Maximizing Effectiveness of Reading Comprehension Instruction in Diverse Classrooms

by

Sheri Berkeley, Ph.D.

George Mason University

and

Ana Taboada Barber, Ph.D.

Contents

1. What Is Comprehension?

   • Overview of Reading Comprehension
   • How Is Language Development Related to Reading Proficiency?
   • Why Do Some Students Struggle with Learning Language?
   • What Does This Mean for Classroom Teachers?

2. Basic Reading Skills

   • What Are Basic Reading Skills and Why Are They Important for Reading?
   • How Are Basic Skills Taught at the Secondary Level?
   • How Do I Select Texts for Students that Are Not Proficient in Basic Reading Skills?
   • What Are Considerations When Modifying Text or Providing Accommodations?
   • What Are Other Considerations for Selecting Texts for Struggling Readers?

3. Teach Vocabulary

   • What Is Vocabulary and Why Is It Important for Reading Comprehension?
   • What Types of Vocabulary Words Should Be Explicitly Taught?
   • What Instructional Techniques Can Help Students Learn Important Vocabulary?
   • What Are Potential Problems with Students’ Understanding of Vocabulary?
   • How Can Teachers Assess Students’ Understanding of Vocabulary?
   • What Else Do Teachers Need to Know About Vocabulary?

4. Teach to Activate Students’ Prior Knowledge and Help Them Make Connections

   • What Is Prior Knowledge and Why Is It Important for Reading Comprehension?
   • What Instructional Techniques Can Help Students Activate Prior Knowledge?
   • What Are Potential Problems with Student Activation of Prior Knowledge?
   • How Can Teachers Help Create Shared Prior Knowledge to Support Instruction?
   • What Are Other Aspects of a Reader’s Prior Knowledge to Consider?

5. Teach Students to Ask and Answer Questions

   • What Are Questioning Strategies and Why Are They Important for Reading Comprehension?
   • What Are Types of Questions that Teachers Should Ask and Teach Students to Answer?
   • How Can Students Be Taught to Ask Their Own Questions About Text?
   • How Can Questioning Help Students Summarize Text?
   • What Challenges Might Arise Related to Questioning?
   • What Else Do Teachers Need to Know About Questioning?

6. Teach Students to Recognize Text Structure

   • What Is Text Structure and Why Is It Important for Reading Comprehension?
   • What Instructional Techniques Can Help Students Understand Narrative Text?
   • What Instructional Techniques Can Help Students Understand Expository Text?
   • What Are Potential Problems When Using Graphic Organizers to Teach Students to Recognize How Text Is Organized?
   • What Else Do Teachers Need to Know About Text Structure?

7. Teach Students to Read Strategically and Monitor Their Comprehension

   • What Is Strategy Instruction and Why Is It Important for Reading Comprehension?
   • Why Is Comprehension Monitoring Important for Reading Comprehension?
   • What Does This Look Like in Instruction?
   • What Is the Bottom Line with Strategy Instruction?

8. Motivation and the Struggling Reader

   • How Do Students Respond to Past Failures in Reading?
   • Why Does Motivation and Engagement Matter for Reading Success?
   • How Can Teachers Address Motivation and Engagement in the Classroom?

About the Authors

Sheri Berkeley, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Division of Special Education and disAbility Research, George Mason University, 212 Finley Hall, MSN 1F2, Fairfax, VA 22030
Prior to her current position, Dr. Berkeley was an assistant professor at the University of Georgia, aiming to improve reading outcomes for older students with learning disabilities in reading. Her professional efforts have aimed to improve reading outcomes for older students with learning disabilities in reading.

Ana Taboada Barber, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education, University of Maryland, 3119 Benjamin Building, College Park, MD 20742
Dr. Taboada Barber’s research focuses on examining classroom contexts that support reading engagement for both monolingual and second language learners.

Motivation and the Struggling Reader

Although reading skills are important, it is equally important to consider motivation and engagement. Many older students who have struggled in reading lack motivation to persist on difficult tasks. Good readers are generally motivated readers. Poor readers read little and often attach negative self-concepts to their reading abilities. Therefore, it’s crucial to monitor how students view themselves as readers and explicitly address motivation and engagement.

Students who have a history of academic failure often believe that they have little control over their achievement and attribute successes to luck and failures to lack of intelligence. Such faulty attributions decrease the likelihood that these students will persist and engage with reading strategies. Encouraging students to develop positive attribution beliefs can help motivate them to acquire and persist in using reading strategies.

Causal Attribution Theory

Causal attributions can influence goals, emotions, and beliefs about personal agency. Research indicates that students tend to attribute accomplishments and shortcomings to various factors such as ability and effort. Effective feedback can help foster connections between effort and success, enhancing motivation and self-efficacy.

Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s capabilities to succeed in tasks. This belief is essential for achievement, especially for students with learning disabilities. Teachers can support self-efficacy by helping students set achievable goals, teaching cognitive strategies, facilitating peer interactions, and providing constructive feedback about their efforts.

Final Thoughts

Many students struggle with text comprehension due to either basic reading difficulties or a failure to apply reading strategies. Teachers play a crucial role in helping students gain meaning from texts, while also motivating and re-engaging struggling readers. This multifaceted approach can significantly impact students' reading achievement and overall academic success.