Reading comprehension is one of the greatest concerns in special education. Teachers often complain that students lack comprehension skills and therefore learning is more often than not a difficult, frustrating process for those students and often leads to behavior problems.
Some special education students lack receptive and expressive language skills that make reading comprehension possible. Some do not have the communication skills necessary to answer the questions related to the passage that has been read to them, while others struggle with the information being presented to them orally, and don’t understand what has been read to them. Some students struggle even if they read the text themselves. A student could be an excellent reader, but struggle with comprehension or retelling.
While reading comprehension is not something an educator can teach, there are multiple ways to facilitate and support comprehension in special education. Accommodations and differentiation activities can make a huge impact on the way a student responds to a comprehension task.
ACCOMMODATIONS
1. extended time for task completion
2. modified or repeated directions
3. graphic organizers and other pictorial mode materials
4. visuals
5. highlight tools
6. multi-sensory modes
DIFFERENTIATION
1. allow student to point rather than answer orally
2. allow student to draw rather than give a written answer
3. allow student to pick from a multiple choice bank by circling or underlining the answer
4. break tasks into smaller, sequential steps
5. organize material into smaller visual units and present student with a small part at a time
6. allow student to work independently (non-direct interaction might work better for some students)
7. pair oral with visual instruction
For those students who need help comprehending the text, visuals are one of the best strategies that teachers could add to their instruction.
Reading comprehension visuals can be used during direct instruction
Comprehension strategies for text discussions can be used to help students retell a story, as well as find story elements, like characters, setting, etc.
Some visuals for comprehension strategies for making claims and finding supporting details can be color coded to match the sticky notes used to annotate.
Regardless of the intervention or strategy used, comprehension should be a target in each reading activity in special education, because it is the essential component to effective reading which is indispensable for a balanced academic, professional and personal life.