ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we explore the role played by texts in supporting uent reading in students, especially those with learning disabilities (LD). Our basic premise is that texts have an important role to play in the acquisition of this knowledge and that, until this role is better understood and recognized, interventions will limp along, working hard to make a difference and often failing to do so. The texts of reading instruction, especially for beginning readers, have increased substantially in dif culty over the past two decades. These shifts, we will demonstrate, particularly have consequences for students with LD. The discrepancy between the pro ciency of students with LD and the demands of the text are great, setting students up for continued failure. Further, current textbooks are not based upon an empirical understanding of the kinds of scaffolds needed by beginning or struggling readers to acquire the orthographic pro ciency needed for becoming pro cient and uent readers. We describe the empirical basis for a model of text that can be supportive of uent reading in readers with LD.
