A Student\u27s Movement and It\u27s Effect on a Student\u27s Reading Fluency Development

The purpose of this research is to determine whether movement in the classroom helps enhance a student’s reading fluency. The study aims to look at younger students to see how movement helps, or hurts, their reading fluency. The study aims to help educators understand if movement helps student’s fluency improve or if the movement is a distraction that doesn’t help students improve. Student’s will take a pre-test prior to the implementation of movement and then be given a post-test once the four-week study has been completed. One classroom, with 19 students, will incorporate movement during the reading block. A different second-grade class, with 19 students, will not have movement during this study. Movement students were allowed to take 1-2-minute movement breaks during their hour long reading block. Students were given instructions of what movements they would do, but conducted these movements on their own. Sample movements were: push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, vertical jumps and running in place. The non-movement students went about their reading block in usual fashion. They were not given an opportunity for extra movement. Following the conclusion of this study, the movement classroom students have asked to continue movement breaks throughout their reading block. The results of this study found that movement enhanced a student’s oral reading fluency. Students that were allowed movement breaks had an average oral reading fluency growth rate of 11.5 words per minute. The non-movement classroom averaged an oral reading fluency growth rate of 9.9 words per minute. If this pattern continues over the course of the school year, that would be a difference of 13.5 words per minute. Results will be shared with grade-level team members with the recommendation of incorporating movement into their classrooms. If this is found to be successful, recommendations will then be shared with the building principal and teaching staff. The hope is that students can improve their reading fluency and be allowed to incorporate movement into their day. This study has proven that movement has a positive impact on a student’s oral reading fluency