Reading strategies for middle school students with learning disabilities

Abstract

The study examined the use of story mapping and teacher rejoinder questions to improve the reading comprehension of 11 seventh- and eighth-grade middle school students with specific learning disabilities in reading and writing. A three-group (Story-Mapping Group, Story-Mapping/Rejoinder Group, and Comparison Group) time series design examined the effects of story mapping and teacher rejoinder questions on reading comprehension performance. Because of low participant numbers, non-parametric analysis was used to evaluate student scores on curriculum-based measurements of literal, inferential, and evaluative comprehension questions. While no significant differences were found, student reports indicated that when using story maps with rejoinder questioning, they remembered more of the narrative story information, which demonstrated a possible educational benefit from the study. Additionally, implications for future research are presented.