Work with a longitudinal low-income sample of almost 200 early readers revealed that schools that focus entirely on teaching decoding skills in the early grades neglect the essential vocabulary knowledge that students need to become competent readers. (Contains 20 references and 5 tables.) (MLF)

This book remains a comprehensive, myth-debunking examination of how L1 features (orthographic system, phonology, morphology) can influence English L2 reading at the "bottom" of the reading process. It provides a thorough but very accessible linguistic/psycholinguistic examination of the lowest levels of the reading process. It is both theoretical…

Fluency instruction can be seamlessly incorporated into any elementary classroom with the help of this indispensable guide. Provided are fluency development ideas that are effective and motivating, including whole-class and small-group lessons, student-managed activities, and procedures involving classroom volunteers. The emphasis on partner-based…

This paper discusses fluency's role in reading development and suggests ways of incorporating fluency instruction into the literacy curriculum through a range of oral reading approaches. It concentrates on two distinct groups of learners: students who are making the shift to fluent reading (generally second and third graders) and those who have…

This step-by-step manual can be used to guide primary-grade students through retellings. The following will be discovered: (1) Developmental retelling strategies that match the reading level of each student; (2) How to build the foundation for quality retellings with activities that help students understand a story's events, sequence, and…

Research has shown that students can be taught to comprehend the material better while they are reading. Successful instruction of this type has usually focused on the teaching of comprehension strategies--that is, intentional actions students can use during reading to guide their thinking. Such strategies improve both understanding and memory.…

These official primary trait scoring guide presents details of the 6-point scoring system used in third-grade Oregon schools to evaluate students' performance in oral reading fluency and in comprehension (as measured through retelling). The oral reading fluency benchmark portion of the scoring guide is broken down into phrasing, flow, and pace…

Without the development of reading fluency as part of reading instruction, teachers may end up with a classroom full of students who read roughly and slowly, and who may not completely gather the important information from the text. One strategy to increase fluency is the fluency development lesson (FDL) that includes seven steps modeled by the…

With an extensive menu of lessons that take just 20-30 minutes, this intervention guide is the key to helping students grasp the five Big Ideas of early literacy: phonological awareness, the alphabetic principle, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. General and special educators will get: (1) easy-to-implement, one-page activities and…

Most struggling readers, including those with reading disabilities, have difficulties recognizing printed words. This unique, lucidly written book synthesizes the research on how children learn to read words skillfully and translates it into step-by-step strategies for the classroom. The author demonstrates how to plan and implement a coordinated…

This comprehensive resource can be used by teachers to align instruction with current standards and to give students the best possible foundation for reading achievement. Organized around the five essential components of reading instruction identified in the report of the U.S. National Reading Panel, this book: (1) Lays the groundwork for creating…

In this lesson plan, grade 3 to 5 students examine elements of fluent reading through oral poetry performance. They use the Internet to identify a poem to prepare and perform for the class. The main objective of this lesson concerns improving fluency. During four hours over a span of five days, students will: be able to identify text written in…

This document was prepared to provide guidance to "Reading First" coaches and teachers regarding alternative lesson structures for providing small group, differentiated instruction to students in grades K-3 within "Reading First" schools in Florida. The motivation for the development of this document stemmed from specific…

Reading instruction for educable mentally handicapped students requires the use of flexible learning strategies and teaching techniques for basic sight word training; instruction in phonic analysis, structural analysis, and contextual analysis; comprehension lessons; and fluency development. Sample techniques (for fluency development) include…

Designed as a step book, this resource is intended to be used by all teachers, classroom volunteers, and parents for one-to-one or small group reading instruction. The resource provides a clear focus for guided reading groups and can be used with any text, on any grade level in elementary school. It could be a solution for the growing number of…