Running head: UNDERACHIEVEMENT IN READING 1

Student Motivation and Reading Underachievement

Shamira Coye
Galen University
Chapter 2 Assignment
Student Motivation and Reading Under Achievement 2

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction
The ability to read and understand is a significant aspect of daily living. The topics of
fluency and comprehension have become prevalent in the education systems of countries across
the world. Many countries are faced with poor literacy skills which may lead to a number of
societal problems. It can be concluded then, that reading is very important skill to have in order
to become successful members of a society. Since many people are faced with this issue, various
researches have been done in order to identify theories which aim at attaining optimal reading
ability. These theories form the basis of reading interventions which have been developed and
tested in order to improve students’ fluency and in turn comprehension skills.
Researchers have highlighted the relationship between fluency and comprehension and
view one as the stepping stone of the other. Being a fluent reader will allow students to gain a
better understanding of what the passage is conveying. According to Reading Fluency (2015),
“The NRP defines fluent reading as reading with speed, accuracy and proper expression.” Proper
expression is usually termed as “prosody” which can be broken down into phrasing and
intonation. Many reading level tests do not test prosody as it is difficult to find a scale to measure
this. Therefore, accuracy and speed are tested in most fluency tests. According to Defining
Comprehension, reading comprehension is defined as “the process of simultaneously extracting
and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language.” In order
to gain understanding, students must read as smoothly as they would talk in conversation.
In this review, various strategies and interventions will be analyzed in order to understand
the scope of the problem. Methods which have already been in place will be discussed to
determine areas of strengths and weaknesses in the different intervention programs. This will be
used as a basis of guiding the action research and “bridging the gap” between similar researches
in this area.

Repeated Reading
Repeated Reading is a popular theory which addresses both fluency skills and
comprehension attainment. According to Everything You Wanted (2017), the founders of this
theory are S.J. Samuels and Carol Chomsky who found that having students read repeatedly
improved their reading ability. Their studies were carried out in the late 70s when the theory was
established. Today, many teachers use this theory as a basis of their reading intervention
programs in their classrooms. They use this strategy or adapt parts of it to suit the children in
their classroom. With this intervention, students are given a passage which they would not be
able to read easily in order to see the growth in their reading. They read the passage repeatedly
until they reach a bench mark for where fluency is attained. In order to test this, they must read
to the teacher who will score them based on the number of accurate words read. The idea is that
students would be able to correct errors every time that they reread the passage and also develop
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a deeper understanding of the passage through the many readings. Some teachers used audio
recordings of the story while others modelled reading the story before students read on their own
(Samuels, 2011). This theory has formed the basis of many intervention programs over years and
have reaped favorable results in both fluency and comprehension. A study conducted by Angela
and Philip Roundy (2009) revealed the benefits of using this program. The study was done using
110 grade 7 students who went through the above procedures of repeatedly reading passages
until they met the criterion of words per minute. Results showed that the average words per
minute of the sample almost doubled. In the weeks that followed, the number of words per
minute exceeded the criterion consecutively. In addition, the amount of time necessary to
complete a session also decreased after week two of the program. According to the study, as
fluency increased comprehension was “positively” affected. Further benefits also included the
rise in self-esteem of students who have made great improvements in their reading and
understanding. In this case and others repeated reading has showed more positive than negative
outcomes. The program chosen for this action research is greatly influenced by Repeated
Reading.
Pair Assisted Learning Strategies
The Pair Assisted Learning Strategy is another intervention program which uses pair
reading as a means of improving fluency and comprehension. According to Topping (2014), this
strategy is conducted with the assistance of a peer or tutor. Students are able to read passages
which they would not normally be able to read independently. The reading level of the peer/tutor
should be above the student being assisted. Reading will be done together at first and when the
student encounters an unknown word, the tutor will provide the word and continue to read with
the student. Only when the student needs support, the tutor will read along or say the unknown
word and ensure that the student repeats with accurate pronunciation. It important to note that
during this process the student tutor also develops his/her skills in the same areas through their
assistance. Lauri Patterson (2013) did an extensive research on the impact of this intervention on
the reading achievement of elementary children in urban areas. One case highlighted in the study
was conducted for 16 weeks at three sessions of 35 minutes per week. Upon examining the
results there was a great improvement with the group using the Pair Assisted Learning Strategy
than those in the control group. According to Toppings (Patterson, 2013) there are many benefits
of this program which includes students ability to work independently using critical thinking as
well as a apart of a team, it aids traditional teaching rather than excluding it and it allows
students to receive positive feedback while teachers do not need to do direct teaching. The Pair
Assisted strategy is clearly established from the benefits and ideas of the Cooperative Learning
Theory which highlights the significance of students learning together and from each other.

Read Naturally Program

The Read Naturally Program which was detailed in chapter one is the intervention
program which will be used in this paper. Having reviewed the elements and results of studies
utilizing this program, it seemed to be the most suitable tool in order to develop fluency and
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comprehension in students. This program uses an aspect of Repeated Reading as well as the Pair
Assisted Learning Strategy. The main strategies employed in this program are Teacher
Modelling, Repeated Reading and Progress Monitoring. Students are able to listen to a fluent
reading of the story after which they will read the story 3 or more times to themselves and
complete comprehension activities. They are able to monitor their progress by using a chart
showing the difference between cold (before repeated reading and comprehension activities) and
hot time (after repeated reading and comprehension activities). Students realize that after
repeated reading their scores of words correct per minute usually increases. Various studies have
been done which show the effectiveness of this program which was developed by Candyce Ihnot
and her husband Tom Ihnot. A study done in Southern California with 12 third grade students
over 10 weeks revealed that the students using the program got an average increase of 22 words
per minute while the control group had an increase of 1 word per minute (Wright, 2016). The
group using the program had an average increase in comprehension of 5% correct answers while
the control group had no increase (Wright, 2016). This along with other studies, prove that this
program does make a difference.

Other Programs
There are many other intervention programs and strategies which exist to address reading
fluency and comprehension. These include DEAR (Drop Everything and Read), Choral Reading,
Reading Rescue, Reading Recovery, Cloze Reading including computerized programs like
Accelerated Reader. The number of interventions available reveal the extent to which this
problem exists in the world. They are various programs which are designed to address reading
issues at various grade levels. Therefore, the programs may address different areas in reading
based on the level such as phonemic awareness, phonics which may be suitable for the lower
grades. While fluency, comprehension and vocabulary are usually address when the
phonological foundation has already been set.

Analysis
Each intervention program may have its benefits and its detriments. The Repeated
Reading program allows students to master reading passages and improve their skills by
constantly reading. It is indeed the truth that the best way to teach reading is through reading.
Through this strategy, students are able to develop their skills and learn from their mistakes due
to immediate feedback. The Pair Assisted Learning Strategy focuses more on cooperative
learning than repeating. However, like the Repeated Reading Program there is feedback given
from someone that is more knowledgeable. Both programs realize the importance of feedback
and its effect on student improvement. In some cases Repeated Reading allows students to listen
to a recording of the passage which is effective in having them practice to read fluently by
having an example. According to Rymanowicz (2015) “Children learn and imitate behaviors by
watching and listening to others.” Listening to fluent reading is an effective way for students to
adapt fluent reading. The Read Naturally Program is an ideal program as it uses both feedback
Student Motivation and Reading Under Achievement 5

and repeated reading. This program allows students to be guided while working independently to
achieve their goals. They are able to see the growth like in the Repeated Reading Program which
maintains their interest. These programs may also have their downfalls such as loss of interest
due to repeated reading, the number children in the intervention program, lack of resources, etc.
In the pair reading program, students may feel like they are not as “smart” as their tutor partner.
Each program has their strengths and weakness which are determined by local factors. Therefore
it is important to assess the individual class and use strategies from various interventions to
create an individualized plan to suit their needs.

Chapter Summary
In this chapter intervention plans and strategies in place to address the problem of poor
fluency and comprehension skills were reviewed. The programs reviewed include the Repeated
Reading Program, the Pair Assisted Learning Strategy and the Read Naturally Program. Other
programs were also mentioned which may be used to address fluency and comprehension issues.
From reviewing the literature it can be noted that there are strengths and weaknesses to each
intervention; therefore, it is significant to analyze the needs of the children as well as other
factors before choosing an intervention plan.