interests include early intervention for at-risk students, reading instruction and interventions, strategy instruction, and academic interventions.

Lesson 1

Introduce TRAP

LESSON OVERVIEW

The purpose of the first TRAP lesson is to introduce and describe the strategy, discuss current performance, obtain student(s) commitment to learn and use the strategy, and set an initial performance goal.

STUDENT OBJECTIVES

Materials

Poster/PowerPoint with TRAP steps; for each student: short reading passages to find main

SET THE CONTEXT FOR STUDENT LEARNING

1. SAY, “I want to talk with you today about why it’s important that we remember what we read.” Discuss why it is important to remember what we read. Solicit specific instances where it is important for students to remember material they have read.

2. SAY, “I am concerned that you may have a problem remembering what you read.” Hand out the graph of reading comprehension from oral retells or other sources. Discuss the results and consequences (e.g., low grades on assignments or tests).

3. SAY, “How many of you were happy with how much you remembered? How many of you would like to do better? Today I am going to teach you about a strategy to help you remember what you read. This strategy has been used with lots of kids just like you and it really works.”

   The strategy is called TRAP. It’s like a trap because it will help you catch information and remember it.

TRAP STRATEGY

1. Think about what you are going to read.
   Consider the reading passage and what students may already know about the content, and what they might need to remember. Scan the title, headings, and bold words to gain context.

2. Read a paragraph.
   Read carefully. If something doesn’t make sense, reread.

3. Ask yourself what were the main idea and two supporting details.
   Knowing those details makes it easier for you to understand and remember the main idea.

4. Paraphrase the main idea and supporting details.
   This step helps trap the information in your head; don’t try to remember it word for word.

OBTAINING COMMITMENT

1. SAY, “I want you to try using the TRAP strategy because it can help you to remember more of what you read. If you use TRAP and try your best you will soon be a much better reader.”

2. SAY, “The TRAP strategy works, but it’s going to require some effort on your part. I will work with you and help you to learn the strategy, but I need you to promise to learn the strategy and try your hardest.” Get students’ commitment.

STEP 4: Set a goal

Discuss the goal setting importance.

1. Move to the graph.
2. Help students decide realistic goals that are not too high.

STEP 5: Wrap-up

SAY, “For next time, think about places that you might use the TRAP strategy. Also, I want you to be able to tell me the steps of TRAP.”

LESSON 2: CHAPTER 5 Model TRAP

LESSON OVERVIEW

The teacher and students will discuss the strategy and practice finding main idea and details.

STUDENT OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to identify main ideas and supporting details. Students will be able to state the steps of TRAP and the actions at each step.

MATERIALS

For each student: reading passage with two to four paragraphs; graph (goal chart); main idea and details worksheet.

De vel op t he Strate gy a nd Sel f-re gulati on

STEP 1: Practice finding main idea and details (prerequisite for strategy use)

1. SAY, “One really important part of TRAP is finding the main idea. The main idea is what the paragraph is mostly about.”

• “Sometimes the author writes out the main idea for you.”
• “Sometimes it’s implied. Look for repetitions of the same word.”

Encourage students to practice finding the main idea.

Beginning the TRAP strategy multiple times is important.

Wrap-up

Encourage students to recall TRAP strategy usage for any homework or reading.

TRAP Mnemonic Chart

TRAP Mnemonic Chart
T: Think before you read
R: Ask “What is the paragraph mostly about? What is the most important information?”
A:
P: Paraphrase the main idea and details.

Finding the Main Idea

1. Look at the first sentence of the paragraph; this might be the main idea.
2. Look for repetitions of the same word or words in the paragraph.