Noting that language arts and reading across the curriculum are in vogue, this paper asserts that reading is an important and distinct part of the language arts and overall school curriculum. It discusses actions and methods involved in the teaching of reading itself, including: (1) oral reading to and by students; (2) availability of a variety of…

This report addresses how reading comprehension can be assessed when children have limited decoding skills. Successful teachers use reading assessments for many purposes. A Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) survey of 496 teachers in "beat the odds" schools revealed that they use many informal reading tasks to assess…

Using 17, 211 words drawn from the word list compiled for the Stanford Spelling Study (1963) and drawing upon the "American Heritage Dictionary of the American Language" as the pronunciation reference, a researcher approached the language as if little was known about its letter-sound relationships and examined by computer the letter-sound…

In the past, researchers believed that reading fluency developed as a result of good word recognition skills; however, it is now believed that fluency must be explicitly taught and practiced orally in order to develop. Readers who are not fluent in reading will be less motivated to practice, have more difficulty learning academic content, and…

Reports on a study that investigated the position of text line break with respect to the phrase structure of a sentence in order to determine its effect on children's reading fluency. Concludes that line breaks within and between phrases cause less disruption when they occur near the end of a sentence. (FL)

Argues that the singing-reading connective helps children learn to read and fosters a love for reading. Discusses integrating music with reading and notes various activities designed to extend the singing-reading experience, involving book concepts, sight vocabulary, reading comprehension, and fluency. (SR)

Reviews recent research findings concerning the benefits of Readers Theater for building oral reading accuracy and fluency and identifies key guidelines for instructional implementation. Presents recommendations and conclusions that place the focus on guidelines for classroom teachers who might want to experiment with Readers Theater as they work…

This article discusses the need to teach decoding to secondary students with reading difficulties using one of three approaches: reading segmented words part by part; decoding different syllable types; or using a flexible strategy for reading long words. It also stresses the need for reading practice and research-validated programs. (Contains…

Work with a longitudinal low-income sample of almost 200 early readers revealed that schools that focus entirely on teaching decoding skills in the early grades neglect the essential vocabulary knowledge that students need to become competent readers. (Contains 20 references and 5 tables.) (MLF)

Explains why rereading should be an integral part of instructional practice and student behavior. Recommends that teachers of secondary school students give students instructional guidance when asking them to reread a text. (MG)

Describes the development of reading fluency and expression, noting connections among oral reading fluency, word recognition, and spelling. The article presents a model of the stages of literacy development that recognizes the role of tacit knowledge in learning to read and write. A spelling inventory for teachers is included. (SM)

Examined relation of Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) oral reading fluency to reading process from theoretical perspective. Tested reading models using confirmatory factor analysis procedures with 114 third- and 124 fifth-grade students. Tested subjects on tasks requiring decoding, comprehension, cloze items, written retell, and CBM oral reading…

Program evaluation uses hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to evaluate 99 ethnically diverse second-graders' growth in oral reading fluency using curriculum-based measurement (CBM). Results reveal that first-grade reading performance significantly predicted initial second-grade reading performance. Argues that the use of HLM with normative CBM…

Investigates effects of paired reading on reading fluency and reading accuracy of four English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students with limited English proficiency. Shows that the students benefited from the paired reading intervention and demonstrated steady improvement in reading fluency and accuracy. Indicates that paired reading can serve as a…

Reports the result of an intervention designed to increased oral reading fluency and listening previewing. Three reading-impaired African American male elementary students exposed to the program evidenced substantial increases on correct words per minute and percent comprehension accuracy, and substantial decreases in mean number of errors. (JPS)