The benefits of co-teaching cannot be denied, from extra student support to targeted small groups to someone to handle the band-aid and phone call interruptions, and finally, someone to get your sarcasm and cover an adult bathroom break!

Research studies on co-teaching between a general education teacher and a Special Education teacher results in additional individualized attention for students, more on-task student behavior, and more interaction with teachers (Murawski, 2006; Zigmond et al., 2003).

But how do we co-teach when there is no time to co-plan?

1: Divide and Conquer

Establish a skill role and a strategy role.  The general education teacher, the expert of the content, teaches the skill/concept.  The goal of Special Education is to assist students with disabilities in access the general education curriculum.  The Special Education teacher, then, takes on the role of the strategist. After the skill/concept is taught, the strategist teaches a strategy to apply the skill in order to access the concept.  

For example, the co-teachers plan to teach Author's Purpose.  The general education may do a mini-lesson on demonstrating different text and media for different purposes.  Then, the Special Education teacher teaches the strategy of PIE, a strategy for identifying the purpose of a text (PIE = persuade, inform, entertain).

2: Share Student Data

IEPs contain a TON of information, and all of that information is very important. Special Education teachers can help to make IEPs easily accessible for general education teachers by created IEPs at a Glance for each Special Education student in the classroom.  

An IEP at a Glance is typically a one page abbreviated document of a student's IEP.  They can help to ensure that general education teachers, classroom paraprofessionals and other related service providers are aware of and consistent with working on IEP goals, modifying and adapting curricula, and providing behavioral support.  Ultimately, it gives all staff a quick reference to a student's IEP.

3: Common Lesson Plan Template

Create a lesson plan template at the start of the school year together.  Each teacher can fill in his/her role or part of the lesson plan. Keep a section for notes or post-its next to the plan.  Comments can be added to the document in a notes section (i.e. When are we planning to have this test? Don’t forget about the assembly on Friday! Adam refused to complete his DO NOW again).  Keep a package of post-it notes next to the lesson plan for these comments and questions! Add a blank page each week that is dated daily to write notes about students. Write down those things that if you don’t share them immediately, you will forget (i.e. anecdotals that were observed or shared, a heads up that mom gave in a phone call, etc.).  This eliminates inquiring minds (the listening ears of our students), no time for consulting, and time off task!

4: Google Drive

Google Drive is a teacher’s best friend in the classroom!  How great is it to not have to carry piles of paper home to correct?!  Teachers can list hundreds of ways that Google Drive has added a benefit to their instruction and student learning!  So why are we not using it for other roles in the classroom?

Re-read tip #3 and apply it to Google Drive!  :)

And lastly, some words of wisdom…
​
Have an open mind, be willing to compromise, and be a team!  And remember, above all - we are here for the students!

~By Miss Rae

References:
Murawski, W. (2006). Student outcomes in co-taught secondary English classes: How can we improve? Reading & Writing Quarterly, 22, 227–247.
​Zigmond, N. (2003). Where should students with disabilities receive special education services? Is one place better than another? The Journal of Special Education, 37(3), 193- 1999.

​What is Guided Reading?

Guided Reading is an instructional approach to teaching reading.  

Previously, we defined guided reading as, “small-group reading instruction designed to provide differentiated teaching that supports students in developing reading proficiency” (Pinnell, 2010).

So basically, guided reading is when a teacher meets with a small group of students who are homogeneously grouped according to their reading levels.  Students address a reading skill that is required to move onto more challenging texts - or higher reading levels.

Small group instruction typically occurs after the teachers has presented a mini-lesson focused on a reading skill to the whole class.  Mini-lessons often include read alouds to model skills. While meeting with groups, students are working on addressing the skill from the mini-lesson.  This can be done through independent reading, book clubs or literature circles, centers, etc.

Over the last few years, the term "Guided Reading" has taken a hit! You might hear that you shouldn't be teaching using this model!  You might have heard it's not grounded in research.

In reality, there isn't anything wrong with the guided reading in terms of its format.  The issue with guided reading by its traditional definition is some of the tools and teaching points that were previously promoted with guided reading.  So the goal of course is to align guided reading with the Science of Reading research.  When I say 'traditional definition', I mean that we often say guided reading groups when we mean that these groups will be based around reading levels. Over the years, the term guided reading has  become synonymous with reading small groups.  In these groups, we would ask students to read these leveled books.  We promoted theories like the three-cueing method.  The problem with the three-cueing method is that it promotes guessing.  Guessing is a habit of weak readers.  So we can still use guided reading.  That is not the problem.  We do need to make some shifts though.  Group your students for phonics-focused reading groups instead of reading levels.  This is where we can target those teaching points that were an issue with the traditional guided reading.  So instead of making your teaching point for the group lesson a guessing strategy like “look at the first letter” choose a phonics-based teaching point like "Today we are going to learn to read CVCe words."  Instead of teaching word memorization, use an orthographic mapping sequence to help students connect the sounds in the word to the letters.  

You can read more about Orthographic Mapping HERE!

And finally, instead of reading leveled text, read decodables with these phonics-focused groups that allow students to practice the taught skill.  Now, with that said, I do want to include reading with non-controlled texts at times too so students can practice cognitively shifting when reading.  (I explain this more in my blog on decodables!)

And yes, these same tips can be applied to your group time with Special Education students!

So, can Special Education Students Learn with the Guided Reading Model?

Yes!

Educators must modify and adapt best practice teaching models that are currently in place for their special education students.

Special education students fall into the Tier 3 category of Response to Intervention models.  

Tier 3 is the most intense level.  Students with disabilities should receive individualized, intensive intervention in the area of the identified disability in order to accelerate their progress toward command of grade level reading skills.

How can Special Education Students Learn with the Guided Reading Model?

Easy!  The guided reading teaching model does not need to change for special education students.  Instead, educators need to maximize the intensity of the learning time as well as the breadth of skills reinforced, learned, and mastered.

Decades of research has shown the benefits of inclusion on the educational progress of special education students.  This supports, then, the benefit for special education students to participate in the whole class mini-lesson of the guided reading model.  

After exposure to the grade level standard, special education students can then participate in a guided reading group for guided practice with application of the skill.  The guided reading group may work on a modified approach to the skill, learn a strategy to apply the skill, or access the skill through entry points.

What is the Best Special Education Guided Reading Model?

SKILLS:

Mastery of reading requires mastery of five foundational competencies:  Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension.  And don't forget Spelling!

The best special education guided reading lessons must include explicit instruction, review, and application for generalization and independence leading to mastery for each of these areas.  

In order to accelerate the attainment of substantial achievements toward mastery of grade level reading skills, special education students must focus on a breadth of reading skills daily.  By addressing competences in the following sequence, teachers create building blocks toward proficiency.

1 - Decoding

Teachers should pull vocabulary words out of the text ahead of time.

Look for 3 things when choosing words.  Select words that the students will…

-most likely struggle to decode
-most likely not know the meaning

AND
​
-they should be words that are integral to understanding

Teachers should write these words on an anchor chart or in a manner that makes the words visible to the students.

Begin each lesson by previewing these new words.  This allows teachers to target word attack skills.  Scoop or break each new word into syllables, decode each syllable, and then, read the entire word.  

2 - Vocabulary

Next, look at the words in context.  Read a few sentences containing the word aloud from the text.  Can the students figure out the meaning of the unknown word using the context clues?  If the group is able to determine the meaning from the context, write a student-friendly definition for the word on the chart, next to the word.  Allow students to create this definition.

If the meaning cannot be determined from the context, look the word up.  Re-write the formal definition into our own kid-friendly one. Teachers can teach dictionary skills with either a text or online or both ways!

STRATEGIES:

Teachers should provide students with a strategy for each skill taught.  The strategy should support the student in independently attacking the skill.  Strategies will enable students to become independent when applying the skill.

The RACE strategy is a great example of a tool that enables students to attack a grade level expectation independently.  

GUIDED PRACTICE:

Teachers should act as facilitators, guiding students toward independence.  Special educations students, and all students for that matter, should read daily.  They need a chance to practice learned and new concepts. This practice is guided as it is often facilitated by the teacher; however, students are given the opportunity to apply skills independently.
​
3 - Read

Choose a text at the students’ instructional reading levels.  Teachers should continuously challenge special education students.  Students with disabilities are like all other students and should be challenged to achieve their best.

Teachers must also be careful not to move too fast.  Prior to moving onto the next levels, teachers should assess that skills have been independently mastered.  Once a student can apply a skill, move on to the next step!

Guided practice during reading group time can be a facilitated whole, small group reading of a text (think round robin style), partner reading, and occasionally, but only for assessment purposes, independent reading.  

While reading, teachers should begin to address comprehension through oral discussion.  Pause while reading to orally dissect the text for understanding. Ask students questions before, during, and after reading.

*Read more about what texts to choose HERE!

4 - Comprehension

Students should write about text daily.  Writing has been cited as a tool for improving reading (Biancarosa and Snow, 2006).

After reading, students should be expected to answer at least one comprehension question about the text.  Writing about a text improves comprehension (Carr, 2002). Questions should range from concrete to inferential and address the focus skill.   

By addressing writing skills in student responses such as grammar and spelling, teachers can reinforce reading skills.

INDEPENDENT APPLICATION:

Special education students should also be provided with chances to read during special education services and in the general education setting to support globalization and generalization of reading skills.
​
Independent application of learned skills should be assessed periodically for progress towards grade level standards, IEP goals, and to enable teachers to address the areas of need that arise along the continuum of student progress.

Progress monitoring is an essential tool of guided reading.  Running records of all students in the group should be implemented at least bi-weekly in order to assess independent application of taught skills, areas of need, and assigned reading levels.  Additionally, research-based assessment tools should be administered every 2 months throughout the school year.

Analysis of assessments will guide a student’s instructional pathway.  The framework should be modified and adapted for each student’s needs. Teachers should plan lessons to target skill deficits.  Spend more time on the facets of the framework that the student needs. Provide shorter amounts of time on the opportunities for skill practice of those competencies that have been mastered.  

Special education teachers should always focus on lagging skills!

Using this method for special education guided reading lessons, enables teachers to support all learning styles as they are all included in this approach.  This allows the framework to be a multi-sensory as well as systematic and intensive approach to teaching special education students reading. And isn’t that best practice?!

Happy and Healthy Teaching!
PEACE,
​Miss Rae

References:
Biancarosa, C., & Snow, C. E. (2006). Reading next—A vision for action and research in middle and high school literacy:A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York (2nd ed.).Washington, DC:Alliance for Excellent Education.

Carr, S. (2002). Assessing learning processes: Useful information for teachers and students. Intervention in School and Clinic, 37, 156–162

Pinnell, G.S. and Fountas, I.C. (2010). Guided Reading Program:  Research Base for Guided Reading as an Instructional Approach. Retrieved from [Scholastic, http://emea.scholastic.com/sites/default/files/GR_Research_Paper_2010_3.pdf]

Are you searching for strategies to support reading comprehension in students with learning disabilities? Look no further! This blog provides valuable insights and practical techniques to enhance students' language comprehension skills, specifically focusing on my See & Say Strategy. From fostering visualization, verbalization, and vocabulary techniques to utilizing story mapping and read-alouds, this blog equips teachers with effective tools to empower students and improve their overall reading comprehension.

Picture it! A teacher stands before a student in a literacy-enriched classroom, surrounded by books and vibrant letters on the walls. The teacher eagerly asks the student to share their understanding of a recently read story. However, the student struggles to recall the details. 

Reading comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading, and for students to comprehend text, they must have strong language comprehension skills. 

In this blog, we will explore effective strategies to support reading comprehension in students with learning disabilities.

Language comprehension forms the foundation of reading comprehension. To comprehend a text's meaning, students must have strong language comprehension skills, including vocabulary, background knowledge, working memory, inferencing, and attention. Proficient reading comprehension encompasses accurate and fluent word reading skills, syntactic knowledge, cohesive cues, comprehension monitoring, and knowledge of text structure. 

Language comprehension requires 
-vocabulary, 
-background knowledge, 
​-working memory, 
-inferencing, and 
-attention.  

Similarly, proficient reading comprehension of a text is influenced by the same language comprehension skills plus… 
-accurate and fluent word reading skills, 
-adequate syntactic knowledge, 
-knowledge of cohesive cues, 
-comprehension monitoring, and 
-knowledge of text structure 
(Cain and Oakhill, 2009).

By addressing language comprehension, teachers can help students overcome reading comprehension challenges.

Students who demonstrate proficient reading comprehension have the ability to… 
-understand words, 
-integrate the meaning of the words into a mental model of the text, and simultaneously,
-attend to the text’s content, 
-shift their attention to what is important, 
-make text connections, 
-strive for coherence, and
-use their background knowledge of the subject to facilitate comprehension 
(Perfetti, et al., 2013; Beck & McKeown, 2006).

Reading comprehension is a process, not a product, that requires multiple processes to come together at once, to make meaning of written language.

And guess what?  Sophia was onto something with her “picture it”.

Setting the scene helps your listeners visualize your words which improves comprehension, understanding of language, and memory of text!

Students often struggle to recall what they have just read.  And language comprehension is a contributing factor to this. ​

So one strategy we can use to support this is visualization.  Visualization is a simple technique that you can use to create a strong mental image of a text. It refers to the ability to create mental pictures in our minds based on the text we read or words we hear. It is one of many skills that make reading comprehension possible. 

Some students require explicit teaching to visualize. This is because when we visualize, we are tapping into our prior knowledge, making connections, gathering information and paying attention to detail.

What can we do for these students?  

We can use my See & Say Strategy!

Let me teach you the BEST strategy for teaching reading comprehension.  This is a strategy that I initially designed for Special Education students, but is beneficial for ALL students because it teaches them a tool for understanding text!

See, Say, Semantics is a powerful strategy for teaching reading comprehension. 

Mental imagery has “reliable effects on improving memory for text” (National Reading Panel, 2000, p. 4-42).  This skill is naturally developing for most students. However, those diagnosed with a learning disability in reading often struggle to form pictures in their head for presented words.  This is often due to the fact that their focus, during reading, is on decoding the words. 

If a reader has to spend most of his/her time decoding each word within a sentence, comprehension fails.  This results in an inability to develop concept imagery impacts comprehension; thus, delaying the progression of reading for students.

And here’s what my See & Say Strategy looks like:
1-SEE - Begin by asking the students to see or visualize (imagine, picture) what they read in their heads as they read, stopping periodically to first, model what you are seeing (“I’m picturing her face looking angry.  It’s red and her fists are clenched…”). 
2-SAY - Ask the students what they are picturing. Stop after each part of the story (beginning, middle, end). At each stopping point, ask the students to say or verbalize the part (beg., mid., end) as they see it.  Then, have them draw what they saw in their heads.
3-SEMANTICS - After reading the whole text, ask students to use their drawings to retell the story’s beginning, middle, and end. Lastly, write a sentence or two next to each picture in order to produce a complete retelling. 

Tip:  For added support, give students sentence frames… i.e. In the beginning, ___.

The text can be read round robin style of reading with a small group or as a mini-lesson with the whole class.

Scaffold the approach by gradually releasing responsibility (i.e. allow the student to identify the beginning, middle and end, instead of explicitly stating it and determining it for students).

You can also use this approach with non-fiction.  Vary the strategy by stopping after reading each section, and model what you see or visualized (i.e. “I pictured the frog in my head changing from an egg to a…”).  Ask the students to say what they pictured. Then, have them draw what they visualized. After reading the whole text, ask students to use their drawings to retell the main idea and supporting details.  Lastly, write a sentence or two next to each picture in order to produce a complete retelling. (Tip: For added support, give students sentence frames… i.e. Frogs change from ___.)

Tip:  I have my students complete retelling sheets after each book we read ...BUT... since paper is a hot commodity along with a teacher's time which can be saved from copying, I place my retelling sheets inside these pockets so I can have them for the ENTIRE school year... yes, you read that correctly!

Grab this strategy HERE!

AND get these compatible graphic organizers for retelling HERE!

Or click HERE to get these graphic organizers to address non-fiction texts as well.

While my students are amazing, they are like all students.  We didn’t just jump right into these learning moments. Instead, I utilized some key tools to improve students’ reading comprehension.

The first step was through Story Mapping.

Here’s what Story Mapping looks like when following my See & Say Strategy:

1-SEE
After reading a text, create a visual of what you read.  Students should identify story elements such as characters, problems, setting, etc.  Essentially, you are drawing what happened.  

To help your students with this skill, ask them questions.  Where were the characters? What could they see? What were the characters doing?  What were the characters saying? What is the problem of the story? What actions did the characters take toward solving the problem?  Did the setting change? Was the problem solved? What is the lesson learned? (Insert a social emotional learning moment here!)

Create a visual with these questions as a scaffolded support towards independence with the skill.

2-SAY
Have students say or verbalize the answers to the questions you ask.  Teachers should promote a class discussion of the events that occurred in the text.  This promotes oral language development, not only social language, but also academic language is being developed as students learn how to discuss text.  

Verbalizing a text’s ideas also allows students to wrestle with the text!  Any misunderstandings can be ironed out, while different perspectives can be debated.

3-SEMANTICS
The oral discussion enables students to apply newly learned vocabulary connected to the text as well as practice oral discussion rules and the language of book discussions!

My story maps include words and pictures.  The words that I jot on our story maps are key vocabulary related to the text.  The pictures tell the text’s story, while the words help to match ideas and images.  Both tools go hand-in-hand to support understanding of the text.

You can use a variety of graphic organizers to support this strategy or just wing it with your own on the fly mapping!

Story mapping can be applied to the content areas too!  After reading a non-fiction text, we re-read it, going line by line.  We analyze what the sentences are saying by Visualizing and making connections between the ideas.  We Verbalize these concepts through discussion. Simultaneously, we draw the ideas. Next, we do some Vocabbing, by jotting down keywords needed for comprehension.

Another tool to support my See & Say Strategy is Visual Thinking.

Visual thinking is another powerful tool to enhance reading comprehension. By utilizing visual aids, such as images related to the text, students can engage in See, Say, and Semantics discussions. This technique promotes deeper understanding, vocabulary application, and oral language development. 

Here’s what Visual Thinking looks like when following my See & Say Strategy:

1-SEE
I will post an image on the front board related to the text we are reading.  Students will come to the front and write around their images, their reactions, questions, things they noticed, etc. around the image.  

2-SAY
I then have them discuss the image in groups.  If they have any new ideas, they can write it around the image.  Lastly, we discuss the image. 

3-SEMANTICS
The writing around the image enables students to apply newly learned vocabulary in the context of the written language.  It also gives struggling students a written support for the oral discussion of the image.

Read-alouds play a crucial role in modeling language and fostering visualization, verbalization, and vocabulary skills. By selecting texts with explicit and lively language, teachers can guide students in forming mental images, engaging in oral discussions, and analyzing the author's use of language. 

So how do I implement read alouds using my See & Say Strategy?

1-SEE
Read the text aloud.  Have your students form mental images.  Ask them to close their eyes and picture the image that the author’s words are creating.

2-SAY
Build oral language through discussion of these images.  Make your visualizing real through modeling your visualizations of the text with visual representations.  Draw quick pictures of what the words help you to imagine. 

3-SEMANTICS
Talk about specific words and sentences.  How do these change what you are visualizing?  What tools is the author using to help the reader visualize?  

Reading and writing are interconnected skills. By teaching students to write using language that creates vivid mental images, teachers can reinforce their reading comprehension abilities. Students can apply the See & Say Strategy to writing prompts, using language to visualize and verbalize their ideas. This integration allows students to transfer their comprehension skills to written expression.

THESE graphic organizers can help students tackle text-based prompts.

Have your students use language that creates vivid mental images.  Partner them up to visualize each others’ writing!

Read a text about Paul Revere’s ride in Social Studies.  What does the night look like? How are the people feeling?  

Ask questions!  How do the author’s words and your background knowledge help you to visualize?  How does the vocabulary support your learning and understanding? How does this tool help you comprehend a text better?

Read a math picture book and follow the same procedure!  

So teach your students to pull a Sophia and “Picture it” with my See & Say Strategy!

Enhancing reading comprehension in students with learning disabilities requires a multi-faceted approach that addresses language comprehension, visualization, verbalization, and vocabulary development. By implementing the See & Say Strategy, story mapping, visual thinking, and read-aloud techniques, teachers can empower students and promote a deeper understanding of text. Discover the power of these strategies and unlock the potential of every student in your classroom.

Happy Teaching!
Miss Rae

Resources:
Beck, I.L., & McKeown, M.G. (2006). Improving Comprehension with Questioning the Author: A Fresh and Expanded View of a Powerful Approach.
Cain, K., & Oakhill, J. (2009). Reading comprehension development from 8 to 14 years: The contribution of component skills and processes. In R. K. Wagner, C. Schatschneider, & C. Phythian-Sence (Eds.), Beyond decoding: The behavioral and biological foundations of reading comprehension (pp. 143–175). The Guilford Press.
National Reading Panel (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. NIH Publication No. 00-4754. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Perfetti, Charles & Stafura, Joe. (2014). Word Knowledge in a Theory of Reading Comprehension. Scientific Studies of Reading. 18. 10.1080/10888438.2013.827687.