Running head: UNDERACHIEVEMENT IN READING

The Read Natural Program and Reading Underachievement in Reading

Shamira Coye

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

Fluency and Comprehension.

Background

I teach a group of 28 students in a standard 2 classroom at Holy Redeemer Primary

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
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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

searching for a strategy/intervention to address this through improving fluency and

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

find jobs and function as a member of society (Longsworth, 2013).

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
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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

placed on reading; however, comprehension is being neglected. When establishing an

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
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to an article produced by the Belize Development Trust, “The biggest problem with literacy in

Belize is Reading Comprehension” (Literacy of a Nation). In the article it highlights feasible

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

not only on fluency but also the enhancement of comprehension.

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

students’ performance in Language Arts.

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
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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

expression (Fluency). It is believed that fluency is important as it is directly linked to

comprehension. Comprehension is defined as, “extracting meaning from what you read”

(Comprehension: The Goal of Reading). Researchers believe that when one can read fluently,

more understanding of what is being read is taking place.

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

recommendations on how it can be improved to be more productive. It will also be used to

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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

passage aloud at least three times. 

2. Teacher Modelling - Modelling is an instructional strategy in which the teacher

demonstrates a new concept or approach to learning and students learn by observing

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3. Progress Monitoring- Progress monitoring is used to assess students’ academic

performance, to quantify a student rate of improvement or responsiveness to instruction,

and to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction. Progress monitoring can be implemented

with individual students or an entire class.

4. Language Arts- The study of the English Language through the components of Phonics,

Grammar, Spelling, Vocabulary and Comprehension.

5. Fluency- The ability to read with speed, accuracy and proper expression.

6. Comprehension- Comprehension is understanding and interpretation of what is read.

Chapter Summary

Challenges with reading and literacy is a global problem. In order to enhance

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.