Project Activities
Structured Abstract
Setting
Sample
Research design and methods
Control condition
Key measures
Data analytic strategy
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Products: The products of this project include a teacher handbook, curriculum guide, and professional development materials to help teachers use the interactive strategies approach to teach reading to struggling readers. Published reports and presentations will also be disseminated to researchers and practitioners.
Book chapter
Gelzheiser, L.M., Scanlon, D., and Hallgren-Flynn, L. (2010). Spotlight on RTI for Adolescents: An Example of Intensive Middle School Intervention Using the Interactive Strategies Approach-Extended. In M.Y. Lipson, and K.K. Wixson (Eds.), Approaches to Response to Intervention (RTI): Evidence-Based Frameworks for Preventing Reading Difficulties (pp. 211-230). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Journal article, monograph, or newsletter
Gelzheiser, L.M., Hallgren-Flynn, L., Connors, M., and Scanlon, D. (2014). Reading Thematically-Related Texts to Develop Knowledge and Comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 68(1): 53-63. doi:10.1002/trtr.1271 Full text
Gelzheiser, L.M., Scanlon, D., Vellutino, F., Hallgren-Flynn, L., and Schatschneider, C. (2011). Effects of the Interactive Strategies Approach-Extended: A Responsive and Comprehensive Intervention for Intermediate-Grade Struggling Readers. The Elementary School Journal, 112(2): 280-306. doi:10.1086/661525
Supplemental information
Developing an approach to teaching reading and writing to older struggling readers is complicated because it must address students' deficits in knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension as well as their problems with lower level skills, such as single word reading. Reading interventions for older struggling readers typically do not integrate instruction on lower level skills (such as phonological skills and single word reading) with higher level skills (such as deficits in knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension). This research team proposes to develop the Interactive Strategies Approach to integrate lower level and higher level skills to better meet the needs of older struggling readers.
The research team is designing the Interactive Strategies Approach to address multiple instructional goals for older struggling readers, including motivation to read and write, phonological skills, word identification, comprehension and general knowledge, and vocabulary. These goals will be designed to provide direction for each student's individual intervention, which will be developed to take into account the student's current capabilities, the teacher's expectations, classroom resources, and the student's response to the instruction.
Purpose: The ability to read is critical to success in American schools. As struggling readers progress through school, their educational problems become more complicated because they are expected to acquire knowledge in all academic subject areas through independent reading. Older struggling readers fall increasingly below their peers in academic achievement, and may become disengaged and unmotivated. The purpose of this project is to develop and test a new approach to intervention with older struggling readers in grades 4 and 7 that incorporates both reading and writing skills.
Developing an approach to teaching reading and writing to older struggling readers is complicated because it must address students' deficits in knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension as well as their problems with lower level skills, such as single word reading. Reading interventions for older struggling readers typically do not integrate instruction on lower level skills (such as phonological skills and single word reading) with higher level skills (such as deficits in knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension). This research team proposes to develop the Interactive Strategies Approach to integrate lower level and higher level skills to better meet the needs of older struggling readers.
The research team is designing the Interactive Strategies Approach to address multiple instructional goals for older struggling readers, including motivation to read and write, phonological skills, word identification, comprehension and general knowledge, and vocabulary. These goals will be designed to provide direction for each student's individual intervention, which will be developed to take into account the student's current capabilities, the teacher's expectations, classroom resources, and the student's response to the instruction.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
