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Galen University
THE READ NATURAL PROGRAM AND READING UNDERACHIEVEMENT IN
READING
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
Introduction
One of the major problems which seen in the Belizean Education System is the low
reading levels of students across the country. This problem however is significant as it not only
affects the country of Belize, but many other nations throughout the world. As a result of this,
many interventions have been established and put in place in order to see growth in the reading
and comprehension levels of students. This issue has been prevalent in the Belizean society and
many schools are searching for a way that will effectively address it. In light of this, a program
has been introduced and has been reinforced in some schools. This program is the Read
Naturally Program developed by Candyce and Tom Ihnot which aims to increase fluency and in
turn comprehension skills through the strategy of repeated reading. In this paper, the effects of
the Read Natural Program and Reading Underachievement in Reading will be analyzed. Other
schools will be able to use this study as a basis of recognizing whether or not this program will
be of significant use to their students’ Language Arts development specifically in the areas of
Background
School. What I have noticed year after year in my professional experience is that many students
are disadvantaged by the fact that they are below their reading grade level. This problem not only
affects their ability to perform in Language Arts and all other subject areas, but also affects their
performance on national exams such as the Belize Junior Achievement Test (BJAT) and the
Primary School Examination (PSE). The fact that the invigilators are not able to read the exams
THE READ NATURAL PROGRAM AND READING UNDERACHIEVEMENT IN
READING
for the students greatly impacts their results. This issue is so alarming at Holy Redeemer, that the
school has recognized and accepted that a problem exists in the level of reading amongst
students throughout the class levels. Since identifying this issue, administrators have been
comprehension skills. The issue of students reading below their grade level exists in most
schools in Belize, not just Holy Redeemer School. As a result of this, the Ministry of Education
(MOE) launched the Literacy as a National Priority program with the theme: “Literacy – an
essential skill for social participation” (Moody, 2018). This program aimed at improving literacy
through the use of technology and non-traditional teaching strategies. It was piloted 2017 with 9
schools in the lower division (Moody, 2018). According to the article Mr. Faber (Minister of
Education) sees the need for reading as a means of functioning as a part of society. While the
chief education officer, Ms. Carol Babb spoke on the effect of literacy on the students’ low
performances. Other literacy initiatives in Belize include the Belize Literacy Program which was
done in partnership with the Rotary Clubs in Belize (Belize Literacy), and Restore Belize’s
Literacy Program which equips young adults with the necessary skills to be literate enough to
Like Belize, many other countries in the Caribbean face this same issue and have been
putting interventions in place in order to address low literacy rates in schools. Jamaica for
instance has employed interventions such as the Grade 4 Literacy Intervention Programme
(McLean, 2013), LAC READS Capacity Programme (Linton, 2016) and a Literacy Pull Out
Programme (Sudu, 2011) which was done for high school students. In addition, an article written
by Fabien Pierre (Continuing the Fight, 2014), he states that “Literacy remains at an alarmingly
THE READ NATURAL PROGRAM AND READING UNDERACHIEVEMENT IN
READING
low level in T&T (Trinidad and Tobago). The article goes on to address ways in which the
problem can be tackled. A study done by Dr. Pauslon Skerrit noted that data in Trinidad and Tobago
showed that 80% of students were performing at the low international benchmark in reading (Concerns as
T&T Falls, 2017). It is evident that reading and literacy problems exist throughout the Caribbean
region.
Not surprisingly, the issue of reading below grade level also expands into the larger
community of countries across the world. Hence, this problem can be said to be a global issue.
According to the International Literacy Association, 12% of the world’s population is considered
functionally illiterate, 781 million people worldwide cannot read nor write and 126 million
youths are illiterate (Why Literacy?). Statistics from The National Children’s Book and Literacy
Alliance found that 65% of U.S. fourth grade students scored below proficient on the National
Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) reading test. With a problem of this nature and
magnitude, there have been various interventions put into place to enhance the reading level and
comprehension of students.
Problem
Reading at the accurate grade level is an issue in many schools in Belize. Apart from this
is the fact that some students can read but lack basic comprehension skills. The emphasis is
intervention for reading, it must be noted that comprehension is a major aspect of reading.
Students perform poorly in the Comprehension component of Language Arts even with the
ability to read words fluently. Yes it is important for students to master Phonemic Awareness and
Phonics at the lower grades but Comprehension Skills are sometimes being neglected. According
THE READ NATURAL PROGRAM AND READING UNDERACHIEVEMENT IN
READING
to an article produced by the Belize Development Trust, “The biggest problem with literacy in
literacy rates for each district in Belize and emphasizes the facts that comprehension rates are
unknown. In light of this, the program that will be used for this intervention is one that focuses
The Read Natural Program is a researched based program which uses three strategies to
enhance reading proficiency. These strategies are Teacher Modelling, Repeated Reading and
Progress Monitoring. In this program the teacher models fluent reading to the students after
which the students repeatedly read the passages and do comprehension activities. Students are
monitored throughout the program and use a chart in which they colour to show how much more
words they read per minute after using the Repeated Reading strategy (Read Naturally Strategy).
Before the program is implemented, students are given a pretest to determine their reading level.
Based on this level, students will receive a folder with relevant stories and workbook. These are
the tools which students will use to work with on a 6 weeks basis to work on improving fluency
and comprehension skills. After, a post test will be given to see the impact of the program on
A study done by Heistad (2004) among two schools in Minneapolis revealed that the
group of students using the program in both schools showed reading gains on their average
scores in three reading assessments. A research done by Curt Foust on the Effect of Prosody
based on the Read Naturally Program showed that the students who used the program all had
increases in the amount of accurate words read per minute while using the program (Does
Reading Naturally, 2010). In addition, a four school study which was conducted on a one year
THE READ NATURAL PROGRAM AND READING UNDERACHIEVEMENT IN
READING
basis, revealed that students using the program increased performance in vocabulary, oral
reading and comprehension (Heistad). In all my reviews of the program, I have found positive
results which guided my choice of utilizing this program as my focus for this action research.
Purpose Statement
The purpose of this action research study is to explore why students are reading below
grade level. According to Read Naturally, fluency is the ability to speak the way you talk and
entails accurate reading of connected text at a conversational rate with appropriate prosody and
comprehension. Comprehension is defined as, “extracting meaning from what you read”
(Comprehension: The Goal of Reading). Researchers believe that when one can read fluently,
Research Questions
1. To what extent does the Read Naturally Program affect students’ performance in
Language Arts?
2. To what extent does the Read Naturally Program affect students’ fluency and
comprehension skills?
Significance
This action research will serve as a means of evaluating the progress of the Read Natural
Program Intervention being used in Holy Redeemer School. It can be used as a means of
gathering data for the school on the implementation of the program and to make relevant
evaluate the program so that other schools in the country or region are able to see the effects of
such a program on a local school. It will also expose teachers to utilize strategies in order to
bridge the gap in the reading level disparities in schools across the country.
Limitations
In carrying out this action research, time will be a limitation. The program should be used
for at least 7 weeks in order to see results; however, in this research the program will be run for
six weeks due to time constraints. Other limitations included unavoidable absences such as
sickness, early dismissal due to Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) meetings, and a bomb
threat done to the school. These absences took time away from the program which is done after
school. Furthermore, the sample size may have needed to be extended across the districts and in
more schools rather than just one school in Belize City to have more precise results.
Definition of Terms
1. Repeated Reading- Repeated reading is an academic practice that aims to increase oral
reading fluency. Repeated reading can be used with students who have developed initial
word reading skills but demonstrate inadequate reading fluency for their grade level.
During repeated reading, a student sits in a quiet location with a teacher and reads a
4. Language Arts- The study of the English Language through the components of Phonics,
5. Fluency- The ability to read with speed, accuracy and proper expression.
Chapter Summary
performance scores in reading tests and national tests and to equip students with skills to be able
to be literate members of society, interventions must be put in place. Realizing this problem and
choosing to be proactive, many countries have put interventions in place which are developed by
researchers. While some programs such as the Read Natural Program has benefits on some
countries, there may be implications when used in other countries. This research will show the
effects of the Read Natural Program and Reading Underachievement in Reading. Finding
programs which work locally will be able to help the region to battle this problem of reading and
literacy.