c.iii.

Intervention: Using Story Grammar to Aid Comprehension

Target:

-To improve reading comprehension by providing an organizational framework for learning and remembering story information.

Materials needed:

-Narrative passages similar to student’s regular curricular materials (may be taped).

-Paper copies of the five “wh” questions.

Implementation:

  1. Calculate percent correct scores on reading comprehension skill exercises for 5 to 10 days (or for several weeks).
  2. Tell the student that she is going to play a game to help her become a better reader. The game is called “Mystery Readers”, and “Storyteller” and “Detective Reader” are the main characters.
  3. Tell her that the job of Storyteller (the person who wrote the story) is to provide specific clues to enable readers to make predictions about the story based on past experiences.
  4. Tell her that her job as Detective Reader is to search for clues in the story, ask questions when she does not understand, and make predictions about upcoming story events based on background knowledge.
  5. Read a narrative passage or play a taped example of a story.
  6. Introduce the five “wh” questions, and give student a copy of the questions.
  7. Model the use of the story grammar questions for the example, calling on the student to supply some on the answers. Have her fill in the answers on her paper.
  8. Tell the student that to be good Detective Reader, she should recite the five questions to herself during silent reading.
  9. Review the strategies and have the student practice applying them for at least two more sessions as an activity.
  10. As student becomes proficient in using the strategies, gradually eliminate the use of paper copies for the five questions.
  11. To evaluate student’s progress, compare percent correct scores on reading comprehension skill exercises.

Tips for Implementation:

Using a classwide peer tutoring format and matching students from the same reading groups, have students work in pairs to answer the five questions before coming to reading group.

FIGURE 1: BE A DETECTIVE READER AND SOLVE THE READING MYSTERY

Name: Date:

1. Who is the main Character?

2. Where and when did the story take place?

3. What did the main character do?

4. How did the story end?

5. How did the main character feel?