Technical Reading Comprehension in Preschool and Second-Grade Students

Technical reading comprehension, a byproduct of read-do correspondence, refers to a student accurately reading and following written directions. Across two experiments, the present study evaluated the effects of a reader immersion procedure on the acquisition of read-do correspondence for preschool and second-grade students. The reader immersion procedure induces read-do correspondence as the participants must read a series of steps to access preferred stimuli. Within the first experiment, we tested the reader immersion procedure on the acquisition of read-do correspondence, as evidenced by read-draw and read-build responses, for four preschool students. The second experiment evaluated the effects of the reader immersion procedure on the acquisition of read-do correspondence, as evidenced by read-draw responses, for three second-grade students. All seven participants showed increases in read-do correspondence after the intervention. Implications for education and independent functioning are discussed. • Technical reading comprehension is a byproduct of read-do correspondence. • Educators can teach students to read and follow written instructions accurately by arranging the classroom environment and providing reinforcement. • Potential implication of this research, although not directly demonstrated, is that students may learn faster as they can independently complete tasks such as completing worksheets without the educator’s direct instruction. • Students may also learn to function independently outside the classroom by responding to environmental stimuli such as stop signs, recipes, and instructional manuals.