Hammill Institute on Disabilities

Previewing out Loud to Help ComprehensionAuthor(s): Nancy HarrisSource: Learning Disability Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Summer, 1983), p. 355Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1510447 .

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APPLICATION OF RESEARCH AND THEORY

IN THE CLASSROOM

-LDO- Kathleen C. Harris

In the following collection of classroom ideas for learning disabled students, you will find activities which have been tested with pupils across a variety of ages and subject matter. Ideas are presented for facilitating mainstreaming of primary students; providing appropriate reading instruction for learning disabled students, including those who are bilingual; developing drill and practice activities in basic skills; and promoting retention of information among learning disabled youth. Efforts have been made to clearly identify the objective of each lesson and the age group for whom a given activity has proven successful.

The following activities are merely suggestions, not recipes. However, we hope they will stimulate your interest in developing and implementing new instructional techniques in your classroom so as to facilitate an appropriate education for all your students.

KATHLEEN C. HARRIS, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor, Department of Special Education, California State University, Los Angeles.

PREVIEWING OUT LOUD TO HELP COMPREHENSION

Many LD students are great oral readers, but are lost when asked to read silently. They have no idea what to look for in the text, how to remember what they read, or how to read more than one word at a time. Often, these students' reading comprehension can be increased when they are urged to describe what they do while they read silently and the instructor presents reading material orally.

Beginning with a reading selection at the in- dependent reading level, all vocabulary words are discussed for meaning. Then, previewing out loud takes place. Students read the title, the first paragraph, skim the body (silently), read the last paragraph, and glance over questions about the text. Students who have difficulty skimming are told to move their eyes rapidly along the lines and pick up whatever information they can. The instructor then asks specific content questions covering main idea, details, sequencing, etc. After the preview, students actually read the

selection, and speed and comprehension are measured.

Most learning disabled readers must be drilled in previewing, location of main ideas and details, sequencing, skimming, and scanning. However, the time and effort spent are worth the outcome. This simple teaching strategy works with all ages and all grade levels.

-Nancy Harris Long Beach, CA

CREATING A "SKYSCAPE" Encourage students to observe their environ-

ment and to design a landscape depicting their observations. In this project, students are asked to name things that are found in the sky and to create a skyscape. The project consists of two steps.

Step 1: Students name objects they see in the sky -

rainbows, clouds, the sun, the moon, rain,

Volume 6, Summer 1983 355

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