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NICHCY: 1-800-695-0285 -1 - NICHCY News Digest 25—July 1997

Volume 25—July 1997

Students with learning disabili-ties often find learning a difficult andpainful process. The presence of theirlearning disability can make learning toread, write, and do math especiallychallenging.

This News Digest focuses upon twopromising interventions for studentswith learning disabilities: helpingstudents develop their use of learningstrategies and helping them developtheir phonological awareness. In the firstarticle, Neil Sturomski discusses theimportance of teaching students how tolearn—specifically, how to use learningstrategies to become more purposeful,effective, and independent learners.Research on the use of learning strate-gies is described briefly, and a processfor teaching students about learningstrategies is described in detail. Thisprocess will be useful for teachingvirtually any strategy or set of strategiesto students.

A wide variety of learning strategyinterventions have been developed overthe past 15 years. To identify whatstrategies might be most appropriate forspecific students, teachers can useNICHCY’s separate bibliographyLearning Strategies for Students withLearning Disabilities. This bibliographyprovides a listing of articles and books

NEWS DIGEST

Interventionsfor Students withLearning Disabilities

NICHCY

Table of ContentsTeaching Students with LDto Use Learning Strategies.␣ .␣ . .␣ . . . . . . . 2

References .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Phonological Awareness. . . . . . . .␣ .␣ . . . .13␣

References & Resources . . . . . . . . . . . .15

on strategies useful in reading, math,science, and other academic areas.

The second article in this News Digestwas written by William Ellis forNICHCY in 1996 and focuses upon theimportant role that phonological aware-ness plays in our ability to learn to read.Phonological awareness refers to under-standing that the letters of the alphabetcorrespond to certain sounds and, com-bined in certain patterns, form meaning-ful words. Because students with learn-ing disabilities often have great difficultylearning to read, activities addressing anddeveloping their phonological awarenesscan be the key they need to break the“alphabetic code” and become skilledreaders.

Together, these two articles provideinformation to help professionals work-ing with students with learning disabili-ties address the special needs of thesespecial students.

NICHCY News Digest 25—July 1997 -2 - NICHCY: 1-800-695-0285

Learning is the process ofacquiring—and retaining— knowl-edge so it may be applied in lifesituations. Learning is not a passiveprocess. As any teacher can attest,students are not vessels into whichnew information is poured and thenforever remembered. Rather, learn-ing new information and being ableto recall and apply it appropriatelyinvolves a complex interactionbetween the learner and the mate-rial being learned. Learning isfostered when the learner hasopportunities to practice the newinformation, receive feedback froman “expert,” such as a teacher, andapply the knowledge or skill infamiliar and unfamiliar situations,with less and less assistance fromothers.

To each new learning task,students bring their own ideas,beliefs, opinions, attitudes, motiva-tion, skills, and prior knowledge;they also bring with them thestrategies and techniques they havelearned in order to make theirlearning more efficient. All theseaspects will contribute directly tothe students’ ability to learn, and toremember and use what has beenlearned.

The focus of this article is onhelping students become moreefficient and effective learners byteaching them how to learn. Byequipping them with a repertoire ofstrategies for learning—ways toorganize themselves and newmaterial; techniques to use whilereading, writing, and doing math orother subjects; and systematic stepsto follow when working through alearning task or reflecting upon their

own learning—teachers can providestudents with the tools for a lifetimeof successful learning.

The Learning Difficulties ofStudents with LearningDisabilities

It is no secret that many stu-dents find learning a difficult andpainful process. Learning may bemade more difficult by any numberof factors, including inadequate priorknowledge, poor study skills, prob-lems with maintaining attention,cultural or language differences,and—as is the focus of this NewsDigest—the presence of a learningdisability. Students who have learn-ing disabilities are often over-whelmed, disorganized, and frus-trated in learning situations. Learn-ing can become a nightmare whenthere are memory problems, difficul-ties in following directions, troublewith the visual or auditory percep-tion of information, and an inabilityto perform paper-and-pencil tasks(i.e., writing compositions,notetaking, doing written home-work, taking tests).

Another aspect of learning thatpresents difficulties for studentswho have learning disabilities is whythey think they succeed or fail atlearning. Due to their history ofacademic problems, such studentsmay believe that they cannot learn,that school tasks are just too difficultand not worth the effort, or that, ifthey succeed at a task, they musthave gotten lucky. They may notreadily believe that there is a con-nection between what they do, theeffort they make, and the likelihood

of academic success. These negativebeliefs about their ability to learn,and the nature of learning itself, canhave far-reaching academic conse-quences.

While a detailed description ofhow learning disabilities affect thelearning process is beyond the scopeof this document, much informationis available on the subject. NICHCYmakes available a publication calledReading and Learning Disabilities: AResource Guide, which presents anoverview of learning disabilities anda listing of helpful books and organi-zations that can provide indepthinformation and guidance on thisdisabilit. An annotated bibliographycalled Educating Students with Learn-ing Disabilities is also available.

The Need to Be StrategicLearners

Notwithstanding the difficultiesthat students with learning disabili-ties often experience with learning,they have the same need as theirpeers without disabilities to acquirethe knowledge, skills, and strate-gies—both academic and nonaca-demic—that are necessary forfunctioning independently on a day-to-day basis in our society. Perhapsone of the most important skills theyneed to learn is how to learn. Know-ing that certain techniques andstrategies can be used to assistlearning, knowing which techniquesare useful in which kinds of learningsituations, and knowing how to usethe techniques are powerful toolsthat can enable students to becomestrategic, effective, and lifelonglearners.

Teaching Students With Learning DisabilitiesTo Use Learning Strategies

byNeil Sturomski


Surprisingly, many learnersknow little about the learningprocess, their own strengths andweaknesses in a learning situation,and what strategies and techniquesthey naturally tend to use whenlearning something new. Yet, we alldo use various methods and strate-gies to help us learn and remembernew information or skills. Forexample, when encountering a newword while reading, some of us maytry to guess its meaning from thecontext of the passage and besatisfied with an approximate idea ofwhat it means, while othersmay look the word up in thedictionary or ask someonenearby what it means. Stillothers may go a step furtherand write the new word downor try to use the word in asentence before the day isthrough. Some of thesemethods are more effectivethan others for learning andremembering new information, andsome of us are more conscious of ourown learning processes than others.

Because of the nature of theirlearning difficulties, students withlearning disabilities need to becomestrategic learners, not just haphaz-ardly using whatever learningstrategies or techniques they havedeveloped on their own, but becom-ing consciously aware of whatstrategies might be useful in a givenlearning situation and capable ofusing those strategies effectively.Teachers can be enormously helpfulin this regard. They can introducestudents to specific strategies anddemonstrate when and how thestrategies are used. Students canthen see how a person thinks orwhat a person does when using thestrategies. Teachers can provideopportunities for students to discuss,reflect upon, and practice thestrategies with classroom materialsand authentic tasks. By givingfeedback, teachers help studentsrefine their use of strategies and

learn to monitor their own usage.Teachers may then gradually fadereminders and guidance so thatstudents begin to assume responsi-bility for strategic learning.

What, Exactly, Are LearningStrategies?

Learning strategies are “tech-niques, principles, or rules thatfacilitate the acquisition, manipula-tion, integration, storage, and re-trieval of information across situa-tions and settings” (Alley & Deshler,

1979, p. 13). Strategies are efficient,effective, and organized steps orprocedures used when learning,remembering, or performing.

More simply put, learningstrategies are the tools and tech-niques we use to help ourselvesunderstand and learn new materialor skills; integrate this new informa-tion with what we already know in away that makes sense; and recall theinformation or skill later, even in adifferent situation or place. Whenwe are trying to learn or do a task,our strategies include what we thinkabout (the cognitive aspect of thestrategy) and what we physically do(the behavioral or overt action wetake).

Strategies can be simple orcomplex, unconsciously applied orused with great awareness anddeliberation. Simple learning strate-gies that many of us have used,particularly in school settings,include: notetaking, making a chart,asking the teacher questions, askingourselves questions, re-reading

when something does not makesense, looking at the reading ques-tions before beginning reading,checking our work, making anoutline before beginning to write,asking a friend to look over ourcomposition, rehearsing a presenta-tion aloud, making up a goofy rhymeto remember someone’s name, usingresource books, drawing a picturethat uses every new vocabulary wordwe have to learn, or mapping insequence the events of a story.Complex strategies tend actually tobe a set of several different strate-

gies that are used in tandem(and recursively) to accom-plish a complex learning tasksuch as writing a compositionor reading a passage andanswering questions. Forexample, a complex set ofstrategies for writing acomposition might involvethree recursive stages:planning, writing, and

revising. Each of these stages caninvolve using many different strate-gies. When planning, for instance,we might think hard about theaudience that will be reading whatwe’ve written (e.g., what do theyneed or want to know, or how can webest capture and hold their atten-tion?), write an outline, and identifypoints where we need to gathermore information in order to writeeffectively. When actually writing,we might focus on stating our mainideas well, supporting them withappropriate details, and summarizingour main points in the conclusion.Revising may have several mini-stages: looking back while writing tomake sure we’re following ouroutline (or deciding to abandon partsof the outline), laying aside thecomposition for a day, then re-reading it with a fresh eye. We mightalso check to make sure we’ve usedcorrect punctuation and grammar,consult a dictionary or other resourceguide when we’re uncertain, and asksomeone else to read what we’ve

“By equipping (students) with arepertoire of strategies for learn-ing... teachers can provide (them)with the tools for a lifetime ofsuccessful learning.”


written and give us feedback. Wealso move back and forth betweenthese three stages—thinking andplanning, writing for a while, re-reading to see how we’re doing,thinking of how to fix mistakes oradd new information, writingagain—and on until we’re finished.

The research literature aboundswith descriptions of these strategysets, often called strategy interven-tions, which are intended to makelearners highly aware of what theydoing, thus making their approach tocompleting specific tasks morepurposeful, systematic, and, accord-ing to the research findings, moreeffective. The writing interventioncalled DEFENDS is an example ofsuch a strategy set (see the boxabove). The name is actually anacronym; each letter stands for oneof the steps in the strategy. Remem-bering the acronym helps studentsremember the steps they are to usewhen writing. Other interventionsare described in this News Digest;additional ones are listed in theseparate Bibliography: LearningStrategies for Students with LearningDisabilities.

Strategies can also be catego-rized in many different ways. Dis-tinctions have been made, forinstance, between cognitive andmetacognitive strategies. Cognitive

strategies help aperson processand manipulateinformation—examples includetaking notes,asking questions,or filling out achart. Cognitivestrategies tend tobe very task-specific, meaningthat certaincognitive strate-gies are usefulwhen learning orperformingcertain tasks.

Metacognitive strategies are moreexecutive in nature. They are thestrategies that a student uses whenplanning, monitoring, and evaluatinglearning or strategy performance.For this reason, they are oftenreferred to as self-regulatory strate-gies.

The use of metacognitivestrategies indicates that the studentis aware of learning as a process andof what will facilitate learning.Taking the time to plan beforewriting, for example, shows that thestudent knows what is involved inwriting a good composition. Simi-larly, he or she might monitorcomprehension while reading andtake action when something doesnot make sense—for example, lookback in the text for clarification orconsciously hold the question inmind while continuing to read.Evaluating one’s work, learning, oreven strategy use is also highlymetacognitive in nature, because itshows that a learner is aware of andthinking about how learning takesplace.

Metacognitive strategies are atthe core of self-regulated learning,which, in turn, is at the core ofsuccessful and lifelong learning.Self-regulation involves such strate-gies as goal-setting, self-instruction,self-monitoring, and self-reinforce-

ment (Graham, Harris, & Reid,1992). It’s easy to see why self-regulated learners tend to achieveacademically. They set goals forlearning, talk to themselves inpositive ways about learning and useself-instruction to guide themselvesthrough a learning problem, keeptrack of (or monitor) their compre-hension or progress, and rewardthemselves for success. Just asstudents can be helped to developtheir use of cognitive, task-specificstrategies, so can they be helped touse self-regulatory, metacognitiveones as well. In fact, the mosteffective strategy interventionscombine the use of cognitive andmetacognitive strategies.

Strategies have also been catego-rized by their purpose or function forthe learner (Lenz, Ellis, & Scanlon,1996). Is a strategy being used tohelp the student initially learn newinformation or skills? Such strategiesare acquisition strategies. Is a strategybeing used to help the studentmanipulate or transform informationso that it can be effectively placed inmemory? These types of strategiesare storage strategies. Is a strategybeing used to help the learner recallor show what he or she has learned?Such strategies are demonstration andexpression of knowledge strategies.

What Strategies Might We HelpStudents Learn? Examples fromthe Reading Field

Decades of research into readinghas resulted in a substantial knowl-edge base about how we learn toread, what effective readers do, whatnot-so-effective readers do and don’tdo, and how good reading skillsmight be fostered or poor readingskills remediated. Much of thisknowledge base has been put to usein the form of strategy instruction—helping beginning readers, andthose whose skills need remediating,develop the strategies the goodreader uses. Good readers, for

Example of a Strategy Intervention

DEFENDS is the acronym for a strategic ap-proach that helps secondary students write acomposition in which they must take a positionand defend it (Ellis, 1994). Each letter stands for astrategic step, as follows:

D ecide on audience, goals, and positionE stimate main ideas and detailsF igure best order of main ideas and detailsE xpress the position in the openingN ote each main idea and supporting pointsD rive home the message in the last sentenceS earch for errors and correct


assistance, on individual paragraphs.Following the practice, studentswere provided with immediatefeedback. Eventually, followingsuccessful comprehension of theseshort paragraphs, students werepresented with more lengthy pas-sages as the cue card use was re-moved. Continuing to give correc-tive feedback, Wong and Jones(1982) finished each lesson with adiscussion of students’ progress andof strategy usefulness. Their resultsindicated that students with learningdisabilities who were trained in aself-questioning strategy performedsignificantly higher (i.e., demon-strated greater comprehension ofwhat was read) than untrainedstudents.

Story-mapping. Idol (1987)used a story-mapping strategy tohelp students read a story, generate amap of its events and ideas, andthen answer questions. In order tofill in the map, students had toidentify the setting, characters, time

and place of the story, the problem,the goal, the action that took place,and the outcome. Idol modeled forstudents how to fill in the map, thengave them extensive opportunitiesto practice the mapping techniquefor themselves and receive correc-tive feedback. She stated that ifcomprehension instruction providesa framework for understanding,conceptualizing, and rememberingimportant story events, students willimprove their comprehension ofnecessary information. Idol furtherrecognized that comprehensionimproves only through direct teacherinstruction on the use of the strat-egy, high expectation of strategy use,

example, successfully constructunderstanding and meaning throughinteracting with the text usinglearning strategies, including think-ing about what they already know onthe topic, being aware when they arenot understanding something in thetext, and taking some sort of correc-tive action to clear up the difficulty(Pressley, Brown, El-Dinary, &Afflerbach, 1995). They also para-phrase or summarize as they goalong, and they ask questions ofthemselves or others to maximizetheir comprehension. Studies haveshown that children with learningdisabilities and other low-achieverscan master the learning strategiesthat improve reading comprehensionskills (e.g., Deshler, Shumaker,Alley, Clark, & Warner, 1981; Idol,1987; Palincsar & Brown, 1987;Schunk & Rice, 1989; Wong &Jones, 1982). Techniques that helpstudents learn to ask questions andto paraphrase and summarize whatthey are reading have been shown tohelp them develop higher levelreading comprehension skills. Forstudents with learning problems,learning to use questioning strate-gies is especially important, sincethese students do not often sponta-neously self-question or monitortheir own reading comprehension(Bos & Filip, 1984).

This section looks briefly atsome of the strategies that research-ers and teachers have focused theirattention upon, with the purpose ofillustrating concretely what strate-gies might be helpful to students,particularly those with learningdisabilities.

Questioning and Paraphras-ing. Several strategic approacheshave been designed to foster stu-dent interaction with the text beingread. Reciprocal Teaching is onesuch approach (Brown & Palincsar,1988). In Reciprocal Teaching,students interact deeply with thetext through the strategies of ques-tioning, summarizing, clarifying, and

predicting. Organized in the form ofa discussion, the approach involvesone leader (students and teachertake turns being the leader) who,after a segment of the text is read,frames a question to which the groupreponds. Participants can then sharetheir own questions. The leaderthen summarizes the gist of the text.Participants comment or elaborateupon that summary. At any point inthe discussion, either the leader orparticipants may identify aspects ofthe text or discussion that need to beclarified, and the group joins to-gether to clarify the confusion.Finally, the leader indicates it’s timeto move on when he or she makes orsolicits predictions about what mightcome up next in the text.

Paraphrasing, self-questioning,and finding the main idea are thestrategies used in an approachdeveloped and researched byDeshler, Schumaker, Alley, Clark,and Warner (1981). Students dividereading passages into smaller partssuch as sections,subsections, orparagraphs. Afterreading a segment,students are cued touse a self-questioningstrategy to identifymain ideas anddetails. The strategyrequires students to maintain a highlevel of attention to reading tasks,because they must alternate theiruse of questioning and paraphrasingafter reading each section, subsec-tion, or paragraph.

Questioning to Find the MainIdea. Wong and Jones (1982) devel-oped a self-questioning strategyfocused primarily on identifying andquestioning the main idea or sum-mary of a paragraph. They firsttaught junior high students withlearning disabilities the concept of amain idea. A self-questioningstrategy was then explained. Stu-dents then practiced the self-questioning strategy, with cue card

“The most effective strategyinterventions combine the use of

cognitive and metacognitivestrategies.”


“Teaching methods need to providestudents with the opportunity to ob-serve, engage in, discuss and reflectupon, practice, and personalize strate-gies that can used with classroom tasksnow and in the future...”

and a move toward students inde-pendently using the strategy.

This is just a sampling of thestrategies that can be used bystudents to improve their readingcomprehension technique. Manyother strategies can be used inreading, and there are also manystrategies designed for math, writ-

ing, and other academic and non-academic areas (see NICHCY’sBibliography: Learning Strategies forStudents with Learning Disabilities).

The Research Base forLearning Strategies

As our knowledge has grownregarding the learning strategies thathelp us learn new information andperform various tasks, so has ourknowledge regarding how to teachthose strategies to students. In thelast 20 years, a sizeable research basehas developed that demonstrates theusefulness of directly teachingstudents how to use strategies toacquire skills and information andhow to apply those strategies, skills,and information in other settingsand with other materials (known asgeneralization). Unfortunately, alengthy discussion of the research isbeyond the scope of this News Digest;readers can refer to the stand-aloneBibliography: Learning Strategies forStudents with Learning Disabilities formore information on how the learn-ing strategy field has evolved. Whatis presented below is an overview ofthe conclusions that many research-

ers have drawn regarding learningstrategy instruction.

Researchers at the University ofKansas have been deeply involvedin researching learning strategiessince the 1970s and have done muchto define and articulate the benefitsof strategy instruction in general andfor individuals with learning disabili-

ties in particular.Chief among thebenefits is the factthat instruction inlearning strategieshelps studentswith learningdisabilitiesapproach andcomplete taskssuccessfully andprovides themwith techniques

that promote independence inacquiring and performing academicskills (Ellis, Deshler, Lenz,Schumaker, & Clark, 1991).

The work at the University ofKansas has also resulted in one ofthe most well researched and wellarticulated models for teachingstudents to use learning strategies.This model has been known foryears as the Strategies InterventionModel, or SIM, and was recentlyrenamed the Strategies IntegrationModel. The SIM is designed as aseries of steps that a teacher can useto effectively teach students to useany number of strategies or strategicapproaches. (The model is de-scribed more fully on the nextpages.) The SIM is not the onlymodel available to guide howteachers provide students withstrategy instruction; not surprisingly,researchers around the country tendto advocate similar methods, draw-ing from what is known abouteffective teaching methodology andabout learning.

In a nutshell, teaching methodsneed to provide students with theopportunity to observe, engage in,discuss and reflect upon, practice,

and personalize strategies that canbe used with classroom and authen-tic tasks now and in the future(Rosenshine & Stevens, 1986). Inusing these teaching methods,teachers promote student indepen-dence in use of the strategies.Research makes it clear, however,that if students are to use learningstrategies and generalize theirstrategic knowledge to other aca-demic and nonacademic situations,teachers must understand both thestrategies that provide students withthe necessary learning tools and themethods that can be used to effec-tively teach those learning strategiesto students.

Effective Teaching Methods

Just as there are effective ap-proaches to learning, there areeffective approaches to teaching. Agreat deal of research has beenconducted into the nature of effec-tive teaching, and much has beenlearned. Educational researchers(e.g., Englert, 1984; Nowacek,McKinney & Hallahan, 1990;Rosenshine & Stevens, 1986;Sindelar, Espin, Smith, andHarriman, 1990) have concluded, forexample, that a systematic approachto providing instruction greatlyimproves student achievement.These researchers also state thatteachers can learn the specificcomponents of an effective, system-atic approach to providing instruc-tion and can modify and therebyenhance their teaching behavior.Using such a systematic approachwith whatever is being taught canonly help to further improve educa-tional opportunities for all students,especially those who have learningdisabilities.

Rosenshine and Stevens (1986)have identified common teachingpractices of successful teachers, suchas teaching in small steps, practicingafter each step, guiding studentsduring initial practice, and providing


1. Pretest Students and GetThem Interested in Learning theStrategy Although the teacher maynot wish to call this step “testing,” itis nonetheless important to knowhow much the students alreadyknow about using the strategy and tosecure their commitment to learningthe strategy from top to bottom. AsLenz, Ellis, and Scanlon (1996)remark, “Short of standing overstudents with a gun, you cannotforce them to be strategic againsttheir will” (p. 85).

Letting students know thatgains in learning can occur when thestrategy is used effectively is one ofthe keys to motivating them. Studieshave shown that it is important totell students directly that they aregoing to learn a strategy that canhelp them in their reading, writing,or whatever skill is being addressedthrough the strategy. They also needto know that their effort and persis-tence in learning and in using thestrategy can bring them manylearning benefits. In a study byShunk and Rice (1989), for example,students were put into three groupsand taught the strategy of findingthe main idea of a reading passage.The groups, however, were givendifferent goals for their work. Onegroup was told that the goal of theactivity was to learn the strategy,which would help them answerseveral reading questions. Anothergroup was told that the goal was toanswer several reading questions;the third group was simply told to“do their best.” Results indicatedthat students whose learning goalwas to learn the strategy performedthe best when posttested. Under-standing, knowing, and applying astrategy that assisted comprehen-sion, Shunk and Rice (1989) re-ported, gave students a sense ofcontrol over their learning outcomesand, therefore, encouraged studentsto use the strategy. Use of thestrategy also fostered a sense of taskinvolvement among students. These

all students with opportunities forsuccess. Englert (1984) pointed outthat successful teachers use lessonstrategies to provide students withboth direct instruction and theopportunity for practice. Lessonstrategies include: communicatingthe rules and expectations of thelesson, stating instructional objec-tives and linking them to previouslessons, providing numerous ex-amples, prompting student re-sponses, and providing drill andfurther practice immediately follow-ing incorrect responses. Sindelar,Espin, Smith, and Harriman (1990)add that the more time an activelyengaged educator spends in theinstructional process, the morepositive student behavior andachievement will be. Sindelar et al.(1990) suggest that effective teach-ers limit seatwork activities, provideample opportunities for studentoverlearning through teacher ques-tioning, and allow time to sociallyinteract with students. They con-clude that encouraging higher levelsof student participation, providingeffective classroom transitions (i.e.,concluding one activity and movingon to another), and bringing lessonsto a close by providing assignmentsfor further practice are consistentwith teacher-directed learning.

Nowacek, McKinney, andHallahan (1990) indicate thatteacher-directed, rather than stu-dent-directed, activities provide foran effective educational experiencethat is more likely to improvestudent achievement. Higher levelsof student achievement occurbecause teachers, using a systematicapproach, are more organized, haveclearer expectations, maintainstudent attention, and provideimmediate, corrective, and construc-tive feedback. Because their instruc-tion is highly structured, theseteachers provide a positive environ-ment in which to learn.

Using a systematic approach toteaching does not suggest that

teacher and student creativity is nota vital part of the process. It merelylays out an organizational frameworkthat provides a means for enhanced,successful, and efficient learning.

Teaching Students to UseLearning Strategies

As with the basic tenets ofeffective teaching, much has beenlearned through research regardingeffective learning strategy instruc-tion. As mentioned earlier, a wellarticulated strategies instructionalapproach known as the StrategiesIntegration Model (SIM) hasemerged from the research con-ducted at the University of Kansas.Based on cognitive behavior modifi-cation, the SIM is one of the field’smost comprehensive models forproviding strategy instruction. It canbe used to teach virtually anystrategic intervention to students.

First, of course, the teacher mustselect a strategy —most likely, a setof strategies —␣ to teach to students.The decision of what strategy toteach, however, should not bearbitrary. Rather, the strategy shouldbe clearly linked to (i.e., useful incompleting) the tasks that studentsneed to perform and where theyneed to perform them. When thestrategy instruction is matched tostudent need, students tend to bemore motivated to learn and use thestrategy. (See NICHCY’s Bibliogra-phy for articles that describe thewide range of strategy approachesbeing taught. See also the sectionentitled “What Strategies Might WeHelp Students Learn?”, whereseveral overviews of strategy ap-proaches used in reading are given.)

Once the teacher has decidedupon what strategy or approach toteach, he or she may find the stepsof the SIM particularly useful forguiding how the actual instructionshould proceed. A fairly detaileddescription of suggested steps isgiven below.


results indicate the importance ofovertly teaching students both thestrategy and the power of the strat-egy—i.e., making sure they under-stand that the strategy can helpthem learn, and how it can help.

The pretest can be instrumentalin helping students see the need tolearn the strategy. To this end, it iscritical that the teacher preteststudents using materials and tasksthat are similar to the materials andtasks that the students actuallyencounter in their classes. Thestrategy should also be useful whenworking with those materials andtasks—in other words, students willfind it easier to work with thosematerials or perform those tasks ifthey apply the strategy.

The pretest should be primarilyfocused on completing the task (e.g.,reading a passage and answeringquestions). Following the pretest,the class should discuss results. Howdid students do? Were they able toperform the task successfully? Whattypes of errors did they make? Whatdid they do, or think about, to helpthemselves while taking the pretest?What difficulties did they have, andhow did they address those difficul-ties? If students did not performparticularly well, the teacher thenindicates that he or she knows of astrategy or technique that will helpstudents perform that task moresuccessfully in the future.

Obtaining a commitment fromstudents to learn the strategy,according to the SIM model, caninvolve any number of approaches,including discussing the value of thestrategy, the likelihood that successwill not be immediate upon learningthe strategy but will come if thestudent is willing to persevere andpractice the strategy, and theteacher’s own commitment tohelping the students learn thestrategy (Lenz, Ellis, & Scanlon,1996). (With elementary schoolstudents, student-teacher collabora-tion in use of the strategy is espe-cially important; teachers need todiscuss and practice strategies withthese young students frequently.)Commitments can be verbal or inwriting, but the idea here is to getthe students involved and to makethem aware that their participationin learning and using the strategy isvital to their eventual success.

2. Describe the Strategy. Inthis stage, teachers “present thestrategy, give examples, and havestudents discuss various ways thestrategy can be used” (Day &Elksnin, 1994, p. 265). A cleardefinition of the strategy must begiven, as well as some of the ben-efits to learning the strategy. Theteacher should also identify realassignments in specific classeswhere students can apply thestrategy and ask students if they canthink of other work where the

strategy might beuseful. Studentsshould also betold the variousstages involved inlearning thestrategy, so theyknow what toexpect.

Once thistype of overviewis provided andthe teacher feelsthat students areready to delve

more deeply into hearing about andusing the strategy, instruction mustbecome more specific. Each separatestep of the strategy must be de-scribed in detail. It is important thatthe strategy is presented in such away that students can easily remem-ber its steps. Many strategies havebeen given an acronym to helpstudents remember the various stepsinvolved. (An example is listed inthe box below; another, DEFENDS,was given earlier in this News Digest)Students may also benefit fromhaving a poster or chart about thestrategy and its steps displayed inplain view.

During the description stage, theclass may also discuss how this newapproach to a specific task differsfrom what students are currentlyusing. The stage should concludewith a review of what has been said.

3. Model the Strategy. Model-ing the strategy for students is anessential component of strategyinstruction. In this stage, teachersovertly use the strategy to help themperform a relevant classroom orauthentic task, talking aloud as theywork so that students can observehow a person thinks and what aperson does while using the strategy,including: deciding which strategyto use to perform the task at hand,working through the task using thatstrategy, monitoring performance(i.e., is the strategy being appliedcorrectly, and is it helping thelearner complete the work well?),revising one’s strategic approach,and making positive self-statements.An example of such a think aloud isprovided in the box at the right.

The self-talk that the teacherprovides as a model can become apowerful guide for students asresponsibility for using the strategytransfers to them. In fact, Lenz,Ellis, and Scanlon (1996) suggestthat teachers model the strategyintervention more than once andinvolve students in these subse-quent modelings by asking ques-

An Example of an Acronym Designedto Help Students Remember the Steps in

Using a Strategy

COPS is the acronym for a strategic approach thathelps students detect and correct common writ-ing errors. Each letter stands for an aspect ofwriting that students need to check for accuracy(Shannon & Polloway, 1993).

C Capitalization of appropriate lettersO Overall appearance of paperP Punctuation used correctlyS Spelling accuracy


tions such as “What do I do in thisstep?” Teachers can prompt thistype of student involvement byasking “Now what’s next? How dowe do that step? What questionsshould you be asking yourself?” (p.109). Student responses will helpthe teacher determine how well thestudents understand when andwhere they might use the strategyintervention, as well as the stepsinvolved in the intervention.

4. Practice the Strategy.Repeated opportunities to practicethe strategy are important as well.The more students and teacherscollaborate to use the strategy, themore internalized the strategy willbecome in students’ strategic reper-toire. Initial practice may be largelyteacher-directed, with teacherscontinuing to model appropriateways of thinking about the task athand and deciding (with increasingstudent direction) which strategy oraction is needed to work throughwhatever problems arise in complet-ing the task.

Students may also be calledupon to “think aloud” as they workthrough the practice tasks, explain-ing the problems they are having,decisions they are making, or physi-cal actions they are taking, and whattypes of thoughts are occurring tothem as they attempt to solve theproblems, make the decisions, ortake the physical actions. Thesestudent think alouds should increas-ingly show the strategy being usedto help them complete the tasksuccessfully. While these thinkalouds may initially be part ofteacher-directed instruction, stu-dents may benefit greatly frompracticing as well in small groups,where they listen to each other’sthink alouds and help each otherunderstand the task, why the strat-egy might be useful in completingthe task, and how to apply thestrategy to the task. Practice oppor-tunities should eventually becomeself-mediated, where students work

How Teachers Might Model a Strategyby Thinking Aloud

One strategy that is vital when reading, particularly for students withlearning disabilities, is comprehension monitoring. Comprehension moni-toring “is the active awareness of whether one is understanding orremembering text being processed” (Pressley, Brown, El-Dinary, &Afflerbach, 1995, p. 218).

After explaining to students that good readers constantly monitor howwell they are understanding what they read, the teacher might “show”students an example of how we think when we monitor. She puts up asample text entitled “Grizzly Bears,” reads it aloud, and thinks aloud asshe’s reading. Note that the think aloud below illustrates some of thecorrective actions (e.g., asking questions, looking back in the text,thinking about what we already know, reading on) good readers mighttake to clear up any confusions.

The text the teacher reads: “Grizzly bears are found in western Canadaand in Alaska, living in forests on mountain sides. They have shaggy fur,humped shoulders, sharp teeth and long, sharp claws...Grizzlies usuallylive alone. Each bear has its own area of land, called a “home range.” Itleaves scents on the bark of trees all the way around its home range tolet other bears know where it lives.” [Wood, J. (1989). My first book ofanimals (p. 34). Boston, MA: Little, Brown.]

The teacher’s think aloud might be as follows:

Let’s see. This is about grizzly bears, I can tell that from the title. I know a littlebit about grizzly bears — they’re big and have sharp claws and teeth, andsometimes they come into people’s campsites and try to get the food. I guessthey’re not all Gentle Ben... okay, “...found in western Canada and in Alaska,”places it’s cold, yeah, that makes sense because they hibernate in winter, I remem-ber that now...“living in forests on mountain sides. They have shaggy fur...” Iguess that’s good, cos they live where it’s cold.

“...humped shoulders...” Humped shoulders? What do they mean by that? Oh,maybe when they’re down on all fours, yeah, their backs are kind of like a humpthen, okay, I get it “...and have sharp claws and teeth...” see! I knew that!

“Grizzlies usually live alone...” I wonder why that is. Don’t they like oneanother? Maybe they don’t want to share the food they find, or maybe they fightover territory...Let me look back and see if I missed something...[re-reads] no, Istill don’t have a clue. Maybe they’ll tell me in a bit why bears don’t live togetherin little groups, let’s see.

“Each bear has its own area of land...[reads to end], no, no answer, at leastnot real clear. I can see they probably do defend their territory, though, if theymark the trees with their scent. They must be like dogs then, dogs do that, markthings with their scent, to warn other dogs off. Sort of like a fence around youryard! I wonder how they leave the scent, though —maybe they go on the tree orrub up against it, against the bark. I also wonder how big an area a bear gets.As big as he wants, I guess, with all those claws and teeth!


independently to complete taskswhile using the strategy.

In the beginning, studentsshould practice using the strategywith materials that are at or slightlybelow their comfort level, so they donot become frustrated by overlydifficult content. Using materialsthat are well matched to the strategyis also important, because thenstudents can readily see thestrategy’s usefulness. As time goesby and students become moreproficient in using the strategy,materials that are more difficultshould be used.

5. Provide Feedback. Thefeedback that teachers give studentson their strategy use is a criticalcomponent in helping students learnhow to use a strategy effectively andhow to change what they are doingwhen a particular approach is notworking. Much of the feedback canbe offered as students becomeinvolved in thinking aloud about thetask and about strategy use, in themodelling and practice steps de-scribed above. It is also important to

provide opportunities for students toreflect upon their approach to andcompletion of the task. What aspectsof the task did they complete well?What aspects were hard? Did anyproblems arise, and what did they doto solve the problems? What mightthey do differently the next timethey have to complete a similar task?

6. Promote Generalization. Itis important for students to be ableto apply the strategy in novel situa-tions and with novel tasks. Surpris-ingly, many students will not recog-nize that the strategy they havebeen learning and practicing may beideal for helping them to complete alearning task in a different classroomor learning situation; this is particu-larly true of students with learningdisabilities (Borkowski, Estrada,Milstead & Hale, 1989). Thus, mereexposure to strategy training appearsinsufficient for both strategy learn-ing and strategy utilization (Wood,Rosenburg,& Carran, 1993). Consis-tent, guided practice at generalizingstrategies to various settings andtasks is, therefore, vital for students

with learning disabilities (Pressley,Symons, Snyder & Cariglia-Bull,1989), as are repeated reminders thatstrategies can be used in new situa-tions (Borkowski, Estrada, Milstead& Hale, 1989).

Therefore, teachers need todiscuss with students what generali-zation is and how and when studentsmight use the strategy in othersettings. An important part of thisdiscussion will be looking at theactual work that students have inother classes and discussing withstudents how the strategy might beuseful in completing that work.Being specific—actually goingthrough the steps of the strategywith that work—is highly beneficial.Students can also be called upon togenerate their own lists of instanceswhere they might apply the strategyin other classes. (An example of astudent-generated list of opportuni-ties to use the strategy COPS isgiven in the box on the next page.)Additionally, teachers may wish tocoordinate between themselves topromote student use of strategiesacross settings, so that the strategiesbeing taught in one classroom arementioned and supported by otherteachers as well. All of these ap-proaches will promote studentgeneralization of the strategy.

Other Approaches to StrategyInstruction

The steps given above havebeen drawn primarily from researchconducted at the University ofKansas and represent one strongapproach to teaching the wide rangeof strategies that learners can use totackle challenging learning situa-tions. Other approaches to strategyinstruction exist as well (seeNICHCY’s Bibliography: LearningStrategies for Students with LearningDisabilities), with most recommend-ing many of the steps articulated inthe SIM. Much effort has gone intodefining, testing, and refining their

The Importance of Positive Self-Statements

Teachers may find that it’s important to address the negative feelings thatmany students with learning disabilities have about learning and aboutthemselves. Often, these students believe that they cannot learn, that thework is simply too difficult, or that any success they might achieve is dueto luck. They may not readily believe they can achieve success in learn-ing through their own effort and strategic activities and thoughts, and sothey may not persist in using strategies.

Just as teachers can help students develop strategic approaches to learn-ing, teachers can help students learn to attribute success in learning totheir own effort and use of strategies. Modeling positive self-statements,and encouraging students to use such self-talk, are essential.

Examples of positive self-statements that attribute success to effort andnot to luck include: “I can probably do this problem because I’ve donesimilar ones successfully.” “I’m usually successful when I work carefullyand use the learning strategy correctly.” “If I make a mistake, I can prob-ably find it and correct it.” (Corral & Antia, 1997, p. 43) Changing stu-dents’ perceptions about themselves and about the connection betweeneffort and success can be a vital element in their willingness to keeptrying in the face of challenge, using learning strategies as a valuable tool.


Student-Generated List ofOpportunities to Use COPS

Love lettersHomework assignmentsSpelling practiceJob applicationsEnglish papersWritten math problemsHealth questionsHistory exam questionsFriendly lettersWritten instructions

(Shannon & Polloway, 1993, p. 161)

components, and in validating theireffectiveness in promoting studentachievement.

While the SIM and other strat-egy instruction models presenteducators with an overall structurefor teaching students about learningand about learning strategies andtechniques, the research literaturealso abounds with descriptions ofspecific strategies that students canuse to enhance their reading, writ-ing, and math skills. There are alsomany descriptions of strategiesdesigned for use in specific aca-demic (e.g., science) and non-academic (e.g., social skills) areas.Some strategy interventions aredesigned for use at the elementarylevel, while others are appropriatefor secondary students. (Many ofthese are listed in the stand-alonebibliography that is the companionto this News Digest.) While much isknown about strategy instruction,new instruction and instructionalmethodology continues to unfold, asdoes our understanding of bothstrategies and strategy instruction.Therefore, strategy techniques andinstruction should not be lookedupon as a cure-all when workingwith students who have learningdisabilities but as another possibleapproach to meeting learners’ needs.

ConclusionLearning strategy instruction

appears to hold great educationalpotential, especially for studentswho have learning disabilities. Thisis because strategy training empha-sizes helping students learn how tolearn and how to use strategies foundto be effective in promoting success-ful performance of academic, social,or job-related tasks. Students needthese skills not only to cope withimmediate academic demands butalso to address similar tasks indifferent settings under differentconditions throughout life. Strate-gies are, thus, skills that empower.

They are resources for anindividual to use, especiallywhen faced with new learningsituations.

Good strategy instructionmakes students aware of thepurposes of strategies, how theywork, why they work, whenthey work, and where they canbe used. To accomplish this,teachers need to talk aboutstrategies explicitly, describeand name them, model howthey are used by thinking aloudwhile performing tasks relevantto students, provide studentswith multiple opportunities touse the strategies with a varietyof materials, and provide feedbackand guidance to help students refineand internalize strategy use. Ulti-mately, responsibility for strategyuse needs to shift from teacher tostudents, so that students canbecome independent learners withthe cognitive flexibility necessary toaddress the many learning chal-lenges they will encounter in theirlives.

Of course, no single technique orintervention can be expected toaddress the complex nature oflearning or the varied needs of alllearners. When working with stu-dents with learning disabilities,teachers will find it highly beneficialto have a variety of interventionsand techniques with which to fosterstudent success. Strategies are one

such technique—and a powerful oneat that! When students are givenextensive and ongoing practice inusing learning strategies within thecontext of day-to-day school instruc-tion, they become better equippedto face current and future tasks.Learning how to learn provides themwith the ability to be independentlifelong learners, which is one of theultimate goals of education. Whenstudents learn, they grow andchange intellectually. They acquiremore than knowledge. They en-hance their sense of competence andtheir ability to achieve.

About the Author...

Neil Sturomski has worked for over 20 years in the learning disabilities field. Hehas taught both children and adults with learning disabilities, first as a teacher ingrades K-12 and then as the Director of the Night School program of the LabSchool of Washington. Most recently, Mr. Sturomski has served as the Director ofthe National Adult Literacy and Learning Disabilities Center, in Washington,DC. Mr. Sturomski is currently President and CEO of Sturomski and Associatesand is deeply involved in training teachers to help individuals with learning dis-abilities learn how to use learning strategies.

NICHCY would like to express its deep appreciation to Neil for this article—andfor his incredible patience!


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References


Phonological Awarenessby

William Ellis

Reading is a complex activity. Itsends our brains into a frenzy ofelectrical impulses that zig and zagthrough matter in ways we still donot totally understand. It organizessights and sounds in designs thatultimately connect us to the broadvistas of life’s many landscapes.Reading gives us the opportunity toappreciate those landscapes in alltheir variety. It is remarkable that,whatever approach, method,or ideology is used to teachreading, most studentsbecome proficient at it. Formany students, successfulreading is assimilated intotheir experience quickly andwith seeming smoothness.Fortunate, the students for whomreading comes easily!

For perhaps as many as 20% ofstudents, however, reading is not anautomatic skill. Patterns of under-standing have to be systematicallyinstilled so that the reader has theopportunity to crack the alphabeticcode. More and more, what we havelearned is that connecting thesealphabetic symbols to specificsounds in order to create meaningfulwords and phrases is a significantaspect of reading. There is consider-able longitudinal research to supportthat we all employ this skill everytime we read. Without this connec-tion between the basic unit of soundand the alphabetic symbol, readingdoes not occur for any of us(Liberman & Liberman, 1990).

These basic units of soundscontained within each word arecalled phonemes. Research has shownthat understanding of these phone-mic units, more than any otherfactor, is a critical part of successfulreading. Phonemic awareness

involves analyzing and combiningthe smallest units of discernablesound (phonemes) in a variety ofways, in order to connect the sym-bols (letters) which represent them,to specific meanings. The word“bat,” for example, has three pho-nemes. The phonic approach wouldinvolve helping the student discoverthe word produced when the /b/, /a/,and /t/ sounds are put together.

Throughout the history of theteaching of reading, there has been agreat debate between those whoadvocate teaching reading throughstructured language approachesinvolving phonics, and those whosuggest that it is sufficient to graspthe relation of a whole word to itsmeaning derived from some largercontext (Chall, 1989). In the ex-ample used above, the word “bat”might be learned through its place-ment in a sentence such as, “We usea bat in baseball.” For many years,the trend in school systems has beento use this method, called the“whole language” approach.

Unfortunately, in schools wherethe whole language approach is usedto teach reading, simultaneousteaching of explicit phonics is notalways considered useful or neces-sary. Whether the phonemic or thewhole language approach is used,always we find that there is a blockof children who still do not learn toread. This suggests that schoolsystems have no systematic way for

determining a satisfactory matchbetween the way which an indi-vidual child learns to read and theteaching approaches used. In herbook Beginning to Read, commentatorMarilyn Adams (1990) suggests thatthe phonemic and whole languageapproaches do not have to be mutu-ally exclusive but can complementeach other’s strengths to the better-ment of all readers. Recently, it

appears that there is amovement to follow her sageadvice. Also, long-termresearch is being conductedthrough the National Insti-tute of Child Health andHuman Development(NICHD) grants to deter-

mine how to match different typesof learners and effective teachingapproaches. Several of these ap-proaches directly reflect our knowl-edge of phonemic awareness.

The validity of the phonemicapproach is supported by consider-able empirical data spanning morethan 20 years. Much of the researchhas been sponsored by NICHDthrough projects such as the Dys-lexia Program Projects in the late1970s and the Learning DisabilityResearch Centers in the late 1980s.Working independently and ondifferent projects, these centers haveachieved convergent results that areextremely compelling (Moats &Lyon, 1993). In fact, the importanceof phonological awareness in learn-ing to read is one of the few aspectsof reading supported by such sub-stantial, long-term research. Thisresearch has demonstrated that asignificant number of children (15 to20%) do not learn to read success-fully unless they receive directinstruction in phonological aware-

“Phonological awareness has the poten-tial to unravel the mysteries of reading tocountless thousands of individuals...”


ness. Therefore, it is imperativethat, whatever approach is used toteach reading skills, the needs of thispopulation must not be ignored.

We do not know precisely whyacquisition of phonemic awareness isdelayed in some students. We doknow that certain kinds of languageactivities for the pre-academic childmake a substantial difference. Forexample, rhyming games can havean important effect (Bradley &Bryant, 1985). Children who havedifficulty with rhyming often seemto have difficulty learning to read.Therefore, utilizing rhyming gamesand songs with young children canassist in identifying those childrenwho may have difficulty readinglater, so that useful interventions canbe made to strengthen their skills.Keith Stanovitch (1993) outlinesseveral activities that enhancephonemic awareness:

✓ Phonemic deletion: What wordwould be left if the /k/ soundwere taken away from cat?

✓ Word-to-word matching: Dopen and pipe begin with thesame sound?

✓ Blending: What word wouldwe have if we put thesesounds together: /s/, /a/, /t/?

✓ Sound isolation: What is thefirst sound in rose?

✓ Phoneme segmentation: Whatsounds do you hear in theword hot?

✓ Phoneme counting: How manysounds do you hear in theword cake?

✓ Deleted phoneme: Whatsound do you hear in meet thatis missing in eat?

✓ Odd word out: What wordstarts with a different sound:bag, nine, beach, bike?

✓ Sound-to-word matching: Isthere a /k/ in bike?

Activities of this kind can be funand interesting to all children. Tothose for whom increased phonemicawareness is essential, they are agodsend. Nevertheless, even if wewere to achieve a perfect record of

teaching phonemic awareness, therewill still be a significant number ofindividuals who will have difficultywith reading and other languagetasks. Researchers in the medicaland educational fields are pursuingavenues for understanding the rootcauses of these problems. It is hopedthat such understanding will bringabout some additional ways ofpresenting reading, so that yetanother subset of poor readers canbe helped.

With phonological awareness, wehave the opportunity to establishmodes of teaching that are based onsolid research. Annual data suppliedby the U.S. Department of Educa-tion (1995) show that more than 50%of school-age youngsters beingprovided special education serviceshave learning disabilities and that, ofthese, more than 80% manifest theirdifficulties in reading and language.It is clear that a major effort inteaching phonological awareness atthe earliest possible opportunity willhave a significant impact on reduc-ing the number of individuals whowill require special services.

A major impediment to imple-menting a phonemic approach is thepoor level of phonemic awarenessamong teachers who teach readingand among teachers in general. Thislack of awareness is reported in amajor survey by Louisa Moats(1994), who found that teachersoften were aware of their lack ofknowledge and earnestly sought

greater understanding, but they hadreceived little training. Moats’findings suggest that shifting ourapproach to teaching reading meanstraining teachers in phonologicalawareness. Teachers who do notunderstand the structural basis oflanguage will have little success inteaching it or in perceiving thedifficulties with language that somechildren have.

Anderson et al. (1985), in theirseminal report Becoming a Nation ofReaders, alerted the nation to theneed for explicit phonic teaching. Asearly as 1985, they had observed adecline in reading scores amongselected groups of children. Thereport, perhaps overshadowed byother more startling calls for schoolreform, never received the attentionit merited. In the intervening years,little has changed, and test scorescontinue to decline. The nation haspoured millions of tax dollars intoresearch that supports phonologicalapproaches, yet little has changed inthe school systems. Emphasizingphonological awareness in teachingreading is an approach that appearsto match the method to our body ofknowledge. Phonological awarenesshas the potential to unravel themysteries of reading to countlessthousands of individuals, and toprotect their well-being as well asthat of the nation. The phonemicapproach to reading is an area wherewe actually have well-documentedtools. We need to use them.

About the Author...

As an educator and advocate, William Ellis contributed a great deal to the learn-ing disabilities field. During his career, Mr. Ellis chaired numerous nationalsymposia, edited several books, and published many articles on reading and learn-ing. Prior to his death in 1995, he served as the Director of the National Centerfor Learning Disabilities and as Executive Editor of Their World, an annualpublication of NCLD. Most of all, he was a man of tremendous compassion.

Bill wrote this article for NICHCY in the last months of his life. We at NICHCYare proud to offer this work to the field.


Adams, M.J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learningabout print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Anderson, R.C. et al. (1985). Being a nation of readers: Thereport to the Commission on Reading. Washington, DC: NationalInstitute of Education.

Bradley, L., & Bryant, P. (1985). Rhyme and reason inreading and spelling. Ann Arbor, MI: University of MichiganPress.

Chall, J.S. (1989). Learning to read: The great debate 20years later: A response to Debunking the great phonics myth.Phi Delta Kappan, 70, 521-538.

Ellis, W., & Cramer, S. (1995). Learning disabilities: Anational responsibility: Report of the Summit on Learning Disabili-ties. New York: National Center for Learning Disabilities.

Interagency Committee on Learning Disabilities. (1987).A report to the U.S. Congress. Washington, DC: Author.

References

Liberman, Y.I., & Liberman, A.M. (1990). Whole lan-guage vs. code emphasis: Underlying assumptions and theirimplications for reading instruction. Annals of Dyslexia, 40, 51-76.

Moats, L.C. (1994). The missing foundation in teachereducation. Annals of Dyslexia, 44, 81-102.

Moats, L.C., & Lyon, G.R. (1993). Learning disabilities inthe United States: Advocacy, science, and the future of thefield. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 26, 282-294.

Stanovitch, K.E. (1993). Romance and reality. The ReadingTeacher, 47, 280-291.

U.S. Department of Education. (1995). Seventeenth annualreport to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals withDisabilities Education Act. Washington, DC: Author.

Additional Resources

Ball, E.W. (1993, June). Phonological awareness: What’simportant and to whom? Reading and Writing: An Interdiscipli-nary Journal, 5(2), 141-159.

Cunningham, A. (1990). Explicit versus implicit instruc-tion in phonemic awareness. Journal of Experimental ChildPsychology, 50, 429-444.

Dye, G.A., & McConnell, J.L. (1997, March/April).Learning through rhyme. TEACHING Exceptional Children,29(4), 72-73.

ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Educa-tion. (1996, Spring). Beginning reading and phonologicalawareness for students with learning disabilities. TEACHINGExceptional Children, 28(3), 78-79.

Frost, J.A., & Emery, M.J. (1995, August). Academicinterventions for children with dyslexia who have phonological coredeficits (ERIC Digest E539). Reston, VA: ERIC Clearinghouseon Disabilities and Gifted Education. (ERIC DocumentReproduction Service No. ED 385 095)

Goswami, U., & Bryant, P. (1990). Phonological skills andlearning to read. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. (ContactTaylor & Francis, at 1-800-821-8312.)

Griffith, P.L., & Olson, M.W. (1992, March). Phonemicawareness helps beginning readers break the code. ReadingTeacher, 45(7), 516-523.

Hatcher, P., Hulme, C., & Ellis, A. (1994). Amelioratingearly reading failure by integrating the teaching of readingand phonological skills: The phonological linkage hypothesis.Child Development, 65, 41-57.

McBride-Chang, C. (1995). What is phonological aware-ness? Journal of Educational Psychology, 87(2), 179-192.

O’Connor, R., Jenkins, J., Slocum, T., & Leicester, N.(1993). Teaching phonemic manipulation skills to childrenwith learning handicaps: Rhyming, blending, and segmenting.Exceptional Children, 59, 532-546.

Oldrieve, R.M. (1997, March/April). Success with readingand spelling: Students internalize words through structuredlessons. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 29(4), 57-64.

Olson, M.W., & Griffith, P. (1993, October-December).Phonological awareness: The what, why, and how. Reading andWriting Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 9(4), 351-360.

Smith, S.B. (1995, February). Phonological awareness:Curricular and instructional implications for diverse learners(Technical Report No. 22). Eugene, OR: National Center toImprove the Tools of Educators. (ERIC Document Reproduc-tion Service No. ED 386 869)

Spector, J.E. (1995, January-March). Phonemic awarenesstraining: Application of principles of direct instruction.Reading and Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties,11(1), 37-51.


NICHCY News Digest is published several times a year in response to questions from individuals and organi-zations that contact the Clearinghouse. In addition, NICHCY disseminates other materials and can respond toindividual requests for information. For further information and assistance, or to receive a NICHCY PublicationsCatalog, contact NICHCY, P.O. Box 1492, Washington, DC 20013. Telephone: 1-800-695-0285 (Voice/TTY) and(202) 884-8200 (Voice/TTY). Visit our Web site (http://www.nichcy.org) or our gopher site (gopher aed.org). Youcan also send us E-mail at: [email protected].

NICHCY would like to express its gratitude to the authors of this News Digest, Neil Sturomski and Bill Ellis. Wealso would like to thank the individuals who lent their time and expertise to review this document in draft andwho provided us with a wealth of suggestions and guidance: Dr. Karen R. Harris, Professor and Researcher,College of Education, University of Maryland; Dr. David Scanlon, Assistant Professor, Boston College, Chest-nut Hill, MA; Jean Petersen, National Executive Director, Learning Disabilities Association of America, Pitts-burgh, PA; Joelle LeBlanc, Teacher, Cathedral School, Washington, DC; Ann Roldan, Teacher, The Lab School,Washington, DC; and the National Center for Learning Disabilities, New York, New York.

NICHCY welcomes Dr. Peggy Cvach as our Project Officer at the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S.Department of Education.

Project Director␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ . . ␣ .␣ Suzanne RipleyEditor␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ Lisa KüpperAssociate Editor␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ .␣ . .␣ Mary Kate Conroy

This information is copyright free, unless otherwise indicated. Readers are encouraged to copy and share it,but please credit the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY). Pleaseshare your ideas and feedback with our staff by writing to the Editor.

AEDAcademy for Educational Development

Publication of this document is made possible through Cooperative Agreement #H030A30003 between the Academy for EducationalDevelopment and the Office of Special Education Programs of the U.S. Department of Education. The contents of this document do notnecessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organi-zations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

The Academy for Educational Development, founded in 1961, is an independent, nonprofit service organization committed to ad-dressing human development needs in the United States and throughout the world. In partnership with its clients, the Academy seeks tomeet today’s social, economic, and environmental challenges through education and human resource development; to apply state-of-the-arteducation, training, research, technology, management, behavioral analysis, and social marketing techniques to solve problems; and toimprove knowledge and skills throughout the world as the most effective means for stimulating growth, reducing poverty, and promotingdemocratic and humanitarian ideals.

N I C H C Y

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