Fluency Part 10 - Speed of Reading - Radio Reading

Digital Bedtime Stories

Visit http://digital-storytime.com/wp/?p=561 for guidelines for selecting good iPad book apps for bed time reading. 

7 Children's Book Apps Reviewed

Trevor Cairney has reviewed 7 recent top book apps that are suitable for bedtime reading for children aged 4-8 years at http://trevorcairney.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/seven-new-childrens-story-apps.html

Pretend to be a radio reader using iPad apps

After reading a particularly good book at bedtime your child may want to become a radio reader to practice their fluency and expression. Fortunately there are a number of very good apps to use to make a good radio presentation. For example there is 'Mobile Recorder' (or a number of other recording apps) to record the reading. 'On Air' is a tele-prompter that moves the text along so that the reader can follow without having to turn pages. It is worth typing a passage from the story into the tele-prompter just to add to the feeling of being in a recording studio. To add to the excitement you may want to add a stop watch application such as 'Best Timer'.There is only one problem, you can only use one application at a time unless you have three iPads. Alternatively, 'Mobile Recorder' can be used on your mobile phone while you use 'On Air' or 'Best Timer' on the ipad.

Fluency Part 9 What to do about that finger

Many parents and teachers have asked, "What should I do about that pointing finger?"

I remember my older sister helping me with my reading at home when I was 'knee-high-to-a grass-hopper' and telling me not to use my finger while reading. This kind of made sense because I knew it wasn't polite to evacuate your nose in public or to point upwards with the 'rude finger'. However, I do remember having a sense of frustration because there were lots of words on the page and I thought, "How can I possibly keep track of where I am in this jumble of words without using one of my digits?"

Maybe older sisters, parents, and teachers have digititis (fear of the pointing finger) or better still, let's get to the point (so to speak). The eye does not move in a straight line from letter to letter or from word to word but moves around the page in stops, starts, progressions, and regressions. Children naturally use a finger to assist their eyes in this complex tracking process. Most children find this extremely helpful when they are novice readers but eventually ween themselves away from this habit. As they develop as readers they become better at tracking and will discover that the pointing finger actually begins to stifle their fluency.

Well, is it a good habit or a bad habit? The answer is yes, it can be both. If a child is still using his or her finger it is for a good reason. However, it can develop into word by word reading rather than reading with flow and expression. What is the answer?

The important thing is to develop their confidence by using the method of repeated reading or highlighting text phrases (see previous blogs in this series). Don't discourage the finger pointing but don't encourage it either. One sure way to enhance tracking and develop fluency without amputating the finger (or taping it to the inside of their palm) is to show your child that he/she can place their finger at the end of the line rather than below each word. After a while they will come to see that it is easier to let the eye do all the work and that moving beyond single word reading enhances comprehension.

Fluency part 8 Prosody

Instruction in fluency should include practice in the prosodic features of reading. Prosody is a linguistic term that is used to describe the tonal and rhythmic qualities of spoken language. Prosaic features are variations in pitch (intonation), stress patterns (syllable prominence), and the duration (length of time) that contribute to expressive reading of a text. The research evidence supports the notion that when children read expressively they are more likely to understand and enjoy what they are reading. Thus, reading comprehension and prosody are intertwined.

Some ideas to help with developing prosody are:

1. Model prosody by emphasising the tonal and rhythmic qualities of spoken language (in contrast show how reading in a monotone would sound).
2. Use a taped audio or digital recording for your child to read-a-long (or listen to at bedtime - see earlier blog about bedtime reading).
3. Use the highlighted phrases method (see earlier blog).
4. Look for high quality descriptive texts at the library for your child to read in their own leisure time.
5. Limit the amount of TV watching and provide good books for bed time reading.
6. Read a passage to your child by modeling expressive reading and leave the book with the child at an interesting point in the book.

The chat below could be used as a guide for developing prosody.

Reading Fluency Scale retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/ors/scale.asp

Fluency Part 7 - Repeated Reading Technique.

Reading fluency encompasses the ability to read fluently at a good rate while using appropriate expression. This will also involve reading words automatically without conscious attention while comprehending what is being read.

Most people have a constant reading rate with which they comfortably read most reading material. However, it should be noted that reading rate will change according to the purpose of the reading and the difficulty level of the text.

Using repeated readings is for children who have adequate word recognition but read slowly. To begin with select a reading passage of approximately 100 words and with 90 - 96% word accuracy level for the child. Have the child read the passage and count the number of words read correctly and time the child  as he/she reads the passage.  This can be repeated 3 or 4 times on the same passage. Plot the child's progress on a chart and note reading rate improvement. Use other passages from the same book to keep the passages at the same level. When the child's reading rate improves and he or she feels more confident move on to a slightly harder book and follow the same procedure.

Reading rate scores are based on data from http://www.eaglepnt.k12.or.us/Files/aimsweb%20growth%20table.pdf

For more information about this procedure go to http://www.ldonline.org/article/6354

          

Fluency Part 6 Neurological impress method

The Neurological Impress Method (NIM).

Before the reading the reading guide should ask the child to scan the cover and title of the book. The reading guide should then ask the reader to look at the illustrations and think about similar life experiences. After browsing through the book and discussing each picture he/she is then asked to predict what what he/she thinks will happen in the story.

The reading guide then reads the story to the child by modeling fluent and expressive reading. This will familiarise the him/her with the flow of the language. It makes the reading much more predictable because the meaning of the story will have been dealt with before he/she has to to read. The reading guide then discusses various aspects of the story with the child to clarify and elaborate on interesting features. Unfamiliar vocabulary is also identified and explained.

The next step involves reading orally in unison. The child should be directed to keep pace with the adult reader even if some of the words are not read correctly. If the child happens to trip on a word he/she must catch up to the reading guide to maintain the reading flow. This will develop the ability to read ahead rather than reading word by word. It also enhances fluency because the reader must predict and sample larger chunks of text to maintain the pace and flow.

Often unskilled readers are quite surprised by how quickly their reading improves after only a few sessions.

Fluency Part 5 Highlight Phrases

Fluency is not just about reading words accurately and with speed, it also includes prosody and comprehension. Prosody is reading with expression and it includes using appropriate intonation, pitch, modulation and pausing. There would seem to be a close relationship between prosody and comprehension.

A major problem that can minimise reading comprehension is slow word-by-word reading. This style of reading eats up limited working memory resources and stifles expressive reading. One effective way to maximise working-memory resources and to enhance prosody is to chunk the reading by reading whole phrases rather than individual words.

This can be done by using a highlighter to highlight phrases on a photocopy of a storybook page (or a highlighted word doc.). The reading guide then models the reading by reading each phrase and using the appropriate expression. The child then reads by following the expert reader's example.

Fluency Part 3 Words within words

One way to develop fluency is to look for words within words.. For example, the word 'updated' has 'date' as its base word with the 'up-' as a prefix and 'ed' as a suffix. The word 'updated' can be made easier to read when the word within-the-word (date) is recognised automatically and the affixes are tacked on.


The more information that readers have to process the slower the reading will become and the less fluent it will sound. However, reading is made easier when information is processed in larger chunks. The larger the chunk the more efficient the reading will become.

Good readers look for cues while they are reading. They sample the text for the best cues that will enable them to work out the word by touching the fewest possible bases.  Α good  reader may apply a number of sampling strategies. They may predict words by sampling the first letter and/or consider the overall shape of the word to confirm to correct their predictions. Sometimes they will see a word within a word and recognise it automatically. This process minimises the amount of information that needs to be processed and enables fluent reading to take place.

One useful method to help children do this is to use the 'L' plates or two 'L' shapes pieces of plastic to focus attention on a word within a word. Often, the other letters in the word will interfere with the identification of the root word so this masking technique is used initially to enable focal attention. To make the 'L' plates take an ice-cream container lid and cut out two small 'L' shapes. Invert one of the 'L's to form a rectangle so that they can be adjusted in relation to one another to fit neatly around the root word and mask the affixes. In the example below the word 'flapping' was masked to show the root word 'flap'.

Initially, this process should be modelled by the adult. The child should then use it to do the same independently. Eventually there will be no need to keep using the 'L' plates and the reader will recognise the root words automatically.