Paraphrasing Strategy Instruction for Struggling Readers
Reading comprehension is important for academic success and is a skill required for many activities in school and beyond. This study investigated the effects of the TRAP (Think before you read, Read a paragraph, Ask myself, "What was this paragraph mostly about?" and Put it into my own words) paraphrasing strategy taught using the Self Regulated Strategy Development model. Participants were seven middle school students identified as fluent readers who experienced difficulty with comprehension. All instruction for the participants was in pairs or small groups. Results indicate that the TRAP strategy increased reading comprehension as measured by the percentage of text recall and short answer questions. Ideas for future research and implications are discussed.