By Krista Austin CAN COMBINING STUDENTS’ INTERESTS WITH READING IMPROVE BOTH FLUENCY AND COMPREHENSION?

Introduction Teach in suburban Atlanta Over ¾ of school is below grade level in reading 4 th grade 21 students 11 students are EIP in reading 10 students are on a 2 nd grade reading level, one is on a 1 st grade level

Fluency & Comprehension Research Question: If a student is able to find reading material that they find interesting, will they be able to read with more speed and accuracy? Fluency- The ability to read with both speed and accuracy Comprehension- The ability to remember details from a reading

Importance of Fluency & Comprehension If a student reads sluggishly, they will not be able to remember what they have read The goal of reading is to be able to remember the information that is read

Issue With Timed Running Records & Random Reading Selections Students focus more on how fast and accurately they are reading and less on the content Running records only focus on speed and accuracy. Not on comprehension

What research says… There are two key components that students must master in order to become efficient readers: fluency and comprehension (Basaran, 2013) If teachers can find materials and activities that makes students want to participate, they will work hard to succeed in completing a task; thus improving their overall performance (Calo, 2013) Students become more motivated to read if they can have fun doing in Marcell and Ferraro (2013) Interactive read-alouds build stronger comprehension skills Hilden and Jones (2013)

Intervention Survey students about interests and books that interests them Find books based on students’ interests (media center, classroom library, Reading A-Z, etc…)

Tools Guided Reading Books (Levels A-Z) Various books and passages Running record sheets Data collecting sheets Readings surveys 5 W (Who, What, When, Where, Why) Charts Timer

Procedure Perform running record Give reading survey Incorporate books based of interests into reading center and use them during guided reading small groups Record number of errors and self corrections each day Give students 5 W Charts to measure comprehension Once again perform running record

Analyzing & Interpreting the Data Compare data from both the first and second sets of running record data Record whether or not students saw improvements in second set based off of interests Saw improvement in fluency, accuracy, and comprehension?

Resources [USA School Info is a website that explains a given school’s various demographics]. (2014). [Statistics and Demographics about Riverside Intermediate School are mentioned on this website]. Retrieved from Rasinski, T. (2014). Delivering Supportive Fluency Instruction- Especially for Students Who Struggle. Reading Today, 31(5), Basaran, M. (2013). Reading Fluency as an Indicator of Reading Comprehension. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 13(4), doi: /estp Calo, K.M. Woolard-Ferguson, T. (2013). Fluency Idol: Using Pop Culture to Engage Students and Boost Fluency Skills. Reading Teacher, 66(6), doi: /TRTR.1148 Marcell, B., Ferraro, C. (2013). So Long, Robot Reader! A Superhero Intervention Plan for Improving Fluency. Reading Teacher, 66(8), doi: /trtr.1165 Bellinger, J.M., & DiPerna, J.C. (2011). Is fluency-based story retell a good indicator of reading comprehension?. Psychology In The Schools, 48(4), doi: /pits Rasinski, T.V. (2012). Why Reading Fluency Should be Hot. Reading Teacher, 65(8), doi: /TRTR Hilden, K., & Jones, J. (2013). Effective Interactive Read-Alouds Build Stronger Comprehension. Reading Today, 30(5), Marcell, B. (2011). Putting Fluency on a Fitness Plan : Building Fluency's Meaning- Making Muscles. Reading Teacher, 65(4), doi: /TRTR Ates, S. (2013). The Effect of Repeated Reading Exercises with Performance-based Feedback on Fluent Reading Skills. Reading Improvement, 50(4), Deeney, T. A. (2010). One-Minute Fluency Measures: Mixed Messages in Assessment and Instruction. Reading Teacher, 63(6), Cahill, M. E. (2011). Putting the Fun Back Into Fluency Instruction. Reading Teacher, 65(2), The Go To Teacher (2012). March Madness. Retrieved from Fantastic Firsties. (n.d.). Reading Data Sheet. Retrieved from Scholastic. (n.d.). Five W’s Chart. Retrieved from Polka Dot Lesson Plans. (n.d.). Reading Survey. Retrived from