Intervention Presentation

Repeated reading of poetry as

a strategy for improving

reading fluency in a Year 7 boy

Aithne Dell

Master of Teaching (Primary) – University of Western Australia

Statement of Issue

Child in Year 7 at an Independent Public School in the Mid-West region of Western Australia

‘Simon’ (a pseudonym)

Experiences significant difficulties with reading

Reads with

little fluency

minimal expression

often needs help to decode words

Causing difficulties in other academic areas

Research Question

How effective is the use of repeated reading of

poetry in improving the reading fluency of a Year

7 child?

Proposed Intervention

Small selection of entertaining poems at an appropriate reading level

Modelled fluent reading

(Kuhn & Stahl, 2003; Dowhower, 1991)

‘Listening-while-reading’

(Dowhower, 1987; Schrauben, 2010)

Independent reading, with continued formative feedback

(Rasinski, 2003)

Comprehension still addressed – questioning and summarising

Data Collection and Analysis

Pre-test

Interview with classroom teacher

Two unfamiliar texts (Samuels, 2002)

Conduct running record and miscue analysis to identify words correct per minute

Multidimensional Fluency Scale (Zutell & Rasinski, 1991)

Student self-assessment

Post-test

Repeat of fluency assessments

Comparison of data from pre and post-tests to identify individual progress

Diagnostic results

Two passages – 3-Minute reading assessments (Rasinski & Padak, 2005)

Passage 1 Passage 2

WPM 45 47

WCPM 38 34

Accuracy (%) 83 72

Diagnostic results

Multidimensional Fluency Scale (MDFS) (Zutell & Rasinski, 1991)

Four aspects – each marked on a scale from 1-4

Total scores that are under 8 indicate the need for fluency work (ref- reading

book)

Text 1 Text 2

Expression and volume 1 1

Phrasing 1 1

Smoothness 1 1

Pace 1.5 2

Total 4.5 5

Intervention

Intervention

Intervention

Intervention

Intervention

Intervention

Intervention

Intervention

Intervention

Intervention

Results

42

27

64

4

55

47

86

7

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

WPM WCPM Accuracy (%) MDFS

"The Milker" - Initial and final readings

Initial Final

53

41

77

4.5

97 97 99

10

0

20

40

60

80

100

120


"My dog chewed up my homework" - Initial and final readings

Initial Final

37

28

74

8

110 110

100

11.5

0

20

40

60

80

100

120


"What to do about grandma" - Initial and final readings

Initial Final

Results

4547

49 49

38

34

3841

83

72

77

83

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Before - Text 1 Before - Text 2 After - Text 3 After - Text 4

Reading Assessment - Word recognition and accuracy

WPM WCPM Accuracy (%)

1 1

21.5

1 1

2 2

1 1

2 21.5

22.5

2

4.55

8.5

7.5

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Before - Text 1 Before - Text 2 After - Text 3 After - Text 4

Reading Assessment - Multidimensional Fluency Scale (Zutell & Rasinski, 2005)

Expression and volume Phrasing Smoothness Pace Total

Interpretation of results

Demonstrated fluent reading when working with familiar, repeated texts

Having difficulty transferring skills to unknown texts

Trying to incorporate elements of expression and phrasing into reading

Literature Review - Fluency

Accurate word recognition

Automatic word recognition

Appropriate prosody

(Dowhower, 1991; Fellowes & Oakley, 2012; Kuhn & Stahl, 2003; McKenna &

Dougherty Stahl, 2009; Miccinati, 1985; Schrauben, 2010; Staudt, 2009)

Literature Review - Fluency

Initial focus on reading rate

(Samuels, 1997; Staudt, 2009)

Overemphasis on speed diminishes focus on comprehension and prosody

(Fellowes & Oakley, 2012; Marcell & Ferraro, 2013; Rasinski, 2012)

Incorporating prosody discourages emphasis on ‘race reading’, encourages expression and appropriate pacing (Marcell & Ferraro, 2013)

Fluency is needed for comprehension of text

(Faver, 2008; Hudson, LaBerge & Samuels, 1974; Lane & Pullen, 2005; Whalley & Hansen, 2006)

Fluency occurs as a result of the reader “simultaneously perform[ing] many literacy processes, including lower-level decoding and higher-order comprehension processes”

(Fellowes & Oakley, 2012, p.302)

Literature Review – Repeated reading

and poetry to improve fluency

Repeated reading assists students to develop reading fluency

Particularly appropriate in cases of poor decoding skills or limited sight word

knowledge

(Faver, 2008; Fellowes & Oakley, 2012; Meyer & Felton, 1999; Rasinski, 2003;

Staudt, 2009)

Rich language experience through poetry

Gain a stronger understanding of the need for phrasing

“rich and playful language” (Faver, 2008, p.351)

“hear and enjoy a more mature-sounding syntax not found in the simple books they

were reading independently” (Staudt, 2009, p.145)

Limitations

Time constraints

Texts used for pre- and post-testing

Environment in which intervention took place

Ethical Considerations

Research was explained to all participants and parents and written consent

obtained

Participants were informed that involvement is voluntary, and that

participants could withdraw at any stage

Additional consent was sought before taking photographs, audio recordings or

obtaining work samples which were kept

All ethical requirements of the University of Western Australia were followed

References Dowhower, S. L. (1987). Effects of repeated reading on second-grade transitional readers’ fluency and comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 22(4), 389–406. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/747699.

Dowhower, S. L. (1991). Speaking of prosody: Fluency’s unattended bedfellow. Theory Into Practice, 30(3), 165-175. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.library.uwa.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/00405849109543497.

Faver, S. (2008). Repeated reading of poetry can enhance reading fluency. The Reading Teacher, 62(4), 350-352. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.uwa.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=9b260640-23a2-48e5-a168-ee5ef6631c17%40sessionmgr4004&vid=1&hid=4109.

Fellowes, J., & Oakley, G. (2012). Language, literacy and early childhood education. South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.

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. Retrieved from http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/northernadelaide/files/links/hudson_lane_pullen_reading.pdf.

Kuhn, M. R., & 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

LaBerge, D., & Samuels, S. J. (1974). Towards a theory of automatic information processing in reading. Cognitive Psychology, 6, 293–323. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.library.uwa.edu.au/science/article/pii/0010028574900152.

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Samuels, S.J. (2002). Reading fluency: Its development and assessment. In A.E. Farstrup & S.J. Samuels (eds), What research has to say about reading instruction (3rd edn, pp.166-183). Neward, Delaware: International Reading Association.

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Staudt, D.H. (2009). Intensive word study and repeated reading improves reading skills for two students with learning disabilities. The Reading Teacher, 63(2), 142-151. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.library.uwa.edu.au/stable/40347664.

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