Action Research Project

Student T (Kindergarten)
Student L (Kindergarten)
Fluency
By: Taylor Biedermann
Fall 2014

Question

What are the best practices to

increase fluency in young readers?

Meeting with Teacher

teacher already identified students for me to work with

higher end students were selected because she wanted them

to be challenged and grow with extra support

many students in class are still learning letters and sight

words

differentiation

focus: increasing fluency

correlation between fluency and comprehension (Hudson,

R., Lane, H., & Pullen, P. (2005).

Background

Based on Interest Inventory

Student T

loves to read

motivated

Student L

confident reader

enjoys reading and school in general

eager to learn

Best Practice and Research

Choral Reading

allows for students to model after teacher(2002, pg 2-3).

builds confidence in young readers, provides support

Partner Reading

while often suggested more fluent reader with less fluent reader, research has
shown it works even for students on the same level

Repeated Reading

after students read the same passage continually they are able to better
understand how it should sound with proper rate and expression(2002, pg
2-3).

more familiar
(Reutzel, R., & Cooter Jr., R., 2011, pg ).

Assessments

Student Interest Inventory

gather further information about students I would

be working with

One Minute Reading Sample (Initial and Final)

Multidimensional Fluency Scale

guide instruction based on dimension

Reutzel, R., & Cooter Jr., R. (2011). Fluency. In Teaching Children to Read (6th ed.). Pearson.

WCPM
Initial

Final

One Minute Assessment

One Minute Reading Sample

Fox and Frog

31
Word Count Per Minute (WCPM)

Initial and Final Assessment

Both Students showed

improvements after continuing
to implement best practice
strategies (partner reading,
choral reading, re-reading)

23.25

15.5

7.75

0
Student T

Student L

Instruction/Practice

Library during Daily 5 Centers

Continued to use same practices

Exposure to experiences

While we did read a variety of books, we spent time

on topics students were interested in

Modeling, examples and non examples

Reflection

Initially I was worried about working with higher end students was concerned I
wouldnt see growth.

It was interesting to see how student interest impacted desire to read

after implementing best practices it was evident that the students grew based on
assessments

my students appeared to enjoy repeated readings the most out of all the activities
we did

Based on my research and observations it was clear the continual practice as well
as experience and exposure to reading is key to increasing and influencing fluency

If I were to do this project again I would include some storytelling activities in order
to allow students to exercise creativity

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS?

References
Fluency: Instructional Guidelines and Student Activities. (2002, January). Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://
www.readingrockets.org/article/fluency-instructional-guidelines-and- student-activities.
What Works in Fluency Instruction. (2000, April 1). Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http:// www.readingrockets.org/article/whatworks-fluency-instruction.
Reutzel, R., & Cooter Jr., R. (2011). Fluency. In Teaching Children to Read (6th ed.). Pearson.
Hudson, R., Lane, H., & Pullen, P. (2005). Reading fluency assessment and instruction: What, why, and how? The Reading Teacher, 58(8),
702-714. Retrieved November 1, 2014, from http:// www.fcrr.org/publications/publicationspdffiles/
hudson_lane_pullen_readingfluency_2005.pdf.