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21
Support Materials for Students with Special Education Needs
English K–6
R
eading
Repeated reading
The teacher provides students with the opportunity to re-read the same passage three to
five times. Re-reading a passage reduces the demands on memory, enabling students to focus
on text meaning. Repeated reading is most effective when it is paired with comprehension
activities. This requires students to focus on the meaning of the text as they read (Chard et al
2002), which is the ultimate goal of reading.
The teacher reinforces the importance of reading accurately and corrects words that are read
incorrectly. The teacher asks students to re-read sentences in which they made an error.
The teacher may read the passage or provide students with a recorded passage prior to asking the
student to read the text, so that they can hear how the passage should sound and be phrased.
Graphing a student’s oral reading fluency (number of words read correctly using a one-minute
sample) for a particular passage can be used to record students’ progress and provide
motivating feedback.
As a student achieves fluency criteria, the teacher should increase the difficulty of the text
that the student is using for repeated reading (Chard et al 2002).
The teacher asks the student to read for one minute from an appropriate text, noting the
number of words read correctly in a minute. The level of text difficulty should be kept
consistent if the purpose is to assess progress (Mastropieri & Scruggs 2002).
IMPLEMENTATION
Oral reading fluency criteria in correct words per minute (cwpm)
(Carnine et al 2010)
Stage
Mid Stage 1 Later Stage 1 Stage 2
Stage 3
Correct words per
minute (cwpm)
45–60
75–110
120–150
150+
Comprehension
The basis for early reading comprehension is oral comprehension. Before learning to read,
students develop oral comprehension through talking and listening. As students develop
decoding skills and link written language to their knowledge of oral language, reading
comprehension develops (Rose 2006; National Inquiry 2005).
One of the best predictors of reading comprehension is a student’s ability to decode with
accuracy and fluency (Justice 2006). Fluent reading enables students to focus on meaning
and ‘read to learn’ thus extending their vocabulary and general knowledge.
Effective readers have a purpose for their reading and use their knowledge of vocabulary
and language structures to support their understanding. Effective readers also use a range
of
Following are examples of how teachers may utilise effective procedures to support students
in the development of knowledge, skills and strategies for comprehension.