Enhancing Reading Fluency: The Power of Automaticity

1. Automaticity Jeri Stickney Phillips

2. Contents • Discussion of Research • Lower-Elementary Lesson Plan • Upper-Elementary Lesson Plan • High School Lesson Plan • References

3. Research - Definition • Automaticity is a part of reading fluency • Definition 1: Fast, accurate and effortless word identification at the single word level ( Hook & Jones, 2002). • Definition 2: Ability to perform complex skills with minimal attention and conscious effort (Samuels & Flor, 1997).

4. Research - Importance • Essential for higher order processing • Allows for low-level skills to be performed without taxing working memory • Denotes skilled performance • Performance is accurate and seemingly effortless • Better retained in long term memory if automatized (Samuels & Flor, 1997)

5. Research – Old & New Theories • Property-Based Theory • Based on properties of automaticity • Ex: Speed, Effortlessness • Not Explanatory • Memory-Based Theory • Cognitive Mechanisms describe properties of task performance (Rawson & Middleton, 2009). • Brain Research • fMRI scans • Neural Pathways

6. Research – Memory-Based • Information Reduction • Focus attention on task-relevant info; ignore redundant • Algorithm Efficiency • Performance speeds up with practice; improves efficiency • Instance Theory • Algorithm and retrieval routes to interpretation race in parallel (Rawson & Middleton, 2009)

7. Research – Brain-fMRI • Brain fMRI Scans • Three neural routes for reading • 2 are slower and more analytical: Parieto-Temporal and Frontal • Occipito-Temporal is faster • Reader forms neural model of spelling, pronunciation, meaning • Store in occipito-temporal system if enough repetition • Seeing word in print activates word form and relevant info about word • Poor readers do not access the occipito-temporal neural route (Shaywitz, 2003)

8. Research – Strategies • Six Syllable Types • Accents • Speed Drills • Air Writing • Orthography (Hook & Jones, 2002

9. Research - Orthography • Regular for Reading and Spelling • mat, sprint • Regular for Reading, but not Spelling • boat, rain • Rule Based • Planning, baking • Irregular • Beauty (Hook & Jones, 2002)

10. Lower-Elementary Lesson Plan • 3 students per group • Students each have a part in a Reader’s Theatre play • Students make props and stage directions • Students practice/rehearse play each day for a week • Students perform play for class/other classes on Friday

11. Upper- Elementary Lesson Plan • Pair students • Students read a short story and answer vocabulary and comprehension questions • Timed Readings: Each student in pair takes 2 turns reading a short story and counts how many words • Students move a cut-up happy face on a wall chart to show how many words they read • Timed readings are repeated every other day for 2 weeks • Repeat with a new story

12. High School Lesson Plan • Pair Students • Have students prepare a power point of a poem • Students mark where they intone the poem as loader, silence, quieter, questioning, etc. • Pairs practice reading their poems to each other • Each student in pair takes turns performing poem on power point for class/other classes

13. References Hook, P. E., & Jones, S. D. (2002). The importance of automaticity and fluency for efficient reading comprehension. Resource Room Retrieved July 7, 2009, from http://www.resourceroom.net/readspell/2002_automaticity.asp Rawson, K. A., & Middleton, E. L. (2009). Memory-based processing as a mechanism of automaticity in text comprehension. Journal of Experimental Psychology / Learning, Memory & Cognition, 35(2), 353-370. Samuels, S. J., & Flor, R. F. (1997). The importance of automaticity for developing expertise in reading. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 13(2), 107. Shaywitz, S. (2003). Overcoming dyslexia. New York: Vintage Books.