No Access

Story Grammar: An Approach for Promoting At-Risk Secondary Students' Comprehension of Literature

, and

Abstract

This study compared 2 methods of teaching low-performing ninth-grade students to comprehend short stories. One method was an interactive comprehension strategy based on schema theory and story grammar. This method focused on identifying the important story grammar elements such as problem/conflict, main character, attempts, resolution, twist, character information, reactions, and theme. The comparison condition, traditional basal instruction, lasted 4 weeks. 32 students, including 6 special education students who met the screening criteria, served as subjects. Students were paired according to pretest scores and handicapping conditions and randomly assigned to 1 of the 2 treatments. Students' performance was analyzed on 4 measures (story grammar questions, basal questions, written retells, and theme questions) drawn from curriculum-referenced tests. The results indicated that students who had story grammar instruction performed significantly better on basal, story grammar, and theme questions, and on written retells, than students who had traditional instruction. Maintenance tests indicated that the effects of the intervention lasted for 2 weeks in all areas.

The Elementary School Journal

Volume 91, Number 1Sep., 1990

Article DOI

https://doi.org/10.1086/461635

Views: 53
Total views on this site

Citations: 46
Citations are reported from Crossref

PDF download

Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:
Ágnes Lukács, Péter Rácz, Bence Kas Tankönyvi szövegek nyelvi feldolgozhatóságának mutatói és vizsgálati módszerei, Magyar Pedagógia 122, no.22 (Jun 2022): 65–88.
https://doi.org/10.14232/mped.2022.2.65
Esther Hellmann, Linnea C. Ehri The impact of story grammar instruction and text difficulty on students’ skill in summarizing narratives, Written Language & Literacy 23, no.11 (Oct 2020): 29–58.
https://doi.org/10.1075/wll.00032.hel
Elizabeth A. Stevens, Sunyoung Park, Sharon Vaughn A Review of Summarizing and Main Idea Interventions for Struggling Readers in Grades 3 Through 12: 1978–2016, Remedial and Special Education 40, no.33 (Jan 2018): 131–149.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932517749940
Sarah Levine Using Everyday Language to Support Students in Constructing Thematic Interpretations, Journal of the Learning Sciences 28, no.11 (Jul 2018): 1–31.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2018.1485023
Diane M. Browder, Jenny R. Root, Leah Wood, Caryn Allison Effects of a Story-Mapping Procedure Using the iPad on the Comprehension of Narrative Texts by Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities 32, no.44 (Oct 2015): 243–255.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1088357615611387
Brian R. Belland, Andrew E. Walker, Nam Ju Kim A Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis to Synthesize the Influence of Contexts of Scaffolding Use on Cognitive Outcomes in STEM Education, Review of Educational Research 87, no.66 (Aug 2017): 1042–1081.
https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654317723009
Po-Yao Chao, Chia-Ching Lin, Ming-Shiang Wu Employing a visualized searching system to assist elementary students’ tactics and success of storybook searching, Online Information Review 41, no.33 (Jun 2017): 412–427.
https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-01-2016-0029
M.C. Gremmen, I. Molenaar, R.C. Teepe Vocabulary development at home: a multimedia elaborated picture supporting parent-toddler interaction, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 32, no.66 (May 2016): 548–560.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12150
Shu-Li Chen, Shih-Jay Tzeng, Szu-Yin Chu, Hsin-Ying Chen The Impacts of Remedial Interventions on Learning Chinese for Low-Achieving First Graders, The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher 25, no.11 (Mar 2015): 45–55.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-015-0231-8
Meenakshi Gajria, Asha K. Jitendra Effective Strategies for Developing Reading Comprehension, (Jun 2016): 119–137.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31235-4_8
Giuliana Pinto, Christian Tarchi, Lucia Bigozzi Development in narrative competences from oral to written stories in five- to seven-year-old children, Early Childhood Research Quarterly 36 (Jan 2016): 1–10.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.12.001
Giuliana Pinto, Christian Tarchi, Lucia Bigozzi The relationship between oral and written narratives: A three‐year longitudinal study of narrative cohesion, coherence, and structure, British Journal of Educational Psychology 85, no.44 (Sep 2015): 551–569.
https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12091
Michael N. Faggella‐Luby, Sally Valentino Drew, Jean B. Schumaker Not Such a Simple Story: Contradictory Evidence from a Review of Story Structure Research for Students At‐Risk, Learning Disabilities Research & Practice 30, no.22 (Apr 2015): 61–75.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ldrp.12057
Deni Basaraba, Paul Yovanoff, Julie Alonzo, Gerald Tindal Examining the structure of reading comprehension: do literal, inferential, and evaluative comprehension truly exist?, Reading and Writing 26, no.33 (Apr 2012): 349–379.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-012-9372-9
John Woodward Special Education Curriculum in an Era of High Standards, (Jan 2012): 377–404.
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-388409-1.00014-X
김은숙, 황보명 The Effects of Language Intervention Based on Story Grammar for Comprehension of Written Stories in Children with Intellectual Disabilities, Journal of speech-language & hearing disorders 20, no.33 (Sep 2011): 89–104.
https://doi.org/10.15724/jslhd.2011.20.3.006
Martine B. Powell, Brooke B. Feltis, Carolyn H. Hughes‐Scholes Enhancing narrative coherence in simulated interviews about child abuse, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management 34, no.22 (May 2011): 198–210.
https://doi.org/10.1108/13639511111131049
Michael Faggella-Luby, Michelle Wardwell RTI in a Middle School: Findings and Practical Implications of a Tier 2 Reading Comprehension Study, Learning Disability Quarterly 34, no.11 (Feb 2011): 35–49.
https://doi.org/10.1177/073194871103400103
David Scanlon, Richard Cass, Alan Amtzis, Georgios Sideridis Procedural Facilitation of Propositional Knowledge in the Content Areas, Reading & Writing Quarterly 25, no.44 (Sep 2009): 290–310.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10573560903120854
Yan Ping Xin, Ben Wiles, Yu-Ying Lin Teaching Conceptual Model?Based Word Problem Story Grammar to Enhance Mathematics Problem Solving, The Journal of Special Education 42, no.33 (Mar 2008): 163–178.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466907312895
Michael Faggella-Luby, Jean S. Schumaker, Donald D. Deshler Embedded Learning Strategy Instruction: Story-Structure Pedagogy in Heterogeneous Secondary Literature Classes, Learning Disability Quarterly 30, no.22 (May 2007): 131–147.
https://doi.org/10.2307/30035547
Joanna P. Williams Stories, Studies, and Suggestions About Reading, Scientific Studies of Reading 10, no.22 (Apr 2006): 121–142.
https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532799xssr1002_1
Peter Davies, Becky Shanks, Karen Davies Improving narrative skills in young children with delayed language development, Educational Review 56, no.33 (Nov 2004): 271–286.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0013191042000201181
Peter Davies, Jo Bentham, Sarah Cartwright, Jo Wilson Developing narrative skills through case‐studies, The Curriculum Journal 14, no.22 (Oct 2010): 217–232.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09585170302834
Cheryl Blankman, Hedwig Teglasi, Matthew Lawser Thematic Apperception, Narrative Schemas, and Literacy, Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment 20, no.33 (Aug 2016): 268–289.
https://doi.org/10.1177/073428290202000304
Joanna P. Williams, Kristen D. Lauer, Kendra M. Hall, Kathleen M. Lord, S. Sonia Gugga, Sung-Jee Bak, Pamela R. Jacobs, John S. deCani Teaching elementary school students to identify story themes., Journal of Educational Psychology 94, no.22 (Jan 2002): 235–248.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.94.2.235
Alice A. Wilder, Joanna P. Williams Students with severe learning disabilities can learn higher order comprehension skills., Journal of Educational Psychology 93, no.22 (Jan 2001): 268–278.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.93.2.268
Allison E. Babyak, Mark Koorland, Patricia G. Mathes The Effects of Story Mapping Instruction on the Reading Comprehension of Students with Behavioral Disorders, Behavioral Disorders 25, no.33 (Feb 2017): 239–258.
https://doi.org/10.1177/019874290002500301
Lawrence R. Sipe The Construction of Literary Understanding by First and Second Graders in Oral Response to Picture Storybook Read-Alouds, Reading Research Quarterly 35, no.22 (Nov 2011): 252–275.
https://doi.org/10.1598/RRQ.35.2.4
Russell Gersten, Scott Baker, John Wills Lloyd Designing High-Quality Research in Special Education, The Journal of Special Education 34, no.11 (Aug 2016): 2–18.
https://doi.org/10.1177/002246690003400101
M. C. Gardill, A. K. Jitendra Advanced Story Map Instruction: Effects on the Reading Comprehension of Students with Learning Disabilities, The Journal of Special Education 33, no.11 (Apr 1999): 2–17.
https://doi.org/10.1177/002246699903300101
Diane Zigo Narrative Thinking As a Strategy Among Struggling Early Adolescent Readers and Writers, Journal of Research in Childhood Education 13, no.11 (Dec 1998): 56–70.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02568549809594727
Philip N. Swanson, Susan De La Paz Teaching Effective Comprehension Strategies to Students with Learning and Reading Disabilities, Intervention in School and Clinic 33, no.44 (Jul 2016): 209–218.
https://doi.org/10.1177/105345129803300403
Susan Unok Marks, Russell Gersten Engagement and Disengagement between Special and General Educators: An Application of Miles and Huberman's Cross-Case Analysis, Learning Disability Quarterly 21, no.11 (Aug 2016): 34–56.
https://doi.org/10.2307/1511371
LeeAnn Johnson, Steve Graham, Karen R. Harris The Effects of Goal Setting and Self-Instruction on Learning a Reading Comprehension Strategy, Journal of Learning Disabilities 30, no.11 (Aug 2016): 80–91.
https://doi.org/10.1177/002221949703000107
Carol S. Englert, Mary S. Rozendal Nonreaders and nonwriters in special education: Crossing new literacy thresholds, Reading and Writing 8, no.11 (Feb 1996): 87–103.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00423927
Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar, Andrea DeBruin Parecki, Jean C. McPhail Friendship and Literacy Through Literature, Journal of Learning Disabilities 28, no.88 (Aug 2016): 503–510.
https://doi.org/10.1177/002221949502800805
Russell Gersten, Martha Morvant, Susan Brengelman Close to the Classroom is Close to the Bone: Coaching as a Means to Translate Research into Classroom Practice, Exceptional Children 62, no.11 (Jul 2016): 52–66.
https://doi.org/10.1177/001440299506200105
Joseph A. Dimino, Robert M. Taylor, Russell M. Gersten SYNTHESIS OF THE RESEARCH ON STORY GRAMMAR AS A MEANS TO INCREASE COMPREHENSION, Reading & Writing Quarterly 11, no.11 (Jul 2006): 53–72.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1057356950110105
Mary M. Gleason USING DIRECT INSTRUCTION TO INTEGRATE READING AND WRITING FOR STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES, Reading & Writing Quarterly 11, no.11 (Jul 2006): 91–108.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1057356950110107
Joanna P. Williams, Laura G. Brown, Ada K. Silverstein, John S. de Cani An Instructional Program in Comprehension of Narrative Themes for Adolescents with Learning Disabilities, Learning Disability Quarterly 17, no.33 (Aug 2016): 205–221.
https://doi.org/10.2307/1511074
Carol Sue Englert, Taffy E. Raphael, Troy V. Mariage Developing a School-Based Discourse for Literacy Learning: A Principled Search for Understanding, Learning Disability Quarterly 17, no.11 (Feb 1994): 2–32.
https://doi.org/10.2307/1511103
James F. Baumann, Bette S. Bergeron Story Map Instruction Using Children's Literature: Effects on First Graders' Comprehension of Central Narrative Elements, Journal of Reading Behavior 25, no.44 (Sep 2016): 407–437.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10862969309547828
Elizabeth J. Short, Keith O. Yeates, Lynne V. Feagans The generalizability of story grammar training across setting and tasks, Journal of Behavioral Education 2, no.22 (Jun 1992): 105–120.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00947115
Russell Gersten Passion and Precision: Response to “Curriculum-Based Assessment and Direct Instruction: Critical Reflections on Fundamental Assumptions”, Exceptional Children 58, no.55 (Jul 2016): 464–467.
https://doi.org/10.1177/001440299205800510
Carol Sue Englert, Troy V. Mariage Shared Understandings, Journal of Learning Disabilities 24, no.66 (Aug 2016): 330–342.
https://doi.org/10.1177/002221949102400602

Search

Story Grammar: An Approach for Promoting At-Risk Secondary Students' Comprehension of Literature

Abstract

Article DOI