Oregon Reading First
Review of
Supplemental and Intervention Programs:
Summary by Essential Component
Reading Comprehension
Edward J. Kame’enui, Ph. D. &
Patricia Ann Travers, Ed. S.
Oregon Reading First Center
Acknowledgments
 Oregon Department of Education
 Institute for the Development of Educational
Achievement, College of Education, University of Oregon
 U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special
Education Programs
 Oregon Reading First Supplemental and Intervention
Curriculum Review Panel
Kame'enui & Travers © 2004
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Content Development
Content developed by:
Edward J. Kame’enui, Ph. D.
Professor, College of Education
University of Oregon
Patricia Ann Travers, Ed. S.
Oregon Reading First Regional Consultant
Boise State University
Additional support:
Patrick Kennedy-Paine
Katie Tate
University of Oregon
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Copyright
 All materials are copy written and should
not be reproduced or used without
expressed permission of Dr. Edward J.
Kame’enui or Dr. Deborah C. Simmons.
Selected slides were reproduced from
other sources and original references cited.
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IBR Foundational Features:
Translating Research into Practice
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IBR Guiding Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
Today’s
Focus 5.
6.
Goals: What outcomes do we want for our students in our
state, district, and schools?
Knowledge: What do we know and what guidance can we
gain from scientifically based reading research?
Progress Monitoring Assessment: How are we doing? What
is our current level of performance as a school? As a grade?
As a class? As an individual student?
Outcome Assessment: How far do we need to go to reach
our goals and outcomes?
Core Instruction: What are the critical components that
need to be in place to reach our goals?
Differentiated Instruction: What more do we need to do
and what instructional adjustments need to be made?
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Objectives: What You Will
Learn and Do
The objectives of today’s session are to:
1. Review items on the Supplemental/
Intervention Consumer's Guide for reading
comprehension.
2. Review data on all S/I reading comprehension
programs.
3. Discuss overall strengths and weaknesses
found in all S/I reading comprehension
programs.
4. Provide an overview of selected S/I reading
comprehension programs.
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Consumer’s Guide:
Comprehension Items
Comprehen sion Instruction
Rating
Crit erion
Grade
K 1
2
Initia l Instruction
Add iti ona l Evidence
3
1. Expl ic itly teache s criti cal
X X X X
comprehen sion s trategies (e.g. main idea,
lit eral, inferential, retell , prediction ) by
providing multi ple exa mples. [NRP, pg.
4-126; pp 4-100] (w)
2. Teache s background info rmation o r
activates prior know ledge to increase a
student’s unde rstand ing of wha t is read.
[NRP, pg. 4-108] (w)
X X X X
3. The text for initi al i nstruction in
X X
comprehen sion : ( 1) begins wit h text uni ts
appropria te for the learner; (2) use s
famil iar vocabu lary; and (3) use s sim ple
sentence s. (w)
4. Uses text in which the main idea or
comprehen sion un it is exp li citl y stated,
clear, and in wh ich the ideas fo ll ow a
logical order. (w)
X X
5. Provides guid ed practice in and
systematic review of criti cal
comprehen sion s trategies. [NRP, pg. 4126; pp. 4-100] (st)
X X X X
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Consumer’s Guide:
Comprehension Items (cont.)
Comprehen sion Instruction
Rating
Crit erion
Grade
K 1
6. Connects previously taugh t skill s and
strategies wit h new content and text.
[NRP, pg. 4-107] (w) and (ss)
Initia l Instruction
2
Add iti ona l Evidence
3
X X X X
7. Models and gu ides the studen ts
X X X X
through story structure (e.g., setting
_____), think ing out loud as elements are
being identified. [NRP, pg. 4-100] (w)
8. Uses story g ramm ar struc ture as a tool
for prompting info rmation to compare
and contrast, organ ize information, and
group related ideas to maintain a
consistent focus. [NRP, pg. 4-112] (w)
X X
9. Teache s conv ention s of informationa l
text (e.g. title s, chap ter head ings ) to
locate im portant info rmation. (w) and
(ss)
X X
10. Teache s exp li cit strategy to interpret
information from graphs, diagra ms , and
cha rts. (w) and (ss)
X X
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Evidence of Sufficient Instructional
Quality for Comprehension Programs
 Teaches background information or activates
prior knowledge to increase a student’s
understanding of what is read.
 The text for initial instruction in comprehension:
(a) begins with text units appropriate for the
learner; (b) uses familiar vocabulary; and (c)
uses simple sentences.
 Uses text in which the main idea or
comprehension unit is explicitly stated, clear, and
in which the ideas follow a logical order.
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Evidence of Insufficient Instructional
Quality for Comprehension Programs
 Teaches conventions of informational text (e.g.
titles, chapter headings) to locate important
information.
 Teaches explicit strategy to interpret information
from graphs, diagrams, and charts.
 Models and guides students through story
structure (e.g., setting, problem), thinking out
loud as elements are identified.
 Uses story grammar structure as a tool for
prompting information to compare and contrast,
organize information, and group related ideas to
maintain a consistent focus.
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Sample Program:
Little Readers
Name of Program: Little Readers
Publisher: Great Source Education Group (A
Houghton Mifflin Company) (1997)
 Structure of Materials: 9 sets of Little Readers that
include 3 sets each of “Easy” (emergent reader), “Medium”
(early reader), and “Difficult” (more skilled reader) levels. Each
set contains four stories.
 Purpose of Materials: (a) “Designed especially for
beginning readers in Kindergarten through early Grade 2”; (b)
“Reading instruction begins by the teacher observing the
readers in order to determine what they can do; (c) “Instruction
can then be scaffolded through selection of text, the approach
to reading the text, and the choice of related activities” (p. 1).
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Reader’s Development
Four Stages:
1. Emergent readers: Start to focus on the
match between spoken and written words.
Beginning to build a reading vocabulary and
can identify some words. Uses pictures to
predict meaning.
2. Early readers: Better able to self-correct.
Have rapidly growing sight vocabulary and able
to read increasingly complex material. Uses
pictures to check meaning.
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Reader’s Development
Four Stages:
3. Transitional readers: Children who have
become increasingly comfortable with written
language. Starting to read more complex, less
predictable texts. More independent and can
use strategies such as predicting, confirming,
and self-correcting on their own.
4. Self-extending: Children using all sources of
information in an integrated, flexible manner
(Clay). Able to self-correct and can sustain
reading of longer, more complex texts.
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Approaches to Reading
Four effective approaches to reading can be
placed on a continuum according to level of
support:
1. Reading Aloud: Teacher models the how and
why of reading.
2. Shared Reading: Teacher shares the process
by reading the book aloud as children follow,
then invites children to join in a repeat reading.
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Approaches to Reading
3. Guided Reading: A small group context in
which students read for themselves. After
students read the book on their own, the
teacher assists in reviewing and responding to
the story.
4. Independent Reading: When the child reads
material without assistance.
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Little Readers
 Strengths
 Teaches background
information or activates prior
knowledge to increase a
student’s understanding of
what is read. (F)
 The text for initial instruction in
comprehension:(a) begins with
text units appropriate for the
learner; (b) uses familiar
vocabulary; and (c) uses
simple sentences. (F)
 Provides guided practice and
systematic review of critical
comprehension strategies. (P+)
 Weaknesses
 Fails to connect previously
taught skills and strategies with
new content and text.(E)
 Fails to explicitly teach critical
comprehension strategies (e.g.
main idea, literal, inferential,
retell, prediction) by providing
multiple examples. (E+)
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Sample Program:
Comprehension Plus
Name of Program: Comprehension Plus
Publisher: Modern Curriculum Press (2002)
 Structure of Materials: Six-level (A-F)
comprehension program that includes a range of text
difficulty from 1.0-6.6 for grades 1-6.
 Purpose of Materials: (a) “Designed to provide
direct instruction in key comprehension skills and reading
strategies,” using high-interest fictional stories and
informational text, (b) Students are taught the strategies
to comprehend written text and are provided practice
activities that allow them to apply the skills and strategies
in meaningful context.
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Reader’s Development
The reader:
1. Previews text by looking at the title, pictures,
and print.
2. Builds background knowledge by activating
appropriate prior knowledge through selfquestion, the vocabulary, and the structure in
which the selection is presented.
3. Sets a purpose by asking questions about what
s/he wants to learn.
4. Checks understanding of text by paraphrasing.
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Reader’s Development
5. Monitors comprehension by using context clues
to figure out unknown words by imagining,
inferencing, and predicting.
6. Integrates new concepts with existing
knowledge.
7. Summarizes what has been read by identifying
the plot of the story or main idea of the text.
8. Evaluates ideas contained in the text.
9. Applies ideas in the text to unique situations.
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Approaches to Reading
The teacher:
1. Focuses Instruction: The teacher informs
students of the purpose of the lesson.
2. Provides Explanations and Models: The
teacher introduces new comprehension skills
through questions, demonstrations, or
explanations. The skills taught are tied to an
underlying strategy. The teacher provides direct
instruction on a strategy for each
comprehension skill, often using graphic
organizers and semantic maps.
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Approaches to Reading
3. Guides Initial Practice: The teacher models
skills and strategies by introducing vocabulary
and has students preview the passage prior to
reading the passage. The teacher checks
comprehension by asking questions and
practicing vocabulary after the student has read
the passage.
4. Independent Practice and Application:
Students try out the learned strategies on their
own and are encouraged to apply their skills
and strategies independently.
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Comprehension Plus
 Strengths
 Uses text in which the main
idea or comprehension unit is
explicitly stated, clear, and in
which ideas follow a logical
order. (F)
 Explicitly teaches critical
comprehension strategies (e.g.
main idea, literal, inferential,
retell, prediction) by providing
multiple examples. (P+)
 Provides guided practice and
systematic review of critical
comprehension strategies. (P+)
 Connects previously taught
skills and strategies with new
content and text. (P+)
 Weaknesses
 Fails to teach background
information or to activate prior
knowledge to increase a
student’s understanding of
what is read. (E)
 Fails to explicitly teach critical
comprehension strategies (e.g.
main idea, literal, inferential,
retell, prediction) by providing
multiple examples. (E+)
 Fails to teach conventions of
informational text (e.g. titles,
chapter headings) to locate
important information.(E+)
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Comprehension Plus
 Strengths
 Models and guides students
through story structure (e.g.,
setting, problem), thinking out
loud as elements are identified.
(P, P+,P+)
 Uses story grammar structure
as a tool for prompting
information to compare and
contrast, organize information,
and group related ideas to
maintain a consistent focus.
(P+)
 Teaches explicit strategy to
interpret information from
graphs, diagrams, and charts.
(P+)
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Sample Program:
Discovery World
Name of Program: Discovery World
Publisher: Rigby
 Structure of Material: 40 nonfiction books and 14 big
books are divided into three levels: Yellow level
(emergent readers), Orange level (early readers), and
Red level (fluent reader). There are eight books in the
Yellow level, sixteen in the Orange level, and sixteen in
the Red level.
 Purpose of Material: “Teaches children from the
beginning of their school experience to understand and
use many elements of nonfiction.” Elements include:
selecting an appropriate book, using appropriate
reading strategies, gaining information from charts and
diagrams, and using different text types.
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Reader’s Development
Three Stages
 Emergent Reader: Through very simple questions and
directions, the text encourages children to interact with
the photographs and illustrations. Other elements that are
introduced include using a book cover for information and
reading simple labels, charts, and diagrams. Four big
books are available.
 Early Readers: Books progress in difficulty. Elements of
nonfiction that are introduced include book covers,
headings, labels and captions, charts and diagrams, a
simple time line, and alphabetic order. Five big books are
available.
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Reader’s Development
3.
Fluent Readers: Books review previously taught
elements and introduces more challenging concepts
including: using a glossary, reading scale diagrams,
understanding lists with bullets and icons, using maps
and keys, and following detailed directions. Five big
books are available.
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Discovery World
 Strengths
 Teaches conventions of
informational text (e.g. titles,
chapter headings) to locate
important information. (F)
 Teaches explicit strategy to
interpret information from
graphs, diagrams, and charts.
(F)
 Connects previously taught
skills and strategies with new
content and text. (P+)
 Teaches background
information or activates prior
knowledge to increase a
student’s understanding of
what is read. (P+)
 Weaknesses
 Fails to provide guided practice
and systematic review of
critical comprehension
strategies. (E)
 Fails to model and guide
students through a story
structure (e.g., setting,
problem) to think out loud as
elements are being identified.
(E)
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Discovery World
 Strengths
 The text for initial instruction in
comprehension:(a) begins with
text units appropriate for the
learner; (b) uses familiar
vocabulary; and (c) uses
simple sentences. (P+)
 Uses text in which the main
idea or comprehension unit is
explicitly stated and clear. The
ideas follow a logical order.
(P+)
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