COMPREHENSION AND COHERENCE: NEGLECTED ELEMENTS OF LITERACY INSTRUCTION IN REMEDIAL AND RESOURCE ROOM SERVICES

Abstract

The instructional experiences of 16 second‐grade at‐risk readers were observed and analyzed for instructional emphasis and coherence across classroom settings during the school day in two districts with differing configurations of special services. Children who were classified as handicapped were more likely to be excluded from reading group instruction in the regular classroom than were Chapter 1 students, but both groups typically participated in classroom language arts instruction and seatwork. Neither the instruction in Chapter 1 nor that in special education appeared more differentiated or more appropriate for individual children than that of the regular education classroom. The reading and writing instruction in the specialist services was frequently different than that in the classroom, usually but not always easier and often focused on different levels of text or requiring different student responses. Special services do not appear to be organized to contribute to success in the classroom reading curriculum or differentiated enough to be considered intervention. Special services appear to be a separate reading curricula not necessarily conflicting with that of the classroom, but when examined from the perspective of these young at‐risk readers, without a clear raison d'être.