Skip to main content

Maximizing Repeated Readings: the Effects of a Multicomponent Reading Fluency Intervention for Children with Reading Difficulties

Contemporary School Psychology volume 24, pages 217–227 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Repeated reading (RR) is one of the most widely studied reading fluency interventions. The procedure has been studied independently, as well as in conjunction with up to five different add-on intervention components. Such add-on interventions target skills, including syllable segmentation, grammar, and vocabulary, each of which has been identified as essential to becoming an effective reader. However, despite the importance of each of these skills, no study has evaluated the combination of all previously explored add-on components into a single reading fluency intervention paired with RR. A multiple baseline with withdrawal (ABAB) single subject design methodology was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a multicomponent reading intervention with three students experiencing reading difficulties. Visual analysis indicated clear positive effects of the intervention. Additionally, using non-overlap of all pairs, strong effect sizes were detected for the intervention across all participants. Implications for practice, limitations, and future directions are all explored.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1

References

  • Allington, R. L. (1983). The reading instruction provided readers of differing abilities. Elementary School Journal, 83, 548–559.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alves, K. D., Kennedy, M. J., Brown, T. S., & Solis, M. (2015). Story grammar instruction with third and fifth grade students with learning disabilities and other struggling readers. Learning Disabilities -- A Contemporary Journal, 13(1), 73–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ardoin, S. P., Williams, J. C., Klubnik, C., & McCall, M. (2009). Three versus six rereadings of practice passages. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42(2), 375–380. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2009.42-375.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Begeny, J. C., & Silber, J. M. (2006). An examination of group-based treatment packages for increasing elementary-aged students’ reading fluency. Psychology in the Schools, 43(2), 183–195. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.20138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Begeny, J. C., Daly, E. J., III, & Valleley, R. J. (2006). Improving oral reading fluency through response opportunities: a comparison of phrase drill error correction with repeated readings. Journal of Behavioral Education, 15(4), 229–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Begeny, J. C., Krouse, H. E., Ross, S. G., & Mitchell, R. C. (2009). Increasing elementary-aged students’ reading fluency with small-group interventions: a comparison of repeated reading, listening passage preview, and listening only strategies. Journal of Behavioral Education, 18(3), 211–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biemiller, A. (1977). Relationships between oral reading rates for letters, words, and simple text in the development of reading achievement. Reading Research Quarterly, 13(2), 223–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonfiglio, C. M., Daly, E. J., III, Persampieri, M., & Andersen, M. (2006). An experimental analysis of the effects of reading interventions in a small group reading instruction context. Journal of Behavioral Education, 15(2), 92–108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-006-9009-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, J. W., Tunmer, W. E., & Prochnow, J. E. (2000). Early reading-related skills and performance, reading self-concept, and the development of academic self-concept: a longitudinal study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(4), 703–708.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehri, L. C. (1995). Stages of development in learning to read words by sight. Journal of Research in Reading, 18, 116–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehri, L. C. (1998). Grapheme-phoneme knowledge is essential for learning to read words in English. In J. L. Metsala & L. C. Ehri (Eds.), Word recognition in beginning literacy (pp. 3–40). Mahwah: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelzheiser, L. M., Scanlon, D., Vellutino, F., Hallgren-Flynn, L., & Schatschneider, C. (2011). Effects of the interactive strategies approach--extended: a responsive and comprehensive intervention for intermediate-grade struggling readers. Elementary School Journal, 112(2), 280–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins, R. O., Hale, A., Sheeley, W., & Ling, S. (2011). Repeated reading and vocabulary-previewing interventions to improve fluency and comprehension for struggling high-school readers. Psychology in the Schools, 48(1), 59–77. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.20545.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, K., Wickstrom, K., Noltemeyer, A., Brown, S., Schuka, J., & Therrien, W. (2009). An experimental analysis of reading fluency. Journal of Behavioral Education, 18(1), 35–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-009-9082-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kratochwill, T. R., Hitchcock, J. H., Horner, R. H., Levin, J. R., Odom, S. L., Rindskopf, D. M., & Shadish, W. R. (2013). Single-case intervention research design standards. Remedial and Special Education, 34(1), 26–38.

  • Klubnik, C., & Ardoin, S. (2010). Examining immediate and maintenance effects of a reading intervention package on generalization materials: individual verses group implementation. Journal of Behavioral Education, 19(1), 7–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-009-9096-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kostewicz, D. E., & Kubina, R. J. (2010). A comparison of two reading fluency methods: repeated readings to a fluency criterion and interval sprinting. Reading Improvement, 47(1), 43–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kratochwill, T. R., Hitchcock, J., Horner, R. H., Levin, J. R., Odom, S. L., Rindskopf, D. M., & Shadish, W. R. (2010). Single-case designs technical documentation. Retrieved from what works clearinghouse website: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/wwc_scd.pdf. May 2016

  • Kubina, R. M., Jr., Amato, J., Schwilk, C. L., & Therrien, W. J. (2008). Comparing performance standards on the retention of words read correctly per minute. Journal of Behavioral Education, 7, 328–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LaBerge, D., & Samuels, S. J. (1974). Toward a theory of automatic information process in reading. Cognitive Psychology, 6(2), 293–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J., & Yoon, S. Y. (2017). The effects of repeated reading on reading fluency for students with reading disabilities: a meta-analysis. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 50(2), 213–224.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathes, P. G., Simmons, D. C., & Davis, B. I. (1992). Assisted reading techniques for developing reading fluency. Reading Research and Instruction, 31(4), 70–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Musti-Rao, S., Hawkins, R. O., & Barkley, E. A. (2009). Effects of repeated readings on the oral reading fluency of urban fourth-grade students: implications for practice. Preventing School Failure, 54(1), 12–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Assessment of Educational Progress. (2015). National achievement level results. Washington, DC: Author Retrieved from http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_2015/#reading/acl?grade=4. May 2016

  • National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read: an evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker, R. I., & Vannest, K. (2009). An improved effect size for single-case research: nonoverlap of all pairs. Behavior Therapy, 40(4), 357–367.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearson. (2012). AIMSweb. San Antonio: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pikulski, J. J., & Chard, D. J. (2005). Fluency: Bridge between decoding and reading comprehension. Reading Teacher, 58(6), 510–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samuels, S. J. (1979). The method of repeated readings. The Reading Teacher, 32, 756–760.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanovich, K. E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 22, 360–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Staubitz, J. E., Cartledge, G., Yurick, A. L., & Lo, Y. (2005). Repeated reading for students with emotional or behavioral disorders: peer-and trainer-mediated instruction. Behavioral Disorders, 31(1), 51–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Therrien, W. J. (2004). Fluency and comprehension gains as a result of repeated reading: a meta-analysis. Remedial and Special Education, 25(4), 252–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Therrien, W. J., & Kubina, R. J. (2007). The importance of context in repeated reading. Reading Improvement, 44(4), 179–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valleley, R. J., & Shriver, M. D. (2003). An examination of the effects of repeated readings with secondary students. Journal of Behavioral Education, 12(1), 55–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaughn, S., Fletcher, J. M., Francis, D. J., Denton, C. A., Wanzek, J., Wexler, J., … Romain, M. (2008). Response to intervention with older students with reading difficulties. Learning and Individual Differences, 18, 338–345.

  • Wu, S., Gadke, D. L., & Stratton, K. K. (2018). Using video self-modeling as a small group reading fluency intervention for elementary school students. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 34(4), 297–315. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377903.2018.1443984.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Foundations, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA

    Shengtian Wu, Kasee K. Stratton & Daniel L. Gadke

Authors
  1. Shengtian Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kasee K. Stratton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Daniel L. Gadke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kasee K. Stratton.

Ethics declarations

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wu, S., Stratton, K.K. & Gadke, D.L. Maximizing Repeated Readings: the Effects of a Multicomponent Reading Fluency Intervention for Children with Reading Difficulties. Contemp School Psychol 24, 217–227 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-019-00248-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-019-00248-x

Keywords

  • Reading fluency
  • Repeated reading
  • Curriculum-based measurement