Increasing Reading Peformance of Low-Achieving Second Graders with Dyad Reading Groups

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Abstract
Evidence from existing literature suggests that the decoding and reading comprehension skills of poor readers can be improved by assisting them to read material that is too difficult for them to read fluently by themselves. The study examined the reading achievement effects of reading in dyad groups (also called buddy reading groups), a strategy designed to assist poor readers in the second grade to read difficult material. The 32 poor readers used in the study were second graders from five elementary schools who could not independently read the second-grade basal reader. The 32 low achievers were matched by sex and pretest reading achievement measures with low achievers in control classrooms in the same schools. We used a pretest-posttest control group research design. Reading comprehension and vocabulary were measured using the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Level B, Form 1. We administered the Gates test to all students, both experimental and control, in the fall of 1985 and in the spring of 1986. Students involved in the dyad reading experiment made greater achievement gains on reading comprehension and vocabulary than the matched control students. We speculated that dyad reading might help poor readers focus on the important aspects of text, free them from the decoding burden, and speed up the decoding process so that readers can give the needed attention to the text message.