Fluency Interventions for Struggling Readers in Grades 6 to 12: A Research Synthesis

This systematic review synthesizes fluency intervention research for struggling readers in Grades 6 through 12 from January 2006 to October 2019. The search yielded 17 studies examining reading fluency and comprehension outcomes. Most studies examined repeated reading (RR) interventions to improve reading fluency for struggling readers at these grade levels, resulting in improved fluency but few positive effects on reading comprehension outcomes, similar to trends observed in prior systematic reviews. Reading connected text with an equivalent word count to word counts of RR sessions did not result in increased reading fluency, a finding aligned with a prior synthesis. Few studies used a fluent reader as a model prior to RRs, despite previous support for modeling within fluency interventions.

Effects of Feedforward Video Self-Modelling on Reading Fluency and Comprehension

Being able to read at a fluent rate confers many advantages on an individual in both educational and wider social contexts throughout life. To be a fluent reader means that the individual can sustain high accuracy while reading at a rate appropriate to the material and the setting, and implies the development of automaticity in the cognitive processes involved in reading. Fluency has not, however, been the focus of much research. In this study, an observational learning technique — feedforward video self-modelling (FFVSM) — was used to improve children's reading fluency. Eleven primary (elementary) school children aged between 72 and 108 months, four girls and seven boys, viewed edited video footage of themselves seemingly reading a difficult text at a fluent rate six times over a 2-week period. Reading performance (accuracy, comprehension and rate) was measured at pre- and post-test using the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability, and fluency and comprehension scores were measured across the intervention period using the Science Research Associates Reading Laboratory (SRA) graded reading texts. The results showed that the majority of the children improved their reading fluency, comprehension and accuracy as well as reader self-perception (a proxy measure of self-efficacy). These positive results suggest that FFVSM could be a rapid, cost-effective intervention to be used within educational settings to promote fluent reading.

Developing Autonomous Self-Regulated Readers in an Extensive Reading Program

Reading is an important skill to acquire for overall language proficiency. Sustained reading skill improvement and reading motivation are needed to become a fluent reader and to develop a positive reading identity. Students are better able to maintain ongoing reading development by becoming autonomous and self-regulated readers. This paper explains the benefits of developing self-regulated readers through an extensive reading program, where students read many interesting books at an appropriate level of difficulty. Students and teachers made use of an extensive reading module for an open-source audience response system. Using this system provides autonomous learning conditions that enable students to read books extensively by choosing books, monitoring, and reflecting on books read. Teachers can monitor students through summaries of the number of books read by each student, estimates of book difficulty, and popularity ratings of the books. Empirical data from our work-in-progress that was presented in Lake and Holster (2013) shows how extensive reading leads to gains in reading speed, reading motivation, and a positive reading identity.