On standardized measures of reading,
students who received the direct explanations of reading comprehension strategy instruction out performed
their peers who received no such instruction. Additionally, students who are taught
comprehension strategies, such as predicting, questioning, and summarizing, improve their
reading comprehension scores on experimenter-constructed and standardized tests Research demonstrates that when primarygrade
students receive optimal comprehension instruction, their performances on measures of
literal, inferential, and metacognitive comprehension increase, as do their vocabulary; decoding,
problem-solving, and cooperative learning skills; and self-esteem (Block, 1999; Block, Parris, &
Whiteley, 2008).
Furthermore, recent research indicates that internalization of comprehension processes may
take less time than originally thought. Prior to 2000, researchers believed
that students needed up to 8 months of direct instruction in comprehension strategies to independently
transfer such strategies to later reading tasks. More recent multiyear studies demonstrate
that students used comprehension strategies continually after 8 weeks of instruction.