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ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

Action Research
Lindsey Harding

Initial Meeting and Documentation:

My initial meeting with my corresponding teacher took place during my second
week in the classroom. I had mentioned the research project to her the previous week and
she stated that she wanted to assign me a student(s) who I would be able to track decent
progress. After our discussion she narrowed down it to two students who are right below
grade level and just got out of ELL.

The Question:
After Mrs. Jordan determined which students would benefit from further support
through the action research study, we determined the common problem between the two
students that she chose. From the conversation that I had with Mrs. Jordan, I constructed
this question to be the focus of my action research study: What are strategies to improve
accuracy in fluency for these students who come from ESL homes to help them better
comprehend the text or passage? I developed this question due to the fact that each of
these students come from Spanish speaking homes and have difficulty comprehending
passages due to the fact that they are struggling with their fluency skills. Because we
know that fluency leads to comprehension, by working on accuracy with these students
they should progress towards becoming fluent readers who can then comprehend text.

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

Students Chosen
Student R
This student is almost to grade level reading wise, but Mrs. Jordan saw that
additional fluency instruction could really help push him to reach that point. Student R
has trouble with seeing a word but reading something different, therefore hindering him
from comprehending the meaning of the text. Through specific strategies and one on one
interaction, we hope to see Student Rs accuracy and fluency improve, leading to better
comprehension.
Student N
Student N is also almost at reading level for the 1st grade, but has trouble reading
words accurately, which then hinders her comprehension of the text. Both Student R and
N have been taken out of ELL services, but both Mrs. Jordan and I noticed that Student N
still needs further support in the area of fluency. Through evidence based fluency
strategies and one on one instruction, we hope to see Student Ns accuracy and fluency
skills improve leading to better comprehension.

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

Pre-Session

Initial Meeting With Mrs. Jordan

o Targeted students and needs
o Determine area to work on
o Find strengths and weaknesses
Identify question based off of strengths and weaknesses
o Essential Question: What are strategies to improve accuracy in fluency for
these students who come from ESL homes to help them better
comprehend the text or passage?

Session 1

Interest Inventory
o Draw a picture of what you like to read about.
o Refer to teachers interest inventory taken at beginning of semester.
Initial Assessment
o Read poem about cats modeling fluency
o Page Races Cat passage accuracy and comprehension assessment
Use data to determine specific areas that need focus for accuracy

Session 2

Read Aloud
o If You Give a Pig a Pancake Model fluency
Does student understand passage?
Introduce cross checking strategy and model it in reading
Explain how the pictures can help you understand the
words.
Ongoing assessment
o Page Races Pig passage self-record Accuracy and Comprehension
Read text first and then they read it to me

Session 3

Read Aloud
o The Great Carrot Mystery Asked them questions and they choral read
certain parts after we read through it once.
Fluency Strips
o Students read strips with one sentence.
Focus on accuracy and rate
Observe specific strengths and weaknesses
Assessment
o Progress Monitor
o Fluency Strips Formative Accuracy

Session 4

Sight Word Recognition

o First One Hundred List 1 Read words and decode if needed
o Sight Word Bingo

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

Assessment
o Progress Monitor
o Fry Words Formative Accuracy

Session 5

Sight Word Recognition

o Write Fry words and whisper read before writing
o Fry Phrases Putting List 1 in sentence form
Ongoing Assessment
o Page Races Hen Passage Self-record Fluency
o Progress Monitor

Session 6

Repeated Reading
o Pete the Cat Read to self, read to teacher, read together
Fluency Game Sight Word Bingo
Ongoing Assessment
Page Races Self-record Accuracy and comprehension

Session 7

Read to teacher
o Guided Reading Passage Fluency and Comprehension
Crossing checking strategy

Session 8 (Final Assessment)

Final Accuracy Assessment

o Cloze Passage A Wish for Fish
Final Comprehension Assessment
o Questions about the cloze passage

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

Strategies Used:
Modeling
Oral Reading
Flip the sound
Choral Reading
High Frequency Words for 1st grade
Fry Phrases
Repeated Reading
Close Strategy
Guided Reading

Lessons/ Assessments Used:

Reading Survey
Guided reading lesson on their reading level
Cat close fluency reading passage (running record)
Pig close fluency reading passage (running record)
Hen close fluency reading passage (running record)
Frog close fluency reading passage (running record)
Fluency Strips
Sight Word Recognition (Frys First One Hundred)
Fry Phrases
A Wish for Fish (final assessment)
Sight word bingo

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

Initial Assessment:

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

Initial Assessment Reflection:

The initial assessment I gave Student R and N was a passage about cats. Before they read
the cloze passage to me, I read them a poem about cats to trigger their background knowledge.
There are a few things that I realized would have made for a more effective first session with
these students. One thing that I think would have been beneficial is if I had asked more questions
before giving them the passage to read. I think that engaging the students in that way is key to
hooking their attention. Although I tried to trigger background knowledge by reading the poem
about cats, I think that questions and personal connections would have been more beneficial. I
also think that it would have been very beneficial to set goals for the students at the beginning,
working towards that goal together to keep everyone accountable to the learning target.

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

Date/
Time
Spent

Strategy
Description

Anecdotal
Observation

Assessment
Data

Plan for Next

Session

Gave a
reading
interest
survey and
initial
assessment

I noticed that
both students
were shy but
they both
loved Pete the
Cat! I think
that they were
unsure of
what was
going on.
They read the
initial
assessment
passage with
apprehension
and relied too
much on
picture clues.

- They both
enjoy reading.
- Student R
loves books
about animals.
-Student N
loves books that
her teacher has
read with her.
- Student R
scored a 28 out
of 40 on the
initial
assessment
cloze reading
passage about
cats.
-Student N
scored a 24 out
of 40 on the
initial
assessment
cloze reading
passage about
cats.

Read aloud
and ongoing
assessment
fluency
reading
passage.
(Page
Races)
Talked about
using picture
clues when
reading.

Students still
rely on picture
clues too
much, but
they were
engaged and
interacted
when I told
them some
strategies
about using
picture clues.

- Student R
scored 40 out of
40 on the
second cloze
passage fluency
assessment
- Student N
scored a 37 out
of 40 on the
second cloze
passage fluency
assessment

The initial
assessment gave
me a good
perspective on
what to work on
with the
students. The
students rely
heavily on
picture clues. I
want to teach
the how to use
picture clues
without relying
on them too
much. Next
session I will
give them the
next cloze
passage as an
ongoing
assessment, talk
about strategies
with them, and
will do a read
aloud with
them.
Work on
specific fluency
strategies and
come back to
the cloze
reading
passages in a
few works.
Work specially
on increasing
accuracy. They
enjoyed the
read aloud, so
next week I am
going to do a
choral reading.

10/1/15

10/8/15

Reflect/Respond
I think that it
would have been
helpful to give
them the Garfield
Reading
Inventory that
would have been
a little more
specific about
their views on
reading. The
information that
Mrs. Jordan gave
me about their
reading skills
lined up with the
data from the
first assessment.
The strategies for
fluency that I
researched sound
like they will fit
with what I am
seeing these
students need
help with.
I read them the
cloze passage
and they
followed along
before I asked
them to read it to
me. Their fluency
score sent up
drastically from
last week, but it
made me wonder
if reading it
before hand
really gives me
the most accurate
information of

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

Fluency
Strips,
Progress
monitoring.
Read aloud.
(choral
reading)

Students did
better fluency
wise with one
sentence
rather than a
whole
passage. They
loved the
choral reading
and
interacting
with the story.

-Student R got
through 11
fluency strips
with accuracy
- Student N got
through 20
fluency strips
with accuracy.

These fluency
strips really
helped me see
that they get
caught up on
the small sight
words and that
is influencing
their rate as
well. Next
session I am
going to work
with them on
sight word
recognition.

First One
Hundred
High
frequency
sight words,
sight word
bingo,
progress
monitor

Students
really enjoyed
playing sight
word bingo. It
helped to go
over sight
words first
and then play
the game.

I think that it
helped the
students to
work on sight
words. Next
week I am
going to focus
on those again
but work on Fry
phrases instead
of the words. I
will assess the
students on a
cloze passage
and see if the
sight word
practice helped.

Fry words
and fry
phrases.
Ongoing/
middle

The students
were engaged
and enjoyed
working on
the sight

- Student R was
given a list of
20 sight words
from Frys first
one hundred
and read all of
them with good
accuracy. He
did well on
sight word
bingo and only
needed help
with a few
words.
- Student N
struggled more
with the 20
sight words I
gave her. She
did better on the
sight word
bingo game.
- Student R
scored 34 out of
40 on the
fluency
passage, which

10/15/15

10/20/15

10/23/15

Next session I
want to do sight
word bingo
with them one
more time since

how they are

actually doing.
The students
really liked doing
the fluency strips
and this session
was helpful
because I got to
work one on one
with each of
them. They had
similar issues
with the sight
words. I see a
pattern of how
the students love
to be read to and
love to interact
with the reading.
I think that sight
word bingo is
such a great
game to play
with students. It
really helps with
hearing sounds
by having them
match the dot to
the correct word
that they hear.
Sight words are
important to
work on because
if students arent
capable of
reading or
recognizing
those, then their
accuracy will not
be strong.
The students
have improved
by almost ten
words since the
first session. I

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

assessment
(Page
Races)

words again.
They seemed
more
enthusiastic
about our
reading
passage than
before.

Repeated
reading,
sight word
bingo,
ongoing
assessment
(Page
Races)

The students
loved todays
session. They
love reading
together and
were very
engaged in
repeating.
They loved
sight word
bingo and did
not need my
help as much
like they did
the first time.

Guided
reading.
Crossing
checking
strategy.

The students
do guided
reading
lessons with
their teacher
on a regular

10/29/15

11/5/15

is an increase of
8 points from
the first cold
read that they
did.
- Student N
scored a 3 out
of 40, which is
a 9-point
difference from
the initial
cold read
assessment.
- Student R
scored a 38 out
of 40 on his
final cloze
passage page
races. His
initial score was
28 so he
increased by 10
points over the
course of 6
sessions.
- Student N
scored a 34 out
of 40, which is
also a 10 point
increase from
the first
assessment 6
weeks ago.

- Student R is
more confident
than Student N
on his reading
and word
recognition

10
we ran out of
time on this
session. I would
love to do
another read
aloud with them
and give them
another cloze
passage
assessment.

For our last

session before I
give them a
final assessment
I want to work
with them on a
guided reading
passage and
spend the time
talking about
different
strategies.

think that it
helped to take a
step back from
the assessments
for a few
sessions and
work on content
specific strategies
for fluency.

Both Student R
and N increased
in their accuracy
score by 10
points within 6
sessions. Student
N still is not as
strong and could
use more
strategies in
helping recognize
words as she
reads them
instead of
guessing. I am
hoping that the
next session
working with the
guided reading
will give me an
opportunity to
see how they are
reading and then
teach them
strategies that
will help them
specifically.
Next session I
I think that
will give my
guided reading
final assessment lessons are a
to the students
great way to
and close with a work with
read aloud to
students one on

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

Final
assessment
and
comprehendsion. Read
aloud

11/19/15

11

basis and love

it. They are
both in the
same reading
group.

skills.
- Student N is
still not as
confident in her
reading abilities
even though she
has grown since
the beginning.

end on a fun
note.

The students
loved ending
with a read
aloud and
were proud of
the work that
they have
accomplished.

- Student R
N/A
scored a 54 out
of 58 on the
final assessment
- Student N
scored a 36 out
of 58 on the
final assessment

one and really

help them with
specific areas
that they struggle
on. I used the
crossing
checking strategy
with these
students and I
think that it
helped them see
the importance of
intentionally
looking at the
words and asking
things like Does
this sound right?
or does this
make sense? I
hope that these
helped and that
they can use
them in the
future.
I saw great
improvement in
Student R
throughout the
course of this
research. I think
that Student N
has trouble when
there arent
picture clues to
help her. I also
think that when
she becomes
more confident in
her abilities, she
can do much
better because I
have seen her do
it!

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

12

Necessary Instructional Changes

1. One thing that I noticed after conducting this action research project is that selfassessment/ progress monitoring is a great tool for both teachers and students. It allows
the students to see specifically where they need to improve and also gives them
ownership in tracking that progress. At first I only had a chart to show their fluency
scores from the cloze passages, but I realized half way through my research that it would
be helpful for the students to write down how they feel about how they are doing. I still
kept the fluency chart for the 4 ongoing assessments that I gave, but I used a new
monitoring chart for the weeks that they did not read from the cloze passage readings and
I found that to be helpful.
2. I have learned that asking students higher-level questions is very important. That is an
area that I think would have been more beneficial in these small groups. When reading
with the students I focused too much on the techniques and strategies rather than
engaging them with questions, connecting to prior knowledge or experiences.
3. Because these students relied so heavily on picture clues, I think that it would have been
beneficial to do a picture walk with them. This would have engaged them and I could
have used it to teach them how we can learn from pictures while also sharing with them
that we cant always rely on the picture clues because the text might say something
different. This strategy could be used with a whole class or small group and is beneficial
for comprehension purposes.
4. I think that the most important thing for teachers to do is to know the students. I think
that I could have gotten to know my students better by pinpointing their individual
strengths and weaknesses and catering towards their specific needs. I see why

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

13

differentiation is so important. Although both students seemed to be at the same level,

each student had his and her own strengths and weaknesses. Instead of working with
both of them together for each session I think it would have been beneficial to pull one of
them at a time and work individually with them on their specific needs.
5. I used Frys First One Hundred sight words to help the students with their accuracy. We
played Sight Word Bingo, but I think that it would have been even more beneficial to
work with the students more on those sight words in a different and engaging way.
6. I think that it would have been helpful for me after the first assessment to set goals for the
students to achieve. Not only would it have helped the students have something to strive
for, but also it would give me diligence to get those students to that point. The progress
monitoring told us how they were feeling, but I think it would be beneficial to use it to
tell us how the students are doing in getting to that goal. From there revisions would be
made depending on the progress. Goals should be set for students in all areas, not just
fluency and accuracy.
7. The goal of fluency is to help students comprehend what they read. This action research
was mainly catered towards fluency instruction, but I think that it would have been
helpful to incorporate a few comprehension strategies towards the end of this project as
well.

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

14

Final Assessment Reflection

After eight sessions working with Student R and Student N I saw a big difference in
Student R, but Student Ns scores from the initial assessment to the final assessment did not
show much improvement. I saw the improvement from her during the middle, ongoing
assessments and the individual activities we did together. One thing that I did notice was that
both students went from being timid the first time we met to being more excited than before to
read and talk about the passage that I gave them for the final assessment. Student R really came
into his own and grew throughout this action research process. I think that Student N is getting
there but her timidity is still holding her back. I think that if she has more one on one work with
reading, she will reach that reading level that Mrs. Jordan and I are striving for her to reach. Just
because this action research project did not show her increase in fluency from the first
assessment to the last does not mean that she has not improved. I plan on sitting down again
with Mrs. Jordan and seeing how far Student R and N have come this year. They have had much
more exposure to reading than the few minutes that I had with them each week. I think that the
strategies that I used were helpful; they just need to be taught more directly and intentionally to
Student N.

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

15

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

Student Progress Monitoring Chart

16

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

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ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

18

Data Analysis

40
35
30
25
Student R

20

Student N

15
10
5
0
Assessment 1

Assessment 2

Assessment 3

Assessment 4

9
8
7
6
5

Student N Con?idence
Towards Fluency

Student R Con?idence
Towards Fluency

3
2
1
0
Beginning

Middle

End

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ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

Additional Reflection
Student N and R were both incredible students who I loved getting to know and work
with. They were both very timid at first towards reading, but their progression over the eight
sessions was very good. I saw the most progress in Student R. His fluency score went from a
70% to a 93%. His confidence grew and I think that played a large role in his success. He was
eager to learn and very engaged when we talked about strategies. Student N grew as well, but
she remained more shy and timid towards reading. I saw her growth take place throughout
assessments one through four. The final assessment showed no growth from the initial
assessment, which makes me ask a few questions: Was the passage too difficult? Are there other
areas that I should have focused on in helping her accuracy improve? Was it just a bad day? All
these questions run through my head and I wish I had more time with her to discover the
reasoning to her lack of growth comparing the first score (63%) and the final score (62%).
These students had just been tested out of ELL and I was very impressed with how well
they did coming from Spanish speaking homes. That did not seem to be the main stumbling
block for them, so I did not spend my time focusing on ELL strategies in teaching them fluency.
I learned that as the teacher, it is important to follow explicit models of teaching. There are
multiple best practices listed in the literature review, but some that I found to be beneficial
throughout action research were modeling, choral reading, repeated reading, oral language
practice, and word reading practice. Each session I thought about how I could change my
instruction for the next session. There was always the process of filtering out what was not
beneficial and incorporating new evidence based strategies that will help these students fluency.

20

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

The most important thing that I have taken away from action research and this semester is
this: know your students. I have learned what not to do this semester. I found it easy to want to
do these projects to get them done and check them off the list, but I learned that that was not the
purpose of them, nor would these assignments serve their purpose in any way if I did them with
those motives. I learned that if I intentionally got to know the students in my classroom, action
research group, and morning intervention group, I could help them so much more and also find
purpose in my work. It is so easy to get carried away with the lists of things to do and I realize
that that is not going to go away once I have a classroom of my own. I know that the list will
only grow longer. Through this project I have learned that setting goals for students, monitoring
their progress, and knowing their strengths and weakness is the best thing that you can do. Data
is important to analyze and best practices are important to integrate into instruction, but if that is
not the basis of my teaching, then there will be no good lasting outcome in the end.

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ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

Literature Review
Lindsey Harding
Samford University
Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education

22

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

Abstract
Fluency is a component of reading that is crucial in helping students develop proficient

reading skills. It consists of three components: accuracy, rate, and expression. Research shows
that fluency is crucial because it is the bridge between word recognition and reading
comprehension. This paper compiles research on instructional, practice, and assessment
strategies to improve reading fluency.
Keywords: fluency, strategies, comprehension

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

23

Literature Review:
Fluency has become one of the most common subject areas in English Language Arts in
the 21st century. The National Reading Panel (NRP) defines fluent readers as those who are
able to read orally with speed, accuracy, and proper expression and is one of several factors that
are fundamental for reading comprehension. Reading fluency is one of the defining
characteristics of good readers, and a lack of fluency is a common characteristic of poor readers
(Hudson, Lane, and Pullen, 2005, p.702). This leads me to ask the question: What is a good
reader? Many say that the ability to comprehend the text is the definition of a good reader.
Texas Education Agency says, The purpose of reading is comprehension getting meaning
from written text (2002). Comprehension is the main goal that teachers should be aiming
towards. Fluency is the essential building block in helping students derive meaning from what
they are reading. This literature review will provide evidence-based strategies for fluency
instruction, practice, and assessment to be used when working with students.
How is reading fluency developed? Through accuracy, prosody, and rate. These are the
means that guide teachers and students in instruction, practice, and assessment. These are what
make up fluency and therefore are vital to reflect on when looking at evidence-based strategies to
improve fluency.
In the past, the approach to developing fluency was to read, read, and read some more.
The expectation was that if students read more, they would achieve fluency (Pilulski and
Chard, 2003). Psychologist Linnea C. Ehri, researched and developed a theory that suggested
that students need expert teacher guidance in order to develop fluency. Some of her studies have
focused on the instructional details of improving students reading fluency. These instructional
practices include: modeled reading, repeated reading of familiar text, wide independent reading,

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

24

coached reading of appropriately selected materials, chunking of text, and word reading practice
(Pilulski and Chard, 2003). All of these are evidence based teaching strategies that enhance
fluency. Modeling is one of the most significant forms of instruction. It is an important factor in
instruction because some students need to know what fluency is and is not to achieve clarity on
the concept of fluency and its attendant characteristics (Reutzel and Cooter, 2012, p.151). This
can only be taught by being modeled. Speed, accuracy, and prosody can only be taught by
telling to a certain extent. According to the NRP, Lessons ranging in length from 15 to 30
minutes shows positive effects on students fluency development (Reutzel and Cooter, 2012,
p.146). Whether it is modeled or taught, teachers need to be intentional about what instructional
strategies to use.
Oral Reading practice has been emphasized, especially in the early stages of reading
development, as effective in reading fluently. The textbook quoted the NRP saying that,
fluency practice is most effective when the reading practice is oral; it involves repeated readings
of text (more than three readings); and students receive guidance or feedback from teachers,
parents, volunteers, and peers (Reutzel and Cooter, 2012, p.145). These are very important
factors to take into consideration when practicing fluency. When selecting the material to read,
it is important to select appropriate level text. Also, it should be developed across all text types
such as poetry, narrative, and expository text (Reutzel and Cooter, 2012, p.145).
There are varied standpoints when it comes to independent silent reading practice and its
impact on fluency improvement. Some research says that independent reading is consistently
related to gains in reading achievement (Pilulski and Chard, 2003). Other sources differ in their
view of independent silent reading. The NRP was unable to locate sufficient evidence showing a
positive impact for independent silent reading practice on students reading fluency acquisition

ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

25

(Hasbrouck, 2006). Hasbrouck suggests that silent reading and Round Robin Reading are two
strategies that research does not support. She says, Developing fluency among struggling
readers takes more intensive, carefully guided practice than either of these strategies can deliver
(2006). This is not saying that there are no benefits to independent silent reading; just that
evidence does not support it advancing fluency. It comes down to personal preference as to
whether independent reading is incorporated into classroom practice and instruction.
Assessment is the third component in guiding fluency development. One of the best
strategies a teacher can use to assess fluency is to listen to students read aloud. Systematic
observation helps assess student progress and determine instructional needs (Hudson, Lane, and
Pullen, 2005, p.705). The other essential dimensions for the assessment of fluency include
measures of oral reading accuracy, oral reading rate, quality of oral reading (prosody), and
reading comprehension (Pilulski and Chard, 2003).
When assessing speed and accuracy, researchers have developed a tool that uses regular
classroom texts to determine the number of words a student can read correctly in one minute.
Teachers assess this by listening to students read aloud for one minute with an unpracticed text
and obtain a words-correct-per-minute (WCPM) score from that observation (Hasbrouck, 2006).
It's critical to understand that a WCPM score can be an alarm bell, a canary in a coal mine. If
the WCPM is very low, the student is not sufficiently fluent and an intervention is merited.
However, a low WCPM score may be the result of weak fluency skills or other reading
weaknesses, for example, in decoding, vocabulary, sight words, etc. so administering some
diagnostic assessments may be necessary to determine exactly what type of intervention a
student needs (Hasbrouck, 2006). This is one of many tools to assess rate and accuracy.

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26

According to Hasbrouck When students' speed and accuracy are at appropriate levels, reading
with proper phrasing, expression, and intonation should be the next goal (2006).
When assessing prosody, a four level rubric developed by the National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) is used to focus on the level of skill a student demonstrates in
phrasing and expression while reading aloud (Hasbrouck, 2006). Hudson, Lane and Pullen also
provide a detailed list to assess a students prosody. Teachers observe the vocal emphasis on
appropriate words, if the voice tone rose and fell at appropriate points in the text, inflection on
punctuation, tone representing character and dialogue, and appropriate pausing at phrase
boundaries (2005, p.707). Prosody is an area of fluency that can best be assessed by observing.
It is important that the teacher realizes that his or her role is vital and not passive. The teacher
should be interacting and engaging with the students in order to assess if further instruction or
intervention is needed.
Other assessment techniques for fluency include Dynamic Indicators for Basic Early
Literacy Skills (DIBELS), Oral Reading Fluency Test (ORF), Multidimensional Fluency Scale
(MFS), and Fluency Fix-Up Strategies for Self-Assessment (Reutzel and Cooter, 2012, p.146150). Goals should be set throughout and teachers should use assessments that are best for his or
her students.
It is evident that fluency has many components that play a role in building strong readers.
Through all the research that supports fluency instruction as a central factor in reading
development, it is important also to realize that fluency may unlock the door, but it does not
open the door to reading comprehension (Reutzel and Cooter, 2012 p. 146). Comprehension is
the main goal, but it is important not to forget the other three components that support fluency
and lead to comprehension as well.

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ACTION RESEARCH FALL 2015

References:
Hasbrouck, J. (2006). For Students Who Are Not Yet Fluent, Silent Reading Is Not the
Best Use of Classroom Time. American Educator, Summer 2006, 30(2).
Hudson, R.F., Lane, H. B., & Pullen, P. C. (2005). Reading Fluency Assessment and
Instruction: What, why and how? Reading Teacher, 58(8), 702-714. doi:
10.1598/RT.58.8.1

Pikulski, J. J., & Chard, D. J. (2005). Fluency: Bridge Between Decoding and Reading
Comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 58, 510-519.
Reutzel, D. Ray & Cooter, Robert B. Jr., 2012. The Essentials of Teaching Children to
Read: the Teacher Makes the Difference, (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Texas Educational Agency. (2002). Comprehension Instruction, 4-8.