Enhancing Reading Fluency is Not a Lost Cause

Presentation:  Sonja Saqui, Michelle Cheng

Session F | 11:50- 12:30 | Location: Room 304

Abstract:

In the upper-­‐elementary years, the focus of classroom instruction shifts from learning to read to reading to learn (Chall, 1983). Students are required to use reading as a tool for learning and comprehending material read becomes increasingly central to their curricular success. However, as text levels and curricular reading expectations increase, a cohort of students begins to emerge with reading difficulties in the upper elementary grades (Leach, Scarborugh, & Rescorla, 2003).

In this study, a readily available reading intervention program was employed with expository passages adapted from BC Science curriculum textbooks. All participants made notable and consistent gains in reading fluency on the instructional passages from baseline to intervention. Further, gains in oral reading fluency began to generalize to the progress monitoring probes towards the end of the intervention phase. The implications of the findings support the benefits of reading fluency interventions for upper-­‐elementary school students. A further interesting finding is the utility of using curricular texts as intervention material.

Participants will learn about evidence based strategies to enhance reading fluency in upper-­‐elementary school students and will be taught how to adapt and level curricular passages using an online Lexile level analyzer.
Return to Presentation Schedule