Reading Comprehension and Oral Fluency

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER # 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background and Justification of the Study1

Problem Statement2

Deficiencies in the evidence3

Purpose of the Study3

Research Questions3

Definition of Terms4

Limitations4

Structure of the Dissertation5

CHAPTER # 2: LITERATURE REVIEW6

Theoretical Bases6

Fluency and Reading Skills7

Reader's Theater8

Assesment of Fluency8

Traditional Academic Studies10

Oral Fluency12

CHAPTER # 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY15

Procedures15

Research Design15

Participants16

Target population16

Demography of Respondents16

Sampling Method16

Instruments17

Readers Theater interventions17

Data analysis18

Validity and Reliability18

Research Ethics19

REFERENCES20

CHAPTER # 1: INTRODUCTION

Background and Justification of the Study

Elementary teachers have aim to ensure that students fully understand what is read and the information gathered from text can be synthesized and applied to real-world situations.

In order to become good readers there is a need to focus on the five critical areas which are as follows phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.

The above stated five areas have been indentified by the National Reading Panel (NRP) in 2000. The process of learning to read well may never be achieved as the culmination of the first four without systematic teacher's instruction supports each learner's needs (Griffiths et al., 2009). In order to achieve the successful reading there is a need for the explicit and systematic instruction along with ample practice and immediate, intensive intervention.

The majority of primary reading teachers are dedicated to spend their time in providing in-depth helpful instructions for teaching reading. By using the daily yield results, the imperative strategies and activities of students can encounter the difficulty quickly and addressed. It is also critical that uninterrupted blocks of time in the teaching the five areas of reading be incorporated in school every day. Research is consistent in supporting that students require quality instruction (research-based program), from a highly qualified teacher (certified in reading) implementing research-based instructional practices with sound evaluation instruments. Continuous progress monitoring with immediate feedback and intervention must also be part of the reading classroom that produces fluent readers.

Problem Statement

There are a number of research studies have been conducted to examine the reading comprehension and oral fluency. There were limited amount of research studies have been conducted to examine the relationship among the reading comprehension and oral fluency. It is very common and difficult task for the teachers to measure their students reading fluency. There are a number of assessments readily available. On the other hand, most of the teachers have not considered measuring their students writing fluency. In order to achieve the ultimate goal of having the students understand what they read, systematic and intensive instruction must take place in the areas of phonics, sight word vocabulary, and fluency. At this time, the target group receives small-group instruction with the classroom teacher four times a week. The teacher uses materials from the Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Triumphs series and also creates literacy center activities using various resources collected over the years. This model of remediation has yielded insignificant gains in student achievement.

The philosophy is if the child can be provided with the assistance then there is a need in a timely manner, the problem is addressed quickly, solutions provided immediately, and falling behind avoided. Research indicates that fluency is important because it ...