Vocabulary Instruction Embedded in Narrative Intervention: A Repeated Acquisition Design Study With First Graders at Risk of Language-Based Reading Difficulty

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of vocabulary instruction embedded in the narrative intervention on the immediate and retained definitional knowledge of taught words for first graders at risk for language-related reading difficulties. METHOD: We employed a repeated acquisition design with innovative quality features and supplemental statistics with 11 treatment students and three control students. In the context of the school's multitiered system of supports, treatment students received 30-min small group interventions, 4 days a week for 12 weeks. Intervention involved story retelling and personal story generation lessons, both of which emphasized the learning and practicing of target vocabulary words in each story. Pre- and postprobes of the taught definitions were conducted every week. RESULTS: According to visual analysis conventions of single-case research, there was a consistent pattern of improvement from pre- to postprobes for all treatment participants, but for none of the control participants. Retention was also consistently observed, when measured at Week 13. Supplemental statistics confirmed that large effects were associated with the intervention. CONCLUSION: Vocabulary instruction embedded in narrative intervention led to meaningful acquisition and retention of taught vocabulary for students at risk of language-based reading difficulty.