Improving Reading of Science Text for Secondary Students With Learning Disabilities: Effects of Text Reading, Vocabulary Learning, and Combined Approaches to Instruction

This study examined the effects of three types of reading interventions on the science text reading of secondary students with learning disabilities (LD). Twenty 10th-grade students with LD participated in the study. Using a within-subjects design, the relative effects of three different instructional approaches—text reading, vocabulary learning, and text reading plus vocabulary learning—were examined and compared with a control condition in which participants received no instruction. The effects of the interventions on reading fluency, vocabulary knowledge, and comprehension were examined. Results revealed that the text-reading and combined interventions had a positive effect on reading fluency and vocabulary knowledge, and that the vocabulary intervention had a positive effect on vocabulary knowledge. Potential effects were found for the comprehension measures. Results imply that students’ reading of science text, and knowledge of the vocabulary used in that text, can be improved with direct instruction.