Content provided in partnership with
Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction
Journal of Literacy Research, Spring 2005 by Stahl, Steven A, Heubach, Kathleen M
Home Reading
Students did two types of reading at home. They read the basal reading selection at home at least one or two days a week. The story was sent home the first day with instructions for students to read it to a parent or other person in the household. More able readers read the story to themselves, but most students read it aloud. We met with the parents before school started and talked about reading at home. Often parents sat with the child and followed along. Other times the child read while the parent was doing something else, such as making dinner. In many families, time is often short, so many alternatives were provided. Parents were not able to read with their children every day, as evidenced by the responses to sheets that we sent home with the children, but there seems to have been a general effort to read at home. We also gave parents some guidance in how to correct errors. Because we met during Parent-Teacher Organization meetings, our time was limited. Consequently, we could not provide as extensive parent training as provided by Mudre and McCormick (1989), whose training procedure seemed to improve parents' response to their children's oral reading. Also, the percentage of parents who were able to attend this meeting varied considerably, from two or three parents per class in one school to three-quarters of the parents in another.
Students also were expected to read a book of their choice at home. They brought books from the school, class, or public library or read books that they owned. The object of the home reading program was to extend the amount of practice that occurred at school.
Free-Choice Reading Period
Teachers encouraged students to read a variety of books on their own. The purposes of this reading time were to increase interest in reading as well as to promote reading at the students' own level. The teachers provided periods of time (15-20 min.) for independent reading, and students were also encouraged to read as they completed assignments throughout the day.
The Studies
The following questions guided our examination and evaluation of this program:
* Can a fluency-oriented reading program be sustained over a full year?
Although most of the approaches used in our reorganization have been tested before, these tests have generally been of short duration, usually one or two months at the most. Because lesson structure involved repeated readings of the same text, some observers thought that either the children or the teachers would tire of the procedures, leading to negative attitudes.
* Does the program lead to gains in oral reading with comprehension?
Because we stressed oral reading in the program, we wanted to assess the program's effects on oral reading. However, because we did not want to produce word callers who decoded the text without comprehension, we also assessed comprehension.
* What happens during partner reading?
Partner reading is a prominent feature of this program. The teachers in the program wanted to know the most effective pairings of students; we wanted to know more about why children chose each other and the dynamics of partner reading.
Find Research Guides for:
Find Featured Titles for: Arts
Most Popular Articles in Reference
- The importance of understanding organizational culture
- Credit card attitudes and behaviors of college students
- What factors attract foreign direct investment?
- Libraries Need Relationship Marketing - mutual interest marketing concept, ...
- How to set performance goals: employee reviews are more than annual critiques
- More »