Improving Learning Results for Every Student

 Students with disabilities are challenged in comprehending expository texts (on and below grade level).  Baseline data revealed that students experienced difficulty in both determining a main idea and connecting details to the main idea.

 Strategy-based reading instruction and gradual release of responsibility models (Guthrie & Davis 2003; Pearson et al 1992) while implementing lessons on non-fiction texts in an ELA forum.  For this study, teacher participants chose to embed strategy in ELA instruction (Sencibaugh, J. M. 2008) and to support instruction with a specific graphic organizer (Horton et al 1990) they devised.  The during- and after-reading organizer calls upon students to note details and determine importance while monitoring their comprehension.  The lesson protocol involved direct instruction, modeling, guided practice, peer collaboration, and independent practice with feedback.  In choosing to use strategy instruction with a focus on specific content, teachers joined evidence-based practices from both content enhancement and cognitive strategy instruction.

 Identify several 6 th grade Special Education students who demonstrate difficulty in identifying the main idea of a non-fiction text.  Administered a baseline assessment in which the students were asked to identify the main idea and relevant details to support this main idea. This was completed by students answering the following questions: ◦ 1. Are there some parts of the text that are more important than other parts? Why? ◦ 2. What do you think the author thinks is the most important in this text? What signals or clues did the author use to make you think that was important? ◦ 3. What are you doing as a reader to help you summarize the text? ◦ 4. Summarize the text you read.

 After evaluating the baseline, we created a graphic organizer to support students in tracking their thinking and learning while reading non- fiction texts.  The organizer was an instructional tool to check for understanding. Students used the notes gathered while reading to summarize the main idea.  Components of the lesson  Teacher observations and reflections  After several lessons and guided practice, we administered a post-assessment to determine student growth.

 Students’ attention to the task increased as well as their stamina for working with a non-fiction text.  Students’ exhibited growth in their ability to identify key concepts to support the main idea.  Students would have benefitted from scaffolded instruction.  Students demonstrated growth in many areas.  Students are still developing necessary skills to identify main idea and write a well developed summary.

 Thoughtful readers monitor for meaning while they are reading and ask themselves questions to check for understanding. Today while you are reading you will monitor your comprehension by asking yourself the following questions: ◦ What am I learning? What am I thinking?

 Thoughtful readers use their learning and thinking during reading to determine the important, main ideas in a text. Read over your responses to the questions—What am I learning? What am I thinking? to determine the main idea of the text.  What is the main idea of the text you just read?

 Read over your responses to the questions-- What am I learning? What am I thinking? What is the main idea?  Write a well developed summary about the text you read using your responses to all the questions. The summary should clearly state the main idea and support the main idea with details you learned during your reading.