Teaching Strategies for Special Ed

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Reading Wednesday

Strategies for students with Learning Disabilities

By: Gale Stanford and Paula Webber

Often students with learning disabilities struggle with reading in the content areas. The best way a teacher can support a struggling reader is to give them opportunities to read and provide them support as they read new content which is often filled with unfamiliar vocabulary and concepts.

Our middle school students were struggling with the new science curriculum, so we decided to give the students and their teachers support by compiling a list of reading strategies they could use within their classrooms.

It is important to pair students carefully when you want them to read together. Our students have learned that new content does not have to be difficult when they apply strategies with a friend.

Below is a list of strategies, their purpose and description of each. They were designed for the 7th and 8th grade science courses at middle school level.

Each Wednesday, students read science lessons and focus on vocabulary development and the use of the vocabulary in speaking, listening, reading and writing activities. These strategies could be used in any core classroom.

STRATEGY	PURPOSE	DESCRIPTION
SQ3R	An approach to studying and reading to improve comprehension and retention	Have students to scan passage, formulate questions to be answered, read, recite what they have read, and then review.
K-W-L	Strategy used to introduce a topic	"Know, Want to know, Learn" Students identify what they know about a topic, what they want to know, and after reading or instruction, identify what they learned or would still like to learn
Reciprocal Teaching	To encourage student-student learning	Students take turns being the teacher for a pair or small group. Teacher role may be to clarify, ask questions, ask for predictions, etc
Think Aloud	To encourage critical thinking and oral reading	Teacher or student describes own thoughts while reading aloud to class.
Read and Respond	Assesses student response to what they have read	Read a passage to the student or have them read it by themselves or in a group. Have the student respond to the story in a number of creative ways. They can communicate by drawing, recording in the journal, or by use of diagrams and mapping about what they heard or read and how they felt about it. Have the student report to a partner, a small group or to the whole class about their responses.
Graphic Organizer	Visual frameworks to help the learner make connections between concepts	Graphic organizers are used before learning and help remind the learner of what they already know about a subject; are designed to be used during learning to act as cues to what to look for in the structure of the resources or information; are used during review activities and help to remind students of the number and variety of components they should be remembering.
Chalk Talk	To check for understanding	A silent activity where no one may talk. The facilitator writes a relevant question on the board or a topic, hands students a marker or piece of chalk to encourage students to communicate. A student can comment on the question or topic or on another’s student’s comment by drawing a connecting line.
ABCD Whisper	Summarizing	Students get in groups of four where one student is A, the next B, etc. Each student will be asked to reflect on a reading passage and draw a visual of his/her interpretation. They will share their answer with each other in a zigzag pattern within their group.
A-B Partner	Enhancing literacy and summarization skills	Have students to count off A, B, A, B, etc…Chunk reading passage so that A’s read a piece to B’s while B’s listen and read along. B’s then summarize to A’s what they read. They then switch roles. This continues until all of reading passage has been read.
SQPRRS	An approach to studying and reading to improve comprehension and retention	Similar to SQ3R; scan, question, predict, read, respond, and summarize.
Sticky Summary	Main idea	After a student reads a paragraph they take a stick note and write the main idea of the paragraph. Place the sticky on the paragraph. At the end of the reading, students write what they wrote on each stick note to create a main idea essay.
The Big Story	Review vocabulary	Given the vocabulary words, students create a story from the journalist point of view. They must use the content vocabulary in the story. It should have a headline, by line, and a creative story line using the science vocabulary for the unit being studied.
5-3-1	Reading to improve comprehension	On their own, ask students to list 5 words from lesson or reading. Partner students up to share their 5 words. Partners then agree on the 3 important words. Have partner groups join another partner group and share the 3 words each group came up with. Then have the 2 groups agree on 1 key word that best represents the content. Ask each group to share that word with the whole group and tell why it is the best word to represent the content.
Key Word Method	Summarization and comprehension	After reading a short section of a text, ask students to choose 2 words that best summarize what the section was about. These 2 words should be recorded on a sticky note or on the text. After reading, students can use the key words to summarize the text.
I Remember	To enhance memory and check for understanding	After giving students a reading passage, have students to make a fist. Tell them to list 5 things (verbatim) they remember from the lesson
3-2-1	Provides a structure for students to summarize and make meaning of a reading assignment	Identify 3 important vocabulary words or facts from the reading. Write 2 questions you have about the reading. Make 1 connection to something else you already know.
A-B-C Summarize	Review and comprehension	After reading an article, each student in a class is assigned a different letter of the alphabet and they must select a word starting with that letter that is related to the topic being studied or the reading.
Basketball Review Game	Review	Assign students a reading passage. Students read silently. Write at least 25 review questions based on the reading. Buy or make a small (3-4 inches diameter) ball. Set up the room with a (clean) garbage can in the front. This will be the ‘basket’. Place a piece of masking tape on the floor approximately 3 feet from the basket. Place a piece of masking tape on the floor approximately 8 feet from the basket. Divide the students into two teams. Explain that each student must answer the questions given to them. When they make a basket. If they miss, they go to the end of the line. Game is over when all questions have been answered. Questions are worth 2 points
Read Aloud	To improve comprehension, expose students to correct pronunciation, or to create positive feelings about reading.	Teacher reads aloud to students.
Think-Pair-Share	Summarization and comprehension	Students are given a reading assignment. They turn to a partner and share what they have learned. They then share with the whole group.
Three-Step Interview	To get to know concepts in depth	After having students read, have them to individually formulate 3 questions to ask another student based on the reading. Divide students into groups of four (a, b, c, d). Have A to interview B; C interviews D; B interviews A; D interviews D. All in group share what they've learned in their interviews.
Walking Tour	Check for understanding	Passages from reading are posted on individual pages around the room. Divide class into groups of 4 or less. Groups tour the room and discuss each passage, then summarize on a sheet of paper and share with the whole group.