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Repeated Oral Reading
High quantities of decoding with a range of words isn't the only way to enhance a child's reading fluency. Getting children to repeatedly read a short text aloud, while they aim to read it with greater fluency each time, leads to improved fluency over time. This fluency practice is strengthened when children, most of the time, are provided with a modelled reading of the same text to guide their attempts. Fluency practice can also be strengthened by ensuring that the text used is above the level of difficulty that the children would otherwise attempt to read.
Repeated oral reading can take place with children reading aloud to one another, following modelling from a teacher. While one aim is to develop fluency in this way, it is essential that children see the underlying aim of all reading practice as the derivation of meaning from text, and this should inform how fluency practice is undertaken.
It is also important which methods do not support the development of fluency. There is insufficient evidence to suggest that silent reading supports the development of initial reading fluency - though it is obviously beneficial in other ways once children are fluent enough to independently construct meaning as they read.
(The Art & Science of Teaching Primary Reading, Christopher Such)
Repeated Reading
Repeated reading techniques are not new (Carreker, 2005; Meyer, 2002; Samuels, 1997). They are intended to increase speed, enhance comprehension, and enable students to become independent and self-confident readers. The following method improves fluency, accuracy, and comprehension in students who are ready to benefit from oral reading fluency (ORF) practice.
(LETRS, Lousia Moats & Carol Tolman)
Repeated Readings
Materials: Text at the right level of difficulty (90-95 percent accuracy), a way to time one or two minutes, graph paper for each student.
Preview the topic and vocabulary so that the student is focused on the meaning of the text.
Time the student reading one or two minutes. Encourage the student to read the whole text by saying, 'Mark your paper at one minute but keep reading until you reach a good stopping point.'
When the reading is completed, calculate words correct per minute (WCPM), and have the student graph the WCPM for that passage.
Over the next two days, have the student read the passage 3-4 times during untimed practice. (More than 3-4 readings are not generally beneficial.) Have the student read to an adult, partner, or recording device.
Provide feedback on word-recognition errors.
Conduct spot checks on comprehension to make sure the student is reading for meaning.
Repeat Steps 2 and 3 using the same passage. Generally, a 10 percent gain from the first to final reading (e.g., 60 WCPM to 66 WCPM) is target.
If the student gains about 10 percent or better in WCPM, change to a new passage.
If the student does not make the desired gain (an unusual occurrence), select an easier passage or use more previewing.
Have the student read from another passage at the same level of difficulty until the target rate is attained again.
Have the student continue to graph his or her results.
(LETRS, Lousia Moats & Carol Tolman)
Sufficient text-reading practice is one of the most critical aspects of well-designed reading instruction. Text that gives students multiple exposures to a set of new words is ideal for building automatic word recognition. Ultimately, though, it's 'miles on the page' or reading itself that is necessary for real progress to occur.
(LETRS, Lousia Moats & Carol Tolman)
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