Vocabulary Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities: A Review of the Research

2003 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Pedrotty Bryant ◽  
Marilyn Goodwin ◽  
Brian R. Bryant ◽  
Kellie Higgins
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Vocabulary Instruction ◽  
Strategy Instruction ◽  
Selection Procedure ◽  
Intervention Research ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Immediate Recall

This article reviews research on vocabulary interventions involving students with learning disabilities. The purpose of the review was to summarize the findings of vocabulary intervention research and to present implications for vocabulary instruction. The studies were analyzed based on the following intervention research variables: word selection procedure, materials, instructional design and procedures, duration of the intervention, mastery criterion, measures of vocabulary learning (word knowledge level and reading comprehension), maintenance, and generalization (reading comprehension). Based on the selection criteria, six articles spanning the period from 1978 to the present were identified. Vocabulary interventions were categorized into four areas, computer-assisted instruction (CAI), fluency-building vocabulary practice activities, mnemonic strategy instruction, and concept enhancement instruction. Overall, positive results were found for the interventions on measures of immediate recall, maintenance, and generalization.

Reading Instruction for Students With Learning Disabilities in Grades 4 and 5: An Observation Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Ciullo ◽  
Emily Ely ◽  
John William McKenna ◽  
Kat D. Alves ◽  
Michael J. Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Reading Instruction ◽  
Strategy Instruction ◽  
Instructional Time ◽  
Teaching Reading ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Observation Study ◽  
Comprehension Strategy Instruction ◽  
Wide Range

Researchers conducted an observation study to explore the instructional practices of special education teachers ( N = 20) responsible for teaching reading to students with learning disabilities in Grades 4 and 5. With this study, researchers addressed gaps in previous related literature and improved understanding of how teachers spend their time teaching reading. Researchers observed 80 lessons and found that special educators addressed a wide range of instructional skills. The majority of teachers provided targeted phonics instruction, and overall, minimal instructional time was lost due to off-task behavior. Consistent with previous studies, teachers predominantly monitored reading comprehension by asking questions after reading, while reading comprehension strategy instruction accounted for a smaller proportion of instructional time. Researchers conducted focus groups to explore teachers’ perceptions of professional development and determine needs for future teacher training and research.

Increasing Secondary Students’ Comprehension Through Explicit Attention to Narrative Text Structure

2021 ◽  
pp. 004005992110255
Author(s):  
Whitney Sommers Butler ◽  
Casey Hord ◽  
Susan Watts-Taffe
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Reading Instruction ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Text Structure ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Narrative Texts ◽  
School Students

In spite of the prevailing assumption that formal reading instruction is no longer needed once adolescents reach high school, students at the secondary level still benefit from explicit reading instruction to continue developing advanced literacy skills enabling them to access complex narrative texts. This article argues for the importance of teachers to scrutinize the texts they plan to teach to determine what instruction and supports are needed to promote reading comprehension for students with learning disabilities. Specifically, this article examines how nonlinear text structures can challenge adolescent reading comprehension and illustrates explicit text structure instruction with three exemplar texts which use unconventional narrative patterns. The article emphasizes the importance of considering the qualitative features of texts to inform instruction to support reading comprehension for students with learning disabilities.

scholarly journals The Effects of Long-Term Vocabulary Instruction on Reading Comprehension: A Replication

1983 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret G. McKeown ◽  
Isabel L. Beck ◽  
Richard C. Omanson ◽  
Charles A. Perfetti
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Lexical Access ◽  
Fourth Graders ◽  
Vocabulary Instruction ◽  
Original Study ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
Comprehension Ability ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
The Relationship

A study that investigated the relationship between vocabulary instruction and reading comprehension was replicated and extended. The original study showed substantial gains in accuracy of word knowledge and speed of lexical access, but only marginal gains in comprehension. This latter result was attributable to methodological problems, and thus the comprehension measure was revised. In the present study, fourth graders were taught 104 words over a five-month period. Following instruction, these children and a group of uninstructed children matched on pre-instruction vocabulary and comprehension ability performed tasks to measure accuracy of word knowledge, speed of lexical access, and comprehension of stories containing taught words. Instructed children showed substantial advantage in all tasks. Reasons for these results, in contrast to studies that have failed to improve comprehension through vocabulary instruction, are discussed.

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