Reading Instruction for Special Population

3 Areas of Reading Instruction

■ WORD STUDY, VOCABULARY AND FLUENCY INSTRUCTION

■ COMPREHENSION INSTRUCTION

■ MOTIVATION AND ENGAGEMENT INSTRUCTION

WORD STUDY, VOCABULARY AND FLUENCY

Word Study

■ Students with learning disabilities who struggle with decoding may have:

Low or phonemic awareness skills

Lack of understanding of letters and sounds

Issues with directional tracking or moving from left to right

Inability to recognize patterns

■ You need to hear, understand and be able to manipulate sounds called phonemic
awareness.

Fluency

■ Students having LD tend to read haltingly, laboring over word and sentence structures.

■ Helps the students to process texts automatically.

■ It is effective when it engages readers with texts that embed targeted words.

Vocabulary

■ Knowing the meanings of many words is crucial for success in reading and academics.

■ Helps to develop deep understanding of the words by exposing to new words.

■ Methods to improve vocabulary acquisition:

Direct instruction

Indirect instruction
COMPREHENSION INSTRUCTION

Domain and prior knowledge

■ Key ways to help readers utilize and develop the knowledge they need include
anticipatory activities such as previewing headings or discussing key concepts before
reading and review such activities such as paraphrasing and summarizing after reading.

Cognitive Strategies

■ Reader with LD do especially well when they learn to apply strategies before, during and
after reading.

MOTIVATION AND ENGAGEMENT INSTRUCTION

Interesting Texts and Goals

■ As students move up the grade levels, their texts become more difficult and the
instructional environment tends to deemphasize their motivation to read.

Social Interactions

■ Struggling reader’s motivation and engagement can be increased through meaningful

collaborative learning opportunities.