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Review of related literature and studies about reading comprehension skills
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Literacy, fluency and reading comprehension all play a crucial role in determining how learners acquire skills within the classroom. This paper will review a number of scholarly literatures that give more details about fluency and reading comprehension. Over a long period of time, the ability of a learner to read educational materials fluently has been taken as the most thorough learning method through which the learner can acquire literacy. Kuhn, Schwanenflugel and Meisinger (2010) argue that reading fluency should not only focus on automatic word recognition as a way to assess the ability of a learner (p. 231). The authors argue that there should be other methods to assess reading fluency through prosody, which can influence the rhythm of spoken language. Automatic word recognition helps a learner to read with speed, limited effort, with autonomy and without having to be conscious. All these attributes make the reading fluency of a learner to improve. Dewitz, Jones and Leahy (2009) state that comprehension reading instructions in classrooms does not always meet the standards that have been set by educational experts (p. 107). The comprehension programs adopted do not provide learners the time to practice what they are learning through the comprehension because learners are given too much material to learn. Learners are at a disadvantage because they may probably not complete the core curriculum topics as outlined in the study guide. The programs cover a lot more topics than before, which make instructors to rush learners through the curriculum before a clear assessment of learners’ internalization of what they are taught is done. Rasinski (1999) states that one of the most effective ways to assess a learner’s reading abili... ... middle of paper ... ...uency. Reading Research Quarterly, 45 (2), 230-251. Nichols, W. D., Rupley,W. H., & Rasinski, T. (2009). Fluency in learning to read for meaning: Going beyond repeated readings. Literacy Research and Instruction, 48, 1-13. Pikulski, J., & Chard, D. (2005). Fluency: Bridge between decoding and reading comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 58(6), 510-520. Rasinski, T., & Hoffman, J. (2003). Oral reading in the school literacy program. Reading Research Quarterly, 38(4), 510-522. Rasinski, T. (2000). Speed does matter in reading. The Reading Teacher, 54(2), 146- 152. Rasinski, T. (1999). Reading first: Fluency is fundamental. Scholastic Instructor, 113(4), 15-20. Slavin, R., Cheung, A., Groff, C., & Lake, C. (2008). Effective reading programs for middle and high schools: A best-evidence synthesis. Reading Research Quarterly, 43(3), 290-322.
Fountas, I., C., & Pinnel, G. S., (2009). When readers struggle: Teaching that works. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Slavin, R. E., Lake, C., Davis, S., & Maden, N. A. (2012). Effective Programs for Struggling Readers: A Best-Evidence Synthesis. Best Evidence Encyclopedia.
The National Reading Panel identifies alphabetics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension as four literacy essentials. These fundamentals are what make up readers, without these skills students’ cannot progress in reading. In order for each individual student to thrive teachers must diagnose and implement appropriate reading content. There are many ways to assess each student in the classroom. A favored methodology among classroom teachers is Informal Reading Inventory.
...ding Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction(NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
Scott, T. M., & Shearer-Lingo, A. (2002). The effects of reading fluency instruction on the academic and behavioral success of middle school students in a self-contained E/BD classroom. Preventing School Failure, 46, 167-173.
Over the past decade there have been many changes to the way teachers have taught comprehension to students. Back in 1998 it was believed by teachers that the more students read the better they would be able to comprehend, at the time there were not any effective way teachers were able to teach students comprehension. Research has become influential in the changes of how teachers have been teaching students reading comprehension (Morrow, Gambrell & Pressley, 2003, p. 112). There are many different types of methods for reading comprehension that can be taught to students effectively and it is important as educators that we try to use many of these different methods so our students will be able to understand what they are reading and it will hopefully encourage our students to enjoy and want to read but this should start as soon as students begin to read.
Every child deserves a positive, safe, nurturing, and stimulating learning environment where they will grow academically, socially, emotionally, and physically. My role as an educator is to provide my students with this type of environment as well as an education that will help them succeed academically and become life long learners. It is the responsibility of a literacy educator to provide students with this type of environment, but also to provide instruction that will help students become successful readers and writers. There are numerous programs and philosophies about literacy and reading. Through years of experience and research, one begins to develop their own creative approach on teaching these skills. After looking at different programs and seeing the positive and negatives of each, an integrated and balanced approach of literacy seems to be the best way to teach the differing needs of each student.
As mentioned above fluent readers can comprehend a text because they automatically recognize words. As we know, fluent readers can read smoothly, with intonation and expression, and at the same speed one would use when talking. “Being a fluent reader allows one to focus on the content in the reading, rather than focusing on the decoding of each individual word” (Cotter, 2012, p. 5). As children become fluent readers, they can interact with text on a higher level. When speaking of reading fluency, there are three components that develop children’s fluency and comprehension, automaticity, and prosody. Accuracy allows students to read words correctly. Automaticity allow readers to recognize words automatically, without having to decode them. Lastly, prosody allows readers to use expression while
Corcoran and Davis (2005) stated, “This causes a noticeable rise in student self-confidence, oral fluency, and motivation to read out loud.” Reader’s Theatre also promotes and increases the use of prosody while the students
That is the goal of being a fluent reader. Mrs. Baughman uses the components of a story to teach comprehension. The components of the story are the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution. If students can easily pick out the answers for the components of a story then their comprehension is growing. Another way to teach comprehension is by using graphic organizers like Venn-diagrams, story maps, and cause and effect charts. Teachers can also ask questions to make sure students understand the text. Not only does the teacher need to ask questions, but so do the students. If a student can ask questions, and with guidance answer it themselves they understand the material. The same goes with summarizing texts. A good way to check comprehension is to see how well the students summarized the texts. Doing so, can show if they really understand the material or they are just reading without thinking about it. Group work is a good way for students to share their thoughts on texts and help explain it to others in an easier way. If students do not comprehend text then their reading skills for the future will not be good. Teaching comprehension is not by just asking questions. There are many ways to check it that give a better view on how students are
Reading and writing is a key part of everyone’s life. There has been some encouraging levels of reading development in primary school assessments. According to the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy report (2015), 95.5% of students achieve at or above the national minimum standard of reading. It is important to know effective ways to teach reading so children can become active problem solvers to enable them to read for meaning or for fun. Over the years, there has been a big amount of research into the most effective ways to teach reading skills to students. There are some systematically taught key skills and strategies that help achieve these levels of reading. Some of these skills include phonological awareness, phonemic awareness,
Jennings, Caldwell and Lerner stated that the National Reading Panel describes reading fluency as identifying words accurately, reading rate and reading with expression. These components affect comprehension greatly. Accuracy allows the reader to naturally recognize words that are unfamiliar and words that are familiar. This early developed skill use decoding skills to crack unfamiliar words. Eventually these words will become sight words because the reader has seen them often enough to pull them from memory (Jennings, Caldwell & Learner, 2010, p. 215). Without accuracy, the reader will not get the author’s intended meaning which can lead to misinterpretation. Reading rate refers to the speed at which a student is able to identify both known and unknown words. Because they can recognize words instantly, they are free from constantly decoding words which allows them to gain comprehension. My case study student, Akema reads at a slow rate. Because he lacks speed, he is not able to construct an ongoing interpretation of text. unfortunately for Akema, because he cannot recognize words on contact his level of comprehension is low and finally fluent readers are able to convey meaning by reading with expression and use of various voice tones and punctuation signals. Poor prosody or expression confuses the reader because of inappropriate groupings of words (Jennings, Caldwell & Learner, 2010, p. 216). Reading with accuracy, speed and expression certainly make reading enjoyable and improve comprehension.
readers: A perspective for research and intervention ―[Electronic version]. Scientific Studies of Reading, 11(4), 289-312.
Fluent readers can focus their main attention on what the text means rather than having to concentrate on decoding the words. They can recognise words and understand them at the same time, however, less fluent readers will focus on figuring out the words rather than understanding the meaning of the text. Fluent readers can recognise words automatically and group words quickly to obtain meaning from what they have read. A student who has not developed fluency will read word by word and as they read aloud, this will be slow and choppy (Learning Point Associates,
...dent ability to retain the information they have read. When a student is a fluent reader they can read in a timely manner and with accuracy. When a child can stop at periods and begin sentences where there is a capital letter they are using fluency. Also if they can place emphasis on a sentence give the punctuation mark. Fluency helps in reading because the reader should be able to tell what a word is and know what it means. If a student rereads a story they can practice fluency and become better at it. A teacher can also be the guidance and model when developing a fluent reader. If the teacher does the demonstrating, a student could follow along and eventually learn to become fluent. Fluency can be developed in reading once a student has caught on to phonics, phonemic awareness, oral language, vocabulary, and comprehension.( Learning Point Associates, 2004, pg 18)