Does Independent Reading Effect Student Fluency and Comprehension

Jody Billiard

Lesley University

EEDUC 6126: Classroom and School Inquiry

Dr. Abraham A. Abadi

Abstract

Introduction to Problem and Rationale

Will independent reading time improve students’ fluency and comprehension?

As a third grade teacher I am concerned about my students not having sufficient time to do independent reading. Currently, when students finish a task, they know to get a book and read until we move to our next task. However, this only gives students small snippets of time in between lessons to read something of their own choosing. We have no dedicated time in our schedule devoted to individual reading for pleasure.

According to the Idaho Department of Education’s content standards in reading (2007), third grade students willacquire strategies and skills for comprehending text. These strategies include the ability to describe characters and their traits, identify aspects of a setting such as time and place. Students will be able to connect the information and events in the text they have read to self, their world, and other text, as well as identify different genres of literature.

Our reading curriculum teaches reading comprehension through direct instruction of strategies such as monitor/clarify, questioning, predict and infer, visualize, and evaluate. I am worried my students do not get the opportunity to practice/apply these strategies they have learned to their own reading due to a lack of independent reading time.

One approach to solving this problem would be to implement a daily, designated time period for individual reading. Sustained Silent Reading (SSR), Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading (USSR), and Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) are some of the school models currently used across the country (Bylut Ermitage & Van Sluys, 2007).

SSR is based on the single idea of just reading. There are no interruptions, no questions to answer, no assessments or reports, just reading for pleasure. SSR received significant support from reading experts Robert and Marlene McCracken who provide the following guidelines for using SSR in the classroom (Trelease 2001 p. 109).

Children should read to themselves for a limited amount of time. Teachers should adjust the time according to the students’ maturity.
Each student should select his own book, magazine, or newspaper. No changing during the period. Reading material should be chosen before SSR begins.
The teacher must read also, setting the example. This is very important.
No reports are required of the student and no records are kept.

In his book, The Read Aloud Handbook, author Jim Trelease (2001) also discusses the important work of Dr. Stephen Krashen whose research on SSR found that 93 percent of students who had SSR time did as well or better than students having no SSR time.

My action research study will investigate the impact of providing a consistent SSR time for my third grade students. The students will be given a standardized pre and post test in both fluency and comprehension. My hope is that by providing students with a daily time committed to reading for pleasure will not only increase their fluency and comprehension skills but they will also develop a habit of reading for the pure enjoyment of it.

Literature Review

Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) is not a new idea. The idea was originally proposed by Lyman C. Hunt, Jr., in the early 1960’s. It gained popularity in the 1970’s with the guidelines provided by reading experts Robert and Marlene McCracken (Trelease, 2001). National attention was given to SSR when Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading was published in 1985. This study focused on the deficiencies American students were having in the area of reading (Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, & Wilkinson, 1985). The report also stated the act of reading for pleasure is the best predictor of reading comprehension, growth of vocabulary and reading achievement gains in elementary age students. This study surmised that the only way for students to become better at reading is to practice reading. Therefore the study recommended teachers implement a Sustained Silent Reading program.

In 2001 SSR was again in the national spotlight when questions about Sustained Silent Reading’s effectiveness were brought to light by the National Reading Panel’s report which states, "No research evidence is available currently to confirm that instructional time spent on silent, independent reading with minimal guidance and feedback improves reading fluency and overall reading achievement” (Trelease, 2008). This report immediately received criticism from reading experts who support the use of SSR in the classroom. Noted SSR advocate Stephen Krashen and author of The Power of Reading, quickly fired back at the National Reading Panel with a letter to the editor published May 10, 2000, in Education Weekly. In his letter Krashen advised the following:

The NRP report missed a number of important studies. In The Power of Reading, I found a total of 41 studies of the value of sustained silent reading in school. In 38 out of the 41 comparisons, readers in sustained silent reading did as well or better on tests of reading than children who spent an equivalent amount of time in traditional instruction. I found nine studies which lasted longer than one year; sustained silent reading was a winner in eight of them, and in one there was no difference. The NRP did not cite any of these studies, even though some appeared in very important, widely read journals. Some spectacular omissions include Elley and Mangubhai's Fiji study, published in the Reading Research Quarterly (1983), and Elley's Singapore study, in Language Learning (1991). The latter contains a review of several other successful SSR studies that the NRP failed to mention. (Trelease, 2008).

From an educator’s point of view, it seems logical that the amount time spent reading would positively influence reading achievement. Samuels and Wu (n.d.)cite J.B. Carroll stating “Carroll’s model of school learning and time suggested that a learner will succeed in learning a given task to the extent that he spends the amount of time that he needs to learn the task”(p. 5). Allington (2002) found that typical elementary students spent as little as ten percent of their day reading. With this average it is apparent for the need of some type of Sustained Silent Reading program in the classroom.

I discovered several interesting factors regarding SSR throughout my literature review. One study stated “Contrary to a general impression that more time spent reading should lead to greater achievement gains for all students, we found instead that for the low ability readers in this study, more time did not necessarily lead to greater gains” (Samuels & Wu, n.d. p. 17). What Samuels and Wu found was that for low ability students, there was no difference between the 40 and 15 minute groups regarding achievement measures. Their conclusion was that students who have lower achievement ability cannot maintain attention for as long as their peers who have higher reading achievement. Accordingly, more is not necessarily better for below grade level reading ability.

In his work, Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading, Rick Meyers (1998), found that studies conducted over a longer duration showed positive results more consistently. For example he shares Sandra Holt’s findings when she researched a group of seventh grade predominantly black students for 10 weeks. They participated in SSR for twenty minutes twice a week. Those who had SSR in addition to their basal series showed a significant difference in reading comprehension.

I found it interesting that, according to Mary C. Kirby (2003), a disadvantage to SSR is that many teachers find it difficult to manage. Teachers believe that they must give a grade in order to ensure student participation. Teachers feel they spend too much time managing and not enough modeling. This concern is widespread. Heidi Trudel (2007) describes an alternative to SSR with a more structured independent reading time. Trudel describes five key elements of Independent Reading (IR) that are different from SSR.

The teacher provides guidance in the students’ text selections.
Students keep records of what they read.
Students reflect on what they read.
Both teacher and students participate in mini-lessons and discussions from time to time.
The teacher is not reading during the entire reading block.

After using both SSR and IR in her classroom, Trudel observed that her students were more likely to stay on task during IR time as opposed to SSR time. Students made more appropriate text choices, engaged in quality teacher-student reading discussions, and wrote responses to reading.

In their article, R5: The Sustained Silent Reading Makeover that Transformed Readers, authors Michelle Kelley and Nicki Clausen-Grace (2006), give the traditional SSR time a makeover, adding adaptations to increase students’ metacognitive awareness and comprehension. Compared to traditional SSR time, the R5 process includes “Read and Relax” where class rules were set to ensure a relaxing reading environment. Students had to have their selected reading material before the beginning of the reading block. Students were not allowed to get up during the block, and all restroom and water breaks were done before or after the reading block.

“Reflect and Respond” was a second component of the R5reading block. Students kept a daily reading log to reflect and record their daily readings, including genre, date, title and author, and a short response to what they read. The students then used their responses to prepare them for the “Rap” component of R5. Students were invited to share something interesting with a partner and then share what their partner shared which promoted active listening skills. Michelle Kelley and Nicki Clausen-Grace (2006), found by retooling the traditional SSR time with modifications geared to the needs of their class, the emphasis on metacognitive awareness was a benefit to all their learners.

Good teachers are always looking for ways to motivate students to read. Linda B. Gambrell (1996), asked elementary students what teachers should do to get students more interested and excited about reading. Their responses included:

“Teachers should let us read more.”
“When we have “Read and Respond Time: the teacher should let us read our own books and tell about them in a group.”

“Let us read more… about 10 more minutes every day.”
“Please make sure you do not interrupt us while we’re reading.”

“Read to the class. I always get excited when I hear my favorite book.”
“Do not let DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time end so soon.”
“Make sure there are lots of books. There are not a lot of books in our classroom.”

It is clear from these responses the critical role the teacher plays in creating an environment that fosters a love for reading. SSR should be a pivotal classroom ingredient in engaging students’ reading to increase fluency and comprehension skills as well as increasing student motivation to read just for the love of it.

Study Design Plan and Plan for Analysis

STUDY DESIGN PLAN

TRIANGULATION

In my action research plan I will be collecting three different types of data. The first point of data collection will be a pre and post parent reading survey (Appendix A). The second point of data collection will be apre and post student reading interest survey (Appendix B). And the final point of data collection will consist of pre and post test of the students’ fluency (Appendix C) and pre and post test of the students’ comprehension (Appendix D).

PARTICIPANTS

The third grade students in my classroom will be the main participants of this action research study. I have 23 students, 12 boys and 11 girls. Of these students five boys are Hispanic and seven are white, six girls are Hispanic, and five girls are white. I have three students who have an IEP (Individual Education Plan) and one student has a full time aide.

At the beginning of this research, 14 students are reading at or above grade level based on the Idaho Reading Indicator for fluency, and ninestudents are below grade level based on the Idaho Reading Indicator for fluency. Ten students are reading at or above grade level for comprehension according to the STAR Reading Comprehension Test, and 12 students are below grade level. The STAR reading test is software that tests students’ comprehension and the results are norm-referenced reading scores including grade equivalents.

Xx percent of my students are participants of the free/reduced lunch program, meaning they are from households that meet federal guidelines for free or reduced-price meal services. School wide we have approximately 79 percent of students on free/reduced lunch which indicates that the majority of the students come from lower income households.

I will also have parents participate by completing a pre and post parent survey (Appendix A). The information gleaned from these surveys will provide some background information regarding the home reading culture of my students.

DATA COLLECTION METHODS/RATIONALE

The first method of data collection I chose for my action research paper is a pre and post parent reading survey (Appendix A). This survey consists of seven questions that ask about the frequency of reading interaction either between the parent and child, the child at home, and the reading habits of the parents, as well a question regarding television use in the home. The last four questions on the survey ask for the parent opinions regarding their attitude towards reading. The response choices range from strongly agree to strongly disagree.

I chose the parent survey as one point of my research because I felt it important to get an insight to the environment and attitudes that my students are living in and exposed to. This survey might answer the question for me; do my students’ parents support a positive reading environment at home?

Using the parent survey is an important link in my triangulation research because my hope is that if my research shows that increased independent reading time increases my students’ fluency and comprehension, it will also reflect a positive change in the attitudes and environment at home. This survey will also give me insight that might explain my students’ personal attitudes toward reading.

I plan to implement a six week block of sustained silent reading for this research. I will give the parent survey one week before I begin my in class research and again in the last week of my research.

The next method of data collection I chose for my action research project is a Student Reading Attitude Survey (Appendix B). In this survey the students are asked seven questions regarding their attitudes toward reading both at home and school. They are asked to answer with either a strongly agree, agree, no opinion, disagree, or strongly disagree. The last question asks the students to choose what types of books they like to read.

Similar to the parent survey (Appendix A), the goal of the student survey is to gain insight into how the students really feel about reading, what they like to read and how often they read. Having this background information would explain students’ mindset, either positive or negative, towardsthe Sustained Silent Reading time that I might observe at the beginning of the research. Again, as with the parent survey, I hope to see positive changes in the students’ attitudes reflected on the post survey.

This form of data collection is related to my research question in that if my research shows that increased independent reading time increases my students’ fluency and comprehension, it will also reflect a positive change in the students’ attitudes toward reading for pleasure.

The pre student survey will be given at one week prior to the implementation of the six week time frame. The post student survey will be given at the completion of the research.

The final method of data collection for my action research project is twofold. It will consist of a pre and post fluency test (Appendix C) and a pre and post comprehension test (Appendix D). The fluency test will consist of a third grade leveled reading prompt. The students will be timed for one minute and the words per minute read will be calculated. The same prompt will be used both pre and post test.

The comprehension test will consist of a short story that is to be read independently by the students followed by seven multiple choice questions. The story has a third grade reading level. The same test will be used for both pre and post tests. The pre tests in both fluency and comprehension will give a baseline to look at before we begin the Sustained Silent Reading exercise. The post tests will show any changes in the students’ fluency and reading for understanding.

The time frame for the research will consist of pre testing being done the last week of February 2010, then the implementation of SSR beginning the first week of March 2010 and ending on April 16, 2010. Students will be given 15 minutes, three times a week for SSR.