Some Information About Literacy
According to Paul A. Alberto and Juane Heflin...
"Literacy for all populations of students, especially for students for whom learning to read poses significant challenges, is considered the primary objective in most educational settings. Historically, literacy instruction (including reading and writing) for students with developmental disabilities has been underemphasized. However, literacy must be an instructional priority if students with developmental disabilities are to achieve desired postschool outcomes and make progress, even within a functional framework of curricula (Browder, Wakeman, Spooner, Ahlgrim-Delzell, & Algozzine, 2006). Researchers and educators are joined in their ongoing recognition of the importance of literacy by advocates and legislators, as seen in the emphasis in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 1990) on access to general education standards and in the emphasis in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB; 2001) on the broadening and inclusiveness of assessment. The purpose of this special issue is to endorse and contribute to this established priority by highlighting some recent attempts at literacy instruction for students with a varieity of developmental disabilities, including those with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders and physical disabilties."
For the rest of the article, click here.
Components of Effective Reading Instruction
The following text is by Susan Hall, Ed.D.
What are the elements of effective reading instruction for kids who have trouble learning to read? What can parents do at home to develop pre-reading skills and reinforce classroom learning?
A reading expert answers these questions.
What Is Scientifically Based Reading Research?
In accordance with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, Reading First uses scientifically-based reading research (SBRR) to implement a clear and specific plan to accelerate/monitor the progress of students reading below grade level. Research-based strategies are proved to enable students to reach grade level or reading proficiency. In an SBRR classroom, a teacher uses scientific research to inform reading instruction. A Reading First teacher implements systematic change based on research, not on ideology and philosophy. This involves providing intensive, explicit research-based reading instruction to all children, including English language learners and students with special needs.
SBRR:
- Applies rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and reading difficulties
Employs systematic empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment
Involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn
Meets rigorous standards where methods and conclusions must be confirmed by peer review
Prevents the use of unreliable and untested methods that can actually impede academic progress
Makes teaching more effective, productive, and efficient
For more information about Scientifically Based Reading Research, please refer to:
Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks of Reading Instruction
and
A Closer Look at the Five Essential Components of Effective Reading Instruction
What are the five essential components of effective reading instruction?
For more information about the five essential components of reading instruction, please visit the website for the National Reading Panel Report at
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/smallbook.cfm
The National Reading Panel Report has determined through the use of research that effective reading instruction addresses five critical areas:
Phonemic Awareness
Phonics
Vocabulary
Fluency
Comprehension
Here is a summary of the five essential components. These five areas were incorporated into the No Child Left Behind Act and the Reading First initiative as essential components of effective reading instruction.
There are many approaches to teaching these five essential components of effective reading instruction. The most reliable and effective approach is called systematic and explicit instruction.
Systematic instruction reflects the following:
1. Skills and concepts are taught in a planned, logically progressive
sequence;
2. Focus on clearly defined objectives that are stated in terms of what
students will do;
3. Multiple practice activities are scheduled purposefully to help students
master and retain new skills;
4. Students work on carefully designed tasks that give them opportunities
to apply what they have been taught;
5. Assessments are designed and used in a timely fashion to monitor skill
acquisition as well as students’ ability to apply new skills, to retain them
over time, and to use them independently.
With explicit instruction:
- The teacher states clearly what is being taught and models effectively how it is used by a skilled reader;
Explicit instruction ensures students’ attention is drawn to important features of an example or demonstration.
For more information about the five essential components of effective reading instruction, refer to:
Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks of Reading Instruction
and
A Closer Look at the Five Essential Components of Effective Reading Instruction
How To Successfully Teach Children To Read
The following guide, designed by teachers for teachers, summarizes what researchers have discovered about how to successfully teach children to read. It describes the findings of the National Reading Panel Report and provides analysis and discussion in five areas of reading instruction:
1. phonemic awareness - the ability to hear, identify, and
manipulate the individual sounds—phonemes—in spoken
words.
2. phonics - a method of teaching reading and spelling based
upon the phonetic interpretation of ordinary spelling.
3. fluency - able to speak or write smoothly.
4. vocabulary - the words of a language.
5. text comprehension - understand what is being read.
Each section defines the skill, reviews the evidence from research, suggests implications for classroom instruction, describes proven strategies for teaching reading skills, and addresses frequently raised questions.
Put Reading First - The Research Building Blocks of
Reading Instruction (Kindergarten - Grade 3)
Identifying & Improving Educational Practices Supported
By Rigorous Evidence: A User Friendly Guide
Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science
What Expert Teachers of Reading Should
Know & Be Able To Do
Reading Curriculum
(Information from Florida Center for Reading Research)
Click below to access the Categorized Summary Table List where all programs of that type are listed.
The following is an array of Instructional Strategies from The Council for Exceptional Children. These strategies are for teaching Reading to children and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents and are compiled from CEC's award-winning practitioner journal TEACHING Exceptional Children, research journal Exceptional Children, leading special education newsletter CEC Today, and the ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education.
Research-Based Principles for Adult Basic Education Reading Instruction
Your child with special needs may be considered an adult now but may still have reading needs. The following article from the Partnership for Reading is very important for you to read.
A Brief Discussion About Dyslexia
What Is Dyslexia?
It is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.
Some Basics About Dyslexia
There are several types of dyslexia that can affect the child's ability to spell as well as read:
1. Trauma dyslexia usually occurs after some form of brain
trauma or injury to the area of the brain that controls
reading and writing. It is rarely seen in today's school-age
population.
2. Primary Dyslexia is a dysfunction of, rather than damage to,
the left side of the brain (cerebral cortex) and does not
change with age. Individuals with this type are rarely able
to read above a fourth-grade level and may struggle with
reading, spelling, and writing as adults. Primary dyslexia is
passed in family lines through their genes (hereditary). It
is found more often in boys than in girls.
3. Secondary or Developmental Dyslexia is felt to be caused by
hormonal development during the early stages of fetal
development. Developmental dyslexia diminishes as the child
matures. It is also more common in boys.
Dyslexia may affect several different functions. Visual dyslexia is characterized by number and letter reversals and the inability to write symbols in the correct sequence. Auditory dyslexia involves difficulty with sounds of letters or groups of letters. The sounds are perceived as jumbled or not heard correctly. "Dysgraphia" refers to the child's difficulty holding and controlling a pencil so that the correct markings can be made on the paper.
Miscellaneous Articles
Brain Research, Reading and Dyslexia
Cognitive and Neural Processes in Reading Comprehension
Early Signs of a Reading Difficulty
Integrated Word Identification and Communication Instruction
for Students With Complex Communication Needs:
Preliminary Results
Intense Reading Program 'Rewires' Kids' Brains
Q&A with Pete Wright: "Kids are...Teaching-disabled"
Reading Comprehension Instruction for Students With
Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Review of the Literature
Teaching Reading
Use of Strategy Instruction to Improve the Story Writing Skills
of a Student With Asperger Syndrome
Web Resources
In the U.S.
American Educational Research Association
Divisions of the Council for Exceptional Children
Educational Research Network
Educational Research Service
Florida Center for Reading Resources
International Reading Association
In Canada:
The Reading Foundation
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