Reading Wednesday Strategies for students with Learning Disabilities By: Gale Stanford and Paula Webber Often students with learning disabilities struggle with reading in the content areas. The best way a teacher can support a struggling reader is to give them opportunities to read and provide them support as they read new content which is often filled with unfamiliar vocabulary and concepts. Our middle school students were struggling with the new science curriculum, so we decided to give the students and their teachers support by compiling a list of reading strategies they could use within their classrooms. It is important to pair students carefully when you want them to read together. Our students have learned that new content does not have to be difficult when they apply strategies with a friend. Below is a list of strategies, their purpose and description of each. They were designed for the 7th and 8th grade science courses at middle school level. Each Wednesday, students read science lessons and focus on vocabulary development and the use of the vocabulary in speaking, listening, reading and writing activities. These strategies could be used in any core classroom. STRATEGY PURPOSE DESCRIPTION SQ3R An approach to studying and reading to improve comprehension and retention Have students to scan passage, formulate questions to be answered, read, recite what they have read, and then review. K-W-L Strategy used to introduce a topic "Know, Want to know, Learn" Students identify what they know about a topic, what they want to know, and after reading or instruction, identify what they learned or would still like to learn Reciprocal Teaching To encourage student-student learning Students take turns being the teacher for a pair or small group. Teacher role may be to clarify, ask questions, ask for predictions, etc Think Aloud To encourage critical thinking and oral reading Teacher or student describes own thoughts while reading aloud to class. Read and Respond Assesses student response to what they have read Read a passage to the student or have them read it by themselves or in a group. Have the student respond to the story in a number of creative ways. They can communicate by drawing, recording in the journal, or by use of diagrams and mapping about what they heard or read and how they felt about it. Have the student report to a partner, a small group or to the whole class about their responses. Graphic Organizer Visual frameworks to help the learner make connections between concepts Graphic organizers are used before learning and help remind the learner of what they already know about a subject; are designed to be used during learning to act as cues to what to look for in the structure of the resources or information; are used during review activities and help to remind students of the number and variety of components they should be remembering. Chalk Talk To check for understanding A silent activity where no one may talk. T ...