The Effects of Using Direct Instruction Curricula in the Home to Teach Reading Comprehension to a 12-Year-Old Student with Cerebral Palsy

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of Direct Instruction curricula for teaching reading comprehension skills in the home. The participant was a 12-year-old girl who was enrolled in the seventh grade at a public middle school in the Pacific Northwest. She had been unable to pass her Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) in the sixth grade. Two undergraduate students served as instructors. Each session began by asking 12 systematically random comprehension questions from the lessons of Corrective Reading Comprehension Skills Book B1. These comprehension questions served as the major dependent variable. The results indicated an increase number of correct reading comprehensions when Direct Instruction materials and procedures were employed. The use of Direct Instruction was cost effective, required little training to correctly implement, and was time efficient. The participant enjoyed the procedures and was proud of her improvements in reading.