Instructional Strategy SCROL

SCROL is an instructional strategy that can be further directed as a reading comprehension strategy. SCROL is an acronym for Survey the headings, Connect, Read the text, Outline, and Look back. The specific use for SCROL in the classroom as a reading comprehension strategy can help strengthen a student’s understanding of different text. SCROL is a proficient step-by-step strategy to better comprehend informational text

Now let’s break SCROL down into its’ smaller parts. When surveying the headings the student is to read the headings and sub-headings and reflect on the following questions, “What do I already know about this topic?” and “What information might the writer present?” (Reid & Lienemann, 2006). During the connect part of SCROL, the reader looks at the headings and determines how they relate to one another, thus making a connection. The R in SCROL stands for read the text. During this step, the student is to begin reading while looking for words or phrases that express important information about the headings. Students are encouraged at this point to write in the text, and highlight the information in the text that they find to be important.

 Students should stop and think after each section of text. As the student reads it is important to ask this question; did he/she understand what they just read? If not, they go back and reread the informational text. After reading the entire text, the student is to outline the major ideas and supporting details. The last step of SCROL is to look back. The student is to look back at the text and check for the accuracy of the major details and ideas written in their outline (Minkoff,Allsopp, Minkoff, & Kyger n.d.).

This strategy is very useful for students with learning disabilities because it helps them stay focused and connected with the reading. Children with Learning Disabilities (LD) often have trouble maintaining focus on the task at hand. Therefore, it also helps students monitor their comprehension before, during, and after reading (Klinger, Vaughn, & Boardman 2007).

The SCROL strategy is a good example of using metacognition. Metacognition is a strong tool to use when teaching student with LD. It is a strong tool for any student in regards to reading comprehension. There are two strategies that Klinker, Vaughn, and Boardman (2007) suggest to use when teaching students with LD to assist them in monitoring their comprehension while reading. Teachers can play a huge role in assisting students to use metacognition as a comprehension strategy. The SCROL strategy encourages students to monitor their understanding while they read, and helps them to make notes of difficult words, concepts, or ideas. Allowing students to monitor their understanding while they read is an important tool in understanding the text. The SCROL strategy uses metacognition by helping students understand informational text.

References

Grant, R. (1993). Strategic training for using text headings to improve students’

processing of content. Journal of Reading, 36(6), 482-488

Klingner, Janette K.; Vaughn, Sharon; Boardman, Alison. Teaching Reading Comprehension to Students with Learning Difficulties. New York, NY, USA: Guilford Press, 2007. p 103.    Copyright © 2007. Guilford Press

Minskoff, E,. Allsopp, D., Minskoff, J., & Kyger, M. (n.d.). The Learning Toolbox. Retrieved from <http://coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/scrol.html>

Reid, Robert; Lienemann, Torri. Strategy Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities. New York, NY, USA: Guilford Press, 2006. p 49. Copyright © 2006. Guilford Press.