English Language Arts and Reading.8.4

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The student is expected to self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.

fluency and self-sustained reading TEKS talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking--self-sustained reading. The student reads grade-appropriate texts independently.

Have students read independently during class time. Monitor and note whether students read independently for a sustained period of time. Consider having students use a stopwatch or timer, enter times in their reading logs, and graph reading times across multiple reading sessions.

Note:

Consider having students complete a written reflection or engage in a conference with the teacher or another student.

Further Explanation

This assessment requires students to choose an appropriate text that they can read without assistance. As students learn more about various types of texts and their features, they use this knowledge while selecting texts for specific purposes. Students improve in their ability to focus on and read texts with experience. Student readers also develop the skills and strategies necessary to navigate challenging ideas or vocabulary they encounter in a text in order to successfully progress through the text on their own for a sustained period of time. Although reading skills develop as students receive more instruction and have more experiences with text, students can self-select a text and read independently for a sustained period of time based on interest alone starting at the beginning of the school year.

Grade-appropriate texts are texts the teacher determines the average student can read with little or no instructional support.
Reading independently using self-selected texts is an important part of building students' reading proficiency over time. Students should be familiar with various types of texts and their features to select texts for specific purposes. Student readers should have the skills and strategies necessary to navigate challenging ideas or vocabulary so they are able to progress through those texts on their own for a sustained period of time. Students at this grade might reread, identify context clues, or consider the text structure to guide understanding and retention of important ideas. Student readers should not feel the need to disengage from the material because they are struggling with too many concepts and require a teacher's assistance.

Research

1. Garan, E. M., & DeVoogd, G. (2008). The benefits of sustained silent reading: Scientific research and common sense converge. The Reading Teacher, 62(4), 3360150344. doi:10.1598/RT.62.4.6

Summary: Garan and DeVoogd offer an overview of the benefits that sustained silent reading (SSR) brings to the classroom. The article includes a brief discussion related to the debate on the use of SSR and provides creative ideas for its full implementation in the classroom. Teachers learn how to use SSR as common practice.   

2. Kim, Y. S. (2015). Developmental, component-based model of reading fluency: An investigation of predictors of word-reading fluency, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 50(4), 459–481. doi:10.1002/rrq.107

Summary: The primary goal of this study is to explain the difference between text reading fluency, word reading fluency, and reading comprehension. The study also explores the relationship between each construct. The study includes listening comprehension, emergent literacy predictors, and language and cognitive predictors. The study investigated the relationship and differences over time (longitudinal scale). The results of the study reveal how each construct interrelates to the development of text reading fluency, word read fluency, and reading comprehension.