The effect of graphic organizers on the teaching of reading comprehension skills of special education students

The purpose of this action research project was to examine graphic organizers as a tool to: help summarize both narrative and expository text and; thereby, improve reading comprehension of sixth grade students with mild to moderate learning disabilities. In addition, the purpose was to determine if the use of graphic organizers would improve teacher effectiveness. During the four week study, six sixth grade students were instructed in the use of two graphic organizers -- a story map for narrative text and a main idea/details chart for expository text. Data collected included a pretest, posttest, reading comprehension questions and field notes. While some improvements did occur for individual students and the teacher\u27s pedagogical skills, the overall results of the study are inconclusive