The Direct Instruction of Reading Comprehension Skills: A Teacher-Directiveness Paradigm.

The purpose of this paper is to present a direct instructional strategy, which is based upon what is known about effective classroom instruction. After defining direct instruction in reading, research that discriminates effective teachers from less effective teachers is presented. The paper then discusses the five-step, teacher directiveness instructional paradigm, which is based upon this teacher effectiveness research. Finally, it focuses on several experimental studies validating this direct instruction approach. The paper concludes that a teacher-directiveness approach to instruction is more effective in teaching selected reading comprehension skills than is basal reader instruction. The report concludes with a five page list of references. (DF)