Meaghan Edmonds

A Synthesis of Reading Interventions and Effects on Reading Comprehension Outcomes for Older Struggling Readers

This article reports a synthesis of intervention studies conducted between 1994 and 2004 with older students (Grades 6–12) with reading difficulties. Interventions addressing decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension were included if they measured the effects on reading comprehension. Twenty-nine studies were located and synthesized. Thirteen studies met criteria for a meta-analysis, yielding an effect size (ES) of 0.89 for the weighted average of the difference in comprehension outcomes between treatment and comparison students. Word-level interventions were associated with ES = 0.34 in comprehension outcomes between treatment and comparison students. Implications for comprehension instruction for older struggling readers are described.

Reading Comprehension for Older Readers

This article provides an overview of a multicomponent comprehension strategy and graphic organizers designed for older readers to gain meaning from text. Practices designed to capitalize on the best research-based elements associated with improved outcomes in reading comprehension, particularly for expository texts, are described. The graphic organizers provide visual representations and organizational schema, which are useful for assisting students in organizing key concepts, vocabulary, and information from text.

A Comparison of Multiple-Strategy Methods: Effects on Fourth-Grade Students’ General and Content-Specific Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Development

Abstract In this study, we compared the effects of two experimental multiple-strategy approaches (content-area comprehension and vocabulary) to typical fourth-grade social studies instructional practices. An 18-week, cluster-randomized study was conducted to estimate effects measured by normative-referenced reading comprehension and vocabulary measures and researcher- and district-developed measures of social studies vocabulary and content. Forty-eight teachers and their respective 903 students from 15 schools were randomly assigned by school to one of three conditions: content vocabulary, content reading comprehension, or typical practice. Experimental teachers participated in 6 professional development sessions over 21 weeks. Structural equation modeling results indicated reliable differences favoring both experimental conditions over typical practice on the social studies content measure and substantively important effects on content and standardized vocabulary measures. Students in the vocabulary intervention also outperformed typical practice peers on the curriculum-based vocabulary assessment. Effects of the comprehension and vocabulary conditions were comparable except for the significant effect of vocabulary on the curriculum-based vocabulary measure. Effect sizes for teaching quality on the standardized comprehension measure ranged from d = .26 to .32; however, these effects were not statistically significant.

Translating Vocabulary Research to Social Studies Instruction: Before, During, and After Text-Reading Strategies

In the upper elementary grades, content-area text gains increasing importance as a primary source of reading and information. This article focuses on the specialized vocabulary demands of social studies texts and presents a framework of teaching and learning strategies based on vocabulary research. Strategies are introduced before, during, and after social studies text reading, illustrating how to develop and relate vocabulary knowledge to social studies concepts and content.

Applying a Cohesive Set of Comprehension Strategies to Content-Area Instruction

Upper elementary content-area teachers often face the challenge of how to make content-area text more accessible and learnable for their students. Whereas there exists a range of comprehension strategies that can be applied to informational text, the premium on instructional time leaves teachers in search of a cohesive, efficient, and effective set of comprehension strategies that can be applied to existing textbook materials. In this article, a set of reading comprehension strategies designed for informational readings in social studies textbooks will be described. A description of each strategy is followed by a timeline for introduction and techniques for increasing task difficulty over time.