Six instructional design principles are recommended to enable students with learning disabilities to comprehend and compose expository materials. The instructional principles are illustrated using the compare/contrast text structure. Charts provide examples and clarification of the strategies. (SW)

A study of fourth-grade students with and without learning disabilities and their teachers examined students' strategic comprehension behavior and the instruction they received. Results found important differences in the way students perceive their comprehension instruction in the classroom and in the way teachers perceive how they implement…

This study compared two approaches for teaching a history unit on the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1965) to middle school students with learning disabilities (LD) in general education settings. The curriculum was designed to make the content challenging, but accessible. The major text was the documentary, Eyes on the Prize (DeVinney, 1991).…

If rural communities are to remain viable, rural schools must seek ways to allow all students to learn, especially those "at risk" or with mild learning disabilities. Research has shown that many children with mild learning disabilities have faulty reading strategies and academic behaviors that interfere with reading comprehension and the solution…

A study tested a teacher training intervention designed to provide experimental teachers with peer support as well as specific principles and techniques for fostering active reading strategies in severely reading disabled adolescents. The study investigated whether and how changes in teaching result in changes in students' reading performance. The…

The 594 studies referenced in this volume, the first of a two-volume set, synthesize reading comprehension research conducted from 1974 to 1984. The 12 chapters cover the following topics: (1) the necessity for both quantitative and qualitative meta-analysis for a complete state-of-the-art understanding of any domain, (2) the background of the…

Some basic pattern-analyzing functions that occur during the reading process are described in this paper. The functions deal mainly with the analysis of typographical factors such as word shape, spacing, and orientation, but they also interact with contextual variables. The research interpreted in the paper proposes an attentional model of reading…

The papers in this volume represent both theory and application in reading research. The topics are as follows: research on programs for poor readers; a method for teaching children who have reading difficulties even though they have learned decoding skills; a decade of research on reading and learning disabilities; children's understanding of…

The article recommends assessment techniques and teaching strategies in the area of reading and language arts for the visually impaired student with learning disabilities. Appropriate reading and language tests are cited. Reading approaches, practical strategies for teaching reading comprehension and spelling, and suggestions for organizing the…

Research on learning-disabled secondary school students' academic deficits, response to classroom environment, and response to instructional interventions is integrated with research on metacognition in text learning. A metacognitive orientation is recommended for instructional intervention programs, which should address general comprehension…

This study compared the effectiveness of microcomputer and workbook instruction on silent reading comprehension performance of mild mentally retarded and learning disabled 11- to 13-year-olds. Effectiveness was measured by percentage of correct responses to reading comprehension questions and by observing subjects' attention to task behavior. (MBR)

This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of a project that explored the effectiveness of strategies for teaching reading comprehension to English language learners with learning disabilities who are failing to acquire the comprehension skills to learn from print. A series of studies was conducted over a 3-year period that…

Argues that to help students (including low achievers and those with learning disabilities) achieve high standards, teachers must collaborate with their students in learning and applying both content and the skills and strategies needed for learning. Presents two approaches for comprehension of content area concepts, and a learning strategy…

Twenty-four resource room teachers were trained in either teaching Question-Answer Relationships (QARs) or traditional methods of reading comprehension instruction, including literal questions, locating supporting details, and drawing conclusions. Results indicated that QARs readily accommodated to content area reading material and elevated…