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by Nickie Simonetti
2018 MO-STAR List
2018 MO-STAR List
Special STEM Section
It has been suggested that repeated reading is an under-rated task, a lost component of the Science of Reading. Not only does repeated reading increase accuracy and fluency, but it can increase reading comprehension as well (Therrien, 2004). The research evidence for repeated reading is ironclad (Therrien, 2004).
Currently, repeated reading is most often applied to enhance a fluid oral style. However, I suggest that in addition to improved fluency, repeated reading can be a resource to build background knowledge and that, given the expanded information fund, will support word identification and comprehension skills.
Fluid Reading Tasks
Fluid reading tasks offer students more than practice, repetition, automaticity and improved phrasing. Fluid reading is cyclical. The skill incorporates accurate word recognition, reading comprehension, and background knowledge while concurrently supporting the development of word recognition, reading comprehension and background knowledge. Each component contributes to mastery of the other. Furthermore, the nature of repetition (applied repeated reading) is one of the most powerful variables affecting memory (Hintzman,1976). So how can we enhance these interactions and secure the positive impact they support?
At this time, fluid reading is most often practiced and developed through the repeated reading of fictional stories, poems, or short plays. Although these materials support many oral reading skills (phrasing, automaticity, tone), consider substituting non-fiction texts as the reading resource. Non-fiction materials build on a reader’s existing knowledge of a particular topic (Beck & McKeown, 1991). In particular, expository texts, aiming to inform, will provide descriptions and content usually new to the reader (Paul & Norbury, 2012). Through such practice materials, we can continue to develop fluency while concurrently expanding the student’s background fund of knowledge and mastery of technical vocabulary.
Background knowledge comprises all of the world knowledge a reader brings to task. It includes episodic (events), declarative (facts) and procedural (how-to) knowledge, related vocabulary (Kintsch, 1998) and domain knowledge, ie., the knowledge of a specific and defined field (Alexander & Jetton, 2000). Consider the connection between background knowledge and reading comprehension. Most often, the active process of integrating an existing knowledge base (background knowledge) with the content at hand (the reading material) supports text comprehension. If working with an “effective schema”, that is one coherent with the content presented, the reader gains an improved understanding and a better recall of the information presented. Furthermore, given that the skills are interactive and cumulative, as understanding improves, schemata develops (Kintsch, 2009). Thus, as the reader has an opportunity to learn more about a given topic, he deepens his original fund of knowledge; and it is that extended background knowledge that offers a stronger baseline for successful text comprehension.
As with comprehension, word identification is also supported by a pre-existing knowledge base. During the early stages of learning to read, the ability to decode is a most crucial factor (Castles, Rastle, & Nation, 2018; Juel, 1988). Still, in addition to phonetic skills, readers who come to task with a high degree of background knowledge are better able to incorporate context as a word identification tool.
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To build background knowledge, the overt actor is the text itself. Texts differ in terms of their stated purpose, linguistic features, and cohesion (Halliday & Hasan, 2014). It is high-cohesion texts that offer a greater level of explanatory detail. So how do we create such cohesive texts;
texts that help compensate for a reader’s limited background knowledge while concurrently expanding his level of background knowledge?
Since fluid reading relies on accuracy, the proposed plan begins here. To establish and ensure successful word recognition, passages are presented in a two-version format. The first secures the specific vocabulary to be addressed. In this initial phase, technical words are highlighted and, as need be, taught in isolation (explicit phonetic instruction).
Next, the teacher must offer non-fiction texts supporting the cycle of automatic word recognition, improved fluency, developed background knowledge and enhanced reading comprehension. To achieve this, the materials need to increase sequentially in depth of content (schema) and word level (recognition and meaning).
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