Evaluation of oral reading fluency outcomes using the whole-class choral reading strategy and the repeated reading strategy. (c2017)

Abstract

Many students across the world and in Lebanon particularly are struggling to read fluently. The aim of this thesis is to deal with these students by using two methods of intervention, The Repeated Oral Reading (RR) strategy and the Whole-Class Choral Reading strategy (WCCR). The study is conducted in a middle socio-economic school in Lebanon on sixty-eight 5th graders. These students are divided into three groups. The first group received the RR strategy intervention, the second group received the WCCR intervention, and the third group was a control group. Pretests were made to create a baseline to the study. Using texts that are specially made for the Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM) tool, students read for one minute each time. The WCPM, word count per minute, was calculated for each student. CBM scores were analyzed and studied. The results show that the students who receive the Repeated Reading strategy scored better than those receiving the Whole Class Choral Reading strategy. Based on these results, a new oral reading fluency strategy was created: “The Repeated Choral Reading Strategy" which was tested on another set of students and showed significant improvement in students' oral reading fluency. This strategy, a combination of two renowned strategies, elicits students' interests toward reading, creates an appetite for oral reading among students, and motivates the struggling readers to read continuously and with enthusiasm.