First calculate the ORF for an unpracticed reading and compare that to the ORF after the student has practiced with the passage. The change in ORF values will be a measure of the student’s progress toward fluency. It is also helpful to compare the student’s ORF with a chart of average reading rates for students in Grades 2 through 12 (see Table 3.2).
Both the ORA and the ORF can be charted on a bar or line graph to provide additional motivation for the student (see Figure 3.8). Having the students participate in creating the chart will also increase their sense of accomplishment.
Tutoring in Reading for Comprehension
Poor readers often do not comprehend what they have read. This may occur because they failed to comprehend key words or sentences, or how the sentences related to each other, or simply because they did not maintain concentration or interest. It is also possible that the readers lack the background knowledge necessary to comprehend the text. Tutoring in reading comprehension starts with carefully selecting reading materials and with improving understanding and motivation. Here are some suggestions for how to accomplish this (Parker, Hasbrouck, & Denton, 2002b):
• Selecting reading passages or books
To select readable text, ask the student to read a 100-word segment of the selected text and calculate the student’s ORA, as explained earlier. An ORA score of 80 or less means that the text is too frustrating for the reader. Scores of 85 to 90 percent are acceptable when the tutoring involves close monitoring and feedback from the tutor and multiple practices with the same text. An ORA score of 90 to 95 percent is considered best for closely monitored tutoring. A text with ORA scores of 95 percent and higher can be used with little tutor guidance and should be considered for independent reading practice by the student.
To select comprehensible text, ask the student to read a passage. Then ask three or four brief open-ended questions that cannot be answered by common knowledge alone. The questions should cover most of the content of the passage and should not rely on trivial details. For example, “Why did that happen?” “What did he mean when . . . ?” “What do you think will happen if . . . ?” If the student can answer two or three questions correctly, the text can be used in tutoring. On the other hand, if the student can answer none or just one question, the text is not appropriate for tutoring.
• Improving understanding
What did it say? Recognize that comprehension problems are often caused by problems with fluency. In their attempt to read smoothly and accurately, students lose the meaning at the sentence level and beyond. Sit beside the student with a 4 × 6 card. After the student reads one or two sentences, cover them and ask, “What did that say?” The student should paraphrase the meaning of what was just read. Praise the student’s response and either elaborate on the response or offer a model summary, such as “I would add . . . ” or “I would say . . . ” Assure the student that many different responses are acceptable.
Move on to the next few sentences and repeat the process. As the student develops summarizing skills, ask the student to summarize longer selections of three or four sentences or a full paragraph. With this approach, the student’s comprehension progresses from single sentence, to multisentence, to paragraph, and on to several paragraphs. As the text selection gets longer, remind the student to keep the oral summary to just one or two sentences.
• Reading to find out
This approach for improving understanding requires you to read the text and prepare ahead of time. Ask the student to read a certain amount of text (depending on the reader’s skill level) and to find out a certain amount of information. The answer should not be found through common knowledge alone and should not rely on trivial details. The student can refer back to the text to substantiate the answer. Listen to the student’s response, provide supportive feedback, and augment the student’s response or offer a model one of your own, if necessary.
• Improving motivation
Students become motivated when they see achievement and greater understanding as a result of their efforts. By teaching students how to learn, rather than just specific skills, you help them apply a set of skills to solve tasks more effectively and efficiently in school as well as in nonacademic settings.
Students are also motivated when you give them a reason to read. Most students really want to succeed in school. Knowing how to read fluently and with understanding can be a powerful motivator for reading more and for pleasure.
REWIRING THE BRAINS OF STRUGGLING READERS
Can the human brain be rewired for certain tasks? If so, is it possible to reroute the auxiliary circuits used by struggling readers to utilize the left posterior regions that are predisposed to rapid and automatic reading? Perhaps the most exciting news from neuroscience about reading has been the studies to determine whether such rewiring can occur as a result of using reading interventions. These imaging studies looked at children with difficult reading problems before and after they were subjected to an extensive phonologically based reading program.
In a study sponsored by Syracuse University, specially trained teachers provided second-grade and third-grade struggling readers with 50 minutes of individualized tutoring daily in activities related to the alphabetic principle. The tutoring, which lasted 8 months (105 hours), was in addition to the students’ regular reading instruction. At the end of the yearlong intervention, all of the children improved their reading in varying degrees. The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) images taken immediately after the program showed the emergence of primary processing systems on the left side of the brain (like those used by good readers) in addition to the auxiliary pathways on the right side common to dyslexic and struggling readers. Furthermore, one year after the program intervention, fMRIs indicated there was additional development of the primary neural systems on the left rear side of the brain while the right front areas were less prominent (Figure 6.3). In other words, the program intervention appeared to have rewired the brains of struggling readers to more closely approximate the reading circuitry in the brains of typical readers, resulting in accurate and fluent readers (Shaywitz, 2003; Shaywitz et al., 2003).
A University of Washington fMRI study of shorter duration used a program based on phoneme and morpheme mapping with 10 children with dyslexia and 11 typical readers. After 28 hours of instruction, the fMRI scans showed changes in the brain functions of the children with dyslexia that closely resembled the neural processing characteristics of typical readers (Aylward et al., 2003).
Another study addressed the question of how much time the auditory system needs to correctly process the onset (or beginning) phoneme in a word. The only way to hear the difference between the words bear and pear is in the first 40 milliseconds of the onset of those sounds. You will recall from Chapter 5 that if the visual and auditory processing systems are not synchronized during reading, a child will have difficulty correctly matching phonemes to the letters that represent them. As a result, other brain regions are called into play in an effort to decode the words. Students with dyslexia are thus required to use a more labor-intensive set of neural pathways to recognize, decode, and comprehend the words they are reading.
Figure 6.3 These representative scans show the changes evident in the brains of struggling readers about one year after their involvement with effective reading interventions. Note that the interventions have helped the children develop reading areas (shown in white) that more closely resemble the areas used by typical readers.
The study involved 20 children with dyslexia aged 8 to 12 years (Temple et al., 2003). Their brains were scanned with functional MRIs before and after participating in an 8-week training program that focused on developing the alphabetic principle and phonemic practice. A control group of 12 students with typical reading abilities also had their brain scanned but did not participate in the training.
The pretraining scans were taken while the children were asked to identify letters that rhymed. During this exercise, children with typical reading
abilities showed activity in the left temporal area (Broca’s area, described in Chapter 1) as well as in the occipitotemporal region typical of skilled readers. The children with dyslexia, however, struggled with the task and showed activation mainly in the left and right frontal areas, similar to those shown for the reader with dyslexia (see Chapter 5).
The students with dyslexia then used a computer program called Fast ForWord for 100 minutes a day, 5 days a week. The program was designed to help students recognize the differences between onset sounds, especially those in words that rhyme. For example, the computer would show a picture of a boy and a toy. The computer voice would ask the student to point to the boy. At first, the computer voice asked the questions in a slow, exaggerated manner to help the student hear the differences in the /b/ and /t/ onset sounds. As the student progressed, the speed of the computer voice slowly increased.
After 8 weeks of training, the children were again given fMRIs while performing the rhyming activities. Their brain scans showed increased activity after remediation in the same areas that were activated in the typically reading children performing this task. As in other similar studies, the intense training in phonological awareness stimulated areas in the dyslexic brain that were not activated while reading prior to the training. There was also increased activity in right frontal brain regions not used by typical children. Apparently, the recovery of a more typical pathway also reactivated frontal areas that are used in children with dyslexia to compensate for their decoding difficulties. The researchers speculate that this activation pattern in the right frontal area might continue to change over time and come closer to that of typical readers (Habib, 2003).
The children who had dyslexia were retested after the training in several reading and language skills. In Figure 6.4, it is evident that their posttraining scores went up in the three reading areas tested by the Woodcock-Johnson Reading Mastery Test, namely, word identification, word attack, and passage comprehension.
Another study illustrates the effectiveness of focusing on the alphabetic principle when working with children with dyslexia (Richards & Berninger, 2008). The brains of 18 children with dyslexia and 21 without dyslexia were scanned with fMRI before and after the children with dyslexia received instructional treatment. All of the children performed a phoneme mapping task during the scanning, deciding whether letter(s) in a pair of pronounceable nonwords could stand for the same sound. Before treatment, a significant difference in fMRI scans was observed between children with dyslexia and those without in the brain areas similar to those in the left image of Figure 6.3.
The treatment for the children with dyslexia involved a 3-week instructional program that provided explicit instruction in linguistic awareness, the alphabetic principle (taught in a way to maximize grapheme-phoneme associations), decoding and spelling, and a writers’ workshop. After treatment, the fMRI scans showed that active areas in the brains of those children did not differ from the children without dyslexia in any of the brain clusters, suggesting that functional connectivity between the areas responsible for reading may normalize following targeted instructional treatment.
Figure 6.4 The graph shows the pretraining and posttraining average scores of the students with dyslexia on the word identification, word attack, and reading comprehension sections of the Woodcock-Johnson Reading Mastery Test (Temple et al., 2003).
These and subsequent studies suggest that targeted and teacher-directed research-based reading programs that use computers to help students build phonemic awareness can substantially—and perhaps permanently—benefit struggling readers (e.g., Borman & Benson, 2006; Rouse & Krueger, 2004). The changes due to remediation brought the brain function of children with dyslexia closer to that seen in children without reading problems. Apparently, the commonly observed dysfunction in the brains of children with dyslexia can be at least partially improved through programs that focus on auditory processing and oral language training, resulting in improved language and reading ability.
READING PROBLEMS AND TAKING TESTS
Tests are a difficult undertaking for students with reading problems, regardless of age. Teachers and schools, however, can make appropriate allowances and modifications that allow these students to show what they really know. Here are some accommodations to consider. Tailor the accommodations to meet the specific needs and age level of each student (Sams, 2003).
• When designing a test for these students, stick to a large simple type font (e.g., Arial), put key words in boldface, and provide plenty of space for answers.
• Make the purpose of the test clear to the student. If appropriate, also note that spelling, grammatical errors, and handwriting will not affect the test grade.
• Make sure you give clear and concise instructions.
• Allow additional time so that the test is a measure of what they know, not of the speed of their reading or writing.
• For essay exams, provide a model answer that shows the layout, paraphrasing, and conclusions expected in the answer. This helps students understand what is expected of them.
• Read out the questions, if needed, in areas such as mathematics and science since those are the areas being tested, not reading.
• For some children, have an adult record the child’s answers, thereby allowing the child to focus on responses rather than on writing.
• Consider allowing the student to use a word processor to record answers.
• Use visual aids where appropriate since many struggling readers and students with dyslexia often have strong visual-spatial skills.
• Test in a location where students can work without being self-conscious about their work pace, rest breaks, or additional time.
• Consider alternative testing formats, such as an oral examination, PowerPoint presentations, or allowing the student to submit an audio recording with responses.
ADVICE TO STUDENTS WITH READING PROBLEMS
Here are some suggestions that parents and teachers can give to students with reading problems that can help them overcome many of the difficulties associated with this condition. Note that some of the advice is more appropriate for older children in that it relates to at-home situations where poor readers and students with dyslexia need practice in organizing and managing their affairs (Dehaene, 2009; DITT, 2001; Shaywitz, 2003).
In general
• Remember that your brain is adaptable and that problems you have now with reading could become less troublesome as you get older.
• Your brain is constantly changing and rebuilding itself as a result of your experiences. With appropriate practice, it is possible to overcome some or all of your reading difficulties.
At home
• Pack your school bag before you go to bed, ensuring a calm start to the next day.
• Put copies of your school schedule around the house, especially in the area where you do your homework. Make extra copies in case you lose them.
• Write down important information, such as class assignments, due dates for class work, tests, extracurricular activities, and other appointments.
• Know your body’s rhythm. Avoid doing homework when you are hungry, tired, or feeling low.
• Keep the telephone numbers of at least two classmates who can tell you the homework assignment if you failed to record it accurately.
• When doing long assignments, break them down into smaller chunks and take frequent breaks to maintain your interest. Recognize that it will take you longer to read a passage than other students because your brain uses a pathway that is slower. But take the time you need and use your intellect and reasoning to understand the material fully and accurately.
• Do your homework in an area that is quiet and free from distractions.
In school
• Avoid taking too many courses that include a large amount of reading.
• Sit in the front of the class and away from windows to avoid being distracted.
• Develop your own shorthand so yo
u can take notes during class to help you remember important information.
• If possible, record your classes and listen to the recording when you are more relaxed and can absorb more.
• Many textbooks are now available as audiobooks from Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. Check out the organization’s book list at www.rfbd.org.
• Get extra help from your teacher to develop your study skills, especially before tests.
• Ask your teacher if you can take a short essay test in place of a multiple-choice test. Multiple-choice tests do not give you enough context to decode unfamiliar words. Also, short essay responses give you a better opportunity to show what you have learned.
• Visualizing images probably comes easily to you. Whenever possible, design concept maps and use other types of graphic organizers to help you organize your work.
• Do not be afraid to tell your teacher that you do not understand something. Other students are likely to be in the same situation.
• Giving oral responses in the class may be difficult for you. Share this with your teachers to determine if there are other ways you can demonstrate your knowledge.
• Work on your computer skills because typing is a lot easier than writing. Be sure to proofread and spell-check your work.
• Being dyslexic may make your schoolwork seem hard, but it is no excuse for not putting forth the effort. Many dyslexics are successful and find ways to compensate for their circumstances (see, for example, the list of famous people with dyslexia in Chapter 5).
How the Brain Learns to Read Page 23