Hilary Childers

PSYC 8305

September 5, 2003

Reading Intervention

Reference:

Shaney, M. T., Biemiller, A. (1995). Assisted reading practice: Effects on performance for poor

readers in grades 3 and 4. Reading Research Quarterly, 30(3), 382-395.

Academic Problem:

Reading Comprehension, Reading Speed, Listening Comprehension, and Verbal Efficiency

Goal:

This article specifically looked at improving the reading skills of third and fourth grade students who were identified as poor readers through an intervention known as assisted reading practice.

Materials:

·  Reading Book

·  Tape Recorder

Steps:

Teacher-Assisted Reading Practice

1.  Find a quiet room and sit beside the child with the reading book so that both of you can see it.

2.  After the student begins to read, listen for errors in coding, nonresponses, hesitations, or requests for help.

3.  If any of these problems occur, tell the student the word. Do not attempt to teach word-identification strategies. You want to keep the child focused on the passage being read.

4.  If the child asks for the meaning of the word, you may explain it.

Tape-Assisted Reading Practice

1.  Find a quiet room.

2.  Teach the child how to listen to a tape recorder that has a story on it while following along with the corresponding text. The child will need to know how to operate the recorder, such as starting, stopping, and changing speed.

3.  Simultaneous reading may be aloud or silent.

4.  At first, you may listen with the child in order to be sure the child is reading at the same point as the tape text.

5.  The child may adjust the speed that is best for him or her.

Results:

Those children in both the treatment groups demonstrated gains in reading comprehension as compared to the control group. There was no significant difference between the treatment groups. Listening Comprehension gains were also significant. Both groups exceeded the control group, and the tape-assisted group made greater gains than the teacher-assisted group. In both groups, the difference between listening and reading comprehension decreased. Both groups exceeding the control group in reading speed. No difference existed between groups. Both groups improved on verbal efficiency. No difference existed between groups.