This study examines how pre-readers' comprehension of story read-alouds is affected when story goal structure deviates from the canonical event. Forty children (30-59 months) were read stories in which there was either a match or mismatch between story and event goal structure. Children's content comprehension scores for the matched story (M =…

Improving reading comprehension for middle school students with disabilities and others who struggle with reading, referred to here as striving readers, is challenging. Formal reading instruction typically shifts from skills acquisition to application in middle and high school, providing inadequate support in the skills for comprehension (Chall,…

The hypothesis of the study was explicit gradual release of responsibility comprehension instruction (GRR) (Pearson & Gallagher, 1983; Fisher & Frey, 2008) with the researcher-created Story Grammar Code (SGC) strategy would significantly increase third graders' comprehension of narrative fiction and nonfiction text. SGC comprehension…

This study investigated the effects of a modified system of least prompts and an electronic story-mapping intervention for elementary students with autism spectrum disorder. Participants were first taught to identify story element definitions using constant time delay. Participants then listened to age-appropriate narrative texts with a…

Even though theme is cited in two of the 10 Common Core Standards for Reading Literature, little is written on how to teach it. Determining theme while reading a story is a critical element of reading literature, yet some children simply struggle. The instructional strategies presented here are designed to hone students' theme awareness and…

Story mapping is an effective visual strategy to enhance comprehension of narrative text in students, with or without disabilities. This article demonstrates how instruction can be designed using principles of universal design for learning with the evidence-based story-mapping strategy to improve reading comprehension for elementary students with…

The purpose of this study was to illustrate the use of the randomization test for single-case research designs (SCR; Kratochwill & Levin, 2010). To demonstrate the application of this approach, a systematic replication of Grünke, Wilbert, and Calder Stegemann (2013) was conducted to evaluate the effects of a story map to improve the reading…

Understanding a story is an active process, whether children have listened to it being read aloud or, when they are older and read it for themselves. When children grasp a story, they (1) attend to what is important; (2) anticipate what is to come; and (3) build meaningful patterns from the many details. These active interactions with a story can…

Although early reading instruction focuses on phonemic awareness and the alphabetic principle, research indicates that reading comprehension strategies can be effectively taught to young students. Peer-reviewed studies that employed experimental or quasi-experimental designs and included children between the ages of five and nine, some of whom had…

This study examined the change in complexity of kindergarteners' writing after implementing writing instruction based on story elements. Writing samples from six students of three ability levels were collected over a 6-week period. Writing samples included students' oral language, pictures, and written text and were analyzed using two rubrics…

The effectiveness of using American Sign Language (ASL) handshape stories to teach word recognition in whole stories using a descriptive case study approach was explored. Four profoundly deaf children ages 7 to 8, enrolled in a self-contained deaf education classroom in a public school in the south participated in the story time five-week…

When the teaching of strategies for understanding literature crowds out a close reading of literary works themselves, something is amiss in language arts instruction, and students lose out. This has become the case in too many elementary and even secondary classrooms today, Senechal believes. Using a strategy-based lesson proposed by Stephanie…

Response to intervention (RTI) has received considerable attention from both researchers and practitioners as a schoolwide model for service delivery. However, research is limited on RTI applications in middle and high schools. The purpose of this article is to describe the outcomes of an experimental examination of a secondary (Tier 2) literacy…

The study evaluated the effects of the Integrated Reading Comprehension Strategy on two levels. The Integrated Reading Comprehension Strategy integrated story grammar instruction and story maps, prior knowledge and prediction method, and word webs through a culturally responsive teaching framework; the Integrated Reading Comprehension Strategy…

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of props on children's narrative retells. Forty-two children in two comparable K/1 classrooms heard and practiced the same stories over eight weeks. This study found that the props had a positive effect on the children's use of descriptive language, but there was no effect on the number…