Using Content Area Literacy Strategies during Shared Reading to Increase Comprehension of High School Students with Moderate Intellectual Disability on Adapted Science Text

Students with intellectual disability (ID) often have limited access to general education science content. The current study evaluated the effects of a content area literacy intervention designed to improve the comprehension of high school students with moderate intellectual disability on adapted expository science text. The multicomponent intervention included explicit instruction in comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading an adapted text in a shared reading lesson. Using a multiple-baseline across participants, results showed that students improved their ability to answer both multiple choice and open-ended comprehension questions about the text. In addition, students and classroom staff expressed positive feedback regarding the intervention procedures, goals, and outcomes.