A 6th-grade student with a reading disability has difficulty understanding word meanings. In which area is this student likely to struggle the most?

The student with a reading disability who struggles with understanding word meanings is likely to have the most difficulty summarizing a passage from a chapter book. This is because summarization requires not only recalling facts and details from the text but also synthesizing this information into a coherent overview. If a student does not grasp the meanings of key vocabulary or concepts within the text, they may find it challenging to distill the essential points and connect ideas appropriately when constructing a summary.

In contrast, identifying the main idea, answering comprehension questions, and pronouncing words correctly can sometimes involve less complex processing of word meanings. For example, recognizing the main idea might focus on overarching themes that can sometimes be inferred without in-depth understanding of all the specific vocabulary. Similarly, comprehension questions may provide clarity through context clues, and pronunciation primarily involves the phonetic aspect of reading rather than comprehension. Thus, the ability to summarize effectively relies heavily on understanding the nuanced meanings of words, making it the area where the student is likely to struggle the most.