Clinical Question: Do students with language disorders and those who have low language skills benefit more from classroom-based instruction on narratives or from instruction outside of the classroom to improve comprehension of and retelling of narratives?
Method: Systematic Review
Search Terms: narrative intervention AND service delivery, school-age, OR classroom
Number of Studies Included: 5
Primary Results: Limited research has been done in regard to service delivery for narrative skills of school-age students with or without language disorders. Emerging evidence indicates that students with and without language disorders benefit from classroom-based instruction. Current studies indicate that two to three sessions per week for 30 to 45 minutes over a 6- to 8 week period significantly improve narrative comprehension and expression.
Conclusions: A significant need for research exists regarding the delivery of previously evaluated interventions in different settings and with varying intensity levels (i.e., session frequency, length, and number of sessions). Despite this deficit, emerging evidence (Gillam, Olszewski, Fargo, & Gillam, 2014) indicates that students with language disorders can receive classroom-based intervention two to three times a week. In addition, services in the classroom may help to enrich and prevent difficulties for other students with regard to their English language arts performance.