ACTION RESEARCH PRESENTATION GRACE MINTZ Improving Reading Automaticity and Speed- 3 rd grade

Research Question  Mrs. Sessamen and I originally met on September 30, 2014  Mrs. Sessamen explained that the Alabama state reading test is changing this year for third grade from the ARMPT to ASPIRE AL. The test will be similar to an ACT format, with long passages and multiple follow up questions.  Mrs. Sessamen chose all three of my students because reading speed is an area that they all struggle. She gave me three students who really struggle with reading, and she gave the other Samford student in my class, Kari, three students who are advanced and need to be challenged.

Research Question  Through determining the common issue between each of my three students as slow reading speed/ automaticity, Mrs. Sessamen and I came up with a question as the focus of my action research: What are the most effective strategies for improving reading endurance and speed? This question was a result of slow reading speed and therefore poor reading fluency. A student who reads slowly is proven to comprehend less, and therefore give up more quickly rather than endure and push through difficult words. Through increasing reading speed and endurance, the students would naturally become more confident and fluent readers.

Students Chosen  Student A: This student was chosen because he is an ELL student who needs extra support, specifically in reading and English.  Student B: This student was chosen because he shows signs of dyslexia. While he is extremely smart and excels in math, reading is often a slow and tedious process for him.  Student C: This student was originally in Tier 2, and he needs to continue to be supported in order to maintain his improvement.

Research  In the article Reading Fluency by Mather and Goldstein, the term automaticity indicates “a student’s ability to recognize words rapidly with little attention required to the word’s appearance” (Mather & Goldstein 2004).  There are a wide variety of strategies to increase reading speed. Reading Rockets claims that students, parents, and teachers can all play a role in increasing reading speed. Students can track words with their finger and reread stories, parents can read aloud to their kids, and teachers can encompass a wide variety of strategies and lessons (“Fluency” 2013).

Research  A professional development resource entitled “Increasing Your Child’s Reading Fluency” goes more in depth into a variety of best practice strategies. Modeling, repeated readings, and timed readings are all great strategies to increasing reading speed. The resource goes on to include resources such as a “word dash”, fluency flashcards with high frequency words, and speed tests with words and phrases. The article claims, “in order to be considered “fluent”, fundamental skills should be so “automatic” that they do not require conscious attention” (“Increasing Your Child’s Reading Fluency” 2007).  Another article, entitled “Creating Fluent Readers”, goes on to claim “assisted and repeated readings are key” (Rasinski 2004). For this reason, the struggling students in my classroom have been consistently working on recognizing the same high frequency words and increasing reading speed.

References Fluency. (2013, January 1). Retrieved November 19, 2014, from Increasing Your Child's Reading Fluency. (2007, July 1). Retrieved November 19, 2014, from Minute reading block/lecture_series_Fluency.pdf 0 Minute reading block/lecture_series_Fluency.pdf Mather, N., & Goldstein, S. (2004, January 1). Reading Fluency. Retrieved November 19, 2014, from Ransinski, T. (2004, March 1). Creating Fluent Readers. Retrieved November 19, 2014, from leadership/mar04/vol61/num06/Creating-Fluent- Readers.aspx

Timeline Pre-Session (September 30) Session 1 (October 15) Session 2 (October 16 Word Dash- FAIL) Session 3 (October 28 midpoint- fluency WPM with high frequency words) Session 4 (November 4 reading fluency) Session 5 (November 25 Final assessment- fluency WCP with high frequency words)

Results- GARFIELD StudentTotal Score % Recreational % Academic Student A 6943%57% Student B 5654%46% Student C 5747%53%

Results- WPM Reading fluency high frequency cards

Reflection  My research shows that after only one repeated reading, students A and B increased their reading by over 25%, and student C increased by 10%. Through continuously focusing on specific words, the students learned what it means to automatically recognize a word and read through it.  My research also shows that after practicing strategies such as repeated reading, timed reading, modeling, pointer finger, and fluency flashcards, students increased their overall WPM by trial 2.  Students learn best through beginning with words that are on their independent or instructional level and then moving towards more difficult words- do not begin with words on the frustrational level.  These strategies are very beneficial for increasing reading speed, automaticity, and ultimately endurance.

Reflection  Why does an increased reading speed and automaticity ultimately increase fluency?  How can you make sure to balance a fluent reader and a fast reader without overemphasizing one component?  What are some other strategies for increasing reading speed?