By: Suzanne Linebarger
Publication: The Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 3
Date: Summer 2001
Summary: Fourth grade teacher Linebarger describes how she helped her students introduce narrative tension into their already prolific writing.
I needed to find out how to move from developing confident writers to developing really good writers who knew the difference between getting words down and writing well.
Developing fluency in young writers is easy. I know; I've been doing it for years. Colleagues constantly ask me how I get my students to write so much, and while the answers seem pat, there really are only a few simple coaching techniques that lead to fluent writers. No matter how much we may want to bypass developing fluency, there are no shortcuts. Good writers are fluent writers. However, all fluent writers are not good writers. I'm interested in not only developing fluency, but in what it takes to move our writers from just being able to write, to being able to write with passion and flair. Nevertheless, we begin always with fluency. The key word here is "begin." Fluency is a place to start, not the goal itself.
The first step in developing fluency is obvious. Our students need to write daily for a variety of purposes and audiences. The teacher who has the time to read all of her students' writing is simply not asking for enough writing. The purpose of this type of informal writing is to use writing as a support for learning. It is not to assess a student's writing ability. Informal writing includes a wide variety of writing experiences, such as:
quick writes, which are motivating and allow for enough student choice to ensure that all students have something to write about
writing in response to reading, including learning logs and response journals
writing to solve problems, from math to social problems
writing to complain
writing to summarize.
This writing not only increases the student's ability to write, but demonstrates multiple uses for writing. At best, these invitations to write eventually include all students-something for everyone.
Next, the classroom environment must be designed to support fluency. Students constantly ask, "How much do we have to write?" The response to that question needs to be, "I won't tell you `how much,' but I will tell you how long." Setting a timer allows the teacher to impose a limit on students' writing (even if it's his name over and over). This is one way to discourage the "I'm done" syndrome. In my classroom, being done is not the goal; perseverance is.
Further, behavior expectations must be clear. I expect my students to take risks, make mistakes, and share what they write, but I am not orchestrating a sixties love fest. My expectations are high. However, it is also my job to provide an environment in which all students can succeed. Even my weakest writer can write for ten minutes and manage to say something worthwhile.
I don't expect my students to have great ideas, but they do need to have ideas. We work hard to make sure everyone has something to say, and then it's up to the individual to actually say it. No one gets to choose to not participate.
Another important factor in building fluency is the sharing of writing. Motivation for informal writing remains high when informal writing is paired with informal sharing. My students are required to share what they have written. This sharing time is simple and unstructured. The instructions aren't fancy: "Find someone close to you to share with and do it. You have ten minutes." The purpose of this sharing is to quickly explore ideas, and I'm not a player in the process. When I get involved, the purpose of sharing immediately becomes evaluative rather than interactive. Interaction is a key to motivation, and it's the interaction that keeps everyone writing.
So yes, my students are fluent-especially after the two years they spend with me in our third and fourth grade loop. But after they build this fluency, my response must be, "So what?" Really, so what? For years, I've had no trouble getting students to write a lot about a little. In far too many classrooms, that is where writing development stops. Our writing project mantra, "fluency, form, correctness," too often gets mired down in the development of fluency. Year after year, young writers build their self-esteem based on how much they've written, not on how well they've written. I needed to find out how to move from developing confident writers to developing really good writers who knew the difference between getting words down and writing well.
My goal was not only for my own students, but for the students working with other teachers in the Northern California Writing Project. In my role as inservice director for our site, teachers looked to me for ways to improve their students' scores on holistically scored writing samples as well as in writing in the content areas.
As I have thought through how to best help my students and the teachers with whom I work, I have come to the understanding that an increase in writing activities alone does not necessarily lead to improvement in the craft of writing. If writers are to develop more than fluency, writing teachers must coach students in the skills essential to writing with flair. For me this has been an evolving understanding. I have, in fact, been coaching writing as long as I have been teaching it. In the early days, I could hear my coaching voice in my third-graders' writing. Ray's writing (below) reflects what his teacher asked him to do. You can almost hear me asking students to limit their "I remember" piece to one incident, to include sensory details, to describe the setting, and to make sure the incident actually has an ending.
Skiing Struggle
I remember the time I went skiing on Mount Shasta on April 18, 1994. I was wearing a coat, turtleneck, fleece sweatpants, wind pants, ski hat, ski goggles, socks, and ski boots.
On my first run, I skied perfect, and it was the first time I skied in 1994! On my second run, I took one harder. It was called "downhill" because it was exactly like a course without the gates. It was really steep.
After that we went back to the van and had lunch. I had tuna and hot chocolate.
Then we went back up. On the chair lift [I] saw one ski pole and a glove. When we got to the top we took a new run.
We took about ten more runs and went home.
Ray is a competent third grade writer. His spelling and punctuation are perfect. He wants to please his teacher. He is able to check off everything I had asked him to do, from detailing what he saw to listing what he ate, and he even provides a conclusion of sorts: "We took about ten more runs and went home." So what's the problem? The problem is that nothing happens. He's writing because he's supposed to, not because he has something that he really wants to say. This is not the gift of writing that I wanted to give to my students.
About the same time as I was struggling with my need to move my writers from fluency to flair, two of my writing project colleagues, Ron Scudder, a middle school teacher, and Kevin Dolan, a high school teacher, were struggling with the same demons. We began to search for current work on the craft of writing that reflected the ability of good writing teachers. We examined our own students' writing and discovered common elements that made their writing sing to us. And then we set about searching for ways to give the gift of the writer's craft to all our students.
My students began keeping writer's notebooks that celebrated the writer's craft . . . theirs and others. Ron, Kevin, and I copied Patricia Pollacco's line, "She had a voice like slow thunder and sweet rain," from Chicken Sunday and wished we had written it. Kevin coached his students in the use of juxtaposition, placing interesting ideas side by side, and Ron worked with identifying tension in student writing the way Ralph Fletcher describes it in What a Writer Needs:
Now the story becomes interesting. This is such a fundamental expectation that while we read we are always on edge, slightly tense, awaiting the first signs of calamity. We actually get disappointed when events unfold smoothly: Nothing is happening (101).
All of these approaches are less directly prescriptive than the kind of direct coaching I had engaged in at the time Ray wrote "Skiing Struggle." But it is Fletcher's and, by extension, Ron's notion of tension that has now had the greatest impact on my teaching. By tension I do not mean conflict. I don't spend much time discussing conflict with my students. They think conflict means a fight between good guys and bad guys and that's it. But the notion of tension is one that they can really grab on to and actually use as they write.
I explain it with rubber bands. As I hand them out, I tell my students to leave the rubber bands on their desks. "Don't touch them." Of course, they are jittery waiting to get their hands on the bands and "accidentally" shoot them off. As they wait, I take a large one and just dangle it on my finger. However, when I stretch it out and point it (not at a student), the rubber band suddenly becomes more interesting. It's the tension, the potential energy that rivets our attention. It's the same in their writing. Too often, students believe humor or fear are the only elements that make writing engaging. I believe that tension is a much better place to start. The difference is illustrated in Derek's "I remember" piece.
Skiing Struggle
I was at the Mount Shasta Ski Resort on a Sunday. Everything was fine. I was having a fun time there, but one run was not very much fun.
I had to start off on steep slope. It might have fun for the rest of the family (including Ray, my dad, and my mom), but it was a struggle for me. The snow was almost as hard as ice. I had to turn and stop and turn and stop all the way down the mountain. Every time I turned, the snow crunched, and finally I had made it down that run.
After we made it down that run, it lead us to a chair lift that was brand new, so we decided to take that chair to see where it went.
When we got to the top, it looked like we were in the clouds. We went on to a run that was just as steep and icy as the one before, but this time it was worse because it took me about an hour to get through that run. One time I fell and slid, but my dad caught me.
I never went on that terrible, no good, icy, sliding run again!
The similarity in the two third grade pieces is not a coincidence. Derek is Ray's little brother. His writing is in no way stronger than his brother's. The difference in the writing clearly reflects the difference in coaching. Derek has a sense of his audience. Even his line, "Everything was fine," lets us know that everything wasn't fine. We understand that the entire family, except for Derek, was confident on the runs, and we get the feeling that they were probably unaware of his tension. His details are included for a purpose. He wants us to know that this was indeed a challenging run, not a wimpy bunny hill. Finally, he demonstrates an ability to work his writer's craft as he closes with his version of Judith Viorst's line from Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
One way I demonstrate the use of tension to students is through children's literature. I look for tension and develop ways to bring it into our discussion of a piece. There are plenty of wonderful choices. In Ira Sleeps Over, by Bernard Waber, Ira wants to bring his teddy bear when he goes to spend the night at Reggie's house. His parents assure him that Reggie won't laugh. His sister says, "He'll laugh." The tension is set and all young writers get it. The Mercer Mayer classic, There's a Nightmare in my Closet, is a natural for any discussion of tension with writers of all ages. The Wednesday Surprise, by Eve Bunting, develops a secret between Grandma and Anna. Everyone believes that Grandma is babysitting, but the reality is that Anna is teaching her to read.
Tension is inherent in all learning experiences. I tell my students that it's the tension, in my case terror, that keeps me skiing. I'm scared every time I push off and exultant every time I get to the bottom of the hill alive. My students are enthusiastic about exploring their own struggles to learn and are willing to reflect back on their experiences and see how far they've come. Nick writes:
Do I Really Want to Water Ski?
It was a hot summer day when we were going to our friend's house. When we got there they said that we were going water skiing. I was really excited. But by the time we got to Lake Oroville, I was having second thoughts. My dad and Paul were putting the boat in the water. It took a longtime so my mom, Carol, my sister, and I went down to a little shop to look around.
Finally, my dad and Paul yelled to us to get into the boat. By now I was so sacred that I was shivering all over. The skiing order was Paul first, then me, then my sister. We all watched Paul ski. He is an excellent skier! Then it was my turn. I put on my life vest and said to myself, Relax and concentrate," over and over again. I was ready! My dad held onto the back of my skis to keep me balanced. I said, "Olly!" That tells the driver to go slow. I held onto the rope tight and said, "Hit it!" I was water skiing! But I was only up for about forty seconds. After I skied, I swam up to the boat and shouted, "I want to do that again!"
Now I am an excellent water skier. I love water skiing. Now I am practicing knee boarding!
Writing prompts without tension lead to flat prose that lacks life and sparkle. A third grade writing prompt reads:
Personal Narrative: "A Special Possession"
Writing Situation: Everyone has something in his/her life that is very special or important. This possession may have been received as a gift. It may be a prize or award, or it may be something that has been bought or found.
Directions for writing: Write about the special possession you have. Tell what it is and how you got it. Describe what it looks like. Use lots of picture words. Tell why it's special or important to you.
In my view, this prompt is deadly. First, it assumes that all students have a special possession, when in reality many live in environments that don't lend themselves to possessions with stories. And even if a student can write about her baby blanket, what can she say? "My Noni crocheted it before I was born. I dragged it all over the house. It's faded yellow and white yarn and is now in the cedar chest as a special possession."
The prompt itself leads to flat writing without passion. By design, the writing will be filled with description that is designed to fit the prompt rather than to move the piece along.
A fourth grade prompt was a bit better, and with a little tweaking, actually worked.
Personal Narrative: "A Special Friend"
Writing situation: Everyone has a friend-or would like to have one-that is special. This may be a friend that you had in the past, have now, or will have in the future. This friend may be the same age as you or younger or older.
Directions for writing: Think of a friend who is special to you. Write about something your friend has done for you, you have done for your friend, or you have done together. Tell important details about when and where this happened. Tell how and why this happened. Share why it was memorable.
At first reading, I was reminded of using a similar prompt when I was teaching at California State University, Chico. The papers were deadly. They all said something like, "My best friend is really good to me. She is always there for me," and so on. I also cringed at the line, ". . has a friend-or would like one," envisioning some poor student writing about a fantasy friend because they didn't have a real one. Nevertheless, I thought that if we brought some tension into this prompt, it would have potential for all my students. So during our prewrite discussion, we talked about how hard it is to stay friends when we're met with a challenge. Students talked about times they had let their friends down and times they had been let down and discussed how they managed to stay friends in spite of their problems. In other words, we talked about some tense situations.
And suddenly these students-all of them-had stories they were burning to tell! These are the openings of a sampling of fourth grade papers:
The Hate-Like Friendship
I used to hate Terra when we were in kindergarten. We never played together. I was jealous of her. I thought that she was better than me in rollerblading and coloring. Then in first grade we became best friends.
I remember one of our most exciting adventures . . .
Stuck!
Me and Chelsea have known each other since birth. But, I didn't say we liked each other! In fact Chelsea bought a diary so she could write, "I hate Becca," in it. Even so, now we're inseparable. And sometimes I have to admit we're pretty good when it comes to mischief-making. One of our biggest on a summer Saturday was something like this. . . .
My Best Friend Jessy
When I first came to this school it was hard to make friends. I got in trouble a lot and I was lonely. Then I met
Jessy . . .
Many of the incidents they described had to do with spending the night, which for fourth-graders is always a bit tense. These essays were not negative. Our discussion had merely reminded students of incidents that had an edge.
After our discussion of this prompt, a greater percentage of student than ever before managed to produce essays that presented clear, fairly well-developed ideas. The difference was not in that these students were hand picked or gifted, nor did they all score "sixes." However, more students managed to score in the proficient range than students from many of the other classes tested.
In informational writing, tension also plays a role. I have long championed the use of powerful, well-written nonfiction or informational books in primary classrooms. Personal narrative has a role in all writing programs, but for writers to become not only fluent, but skilled, they need experiences far beyond the realm of fiction and personal narrative. I struggled with getting my students to interact with information instead of regurgitating it. Young writers love to write information books in which they copy countless facts that they can neither read nor understand. I've managed to avoid some of these problems by asking young writers to record key words instead of "notes" as they read nonfiction and then to use these key words to reconstruct their understanding of what they've read, first in a discussion and then in an essay. Darcy Weagant, a Northern California Writing Project teacher-consultant, developed this concept. I needed to fine-tune it so that it worked for my students.
In experimenting with this idea, I began to understand the connection between tension and surprise. I discovered that if I ask my students to explain what surprised them as a result of listening to an article, reading a piece, or conducting an investigation, I am able to accomplish two things. First, they have to interact with their information in order to respond, and, second, they develop another element of tension. They are tensed as they read or listen and are ready and expecting to be surprised. It's almost a competition between themselves and the writer. They are disappointed if they truly find no surprises. That usually indicates that the material they chose was too simple. When they write about these surprises, their writing comes alive in ways lacking when they write, "What I learned was. . . ."
For example, I read my students an article called "Mummies" from the "Pyramids" issue of Kids Discover magazine. As I read, they write down key words that strike them as important. Then they discuss the article using their note cards with their key words only. Involved in the process, students are tense, waiting to be surprised. One key word always appears: brain. They then explain that the Egyptians used a hook to pull the brain from the body through the nose. While they think they know a great deal about mummies already, this bit of information really surprises them. I extend this notion of surprise throughout their responses to reading and to larger assignments such as their "I Search" papers.
This fourth grade "I Search" paper concludes with a series of surprises:
Star Wars Conclusion
It surprised me that I didn't I find answers to lot of the questions that I have. Most of the questions that I didn't answer were the questions about prices and costs of the movie. I did find out more things about the characters and other details about the action in the movie.
I was surprised that it took more than one person to play some parts.
It surprised me that Imperial Walkers stood over 45 feet tall. I was surprised that R2D2 and C3PO had names for the kind of droid they are.
My most interesting discoveries were that Darth Vader's real name was Anakin Skywalker and that blaster pistols were the most used weapons throughout the galaxy. I didn't even think Darth Vader had a name before Darth Vader. I knew he was on the light side before he was on the dark side, but I didn't know that he had that name. When I saw about the blaster pistols I thought there would be a different (sic) that was used because you don't see blaster pistols that much in the movies, but a lot of people do have them if you really think about it.
I was surprised how hard it was to find information. The web site was always full, and when I finally got in, it didn't have that much information. Star Wars is a big thing now and I just thought there would be a lot of information on it.
If I were to do this again, I could make it better. I would go straight for a book sooner, and I would go to the internet sooner because once I got on I did get information, but I did not have enough time to use it all. I would also interview more people. If I had more interviews it would be more interesting, because I could find out what people know ad like about Star Wars.
I really enjoyed this project. It was fun and interesting for me and maybe for you!
For years, I had been reading conclusions that did not convince me that the writer actually knew what he or she was writing about. They tended to rehash a list of facts mentioned earlier in the paper. By adding the element of surprise (tension), the writer becomes involved in an evaluation of the learning experience and is able to set realistic goals for a future research experience.
It's important, as I conclude, to return to the role of fluency in a writing program. Our students need to develop fluency at all levels. If a student who comes into my classroom is confident, sees himself as a writer, and is capable of writing a great deal, I can coach that writer from fluency to flair. If a writer is fearful and incapable of getting any ideas on paper, I cannot avoid the need to help that writer develop fluency. Our writers must be writing for all sorts of reasons if we are going to find the one topic that will light a spark in each of our students. My goal is not that of a minimalist. I am a maximalist. I don't want my students to merely be able to write. I want them to love to write. I want them to be great writers. I want them to have fluency, form, correctness, and pizzazz!
References
Fletcher, Ralph. 1993. What a Writer Needs. New Hampshire: Heinemann.
Harvey, Stephanie. 1998. Nonfiction Matters. York, Maine: Stenhouse.
Hindley, Joanne. 1996. In the Company of Children. York, Maine: Stenhouse.
Picture Books that Model Tension
Bunting, Eve. 1989. The Wednesday Surprise. New York: Clarion Books.
Fox, Mem. 1984. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge. New York: Scholastic Inc.
Giff, Patricia Reilly. 1980. Today Was a Terrible Day. New York: Puffin Books.
Gilman, Phoebe. 1992. Something From Nothing. New York: Scholastic Inc.
Polacco, Patricia. 1993. The Bee Tree. New York: Philomel Books.
-------. 1992. Chicken Sunday. New York: Putman & Grosset.
-------. 1994. Pink and Say. New York: Philomel Books.
-------. 1998. Thank-You Mr. Falker. New York: Philomel Books.
Mayer, Mercer. 1968. There's a Nightmare in My Closet. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.
Viorst, Judith. 1972. Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. New York: Alladin Paperbacks.
Waber, Bernard. 1972. Ira Sleeps Over. New York: Scholastic, Inc.
About the Author Suzanne Linebarger is the inservice director for the Northern California Writing Project. She teaches third and fourth grade at Pines Elementary School in Chico, California.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Reading Fluency
By: N. Mather and Sam Goldstein (2001)
Reading fluency encompasses the speed or rate of reading, as well as the ability to read materials with expression. Meyer and Felton defined fluency as "'the ability to read connected text rapidly, smoothly, effortlessly, and automatically with little conscious attention to the mechanics of reading, such as decoding" (1999, p. 284). Children are successful with decoding when the process used to identify words is fast and nearly effortless or automatic. As noted, the concept of automaticity refers to a student's ability to recognize words rapidly with little attention required to the word's appearance. The ability to read words by sight automatically is the key to skilled reading (Ehri, 1998).
Some children have developed accurate word pronunciation skills but read slowly. For these children, decoding is not automatic or fluent, and their limited fluency may affect performance in the following ways: 1) they read less text than peers and have less time to remember, review, or comprehend the text; 2) they expend more cognitive energy than peers trying to identify individual words; and 3) they may be less able to retain text in their memories and less likely to integrate those segments with other parts of the text (Mastropieri, Leinart, & Scruggs, 1999).
When Maria was in sixth grade, she still read very slowly. Although she pronounced most words correctly, she read with little expression. She complained that because she read so slowly, she could not understand what she was reading. She usually had to read materials several times in order to comprehend them. Students like Maria, Ryan, and Ben require more exposures and more practice to recognize individual words easily and automatically. Even into middle school, these students often devote an inordinate amount of energy to word identification.
Determining a student's reading rate
A student's reading rate may be calculated by dividing the number of words read correctly by the total amount of reading time. You may count out 100 words in a passage and then time the student as he or she reads the passage. Maria was given a passage to read with 100 words. She read 92 words correctly in 1.5 minutes, or 61 words per minute (wpm). Table 8. 1, adapted from information presented in Carver (1990), presents approximate reading rates for students in Grades 2-12. Analysis of this table reveals that Maria is reading at a slower rate than many of her peers.
Adjusting reading rate
Most people have a constant rate when reading. This rate is the fastest pace at which a person can understand complete thoughts in successive sentences of relatively easy material. As long as the material is relatively easy to read, a person's rate stays constant. For different types of tasks, however, readers often alter their rate. Students with slow reading rates are often not aware that good readers adjust their rate depending on the purpose of reading. Making these types of adjustments is particularly important for studying or completing assigned readings because a student with poor reading skills otherwise struggles to complete lengthy reading assignments.
Table 8.1. Average rates for reading with understanding for students in Grades 2-12 Grade equivalent Standard words per minute
2.5 - 121
3.5 - 135
4.5 - 149
5.5 - 163
6.5 - 177
7.5 - 191
8.5 - 205
9.5 - 219
10.5 - 233
11.5 - 247
12.5 - 261
Source: Carver (1990). A standard word is six letter spaces including punctuation and spacing.
Carver (1990) used the analogy of adjusting reading speed to the shifting of gears in a car. First and second gears are the slowest, most powerful gears. First gear is used to memorize materials. Second gear is used to learn material. Third gear is the typical reading rate. The fourth gear, skimming, and the fifth gear, scanning, are the fastest but least powerful gears. These gears are useful when you are trying to locate a specific piece of information or trying to get the general sense of a passage without reading every word.
As an adult reader, consider the ways that you monitor your reading pace and shift gears depending on your goals. If you are trying to memorize material for a test, your pace is slow and reflective, characterized by stopping and reviewing as you progress. If you are reading a novel for pleasure, your pace is steady and fluent. If you are searching for information in a catalog, your pace is rapid. As a skilled reader, you know how to adjust the gears of your reading on the basis of your purpose.
Some children have not learned how to adjust their reading rates. They attempt to read information in an encyclopedia at the same pace that they read a novel. To help develop increased reading speed, encourage students to adjust their rate depending on the purpose of reading. Provide practice in skimming through a chapter to get a sense of the information and then how to study that chapter for the weekly test. Demonstrate to students how you change your rate for different types of reading materials.
Activities for increasing reading rate
Students who would benefit from methods to increase reading speed are often described by their teachers as slow, laborious readers who read word-by-word with limited expression. These types of techniques are most useful with students who have acquired some proficiency in decoding skill but whose level of decoding skill is lower than their oral language abilities. Methods for increasing reading rate have several common features: 1) students listen to text as they follow along with the book, 2) students follow the print using their fingers as guides, and 3) reading materials are used that students would be unable to read independently. Chard and Osborn (1999a) suggested that a beginning reading program should provide opportunities for partner reading, practice reading difficult words prior to reading the text, timings for accuracy and rate, opportunities to hear books read, and opportunities to read to others. The following methods are easy to use.
Speed drills
For reading lists of words with a speed drill and a 1-minute timing, Fischer (1999) suggested using the following general guidelines: 30 correct wpm for first- and second-grade children; 40 correct wpm for third- grade children; 60 correct wpm for mid-third-grade; and 80 wpm for students in fourth grade and higher. To conduct a speed drill, have the student read a list of words for 1 minute as you record the number of errors. You may use a high-frequency word list or the sample speed drills provided in Fischer's program Concept Phonics (see Additional Resources). These drills are designed to develop automatic sight recognition of words.
Rapid word recognition chart
A way to improve speed of recognition for words with an irregular element is the use of a rapid word recognition chart (Carreker, 1999). The chart is similar to a rapid serial-naming task. It is a matrix that contains five rows of six exception words (e.g., who and said), with each row containing the same six words in a different order. After a brief review of the words, students are timed for 1 minute as they read the words in the squares aloud. Students can then count and record the number of words read correctly. This type of procedure can help students like Ben who struggle to memorize words with irregular orthographic patterns.
Great Leaps Reading Program
Great Leaps Reading Program (Campbell, 1996) was designed to help students to build reading speed. One-minute timings employ three stimuli: phonics, sight phrases, and reading short stories. Before beginning this program, teachers assess the students' present reading level. Instruction begins at the level within the program at which reading speed is slow and the student makes several errors. After the recording, the teacher reviews the errors with the student and discusses strategies that they can use to improve performance. Performance is charted on graphs so that both students and teachers can keep track of progress. The program takes approximately 10 minutes per day. A K-2 version of this program provides a phonological awareness instruction component (Mercer & Campbell, 1998). Results from one study indicate that daily application of this program with middle school students with LID contributes to growth in reading and an improvement in reading rate, (Mercer, Campbell, Miller, Mercer, & Lane, 2000).
Choral reading or neurological impress method
The neurological impress method (Heckelman, 1969, 1986) is a method for choral or concert reading. In this method, you read aloud together with a student for 10- 15 minutes daily. To begin, select a high-interest book or a content-area textbook from the classroom. Sit next to the student and read aloud as you point to the words with your index finger. Read at a slightly faster pace than the student and encourage him or her to try and keep up with you. When necessary, remind the student to keep his or her eyes on the words. Successful decoding requires the reader to connect the flow of spoken language with the flow of text (Carreker, 1999). Reading aloud with students can help them to practice phrasing and intonation.
Repeated readings
The repeated readings technique is designed for children who read slowly despite adequate word recognition (Samuels, 1979). For this procedure, the child reads the same passage over and over again. To begin, select a passage that is 50-100 words long from a book that is slightly above the student's independent reading level. Have the student read the selection orally while you time the reading and count the number of words that are pronounced incorrectly. Record the reading time and the number of words pronounced incorrectly. If desired, set a realistic goal for speed and number of errors. Figure 8.8 presents a sample recording form to use for repeated readings. You may use two different color pencils for recording time and errors, or you may use a circle to indicate points on the line for time and an X or a square to indicate points on the line for errors.
Between timings, you may ask the student to look over the selection, reread it, and practice words that caused difficulty in the initial reading. When the student is ready, have him or her reread the same passage. Once again, time the reading, and record the time and number of errors. Have the student repeatedly practice reading the selection as you chart progress after each trial until a predetermined goal is reached or until the student is able to read the passage fluently with few mistakes. Research on repeated reading suggests that fluency can be improved as long as students are provided with specific instructions and procedures are used to monitor their progress (Mastropieri et al., 1999). An easy way to monitor student performance using this chart is to keep a log of the dated charts. To control for a similar readability level, select the passages to read from the same book. As performance improves, the time to perform the initial reading should decrease.
Repeated reading has also been used as a component of class-wide peer tutoring (Mathes & Fuchs, 1993). In a study of this intervention, pairs of students in one group read continuously over a 10-minute period, whereas pairs of students in the other group read a passage together three times before going on to the next passage. Although both experimental conditions produced higher results than the typical reading instruction, no difference existed between the procedures, suggesting that the main benefit of the intervention is the student reading involvement and the increased time spent in reading (Mastropieri et al., 1999).
Click to see Figure 8.8. Sample repeated readings graph.
In a review of the effectiveness of repeated reading, Meyer and Felton (1999) concluded that the method of repeated readings improves reading speed for a wide variety of readers. They make the following recommendations for helping students to improve fluency:
have students engage in multiple readings (three to four times);
use instructional level text;
use decodable text with struggling readers;
provide short, frequent periods of fluency practice; and
provide concrete measures of progress. Base the amount of teacher guidance on each individual's characteristics. With students with poor reading skills, modeling and practicing of words between readings improve student performance and reduce frustration.
Previewing is a technique similar to repeated reading, involving pre-exposure to materials before they are formally read (Rose, 1984). For this type of procedure, a student can preview the material silently, or you may read the passage aloud as the student follows along, or the student may first listen to the recorded passage on tape. Rose and Sherry (1984) found that both silent previewing and teacher-directed previewing were more effective than no previewing. Maria found that, by hearing the passage before she was asked to read it, she made fewer errors and was more successful reading the text.
Taped books
Another way to help students practice reading is to use taped books. Have the student listen to the reading while he or she follows along with an unabridged copy of the book. Most public libraries provide a wide selection of recorded books for loan. When Maria. was in fifth grade, she was interested in horses. Her mother would take her to the library, and they would check out books and the corresponding book tapes. Each evening, she would listen to classic stories about horses as she followed along with the text.
If a student has been identified as having LD or dyslexia, taped books are available from Recordings for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D). This national, nonprofit organization provides textbooks for individuals who are unable to read standard print because of visual, physical, or perceptual disabilities. The extensive tape library has educational books that range from upper-elementary to postgraduate level. If a book is unavailable, an individual may request that it be recorded, and, if it fits within the scope of the collection, the book will be recorded.
Unabridged audio books are also available for rent from either Books on Tape or Recorded Books. Selections include bestsellers, classics, history, biographies, and science fiction. Books may be rented for 1 month and then returned by mail. Prices vary according to the length of the books. Sources for obtaining books on tape are listed in Additional Resources.
Some commercial recordings, such as those obtained at the public library; go too fast for individuals with reading disabilities. In addition, because younger and struggling readers lose their place quite frequently, it is important to have a procedure for relocating the place at the top of each page. Many teachers prefer to make their own recordings of books so that they can select materials that are of high interest to students and control the rate of delivery.
Carbo Method (1989) developed procedures for recording books to achieve maximum gains in fluency. A brief description of how to record books using this method is described:
Decide which pages you will record on each cassette side.
Because every tape cassette has about 5-8 seconds of lead time, let the tape run for that amount of time before starting to record.
Speak into the microphone from a distance of approximately 6-8 inches.
Convey your interest in the book through your voice.
Begin by reading the story title, providing a brief introduction, pausing, and then telling the student which page to turn to. Pause long enough so that the reader has enough time to turn pages and look at pictures.
Tell the student when to turn the page. In order not to distract from the content, soften your voice slightly when stating a. page number.
Read the story in logical phrases, slowly enough so that most students can follow along but not so slowly that they become bored.
End each tape with, "Please rewind the tape for the next listener. That ends this recording." This prevents students from continuing to listen to the blank tape.
As general guidelines, record 5-15 minutes at a typical pace for instructional level material and have the student listen to the tape once. For difficult material, record no more than 2 minutes at a slow pace with good expression and have the student listen to the passage two or three times. After listening, have the student read the passage aloud.
Read Naturally Another program designed to build fluency in students from mid-first through sixth grade (see Additional Resources). Instruction is individualized and involves three main steps:
reading along with an audiotape of a story that provides a model of fluent reading;
intensive, repeated practice to build speed and accuracy; and
monitoring and evaluating performance through graphing.
To use the program, students are placed into an appropriate level on the basis of their oral reading fluency. The sequenced reading levels range from beginning reading to sixth-grade level with 24 stories available for each level. In addition, the lower level materials have been translated into Spanish.
Fluency methods are designed to increase rate and automaticity. They are particularly beneficial for students like Maria and Ben who have strong conceptual abilities but poor automaticity because of weaknesses within phonological or orthographic abilities. These repeated readings provide repeated exposures that facilitate word mastery and automaticity. They help a student move from Ehri's (1998) full alphabetic stage to the consolidated alphabetic stage, in which word learning is accomplished more easily.
Mather, N., & Goldstein, S. (2001). Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors: A Guide to Intervention and Classroom Management (pp. 235-242). Available in the LD OnLine Store;
Copyright 2001 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.; posted by permission. All rights reserved.
Reading fluency encompasses the speed or rate of reading, as well as the ability to read materials with expression. Meyer and Felton defined fluency as "'the ability to read connected text rapidly, smoothly, effortlessly, and automatically with little conscious attention to the mechanics of reading, such as decoding" (1999, p. 284). Children are successful with decoding when the process used to identify words is fast and nearly effortless or automatic. As noted, the concept of automaticity refers to a student's ability to recognize words rapidly with little attention required to the word's appearance. The ability to read words by sight automatically is the key to skilled reading (Ehri, 1998).
Some children have developed accurate word pronunciation skills but read slowly. For these children, decoding is not automatic or fluent, and their limited fluency may affect performance in the following ways: 1) they read less text than peers and have less time to remember, review, or comprehend the text; 2) they expend more cognitive energy than peers trying to identify individual words; and 3) they may be less able to retain text in their memories and less likely to integrate those segments with other parts of the text (Mastropieri, Leinart, & Scruggs, 1999).
When Maria was in sixth grade, she still read very slowly. Although she pronounced most words correctly, she read with little expression. She complained that because she read so slowly, she could not understand what she was reading. She usually had to read materials several times in order to comprehend them. Students like Maria, Ryan, and Ben require more exposures and more practice to recognize individual words easily and automatically. Even into middle school, these students often devote an inordinate amount of energy to word identification.
Determining a student's reading rate
A student's reading rate may be calculated by dividing the number of words read correctly by the total amount of reading time. You may count out 100 words in a passage and then time the student as he or she reads the passage. Maria was given a passage to read with 100 words. She read 92 words correctly in 1.5 minutes, or 61 words per minute (wpm). Table 8. 1, adapted from information presented in Carver (1990), presents approximate reading rates for students in Grades 2-12. Analysis of this table reveals that Maria is reading at a slower rate than many of her peers.
Adjusting reading rate
Most people have a constant rate when reading. This rate is the fastest pace at which a person can understand complete thoughts in successive sentences of relatively easy material. As long as the material is relatively easy to read, a person's rate stays constant. For different types of tasks, however, readers often alter their rate. Students with slow reading rates are often not aware that good readers adjust their rate depending on the purpose of reading. Making these types of adjustments is particularly important for studying or completing assigned readings because a student with poor reading skills otherwise struggles to complete lengthy reading assignments.
Table 8.1. Average rates for reading with understanding for students in Grades 2-12 Grade equivalent Standard words per minute
2.5 - 121
3.5 - 135
4.5 - 149
5.5 - 163
6.5 - 177
7.5 - 191
8.5 - 205
9.5 - 219
10.5 - 233
11.5 - 247
12.5 - 261
Source: Carver (1990). A standard word is six letter spaces including punctuation and spacing.
Carver (1990) used the analogy of adjusting reading speed to the shifting of gears in a car. First and second gears are the slowest, most powerful gears. First gear is used to memorize materials. Second gear is used to learn material. Third gear is the typical reading rate. The fourth gear, skimming, and the fifth gear, scanning, are the fastest but least powerful gears. These gears are useful when you are trying to locate a specific piece of information or trying to get the general sense of a passage without reading every word.
As an adult reader, consider the ways that you monitor your reading pace and shift gears depending on your goals. If you are trying to memorize material for a test, your pace is slow and reflective, characterized by stopping and reviewing as you progress. If you are reading a novel for pleasure, your pace is steady and fluent. If you are searching for information in a catalog, your pace is rapid. As a skilled reader, you know how to adjust the gears of your reading on the basis of your purpose.
Some children have not learned how to adjust their reading rates. They attempt to read information in an encyclopedia at the same pace that they read a novel. To help develop increased reading speed, encourage students to adjust their rate depending on the purpose of reading. Provide practice in skimming through a chapter to get a sense of the information and then how to study that chapter for the weekly test. Demonstrate to students how you change your rate for different types of reading materials.
Activities for increasing reading rate
Students who would benefit from methods to increase reading speed are often described by their teachers as slow, laborious readers who read word-by-word with limited expression. These types of techniques are most useful with students who have acquired some proficiency in decoding skill but whose level of decoding skill is lower than their oral language abilities. Methods for increasing reading rate have several common features: 1) students listen to text as they follow along with the book, 2) students follow the print using their fingers as guides, and 3) reading materials are used that students would be unable to read independently. Chard and Osborn (1999a) suggested that a beginning reading program should provide opportunities for partner reading, practice reading difficult words prior to reading the text, timings for accuracy and rate, opportunities to hear books read, and opportunities to read to others. The following methods are easy to use.
Speed drills
For reading lists of words with a speed drill and a 1-minute timing, Fischer (1999) suggested using the following general guidelines: 30 correct wpm for first- and second-grade children; 40 correct wpm for third- grade children; 60 correct wpm for mid-third-grade; and 80 wpm for students in fourth grade and higher. To conduct a speed drill, have the student read a list of words for 1 minute as you record the number of errors. You may use a high-frequency word list or the sample speed drills provided in Fischer's program Concept Phonics (see Additional Resources). These drills are designed to develop automatic sight recognition of words.
Rapid word recognition chart
A way to improve speed of recognition for words with an irregular element is the use of a rapid word recognition chart (Carreker, 1999). The chart is similar to a rapid serial-naming task. It is a matrix that contains five rows of six exception words (e.g., who and said), with each row containing the same six words in a different order. After a brief review of the words, students are timed for 1 minute as they read the words in the squares aloud. Students can then count and record the number of words read correctly. This type of procedure can help students like Ben who struggle to memorize words with irregular orthographic patterns.
Great Leaps Reading Program
Great Leaps Reading Program (Campbell, 1996) was designed to help students to build reading speed. One-minute timings employ three stimuli: phonics, sight phrases, and reading short stories. Before beginning this program, teachers assess the students' present reading level. Instruction begins at the level within the program at which reading speed is slow and the student makes several errors. After the recording, the teacher reviews the errors with the student and discusses strategies that they can use to improve performance. Performance is charted on graphs so that both students and teachers can keep track of progress. The program takes approximately 10 minutes per day. A K-2 version of this program provides a phonological awareness instruction component (Mercer & Campbell, 1998). Results from one study indicate that daily application of this program with middle school students with LID contributes to growth in reading and an improvement in reading rate, (Mercer, Campbell, Miller, Mercer, & Lane, 2000).
Choral reading or neurological impress method
The neurological impress method (Heckelman, 1969, 1986) is a method for choral or concert reading. In this method, you read aloud together with a student for 10- 15 minutes daily. To begin, select a high-interest book or a content-area textbook from the classroom. Sit next to the student and read aloud as you point to the words with your index finger. Read at a slightly faster pace than the student and encourage him or her to try and keep up with you. When necessary, remind the student to keep his or her eyes on the words. Successful decoding requires the reader to connect the flow of spoken language with the flow of text (Carreker, 1999). Reading aloud with students can help them to practice phrasing and intonation.
Repeated readings
The repeated readings technique is designed for children who read slowly despite adequate word recognition (Samuels, 1979). For this procedure, the child reads the same passage over and over again. To begin, select a passage that is 50-100 words long from a book that is slightly above the student's independent reading level. Have the student read the selection orally while you time the reading and count the number of words that are pronounced incorrectly. Record the reading time and the number of words pronounced incorrectly. If desired, set a realistic goal for speed and number of errors. Figure 8.8 presents a sample recording form to use for repeated readings. You may use two different color pencils for recording time and errors, or you may use a circle to indicate points on the line for time and an X or a square to indicate points on the line for errors.
Between timings, you may ask the student to look over the selection, reread it, and practice words that caused difficulty in the initial reading. When the student is ready, have him or her reread the same passage. Once again, time the reading, and record the time and number of errors. Have the student repeatedly practice reading the selection as you chart progress after each trial until a predetermined goal is reached or until the student is able to read the passage fluently with few mistakes. Research on repeated reading suggests that fluency can be improved as long as students are provided with specific instructions and procedures are used to monitor their progress (Mastropieri et al., 1999). An easy way to monitor student performance using this chart is to keep a log of the dated charts. To control for a similar readability level, select the passages to read from the same book. As performance improves, the time to perform the initial reading should decrease.
Repeated reading has also been used as a component of class-wide peer tutoring (Mathes & Fuchs, 1993). In a study of this intervention, pairs of students in one group read continuously over a 10-minute period, whereas pairs of students in the other group read a passage together three times before going on to the next passage. Although both experimental conditions produced higher results than the typical reading instruction, no difference existed between the procedures, suggesting that the main benefit of the intervention is the student reading involvement and the increased time spent in reading (Mastropieri et al., 1999).
Click to see Figure 8.8. Sample repeated readings graph.
In a review of the effectiveness of repeated reading, Meyer and Felton (1999) concluded that the method of repeated readings improves reading speed for a wide variety of readers. They make the following recommendations for helping students to improve fluency:
have students engage in multiple readings (three to four times);
use instructional level text;
use decodable text with struggling readers;
provide short, frequent periods of fluency practice; and
provide concrete measures of progress. Base the amount of teacher guidance on each individual's characteristics. With students with poor reading skills, modeling and practicing of words between readings improve student performance and reduce frustration.
Previewing is a technique similar to repeated reading, involving pre-exposure to materials before they are formally read (Rose, 1984). For this type of procedure, a student can preview the material silently, or you may read the passage aloud as the student follows along, or the student may first listen to the recorded passage on tape. Rose and Sherry (1984) found that both silent previewing and teacher-directed previewing were more effective than no previewing. Maria found that, by hearing the passage before she was asked to read it, she made fewer errors and was more successful reading the text.
Taped books
Another way to help students practice reading is to use taped books. Have the student listen to the reading while he or she follows along with an unabridged copy of the book. Most public libraries provide a wide selection of recorded books for loan. When Maria. was in fifth grade, she was interested in horses. Her mother would take her to the library, and they would check out books and the corresponding book tapes. Each evening, she would listen to classic stories about horses as she followed along with the text.
If a student has been identified as having LD or dyslexia, taped books are available from Recordings for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D). This national, nonprofit organization provides textbooks for individuals who are unable to read standard print because of visual, physical, or perceptual disabilities. The extensive tape library has educational books that range from upper-elementary to postgraduate level. If a book is unavailable, an individual may request that it be recorded, and, if it fits within the scope of the collection, the book will be recorded.
Unabridged audio books are also available for rent from either Books on Tape or Recorded Books. Selections include bestsellers, classics, history, biographies, and science fiction. Books may be rented for 1 month and then returned by mail. Prices vary according to the length of the books. Sources for obtaining books on tape are listed in Additional Resources.
Some commercial recordings, such as those obtained at the public library; go too fast for individuals with reading disabilities. In addition, because younger and struggling readers lose their place quite frequently, it is important to have a procedure for relocating the place at the top of each page. Many teachers prefer to make their own recordings of books so that they can select materials that are of high interest to students and control the rate of delivery.
Carbo Method (1989) developed procedures for recording books to achieve maximum gains in fluency. A brief description of how to record books using this method is described:
Decide which pages you will record on each cassette side.
Because every tape cassette has about 5-8 seconds of lead time, let the tape run for that amount of time before starting to record.
Speak into the microphone from a distance of approximately 6-8 inches.
Convey your interest in the book through your voice.
Begin by reading the story title, providing a brief introduction, pausing, and then telling the student which page to turn to. Pause long enough so that the reader has enough time to turn pages and look at pictures.
Tell the student when to turn the page. In order not to distract from the content, soften your voice slightly when stating a. page number.
Read the story in logical phrases, slowly enough so that most students can follow along but not so slowly that they become bored.
End each tape with, "Please rewind the tape for the next listener. That ends this recording." This prevents students from continuing to listen to the blank tape.
As general guidelines, record 5-15 minutes at a typical pace for instructional level material and have the student listen to the tape once. For difficult material, record no more than 2 minutes at a slow pace with good expression and have the student listen to the passage two or three times. After listening, have the student read the passage aloud.
Read Naturally Another program designed to build fluency in students from mid-first through sixth grade (see Additional Resources). Instruction is individualized and involves three main steps:
reading along with an audiotape of a story that provides a model of fluent reading;
intensive, repeated practice to build speed and accuracy; and
monitoring and evaluating performance through graphing.
To use the program, students are placed into an appropriate level on the basis of their oral reading fluency. The sequenced reading levels range from beginning reading to sixth-grade level with 24 stories available for each level. In addition, the lower level materials have been translated into Spanish.
Fluency methods are designed to increase rate and automaticity. They are particularly beneficial for students like Maria and Ben who have strong conceptual abilities but poor automaticity because of weaknesses within phonological or orthographic abilities. These repeated readings provide repeated exposures that facilitate word mastery and automaticity. They help a student move from Ehri's (1998) full alphabetic stage to the consolidated alphabetic stage, in which word learning is accomplished more easily.
Mather, N., & Goldstein, S. (2001). Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors: A Guide to Intervention and Classroom Management (pp. 235-242). Available in the LD OnLine Store;
Copyright 2001 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.; posted by permission. All rights reserved.
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