These studies describe and evaluate an instructional program designed to help students with learning disabilities learn about the concept of theme, identify themes in stories, and apply themes to real life. Subjects were fifth- and sixth-grade nondisabled students and students with mild learning disabilities (Study 1) and seventh and eighth graders with more severe disabilities (Study 2). In both studies, the program improved comprehension of theme and identification of a specific theme that had been used in instruction. Instructed students were more successful on both measures than students who received no instruction (Study 1) or traditional instruction (Study 2). Applying a theme to real-life situations and identifying and applying themes not included in instruction were more difficult tasks—especially for Study 2 students. However, these students did show improvement on recall of story detail. These findings indicate that even students with severe disabilities can profit from instruction focused on abstract, higher order comprehension when it is geared to their particular instructional requirements.
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