Unit 2- Article 2

"The Effects of a Story-mapping Procedure to Improve the Comprehension Skills of Expository Text Passages for Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities"

Purpose

The main goal of this article is to discuss the research procedures and findings of a study done on the effects of using a story mapping process in order to improve the reading comprehension skills of students with learning disabilities. The authors, C. Stagliano and R. Boon, state that children who have learning and behavioral disorders are more likely to have deficits in reading. In order to comprehend text, students must be able to make connections and understand concepts from the words in said text. This study proves that story mapping serves as an aide to assist students in reading comprehension.

Overview

This study focuses on the investigation of the effects of a story mapping procedure on the reading comprehension skills of some students with learning and/or behavioral disabilities. This study was carried out in a special education resource room at a public elementary school.
Each student was provided a story map with areas for time/place, who/what, problem/goal, solution/ending, and main idea.
This particular study took place in three phases:

Students were read to and then instructed to answer a few multiple choice comprehension questions.
Students were taught how to complete the story map with the step-by-step instructions of the teacher.
Students were instructed to listen to a passage and fill out a story map of their own, and then use their story maps to answer comprehension questions.

Conclusion

After receiving one-on-one teaching on the story elements and how to create and use a story map, the percentage of comprehension questions answered correctly increased immediately and dramatically. In addition, these improvements still held true after a two week break.
Specifically regarding story maps, it was found that there is direct correlation between correct identification of story elements and percent answered correctly on the comprehension questions.
Students who participated in the program commented that they thought it was much more difficult to understand and answer the comprehension questions before they were taught about the story map. A couple students even explicitly stated that if they could use story mapping in other subject areas, they might understand those topics better.

Resource Citation

Stagliano, C., & Boon, R. T. (2009). The Effects of a Story-mapping Procedure to Improve the Comprehension Skills of Expository Text Passages for Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities. Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, 7 (2), 35-58.

Return to Unit 2- Story Maps