A text -based intervention of reading fluency, comprehension, and content knowledge.

Abstract

This study examined effects of repeated readings of specially-written texts designed to support fluency development. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare reading outcomes for 3<super>rd</super> grade students in two groups: intervention (<italic>n</italic> = 35) and comparison (<italic> n</italic> = 26). Over 12 weeks, the intervention group read scaffolded texts---texts that contained high percentages of common words and orthographic patterns as well as content-area vocabulary. Intervention students read the scaffolded texts in an assisted repeated-reading format four days weekly for 15-20 minutes and wrote summaries the fifth day. Intervention and comparison groups used the same literacy program; overall, time devoted to reading instruction did not differ by condition. Standardized measures of oral reading rate, accuracy, and comprehension and of isolated sight-word and decoding measures were administered before and after the intervention, as was a researcher-developed general information assessment. The major research question compared outcomes of the two groups. A second question explored whether children with low or high sight-word knowledge demonstrated different outcomes. Results showed that intervention students had significantly higher posttest scores than those in the comparison group on accuracy and rate of text reading, and the general information measure. The intervention students not only made significantly greater gains in text-reading fluency, but acquired knowledge about topics covered in the scaffolded texts. The intervention group made greater gains in comprehension as well, although these gains were not significant. The groups did not differ significantly on word-level reading measures. Analyses to answer the second research question showed that the higher reading level students in both groups outperformed the lower reading level students on fluency measures, but the interaction between reading skill and intervention condition was not significant. In the intervention group, lower reading level students did not lose ground, relative to the accuracy and rate of text reading of higher level readers. Results suggest that assisted repeated-reading of scaffolded texts could improve aspects of connected text reading related to fluency, specifically rate and accuracy. The results suggest that an intervention of this type is a promising method to improve reading skills of third-grade students.