Oral Reading Fluency: Practical Application of the Research BaseTim Irish

Elementary Curriculum CoordinatorUniversal American School, Kuwait

ED 520 Strengthening Literacy: Implementing Solutions for School-wide Effective Reading Instruction

American College of EducationNovember 2, 2012

What the research tells us about fluency.

Kuhn, Schwanenflugel and Meisinger, 2010; Rasinski, 2000; Stahl & Heubach, 2005.

• Fluency is broken into three component parts: accuracy, automaticity and prosody.

• Mastery of the previous component supports development of the next component. • Students who read with higher levels of automaticity demonstrate higher levels of comprehension.

• There is a strong correlation between ORF and reading achievement.

What the research tells us NOT to do.

Round robin or popcorn reading “Reading authorities have condemned the practice of having children taking turns reading aloud while everyone in the class follows along.” Shanahan, 2006

National Reading Panel, 2000;Stallings, 1980; Shanahan, 2006

Shanahan also cautions against the use of Readers’ Theater because students can end up waiting too long for their part. Choral reading, echo reading, and repeated reading are more effective.

Reading for speed versus Reading for understanding.Although one emphasis of fluency instruction is automaticity, teachers must be careful for students to perceive that reading is a “race” to read faster.

Kuhn and Schwanenflugel (2008)

Instructional focus needs to support prosody, so students can use phrasing and inflection to support understanding of the printed word.

(Hudson, Lane & Pullen 2005; Kuhn & Stahl, 2003; Rasinski, 2005).

What the research tells us about fluency instruction for ELL students. We should…

(Han & Chen, 2010)

• Increase opportunities to hear native language reading to model appropriated syntax, pronunciation, inflection and phrasing (prosody).

• Increase reading to an adult with corrective feedback on word errors.

What the research tells us about fluency instruction for ELL students. We should…

(Han & Chen, 2010)

Allow for repeated reading ofchallenging texts.

Include pre-reading activities that access prior knowledge and vocabulary.

Fluency instruction for ELL students.Progress monitoring is important to measure student response

What the research tells us about repeated reading.

By reading the same story or text to reach performance level… • Students can slow down and learn to hear the words in their head.• Take time to develop the phasing and rhythm required to comprehend the text• Transfer fluency and comprehension skills to new text.

(Rasinski, 2004; Stahl & Heubach, 2005; Turner, 2010).

What the research tells us about repeated reading.

Fluency Oriented Instruction (FORI) is a whole group instructional approach emphasizing repeated readings of the same text throughout a school week. The FORI model allows teacher to model and promote prosodic reading while encouraging higher percentages of time on task than round-robin models.

Stahl & Heubach, 2005; Turner, 2010.

FORI Model – Day 1Pre-reading activities: Set goals Introduce class choral reading Vocabulary Model reading Build background knowledge

Modeling through Echo Reading

Students select and practice poems.

FORI Model – Day 2Review Echo Reading from Day 1

Introduce and review assessment rubric

Model how to run an effective rehearsal

Small group rehearsal

FORI Model – Day 3Extend echo reading with longer passages

Vocabulary / Writing / Comprehension

Independent and group work.

Practice at home

Provide Additional support as needed

FORI Model – Day 4Mini-lesson on context clues: “Nuance”Vocabulary / Writing / Comprehension

Student groups assess with rubric.

Practice at home

Additional support as needed

FORI Model – Day 5Morning dress rehearsal

Vocabulary WritingComprehension

Afternoon performance

Other Considerations & Notes…• Content may also include non-fiction reading and oral reports.

• Avoid long performances: Children do not need to perform for everyone, nor see every performance.

• Plan instructional support options for struggling readers.

• Intervention time and intensity is variable depending on individual student need.

References Daughery Stahl, K.A. (2005). Improving the asphalt of reading instruction: A tribute to the work of Steven A. Stahl. The Reading Teacher, 59(2), 184-192. http://search.proquest.com/docview/ 203285206?accountid=31683 Han, Z.H. & Chen, C.A. (2010). Repeated-reading-based instructional strategy and vocabulary acquisition: A case study of a heritage speaker of Chinese. Reading in a Foreign Language , 22(2), 242–262. ISSN 1539-0578 Hofstadter-Duke,K.L. & Daly, E.J. (2011). Improving oral reading fluency with a peer mediated intervention. Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, 44(3), 641-646. http://search.proquest.com/docview/896736015?accountid=31683 Hudson, R.F., Lane, H.B. & Pullen, P.C. (2005). Reading fluency assessment and instruction: What, why, and how? The Reading Teacher, 58(8), 702-714. doi:10.1598/RT.58.8.1 Kuhn, M. R.. & Steven A. Stahl, S.A. (2003). Fluency: A review of developmental and remedial practices. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(1), 3-21. DOI: 10.1037/0022-0663.95.1.3

References Kuhn, M. (2004). Helping students become accurate, expressive readers: Fluency instruction for small groups. The Reading Teacher, 58(4), 338-344. http://search.proquest.com/docview/203278324?accountid=31683 Kuhn, M. R, Schwanenflugel, P.J & Meisinger, E. B (2010). Aligning theory and assessment of reading fluency: Automaticity, prosody, and definitions of fluency. Reading Research Quarterly, 45(2 ), 230-251. http://search.proquest.com/docview/212134977?accountid=31683 Kuhn, M. & Schwanenflugel, P. (2008). All oral reading practice is not equal or how can I integrate fluency into my classroom? Literacy Teaching and Learning, 20(1), 1-20. Linan-Thompson, S., Vaughn, S.,Parker, K. and Cirino,P.T. (2006). The response to intervention of English language learners at risk for reading problems. Journal of learning Disabilities, 39(5), 390-398. http://search.proquest.com/docview/194223081?accountid=31683

Mesner, E . M. & Mesner, H.A. (2008). Response to Intervention (RTI): What Teachers of Reading Need to Know. The Reading Teacher, 62(4), 280-290. http://search.proquest.com/docview/203285921?accountid=31683

References Rasinski,T. (2000). Speed does matter in reading. The Reading Teacher, 54(2), 146– 151. http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/courses/rdla150/docs/ c1s3_10speeddoesmatter.pdf

Rasinski, T. (2004). What research says about reading: Creating fluent readers. Educational Leadership, 61(6), 46-51. EJ 716702

Shanahan, T. (2006). The national reading report: Practical advice for teachers. Napervile: Learning Point Associates.

Stahl, S. A., & Heubach, K. (2005). Fluency-oriented reading instruction. Journal of Literacy Research, 37(1), 25-60. ISSN:1086-296X Turner, F.D. (2010). Evaluating the effectiveness of fluency-oriented reading instruction with increasing Black and Latino reading fluency, as compared to Asian and White second-grade students reading fluency. The Journal of Negro Education, 79(2), 112- 124. ISSN: 00222984