ERIC Number: ED500847
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2008-May
Pages: 89
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Increasing Reading Comprehension of Elementary Students through Fluency-Based Interventions
Neumann, Veda S.; Ross, Dorothy K.; Slaboch, Anita F.
Online Submission
The authors of this action research project report implemented oral reading fluency-based interventions for the purpose of improving students' reading comprehension. Six students in grade three, six students in grade five and six students in grade six participated in the study from Monday, August 27 through Friday, December 7, 2007. Researchers observed that in the targeted reading groups, deficiencies in any element of oral reading fluency were associated with reading comprehension problems. The teacher researchers used the following tools to document evidence; Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Oral Reading Fluency (ORF), which indicated that 50% of students at Site A and 83% of students at Site B were below benchmark score for oral reading fluency. The comprehension based assessment (Choose-A-Title) resulted in 61% of the students choosing the incorrect title. As a result of the student survey, it indicated that 17% of the students responded "almost never" when asked "I think others like my reading". Students' struggles with accuracy, rate, and prosody revealed deficiencies that inhibited the processing of meaning. The interventions implemented were three 20-minute weekly sessions consisting of one session of reader's theater activities including choral reading, echo reading, and poetry, and two sessions of partner reading during which student pairs engaged in repeated oral reading and reading along silently while listening as oral reading was modeled. Teachers are encouraged to model fluent reading illustrating proper rate and accuracy. Reading and rereading exercises such as reading with a model reader, choral reading, reader's theater, and partner reading can improve fluency (Vaughn & Linan-Thompson, 2004). As a result of the interventions, students demonstrated increased awareness of the three elements of oral reading fluency: accuracy, rate, and prosody. Students practiced self-monitoring these elements while participating in paired reading and cooperative learning groups. The post data revealed that there was a decrease in students' positive responses to "I read with expression and feeling". Thirty-three percent of students responded "almost always" on pre documentation and 28% on post documentation. The "usually" category declined from 50% to 44%. Students responded best to interventions that involved repeated reading in the form of rehearsal followed by performance, such as choral poetry reading and reader's theater. Students demonstrated engagement in the activities while becoming more realistic in self-evaluation. Eight appendixes include: (1) Student Survey; (2) DIBELS; (3) Choose-A-Title; (4) Paired Reading; (5) Echo Reading; (6) Choral Reading; (7) Poetry Reading; and (8) Reader's Theatre. (Contains 11 tables and 18 graphs.) [Master of Arts Action Research Project, Field-Based Master's Program, Saint Xavier University & Pearson Achievement Solutions, Inc.]
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 3; Grade 5; Grade 6
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A