Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 1
Running Head: Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills
INCREASING COMPREHENSION AND BASIC READING SKILLS
THROUGH THE USE OF CONTEXT CLUES
By
PATRICIA HAWKINSON
Submitted to
The Educational Leadership Faculty
Northwest Missouri State University
Department of Educational Leadership
College of Education and Human Services
Maryville, MO 64468
Submitted in Fulfillment for Requirements for
61-683 Research Paper
[Spring 2011]
March 2012
Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 2
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY
Background
Many Missouri school districts have a focus on improving reading skills at all
grades levels. At the middle school level, one Missouri Communication Arts Grade Level
Expectation (GLE) targets improving comprehension through use of contextual analysis.
A key area middle school students with a specific learning disability in reading struggle
with is decoding unknown words, which interferes with their reading comprehension.
With the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the changes in
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) to align with
NCLB, it has become increasingly important to teach students with learning differences
successful strategies to aid them in meeting the same grade level standards as students
who do not have special needs. Successful comprehension during reading requires the
ability to read fluently, and teaching students how to use context clues to decode
unknown words will help to increase students’ vocabulary and fluency. It is also
important to teach students how to recognize the various types of context clues if they are
to understand how to utilize this reading strategy to increase comprehension. Using
context clues to increase comprehension is a smart reader strategy that can be applied
across content areas.
Practice under investigation. The practice under investigation is using research
proven methods to teach context clues and increase comprehension and decoding skills
with students that have a specific learning disability in reading.
School policy to be informed by study. Effective instructional strategies for
teaching contextual analysis to students with specific learning disabilities.
Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 3
Conceptual Underpinnings for the Study
The results of research studies over best practices for teaching reading
comprehension and basic reading skills conclude that using context clues to increase
comprehension and decoding skills is a successful reading strategy. Furthermore,
researchers, Martin-Chang & Levy (2005), found that teaching students to use context
clues increased reading fluency and comprehension. Additional research indicates that
students with specific learning disabilities will respond to instructional strategies that
have been scientifically proven effective in the general education setting (King-Sears &
Bowman-Kruhm, 2010). The use of context clues, however, requires extended practice
opportunities for students who struggle with reading skills (Sze, 2010). Previous research
also concludes that the direct instruction method is beneficial to teach students who
struggle with reading comprehension ability to use clues found in context (Bishop, Reyes,
& Pflaum, 2006). The researcher believes that if students are provided with direct
instruction and multiple practice opportunities to recognize and use context clues there
will be an increase in reading comprehension and basic decoding skills.
Statement of the Problem
Students with specific learning disabilities consistently score lower than students
without a disability on district and state common assessments in reading. This researcher
believes it is directly related to poor decoding and reading comprehension skills.
According to research, vocabulary development and comprehension strategies are
necessary to improve student achievement for students with a specific learning disability
in reading (King-Sears & Bowman-Kruhm, 2010). Successful comprehension during
reading requires the ability to read fluently, and teaching students how to use context
Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 4
clues to decode unknown words will help to increase students’ vocabulary and fluency. It
is also important to teach students how to recognize the various types of context clues if
they are to understand how to utilize this reading strategy to increase comprehension.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to determine if research proven instructional
strategies for teaching context clues found effective with general education students will
be as effective with students that have a specific learning disability. Vocabulary
development is important to comprehension in all content areas. Determining which
method is the best practice for teaching students how to determine meaning through
contextual analysis will impact student comprehension in all curricular areas.
Research Questions
RQ 1. Is there a difference in the fluency rate of students with specific learning
disabilities who have been taught using targeted group instruction and students who have
not received this instruction?
RQ2. Is there a difference in measures of comprehension of students with specific
learning disabilities who have been taught using targeted group instruction and students
who have not received this instruction?
Null Hypothesis
Ho 1. There is no significant difference in the fluency rate of students with
specific learning disabilities who have been taught using targeted group instruction and
students who have not received this instruction.
Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 5
Ho 2. There is no difference in measures of comprehension of students with
specific learning disabilities who have been taught using targeted group instruction and
students who have not received this instruction.
Anticipated Benefits of the Study
Although research has proven that it is necessary to increase comprehension and
decoding students needed to learn word attack skills and vocabulary development within
the general education setting, there is little research addressing whether these same
strategies are as effective with students who struggle with learning these strategies. The
results of this study will inform teachers of instructional strategies that are successful to
teach contextual analysis to student that have a specific learning disability in reading.
Summary
Successful comprehension during reading requires that the student utilize a
variety of reading strategies. Contextual analysis is a strategy that is cross curricular and
has been proven to increase reading comprehension. Furthermore, teaching contextual
analysis is a part of the state curriculum. Best practices for teaching students to use
contextual analysis have been researched; however there is little research to determine if
these methods are as effective when teaching students with a specific learning disability
in the area of reading. It is important to determine if these methods are effective for
teaching students who struggle with reading due to a learning disability, if these students
are to be successful when approaching material that is beyond their independent reading
level.
Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 6
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Reading comprehension requires fluency of reading, and fluency is developed
through reading experience. Martin-Chang and Levy (2005) explored the impact of
teaching words in isolation versus in context. They found that fluency increased
significantly when students received direct instruction using context clues to determine
meaning of unknown words. In a study of second language learners, the success of
deriving meaning from unknown words is attributed to the native speaker’s vocabulary
size. Furthermore, research indicated that teaching recognition and interpretation of
context clues increased reading comprehension (Walters, 2006).
The ability to use context clues is an important skill required for students’
comprehension of text as well as increasing vocabulary (Greenwood and Flanigan, 2007).
Applying this strategy correctly requires students to learn to recognize the various types
of context clues that are present in text. Greenwood and Flanigan (2007) also state that
repeated practice is necessary with challenging text for students to learn how to use
context clues independently.
Context is important in aiding students in decoding unknown words because
context provides students with a reference to check accurate decoding (Eisenwine,
Fowler, and McKenzie, 2000). Using context, students can substitute unknown words for
known words and test the derived meaning for accuracy. Eisenwine et al (2000) also
suggests that as the reader gains meaning from the context surrounding unknown words,
it is possible to anticipate decoding the meaning of the next unknown word.
To further support the use of context clues to improve vocabulary, Nash and
Snowling (2006) state that students with poor vocabulary knowledge are educationally at
Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 7
risk for academic failure. The link between vocabulary and reading comprehension
correlates in that poor vocabulary leads to poor comprehension. Poor comprehension can
lead to educational difficulty. Students who use context clues to learn new words
demonstrated significantly improved expressive vocabulary knowledge compared to
students who learn vocabulary through definitions (Nash and Snowling, 2006). Their
research also indicated that students who used context clues to derive meaning of
unknown words increased their comprehension as well as vocabulary knowledge.
The size of a student’s vocabulary is an indicator to how well that student will
comprehend (Greenwood and Flanigan, 2007). Because of the relationship between
vocabulary and comprehension, students’ vocabulary knowledge impacts their ability to
gain information during reading. Goerss, Beck, and McKeown (1999) believe it is
necessary to teach students how to use context to discover meaning of unknown words.
Students with remedial reading skills could learn how to use context clues effectively
provided instruction included teacher modeling followed by guided instruction using
think aloud procedures (Goerss et al, 1999).
Struggling readers face difficulty when they have not received explicit instruction
in a variety of comprehension strategies (Bishop, Reyes, and Pflaum, 2006). According to
this research, students are comfortable using dictionaries, rereading, and asking for help
to solve unknown words; however, students often lack the skills to use context clues and
other metacognitive strategies effectively as they are reading. Bishop et al (2006) also
suggests that teacher modeling of metacognitive strategies is highly successful and
essential for students with poor comprehension skills.
Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 8
When a teacher models thinking out loud, the students gain insight into how to
think critically about the reading process. Modeling comprehension strategies is a method
of explicit instruction that demonstrates to students what smart thinking sounds like
during the reading process. However, even though teachers are aware that teaching
strategies need to be explicit for struggling readers, teachers find modeling metacognitive
strategies difficult (Bishop et al, 2006) (Fisher, Frey, and Lapp, 2008).
Fisher et al (2008) advocate for shared reading as an effective method to model
comprehension and vocabulary strategies for older readers. Through shared reading, the
teacher can model an individual strategy. Shared reading positively affects student
achievement (Fisher et al, 2008). In fact, expert teachers focus modeling strategies in the
areas of comprehension, vocabulary, text structures, and text features. Each of these
reading instruction areas are connected to finding meaning in text. Context clues are
essential to two of the key areas: comprehension and vocabulary.
Shared reading includes a range of strategies including echo reading, choral
reading, cloze reading, and read-aloud. Shared reading is successful when students can
see the text as the teacher reads aloud (Fisher et al, 2008). The teachers model fluency
and practiced with the text prior to teaching the lesson. During shared reading, expert
teachers focused the reading on modeling their own thinking and not on student
comprehension. Expert teachers model multiple comprehension strategies concurrently
during a shared reading instead of focusing on just one (Fisher et al, 2008).
Description of the program. The targeted direct instruction program emphasizes
reading comprehension through the use of context clues to determine meaning of
unknown words. Reading was taught as a process and each lesson was modeled prior to
Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 9
having students move to cooperative groups to practice with anchor text. The initial
lesson in the sequence provided a definition of context clues and a chart that provided an
overview of the various types of clues commonly used by authors. This chart had
keywords to help locate clues should a student struggle with this process. A shared
reading followed during which the "think aloud" strategy was used to model how a good
reader uses pre-reading strategies such as accessing background knowledge and making
predications. As the reading continued, words previously selected were identified and
strategies for decoding were modeled for the students.
In subsequent lessons, the mini-lesson focused on one type of context clue and
continued to use modeling to demonstrate how to recognize and utilize clues found in
context. Individual lessons focused on definition clues, synonym/antonym clues,
comparison/contrast clues, cause/effect clues, examples, and general clues found in other
sentences throughout the reading. By modeling during reading strategies such as coding,
students learned how to track their own thinking and self-monitor comprehension.
Coding strategies taught included guiding students to circle unknown words as
they found them in their reading. To find clues to the meaning of the unknown word,
students underlined the supporting text and defined the type of content clues located
using the reference chart to help identify the category. Modeling guided students through
the process of checking for understanding by demonstrating how to replace the unknown
word for the inferred meaning and reread to see if the sentence makes sense.
Students worked in collaborative groups to practice the new skill, and re-teaching
was provided as needed. Students practiced using modified cloze activities with a word
bank provided initially. These activities served as a formative assessment that guided
Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 10
future lessons or practice activities. Following collaborative work, students practiced
using independent reading material and a think chart containing four columns: Word,
Inferred Meaning, Clues, and Sentence.
The students were directed to complete the chart as they found unknown words
during independent reading inside the regular classroom setting. The students wrote the
context clues that were used to determine the inferred meaning and then wrote the word
in a new sentence. Writing the word in a new sentence demonstrated that the student was
familiar with how to use the new word correctly. This sheet was submitted as an exit
ticket.
Two different assessments were administered during instruction on two separate
occasions to determine what skills students have mastered and if comprehension was
improving. Cloze activities required that students determine meaning by accessing
background knowledge combined with clues found within the text. To assess student’s
ability to use context clues, a modified cloze activity with appropriate grade level reading
material was used.
Students not receiving the targeted direct instruction were taught the same reading
strategies through the same instructional methods in a large group setting. They also had
fewer opportunities for practice prior to assessment.
Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 11
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
Research Design
A quasi-experimental research design was used to investigate the research
questions. Pre and post data was collected for each study group. The dependent variable
was the growth in comprehension as measured by The Scholastic Reading Inventory, a
standardized assessment that measures reading comprehension and provides a Lexile
level based on comprehension questions answered by the student. The independent
variable was the type of method used for teaching the use of context clues. The control
group received all instruction as whole group using reader’s workshop methodology,
which included whole group instruction followed by guided practice, and then individual
practice. The other received the content delivered in a small group setting through
targeted direct instruction. This included all the same factors as the control group;
however, students were not advanced to the next concept without mastering the previous
skill. Each group in the study utilized the same instructional materials and received the
same instruction on utilizing context clues as a reading strategy. Other variables that
could not be controlled yet may have impacted growth included absenteeism, behavioral
concerns, and external factors outside the school environment.
Study Group
Two study groups were used, and the ten students were selected from a population
of students assigned to a co-teaching inclusion setting for reading instruction. The
population was sorted based on educational services received and selected at random.
Study group A consisted of five students receiving special education services for a
specific learning disability in reading, and they received targeted direct instruction, which
Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 12
included continuous practice towards mastery in the use of context clues. Study group B
consisted of five students receiving general education services only. Although they
received instruction in the use of context clues, study group B did not receive the targeted
direct instruction.
Data Collection
Archival data was used in this research and contained scores in the areas of
mastery of context clues based on class assessments, grade level reading fluency
assessments, and Scholastic Reading Inventory scores. The students took a baseline
measurement in all three areas prior to instruction and repeated the assessments upon
conclusion of the instruction. Cloze activities required that students determine meaning
by accessing background knowledge combined with clues found within the text. To
assess student’s ability to use context clues, a modified cloze activity was used to provide
a multiple-choice selection for appropriate word meaning. To assess fluency a running
record was used to score students oral reading fluency with a short grade-level passage.
The Scholastic Reading Inventory was used to assess comprehension level.
Statistical analysis methods. Summary Mean and Standard Deviation values were
computed for all data sets. Comparative analysis was conducted through the use of the ttest in order to identify differences, if any, between any two groups. Independent t-tests
were conducted. A total of two computations were made which assessed the rate of
fluency increase and rate of comprehension increase. Because of the small study group
sizes, Alpha level 0.25 was used to challenge the null hypothesis.
Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 13
FINDINGS AND RESULTS FROM DATA ANALYSIS
The percent of differences between student scores prior to intervention and post
intervention was determined and an analysis of the data was conducted using ASP
software. As shown in Table 1, a significant difference in mean scores was found
between the two study groups in fluency rate increases. The null hypothesis was rejected.
Students that received targeted direct instruction in contextual analysis increased in
fluency. These findings suggest that for students with a learning disability targeted group
instruction is effective at increasing fluency.
Table 1
t-Test Analysis Result for Fluency Rate Increase
2
S
Source
Mean
Mean D
t-Test
0.00007
Study Group A (n=5)
0.08
0.00002
Study Group B (n=5)
0.002
0.006
1.41
Note: Significant when p = < 0.25.
df
p-value
8
0.19
Further analysis of the data to compare Scholastic Reading Inventory Score
increase is presented in Table 2. A significant difference in mean scores was not found
between the two study groups in comprehension increases. The null hypothesis is
accepted. The difference in rate of increase in comprehension between the two student
groups was not significant; therefore, targeted direct instruction does not appear to be
better than whole group instruction.
Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 14
Table 2
t-Test Analysis Result for Scholastic Inventory Score Increase
2
S
Source
Mean
Mean D
t-Test
0.02078
Study Group A (n=5)
0.184
0.0084
Study Group B (n=5)
0.11
0.074
0.97
Note: Significant when p = < 0.25.
df
p-value
8
0.36
In summary, the data indicates that there was a significant difference in fluency
between the students with a specific learning disability receiving targeted direct
instruction as compared to the whole group instruction. However, the data indicates that
the increase in comprehension rates of the students with specific learning disabilities was
not significant when using targeted direct instruction.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In general, the data suggests that students receiving instruction in contextual
analysis do increase in comprehension and fluency. Although both groups showed
individual growth in comprehension, there was not a significant difference between target
direct instruction and whole group instruction. This lack of significance, however, can be
interpreted as a success because students with a specific learning disability often score
significantly lower than students in the general education population on standardized
assessments. Furthermore, the students with a specific learning disability did demonstrate
a significant increase in fluency which does demonstrate that targeted direct instruction is
effective for these students.
There were several limitations in this study that may have impacted the results.
First, the population available for the study was not large which impacted the sample
selection. Secondly, there were time constraints for the targeted direct instruction study
Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 15
group. All instruction needed to be completed so that students could continue to follow
the scope and sequence established by the school district. These limitations may have
impacted the results. However, in evaluating the overall increase in both fluency and
comprehension within the group of students with learning disabilities, the intervention
was still successful.
Recommendations
Based on the data collected in the study, teachers and administrators need to
ensure that a variety of instructional strategies are in place to meet the needs of individual
students. When possible, students that struggle with a concept or skill should receive
targeted direct instruction. Teaching strategies should not be selected by time constraints
and should allow for direct intervention for those students that require more instruction to
master a skill. When students are assessed as part of the instruction, teachers are able to
determine mastery and move more quickly through the curriculum. With the current
trends in education, it is continually important to teach to the individual using diversified
methods of instruction and formative assessment.
Increasing Comprehension and Basic Reading Skills 16
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