All oral reading practice is not equal: Developing fluent readers

1. All oral reading practice is not equal: Developing fluent readers Melanie R. Kuhn melaniek@bu.edu

2. Goals Discuss fluency�s role in the reading process Review oral reading�s changing role in literacy learning Present principles of effective fluency instruction and effective approaches to oral reading instruction Discuss tools for fluency assessment on classroom texts

3. What makes up the ability to read fluently? accuracy of decoding automaticity of word recognition appropriate use of prosodic features such as: stress pitch suitable phrasing

4. How does fluency contribute to comprehension? Automaticity theory Prosody

5. How does fluency contribute to comprehension? Automaticity theory accuracy automaticity Prosody

6. Prosody is comprised of a series of features including pitch or intonation, stress or emphasis, tempo or rate, and the rhythmic patterns of language.

7. Prosody A woman, without her man, is nothing.

8. Prosody A woman: without her, man is nothing.

9. Poor readers are not as prosodic in their reading or as facile with their use of appropriate phrasing as are good readers. This is true for adults as well as for children and adolescents. However, studies indicate that poor readers at all age levels demonstrate improved comprehension when text is presented in a manner comparable to speech; that is when it has been organized into appropriate phrase units for the reader. So to tie these findings back to fluent reading, I would argue that �

10. Since parsing indicates that the reader can transfer her/his knowledge of speech to text, it can be viewed as an indicator that s/he understands what is being read by maintaining the important features of expressive language.

11. If a fluent reader is one who not only reads aloud at a reasonable pace with relatively few miscues, but also with expression or in a manner that replicates oral language, than they are also prosodic readers. And, if as is demonstrated above, prosodic readers are better able to comprehend text, then it seems reasonable to assert fluent readers are better able to construct meaning from text than are disfluent readers. As such, it may be that, by helping learners become fluent readers, we are aiding them not only as regards their ability to accurately and automatically decode, but enabling them in their ability to construct meaning from text as well.

12. Why round robin reading? 1800�s reading instruction focused on the ability to recite a text expressively 1900�s silent reading for private purposes gained dominance In order to determine whether students were learning to read, teachers used oral reading to check learners� progress

13. Why NOT round robin? Students often daydream when they finish reading or try to determine what they will be reading so they can practice Good students are held back from reading ahead and become bored Poor students are often embarrassed by the difficulties they encounter and have little opportunity to figure out words on their own because others �jump in� with the answer

14. One key question for us as educators is how can we help learners make the transition from purposeful decoding to reading that is accurate, automatic and expressive?

15. Rasinski�s principles Modeling Support or assistance Extensive opportunity for practice Focus on appropriate phrasing

16. A review of the research on fluency instruction (58 studies) indicates that there are a number of approaches designed to assist learners in making this transition

17. Interventions that work Repeated readings Parsing texts Neurological Impress Method (Choral Reading with Partner) Paired repeated reading Reading-while-listening Cross-age reading Reader�s Theatre Supported Oral Reading Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction Wide Reading

18. Repeated Readings Choose a passage slightly above the child�s reading level (approximately 100 words) Have the child read aloud; time and note miscues and record on chart Review with child and have the child reread up to 7 times or until she or he reads at approximately 100 wpm with 2 or fewer miscues Select another passage at the same level until the child can read it relatively fluently the first time, then move to a more difficult passage

19. Repeated Readings

20. Parsing texts Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank and of having nothing to do.

21. Parsing texts Alice was beginning/ to get very tired/ of sitting by her sister/ on the bank /and of having nothing to do.// Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank and of having nothing to do.

22. Neurological Impress Method or Choral Partner Reading Both student and teacher (or skilled reader) should have a copy of the text Student and teacher choral read a text Student should trace text with finger as it is being read Teacher should vary the pace of the reading and read with expression Students can indicate if they feel able to read independently and partner can rejoin when reading becomes disfluent

23. Paired Repeated Readings Students work in pairs Teacher demonstrates how students can provide positive feedback Students select a 50 word passage from a text they are currently reading in class Students read the passage 3 times; students assess their own reading and their partner provides positive feedback after each reading Partners switch roles

24. Reading-while-listening Create or purchase texts on audio tapes Students select the texts that they want to read Students listen to tapes while reading along with the text Students develop fluency with the readings by repeatedly listening to and practicing sections of the text several times Unlike listening centers, students are held accountable for the material

25. Cross-age Reading Struggling older readers select picture books to read to primary grade students Students practice the text by repeatedly reading it in order to perform expressively for younger students Provides students with real purpose for practicing text Possible to have students create tapes for listening centers

26. Readers� Theatre Select a play or material that is readily adapted to performance Provide students with a copy of the text or have them rewrite as a script themselves Read text to students while they read along or have the students read it independently Allow students to practice their parts Have students perform the script for classmates and allow peers to provide positive feedback

27. Supported Oral Reading Day 1 teacher models expressive reading of text discussion echo or mumble read the text Day 2 paired reading (alternate pages) practice 100 word passage paired reading (opposite pages) Day 3 read 100 word passage to teacher while s/he takes a running record

28. Original FORI study Class completes introductory activities Teacher reads story to class Class discusses story Choral then echo reading of story Children read story at home Partner reading Class complete extension activities Children read story as play (option) Children learn one section of text (option)

29. Results from original study First year four second grade classrooms 84 students 1.88 years growth on QRI Second year 10 second grade classrooms 180 students (125 completed pre- and post- assessments) 1.77 years growth on QRI

30. Original Wide-Reading study Groups of 6 students Repeated readings group Wide-range reading group Listening-only group Control group

31. Results from original study Assessment measures TOWRE, QRI, NAEP Both repeated reading and wide-range reading groups showed improvement in terms of prosody, on word recognition in isolation, and for correct words per minutes in context Wide-range reading group showed improvement on comprehension measure and a decrease in number of miscues

32. IERI/NICHD/NSF study FORI approach Switch echo and choral reading Wide-Reading approach Three books over the course of the week Control Range of instructional approaches 537 students in NJ and GA Low to middle SES

33. NICHD/NSF study Students in the FORI and Wide Reading groups did significantly better in terms of word recognition in isolation (TOWRE) and comprehension (WIAT) Students in the Wide Reading group also did significantly better in terms of word recognition in context (GORT) One year later students in these groups outperformed the controls on the WIAT

34. Reading Rate Grade Fall Winter Spring 1 --- 10-30 30-60 cwpm 2 30-60 50-80 70-100 3 50-90 70-100 80-110 4 70-110 80-120 100-140 5 80-120 100-140 110-150 6 100-140 110-150 120-160 7 110-150 120-160 130-170 8 120-160 130-170 140-180

35. Assessments NAEP oral reading scale Zutell & Rasinski multidimensional fluency scale Allington & Brown fluency scale

36. NAEP Scale Level 4: reads primarily in larger, meaningful phrase groups. preservation of the author�s syntax is consistent. some or most of the story is read with expressive interpretation. Level 3: reads primarily in three- or four-word phrase groups. some smaller groupings may be present. little or no expressive interpretation is present.

37. NAEP Scale Level 2: reads primarily in two-word phrases with some three- or four-word groupings. word groupings may seem awkward and unrelated to larger context of sentence or passage. Level 1: reads primarily word-by-word. occasionally two-word or three-word phrases may occur, but these are infrequent and/or they do not preserve meaningful syntax.

38. Generalizations All the interventions: worked with students who were making the shift from intentional to automatic decoding or were struggling readers provided modeling provided opportunities for performance Most provided repetition

39. Conclusions All the approaches have proved to be effective in improving speed, accuracy and prosody Where assessed, students have also demonstrated improved comprehension This is true for both grade-level and struggling readers

40. Conclusions Effective scaffolding can be provided either through the use of modeling or through the repetition of text This scaffolding allows learners to read more difficult material than they would otherwise be able to read Unlike round robin reading, these approaches incorporate meaningful literacy activities within the classroom curriculum

41. And some questions What role does repetition of words and phrases play in becoming fluent? How challenging should the text be? Does the text level differ for repeated reading and scaffolded reading? What would be the results of integrating fluency instruction into the first grade literacy curriculum?