By: Lynne Kulich, PhD & Timothy Rasinski, PhD

Attempts to improve reading outcomes, especially among students who struggle to become proficient reading, have been in the reading spotlight in the past few years. The solution that is most commonly offered is a stronger emphasis on direct systematic phonics instruction (e.g. Sold a Story podcast, 2022).   While we completely agree that phonics is essential to reading success, phonics itself is only one part of the equation to develop proficient readers.

The aim of phonics instruction is for readers to be able to decode words accurately.  However, consider a reader who is able to decode words accurately but does so in an overly slow word-by-word manner without paying any attention to phrasing or expression. Clearly, we would not consider such readers proficient.  Truly proficient readers not only decode words accurately, they also decode the words they read effortlessly and they read text with good phrasing.    

Fluency in reading involves teaching students to read text not only accurately but also automatically or effortlessly.  The significance of automatic word recognition is that readers no longer have to employ their cognitive resources to decode the words in text – the words are instantly decoded with minimal use of cognitive resources.  Those freed up resources can then be employed to the more important task in reading – comprehension.    

Fluency also involves reading with what linguists call prosody.  We prefer to call it reading with expression and phrasing that reflects the meaning of the text.  In order to read with prosody, readers need to be attending to the meaning of the text. Thus, prosodic reading aids in comprehension.

Studies by the National Assessment of Educational Progress have shown that large numbers of lower performing fourth grade readers tend to struggle in both automatic word recognition and prosodic reading.    Clearly, then, developing fluency in these students, both automaticity and prosody, will significantly improve reading proficiency.    Fluency instruction must be a part of any science-based reading curriculum.

The Tools for Developing Fluency

• Modeling Fluent Reading.   Young readers need to hear fluent reading in order to understand reading fluency.   This means teachers, parents, and others should read to their children regularly and make sure that when they do they read with expression that marks fluent reading.
• Wide Reading.   Fluency in anything requires practice.   Wide reading involves reading as much as possible.   Recent research (Allington & McGill-Franzen, 2021) has shown that reading volume is associated with reading achievement.
• Deep (Repeated) Reading.  Fluency often requires the learner to practice a text (or other activity) multiple times in order to achieve fluency.  Research (Rasinski, et al, 2011) has shown that repeatedly reading one text leads to improvements in new texts never before read.   The key to repeated reading (i.e. rehearsal) is to make it authentic.    If a text is meant to be performed for an audience it needs to be rehearsed- not for speed but for developing a sense of expression that an audience with find satisfying.    Texts such as readers theater scripts, poetry, song lyrics, and other are meant to be read aloud for an audience and are thus excellent choices for repeated reading.
• Assisted Reading.   If a text is challenging having an assist or scaffold from a more fluent reader can lead to fluent reading.   Assisted reading can take the form of choral reading as a group, paired reading where the partner is a more fluent reader, or reading while simultaneously listening to a prerecorded version of the text.    Assisted reading (Rasinski, et al, 2011) has been shown to be a powerful tool for developing fluency and overall reading proficiency.
• Phrased Reading.  Less fluent readers / tend to read / in a word-by-word manner / that disrupts the natural language / of the text / and makes  comprehension difficult. //   Helping students / read in phrases / by marking a text / with phrase boundaries / can move students / to more natural and meaningful phrasing / that will improve reading fluency / and comprehension.//

These basic fluency development tools, by themselves, can move students toward higher levels of fluency and reading proficiency.   However, if we can combine these tools into a single lesson format we get synergy – a situation where the benefit from a whole lesson combining these elements is greater than the sum of the parts alone.  This is where the Fluency Development Lesson (FDL) comes in.   

The Fluency Development Lesson

The FDL is a systematic, explicit, science-backed instructional practice that when implemented regularly closes reading gaps for all students, including multilingual learners (National Reading Panel, 2000; Kulich 2009; Zimmerman, et al., 2019). While the FDL supports all foundational reading skills, it targets fluency since reading difficulties often manifest in this area (White, et al., 2021), and its flexible design supports readers of all ages.

Implemented in 15-20 minutes, the FDL includes effective assisted reading practices like choral, echo, and partner reading. Initially, the FDL was created to be delivered in a single day using short, grade-level passages (Rasinski, 2010; Rasinski, Padak, Linek, & Sturtevant, 1994). Research suggests that scaffolded, repeated reading of a single text over the course of a week leads to gains in fluency and comprehension skills (Stahl & Heubach, 2005). So, we encourage students to read the same text throughout the school week with a variety of scaffolds. Additionally, you’ll find embedded activities to target all literacy skills, i.e., listening, speaking, reading, and writing. You’ll also notice activities for students to continue developing all foundational reading skills, such as phonemic awareness and phonics. 

Planning 

First, choose a grade-level text aligned to a reading scope and sequence, theme, or phonics skill.  The FDL supports your core curriculum. While any genre will do, our favorite is poetry.  Given its rich, rhythmic language, poetry is an obvious choice. This is particularly true for multilingual learners who benefit from the rhythm, rhyme, and repetition that poetry offers (Vardell, Hadaway, & Young, 2006).

Next, select the assisted reading practices needed to support your students, and plan to explicitly teach new vocabulary.  Remember students will need more scaffolding earlier rather than later in the week. Prepare to discuss the poet’s purpose, word choice, and theme because comprehension is always the goal.

Include opportunities for students to read aloud for different audiences, e.g., principal, custodian, etc., and include a written response activity. Reading and writing are synergistic, so be sure students write about the poem and share their responses. This experience helps develop the necessary dialogic communication skills students need and will use.

Finally, the FDL supports home-school partnerships. Students can read their weekly poems to someone at home.  Consider hosting classroom poetry parties and invite families to listen to students read their favorite poems.

Implementation

Monday: Present the new poem.Model fluent reading. Discuss poet’s purpose, word choice, and style. Identify rhymes, antonyms, hyperbole, etc. Students chorally echo read.

Tuesday:Reread poem.Review components of fluency (rate, accuracy & prosody).Students chorally read poem.Small groups of students read different lines or stanzas.Students locate words with r-controlled vowels, consonant clusters, homonyms, etc.

Wednesday:Teacher and students chorally read.Students partner read and provide feedback.Students volunteer to read for class.Students complete word activities, such as a Word Ladder.

Thursday:Students chorally read and self-evaluate.Volunteers read for class.Students read poem for families.Students complete writing activity.

Friday:Students read poem with different emotions.Students perform for different school audiences.Teacher records mystery readers.

Conclusion

I (Lynne) implemented the FDL with my elementary students, and no other instructional practice proved to engage my students and advance their reading skills like the FDL. One year, 12 first graders out of 27 were performing below grade level based on general reading outcome measures in the fall.  In addition, five of those students were multilingual learners. Due to limited bandwidth, not all 12 students qualified for Title 1 services.  I (Lynne) knew I had to leverage evidence-based reading practices – core instruction had to be solid.  Besides using the district’s curricular resources, which included an explicit phonics program, I (Lynne) implemented the FDL each day for 15 – 20 minutes.  All 27 students were reading on or above grade level by the spring.  The following year, none of the students qualified for Title 1 services (Kulich & Evanchan, 2007, 2008).

Pre and post reading data from my (Lynne’s) doctoral research (2009) with Karen children revealed the reading growth three students made during the summer and after-school sessions with the FDL. During this 9-week summer program for a total of 4½ hours a week, and the afterschool sessions from September through December for 1 hour a week, the multilingual learners made between two to three years of reading progress.  In addition, their attitudes towards reading significantly improved.

Fluency instruction can be engaging, authentic, and effective all at the same time.  The Fluency Development Lesson combines all the evidence-based tools for fluency instruction into a synergistic practice that closes reading gaps and promotes the joy of reading.

References (Lynne)

Allington, R.L., & McGill-Franzen, A.M. (2021). Reading Volume and Reading Achievement: A Review of Recent Research. Reading Research Quarterly, 56(S1), S231– S238. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.404

Kulich, L. S. (2009). The English reading development of Karen children using the Fluency Development Lesson in an intensive English language program: Three descriptive case studies (Doctoral dissertation, University of Akron).

Kulich, L. S., & Evanchan, G. (2007, November). The Fluency Factor: How did the fluency development lesson impact the literacy development of thirteen “at-risk” first grade readers? Paper presented at the Fiftieth Annual Meeting of the College Reading Association, Salt Lake City, UT. 

Kulich, L. S., & Evanchan, G. (2008, November). The Final Fluency Factor: How did the fluency development lesson impact the literacy development of thirteen “at risk” first grade readers? Paper presented at the Fifty-First Annual Meeting of the College Reading Association, Sarasota, FL. 

National Reading Panel. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read. Report of the subgroups.  Washington, DC:  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health.

Rasinski, T. V. (2010). The fluent reader: Oral reading strategies for building word recognition, fluency, and comprehension (2nd ed.). Scholastic.

Rasinski, T. V., Padak, N. D., Linek, W. L., & Sturtevant, E. (1994). Effects of fluency development on urban second-grade readers. Journal of Educational Research, 87, 158–165.

Rasinski, T. V., Reutzel, C. R., Chard, D. & Linan-Thompson, S. (2011).  Reading Fluency.  In M. L. Kamil, P. D. Pearson, B. Moje, & P. Afflerbach E (Eds), Handbook of Reading Research, Volume IV (pp. 286-319).  New York:  Routledge.

Stahl, S., & Heubach, K. (2005). Fluency-oriented reading instruction. Journal of Literacy Research, 37, 25–60.

Vardell, S. M., Hadaway, N. L., & Young, T. A. (2006). Matching books and readers: Selecting literature for English learners. The Reading Teacher, 59(8), 734–741.

White, S., Sabatini, J., Park, B. J., Chen, J., Bernstein, J., and Li, M. (2021). The 2018 NAEP oral reading fluency study. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics.

Zimmerman, B.S., Rasinski, T.V., Kruse, S.D., Was, C.A., Rawson, K.A., Dunlosky, J., & Nikbakht, E. (2019). Enhancing outcomes for struggling readers: Empirical analysis of the fluency development lesson, Reading Psychology, 40(1), 70-94. DOI: 10.1080/02702711.2018.1555365

By Lester Laminack

As I write this, I am beginning my forty-seventh year as an educator. I’ve been a classroom teacher, a reading teacher, a university professor, and continue now as a full-time writer and consultant working with schools throughout the US and abroad. In my career I have been witness to big shifts in how we approach the teaching of reading several times. Each time it happens there are comments about a pendulum swinging from one side to the other, from point A to point B. 

It can’t be a pendulum, though. If it were a pendulum, we are simply moving from what we used to do (A) to what we’re doing (B), which is what we used to do (B) before we did what we used to do (A). If this is the case, we’ve just been moving back and forth between the same two things, which would make all of us rather silly. There would be no evolution of thinking. There would be no change in our practice. It would just be moving between A and B, constantly bickering about which is better. Therefore, I reject the notion of a pendulum.

I prefer to think of it more like a Ferris wheel. Pause a moment and picture a Ferris wheel someplace in an amusement park; it’s a giant wheel, a circle. Think about the profile of this wheel laid out like the face of a clock. There are major positions 12, 3, 6, 9, with all the smaller hash marks representing each minute between. And each one of those is a seat on the Ferris wheel which is slowly moving in a constant clockwise motion. There is always one seat in the 12 o’clock position for a while. One seat will be in the three o’clock position for a while, and another in the six o’clock position, and another in the nine o’clock position.

Using this analogy, I would argue that the seat in the twelve o’clock position is the new “it” thing getting all the public attention. It’s the current “new best way” to do something. The seat in the three o’clock position is the former “best way” of doing something and is gradually falling out of favor. The seat in the six o’clock position, which once was in the twelve o’clock position is now rejected. And, in the nine o’clock position, there is something that is being researched, retooled, tweaked, reorganized and is slowly on the rise. If you’ve been around long enough, you’ve watched that Ferris wheel make full turns, which seem to take about ten years per rotation.

As a profession we understand that how we teach, what we teach, what we think about should be, like any other professional practice, ever evolving, ever-changing as we continue to question and research and refine. 

The Ferris wheel turns and the seat at twelve o’clock will rotate to three o’clock, on to six, then to nine, and eventually back around to the twelve o’clock position. But when it returns to twelve, it will not be the same as when it was previously in the twelve o’clock position. It will have been reexamined, researched, revised, revisited. It will have had time to examine what was argued against it, what was put forth as it flaws. During the movement it will fine tune, refine, repackage, reposition. 

I am drawn to the idea of the Ferris wheel because that circle is always evolving. Every single seat is attached to a common axle by a spoke. If this analogy works for you, ask fifteen different people what the axle represents. I suspect you’ll get a variety of answers. From my perspective (and I’m creating the analogy) the axle is students. Every seat is connected to that axle. I believe that no matter which seat you choose on that Ferris wheel, the occupants hold the fervent belief that what they are advocating is the best thing for kids. Each seat will pull a body of research, a set of practices, a set of materials to the forefront and say, “If you just do this, it will be best for kids.” 

Perhaps, if we stand back, if we move out to the edge of the fairgrounds and look at the Ferris wheel, we will see it as a unified thing rather than a collection of isolated seats. Each seat contributes to the whole and every seat is an integral part connected to one common axle.

Those of us who teach know there is no silver bullet, no one correct and magic thing that works for every single child. I place my faith in the professional knowledge of teachers to begin with the axle, the child/children before them, and consider which seat of knowledge to pull from. I trust the professional practices of teachers to weigh the needs of the student against their knowledge base and make an informed and professional decision about how to proceed. I trust professional teachers to monitor the progress and adjust those decisions as needed. 

Rather than arguing over which seat holds the “right” set of practices, let’s work together to provide teachers with the most robust knowledge base possible and trust them to teach.

For more in-depth discussion and sample lessons, see Critical Comprehension: Lessons for Guiding Students to Deeper Meaning Katie Kelly, Lester Laminack, and Vivian Vasquez (2023) Corwin.

By Evan Robb

Are you searching for a quick-fix solution to improve reading scores? If so, I must disappoint you because I have nothing to offer. Improving reading scores, or any test scores for that matter, doesn’t involve silver bullets or magic tricks. Unfortunately, it’s common for school stakeholders to jump to conclusions about a school’s quality, teachers’ effectiveness, or even the superintendent’s leadership based solely on test scores from a single day. Let’s shift our focus towards practical strategies that can genuinely enhance reading skills and subsequently improve scores.

Let’s start by acknowledging a straightforward yet crucial principle: practice leads to improvement. However, practicing with purpose using research-backed strategies significantly enhances the likelihood of improvement. For students to excel in reading, they must engage in purposeful reading activities.

Here are some valuable tips and cautions to steer a successful reading program:

Rule #1: Read Aloud Sessions

Allocate five to ten minutes daily for read-aloud sessions, depending on class duration. This provides an opportunity to model reading, ask thought-provoking questions, and implement taught strategies effectively.

Reminder: Simply reading a favorite book throughout a class period, no matter how engaging the delivery, won’t necessarily enhance students’ reading skills.

Rule #2: Instructional Reading

Deliver purposeful reading instruction focused on applying strategies and skills to texts to improve students’ reading proficiency. State standards and extensive research can guide the selecting of specific strategies and skills necessary for better reading. It’s crucial to assess students’ lexile levels and tailor genre-focused instructional reading units accordingly to meet individual needs.

Reminder: Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach; instructional reading should cater to each student’s unique instructional needs. If the teacher reads aloud during this segment, students miss the opportunity to practice reading independently. Activities like popcorn reading serve as time fillers and don’t contribute to overall reading improvement.

Rule #3: Independent Reading

Encourage and promote independent reading throughout the school environment. This can include budgeting for books, organizing school-wide campaigns, and celebrating independent reading achievements. Foster a culture where students always carry an independent reading book related to topics they enjoy, thus boosting their motivation to read. Assign thirty minutes of independent reading as the primary homework task, and designate two days per week for in-school independent reading sessions, recognizing the value of classroom reading time.

Reminder: Focus on motivating students to read rather than solely holding them accountable or implementing punitive measures for lack of reading. Explore creative ways, such as monthly book talks, contracts, or logging completed books, to incentivize reading.

I urge a commitment to genuine reading experiences rather than mere reading programs focused on passages and questions or texts beyond students’ reading levels. Embrace research-based reading instruction to witness tangible improvements in students’ reading abilities. Encourage students to read at least three self-selected books monthly alongside instructional texts throughout the year, enhancing test scores.

As professionals, let’s reclaim proven methods backed by research. Ditch ineffective practices and prioritize reading quality literature. Reading educators should strive to master reading instruction, assessment, strategies, and necessary skills to nurture better readers. Let go of strategies that don’t yield results, avoiding being swayed by flashy programs prioritizing profit over education.

For more valuable insights on this topic, I recommend reading “Read Talk Write” by Laura!

By Chase Young

I once asked a second-grade boy if Reader’s Theater made him a better reader, and he responded, “No, because it’s fun.” He was a reluctant reader, but he loved the interaction during rehearsal and entertaining his peers during the performance. So, I suppose he was a reluctant silent reader but loved reading aloud with his friends and classmates. You could tell he enjoyed it more than any other activity because he was always smiling when he rehearsed and performed.

Regardless of what this second grader thought, Reader’s Theater was helping him become a better reader, which is also true for many other students. Research says that Reader’s Theater is an excellent way to improve reading fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and confidence (Millin & Rinehart, 1999; Young et al., 2019). Improving these combined aspects of reading results in an increase in overall reading achievement. A recent meta-analysis found that Reader’s Theater has a large impact on students’ reading proficiency (Mastrothanasis et al., 2023). So, I encourage you to give it a try.

Reader’s Theater is essentially a group of students who dramatically read a text for an audience. All you need are some kids, a few scripts, and five to ten minutes per day.
Although there are many ways to implement Readers Theater in your classroom, I will share a method that worked well for my second graders and me. Feel free to adapt the following to meet the needs of your students and unique teaching style.

Selecting Scripts reading skills
I use a five-day format that helps students prepare for our weekly performances. Each day our rehearsals focus on different aspects of reading; we begin the week with decoding and end the week with fluent, expressive reading.

Before the week begins, I select three to six different scripts for the students to choose from. The number of scripts depends on your class size and the number of parts in each script. The scripts are usually based on popular novels, but I also include nonfiction, poetry, or speeches. In fact, I even use scripts from movies, such as A Christmas Story—the students really enjoy performing the “flagpole” scene.

While you can turn almost anything into a Reader’s Theater script, my website has over 200 free ready-to-download from www.thebestclass.org. Of course, once students become comfortable with Reader’s Theater, I encourage them to write their own scripts based on my read-alouds or books they’ve read. Teachers can also write scripts to match their students’ interests or topics in content areas. The key is to provide scripts that you think your students will love and enjoy performing.  

Five-Day Format
Teaching Reading Skills

On Monday, I read the scripts to my students, and they form groups based on their choice of script. At that time, I ask students to read the entire script and think about the overall meaning of the text.

On Tuesday, the students choose their parts. It is a little chaotic in the beginning of the year, but remember, Rock, Paper, Scissors solves everything. So, when your wonderful little people begin to argue over parts, break those hands out and try your luck at a best out of three matches.

After the students select and highlight their parts, we focus on decoding and word recognition accuracy; I make sure that students know all the sounds and words and that they can pronounce them accurately and automatically.

On Wednesday, we focus on expression—often referred to as prosody. The students practice reading expressively by calibrating their voice inflection, tone, volume, pitch and pauses for dramatic effect.

Students need a deep understanding of the script to render expressiveness that matches the author’s intended meaning. I offer assistance and also encourage the students to coach each other with the goal of producing appropriate prosody.

On Thursday, we have a practice performance. It is a time for any last-minute tweaks or suggestions from the teacher or peers. When students need additional assistance with their parts, I meet with them one-on-one and choose from a variety of interventions such as echo reading, repeated reading, or choral reading. The goal is to ensure that every student sounds great during the performance.

Once the students and I feel they are ready, we look forward to the last day of the five-day format: performance day. By this time, the students have engaged in daily rehearsals, which is an artful and authentic synonym for repeated reading.

Substantial research exists that promotes the method of repeated readings, and Reader’s Theater research acknowledges the power of practice but also includes a purpose—we believe that if you are going to read a text repeatedly, there better be a good reason. That reason is the performance.

On Friday, we perform. But first, it is important to secure an audience. You can invite parents, other classes, administrators, and other school staff, or take your show on the road!

Tips for Successful Reader’s Theater
Teaching Reading Skills
Here are a few recommendations that I’ve curated from experience.

• Use challenging texts; they have plenty of support and time to rehearse.
• Use challenging texts for another reason; I do not want students to memorize the texts; I want them to read their parts.
• Select texts based on what your students will enjoy performing and will also engage the audience.
• Incorporate daily activities related to decoding, vocabulary development, and expressive reading. I, along with Faida Stokes and Tim Rasinski, wrote an article for The Reading Teacher in 2017 titled “Reader’s Theater Plus Comprehension and Word Study,” which has daily activities beyond rehearsal that you can access and review.
• Set a timer for rehearsals each day, allowing for at least two rehearsals.
• Tell students there are no props or costumes. You don’t want a student to show up dressed like a farmer or an astronaut on Friday.
• Find an audience. If you cannot, go to the front desk; someone is always there willing to attend.
• Print extra scripts because students often lose them.  

Some Interesting Results

There are many studies that suggest Reader’s Theater is an effective reading activity, but I’d like to share the results of one in particular. A study we conducted (Young et al., 2019) showed that Reader’s Theater had a profound impact on boys. The three pretest measures—decoding, word knowledge, and comprehension—revealed a gap in favor of the girls. By the end of the study, that gap had closed. We were shocked at these unexpected results but also excited to share that we found something that might help boost reading achievement among boys. An analysis of the survey revealed that most boys liked Reader’s Theater because of the interaction and humor and because it was a novel activity.

Conclusion
Teaching Reading Skills
Readers Theater is a lot of fun (my students and I can attest to that). But more importantly, it can improve many aspects of their reading, including reading fluency. Fluent readers do not have to focus on decoding as much and, therefore, can redirect their attention to reading comprehension, which is the main goal of reading.

So, download some scripts, prepare your little thespians, and integrate the science and art of reading instruction into your classroom.

References

Mastrothanasis, K., Maria Kladaki, M., Aphrodite Andreou, A. (2023). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the Readers’ Theatre impact on the development of reading skills. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 4, 100243.

Millin, S. K., & Rinehart, S. D. (1999). Some of the benefits of readers theater participation for second‐grade title I students. Literacy Research and Instruction, 39(1), 71-88. Doi: 10.1080/19388079909558312

Young, C., Durham, P., Miller, M., Rasinski, T., & Lane, F. (2019). Improving reading comprehension with readers theater. Journal of Educational Research, 112(5), 615-626.

Young, C., Stokes, F., & Rasinski, T. (2017). Readers Theater plus comprehension and word study. Reading Teacher, 71(3), 351-355.