Reading Big Words: Instructional Practices to Promote Multisyllabic Word Reading Fluency

2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 270-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica R. Toste ◽  
Kelly J. Williams ◽  
Philip Capin

Poorly developed word recognition skills are the most pervasive and debilitating source of reading challenges for students with learning disabilities (LD). With a notable decrease in word reading instruction in the upper elementary grades, struggling readers receive fewer instructional opportunities to develop proficient word reading skills, yet these students face greater amounts of texts with more complex words. Poor decoders, even those who can fluently read monosyllabic words, often have difficulty with multisyllabic words, yet the average number of syllables in words that students read increases steadily throughout their school years. As such, it is necessary to identify instructional practices that will support the continued reading development of students into the upper elementary years. This article discusses the difficulty involved in multisyllabic word reading and describes five research-based instructional practices that promote the multisyllabic word reading fluency of struggling readers, particularly those with LD.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. p118
Author(s):  
Tim P. Mead ◽  
Leif E. Berg ◽  
Starr K. Sage ◽  
Dennis J. Guillot

Sixteen 6th grade middle school students, who were all classified as struggling readers, volunteered to participate in a study examining the impact of daily physical movement and singing (Affirming Parallel Concepts) on reading fluency, as measured by words read per minute. Half of the participants received instruction on learning new songs to sing in class while simultaneously learning new sight words over a six-week period. The other eight students served as a control group and received standard reading instruction on learning new sight words. The experimental group incorporated movement into their singing by clapping their hands and thighs, stomping their feet, and moving around the classroom while singing. Students in the experimental group significantly improved their reading fluency (14% improvement) versus those students in the control group (5% improvement) over the six-week instruction period as measured by Fountas and Pinnell reading assessments.


2018 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan H. Clemens ◽  
Eric Oslund ◽  
Oi-man Kwok ◽  
Melissa Fogarty ◽  
Deborah Simmons ◽  
...  

This study utilized secondary analyses of a randomized controlled trial and investigated the extent to which prestest word identification efficiency, reading fluency, and vocabulary knowledge moderated the effects of an intervention on reading comprehension outcomes for struggling readers in sixth through eighth grades. Given that the experimental intervention included components that targeted word reading, reading fluency, and vocabulary, we hypothesized that students with lower pretest performance in those skill domains would benefit more from the intervention compared to students with relatively stronger pretest performance or students who received school-implemented (business-as-usual) intervention. Results indicated that pretest word identification efficiency and vocabulary did not moderate the effects of the intervention; however, moderation effects were observed for pretest oral reading fluency such that reading comprehension gains of students with lower pretest fluency were greater in the experimental intervention compared to students with higher pretest fluency or in the comparison condition. Reasons for the moderation effect are discussed. Findings underscore the use of moderation analyses when evaluating multicomponent interventions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-176
Author(s):  
Nicola Bell ◽  
Max Farrell-Whelan ◽  
Kevin Wheldall

Teachers in England and South Australia annually administer the Phonics Screening Check (PSC) to Year 1 students, with the purpose of identifying struggling readers. Students who do not meet the score threshold have not met the expected standard of word-decoding ability, meaning further support may be warranted. We sought to quantify the extent to which other early reading measures, such as the Wheldall Assessment of Reading Nonwords (WARN) and Wheldall Assessment of Reading Lists (WARL), predicted students’ likelihood of not meeting PSC expected standards. Predicting PSC outcomes, and thereby identifying struggling readers at the start of Year 1, has important implications for possible intervention strategies. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analyses were conducted to examine the longitudinal relationships between real-word and pseudoword predictors as measured by the WARL and WARN and PSC pass/fail outcomes. Students who scored lower on predictors were less likely to meet the PSC expected standards. Results indicate that the WARL and WARN could be used to identify students who will not meet PSC expected standards, facilitating earlier intervention where it is most critically required.


2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 576-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Stevens ◽  
Melodee A. Walker ◽  
Sharon Vaughn

Fluent word reading is hypothesized to facilitate reading comprehension by improving automatic word reading, thus releasing a reader’s cognitive resources to focus on meaning. Many students with learning disabilities (LD) struggle to develop reading fluency, which affects reading comprehension. This synthesis extends Chard, Vaughn, and Tyler’s (2002) review, synthesizing fluency intervention research from 2001 to 2014. The search yielded 19 studies examining reading fluency and comprehension outcomes of reading fluency interventions for students with LD in kindergarten through 5th grade. Results showed repeated reading (RR), multicomponent interventions, and assisted reading with audiobooks produced gains in reading fluency and comprehension. Providing a model of fluent reading and performance feedback, using easier level text, setting a performance criterion, and practicing RR with peers also contributed to improved outcomes. Findings suggest that RR remains the most effective intervention for improving reading fluency for students with LD. Limitations include sample size, only three group design studies, and infrequent use of standardized measures.


2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 259-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica R. Toste ◽  
Stephen Ciullo

This special issue of Intervention in School and Clinic supports the knowledge and skills of educators who provide reading and writing intervention to students with learning disabilities (LD) in the upper elementary grades. Grades 3 through 5 are critical to long-term academic success because, for many students with LD, foundational literacy skills are still developing during a time when reading and writing tasks become more challenging. In this issue, evidence-based instructional practices and strategies are presented. The articles in this issue include interventions for improving word reading skills, written expression, advanced reading comprehension, as well as motivation and self-determined learning. Detailed teaching steps, classroom examples, and suggestions for classroom resources are included.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ginger Collins ◽  
Julie A. Wolter

The multilinguistic skills of phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness codevelop and appear to all be important for reading acquisition in the elementary years. By fourth grade, the academic vocabulary words to which students are exposed become more content-specific and frequently contain multiple morphological units. Struggling readers often lack motivation to read. The purpose of this article is to (a) review the evidence basis for providing multilinguistic instruction, and (b) provide a model for teaching multilinguistic strategies by using Latin and Greek roots within the context of creating superhero comics to promote decoding in an engaging manner.


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