Read Naturally Case Studies
In schools throughout North America, Read Naturally has helped students signficantly improve their reading fluency. These case studies are just a sample of the positive results from Read Naturally programs.
The fall 1999 issue of Reading Research and Instruction includes the article "Read Naturally: A Strategy to Increase Oral Reading Fluency," which highlights some of these cases and discusses the benefits of the Read Naturally strategy.
Case 1: Original Study, Minneapolis, Minn.
During the 1989–1990 school year, Candyce Ihnot combined teacher modeling, repeated reading, and progress monitoring into the Read Naturally strategy in a third grade classroom at a large Minneapolis public school. The classroom consisted of seven third-grade special education students and 18 Title I students. Because the school used a collaborative model for delivering instruction to students with special needs, a classroom teacher, a special education teacher, and a Title I teacher (Candyce Ihnot) worked together to provide instruction to the students.
During her time with the seven special education students, Candyce used the Read Naturally strategy to supplement instruction in the basal. During her time with the Title I students, Candyce provided instruction in phonics to supplement instruction in the basal. At the end of seven weeks the special education students (using the Read Naturally strategy) improved their reading fluency by an average of 2.35 words per week. The Title I students made an average gain of 1.23 words per week.
After seeing the results from the previous seven weeks, Candyce then used the Read Naturally strategy with the Title I students over 13 weeks. During the 13 weeks, these students gained an average of 2.15 words per week. The instruction they received from the classroom teacher and the special education teacher remained constant between the two periods.
Special
Education with Read Naturally |
Title
I |
||
|
October |
Mean |
34.0 |
50.2 |
Standard
Deviation |
8.7 |
11.9 |
|
| November | Mean |
50.7 |
58.7 |
Standard
Deviation |
9.0 |
13.2 |
|
| March | Mean |
— |
86.7 |
Standard
Deviation |
— |
16.2 |
|
Average
Weekly Gain |
Mean |
2.35 |
1.23* |
Standard
Deviation |
— |
2.15** |
**With Read Naturally