The article discussed the struggles of comprehension problems in the middle and high school level students. The authors Palumbo and Loiacono (2009) give the following statistics about reading levels: “Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show that from 1992 and 2005 approximately 30 percent of fourth-grade students in the United States read at a proficient level or higher and approximately 36 percent of fourth-grade students read below the basic .students performing at or above basic level decreased from 80 percent in 1992 to 73 percent in 2005.”(p. 75). This is a struggle to try to get students at such different levels of reading at the same time to the proficient level. Therefore there is a need for some assistance to aid these students because differentiation can only cover so many levels of reading.

According to Palumbo and Loiacono (2009), they “believe that current technology offers both special and general education teachers teaching at these levels the opportunity to use instructional cloze to improve students’ reading ability and enhance subject matter knowledge.” (p. 75). This is valuable because as a teacher trying to reach many different levels you need some tool to cover all the various needs. Teachers appreciate having valuable tools that will aid in the classroom to help their student succeed.

I think the article was a good example of an useful way to use technology in the classroom. The authors stated “Instructional cloze offers teachers a number of benefits and can help them meet many of their classroom goals: cloze can engage students in subject matter knowledge, help with word recognition problems, teach subject vocabulary, and improve reading skills.” (p. 77). As a classroom teacher with struggling reading students this gives me encouragement to use this type of technology in my classroom.

Palumbo, A., & Loiacono V. (2009). Understanding the Causes of Intermediate and Middle School Comprehension Problems. International Journal Of Special Education. 24(1), 75-81.

Here is the link to the website for the article. Comprehension Problems