“questioning is the strategy that propels readers forward” (p. 18). By “questioning the content, the author,
the events, the issues, and the ideas in the text” students become proficient readers (Harvey & Goudvis,
2007, p. 18).
Fluency
Blum and Koskinen (1991) describe fluency as a “smooth, accurate, natural, expressive reading” that
develops with practice into an expertise (p. 195). Reading fluency indicates that the reader is able to
“perform unconsciously with speed and accuracy while consciously carrying on other brain functions”
(Holman, Klesius, & Hite, 1993, p. 94). It should be noted, however, that any reader “can become
dysfluent” if the material they are given to read is too difficult (Gunning, 2004, p. 223). However, Routman
(2003) believes that “fluency involves much more than smooth reading. Many students--especially older
struggling readers—can read the words but are unable to say what the text is about” (p. 96). Because of
this, fluency must not be the only strategy emphasized.
An uncomplicated rehearsal-style strategy called Repeated Readings gives students practice reading
the same passage over and over again, thereby gaining fluency, automaticity and reading speed (Blum &
Koskinen, 1991). When using timed repeated reading, students can find their “reading rate in words per
minute (WPM)” (Crawley & Merritt, 2004, p. 90). This strategy can be expanded upon by pairing students
“with someone that is equal in reading ability” and is called Assisted Repeated Readings (Hapstak & Tracy,
2007, p. 315). Studies show using Repeated Reading as a reading strategy to increase students’ overall
fluency and proficiency also increases their comprehension ability (Rasinski, 2001; Therrien, 2004). To
improve fluency, Routman (2003) suggests that students should use “repeated reading of familiar text” (p.
128). Researchers Hapstak and Tracy (2007) did a study on the effects of using Assisted Repeated Reading.
Their findings showed that “students scored higher than their baseline scores 100 percent of the time when
the intervention was administered” (p. 320).
According to Gunning (2004), when a teacher asks students to read orally, they should be given time
to read the passage silently, thereby allowing them to be able to present the author’s meaning using
expression. During choral reading, students who are less fluent learn expression while reading in unison or
together with more fluent readers (Crawley & Merritt, 2004). A teacher can have the whole class or just a
small group work together to emphasize other skills as well, such as phrasing, speed, or interpreting
punctuation (Gunning, 2004). Gunning (2004) stated that choral reading is a “nonthreatening way for
struggling readers to practice their skills” (p. 225).
Partner reading is readers “taking turns reading aloud a text with a peer, supporting each other, and
intermittently stopping to discuss the text; also called paired reading” (Routman, 2003, p. A-14). According
to Norton (2007), children “need opportunities to read with partners to increase the time spent reading in
school” (p. 443). Peer tutoring is also a type of partner reading that has shown to be highly effective. It is
good, not only for the struggling reader, but for the peer student as well.
Readers’ Theater is a reading strategy that can quickly become a favorite among students given that
it “sanctions peer interaction and fun” (Hudson, 2006, p. 10). It combines two activities, reading and seeing
(Wayne, 2008). According to Hudson (2006), the benefits of repeated reading to prepare for the
presentation helps struggling students “develop accuracy, rate, and prosody [while] helping students think
about how to read the text to best represent the meaning and their character ” (p. 10). As the teacher
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