“The Discovery Channel Said So” and Other Barriers to Comprehension

With increasing attention focused on comprehension, there is a need for research regarding how to implement comprehension instruction for struggling readers and assess its effectiveness. This article describes reading instruction as it occurred over two years with one struggling reader in third and fourth grade. A comprehension checklist provided a framework for instruction that was both systematic and responsive to the reader's needs. The result was improved comprehension and metacognition for the student, though the progress was slow and often cyclical instead of sequential.