Explicit Comprehension Strategy Instruction and the Effect on Oral Reading Fluency of English Learners

The research question addressed in this project was: Does instruction that focuses on specific comprehension strategies with ELs affect ELs’ reading abilities when measured with criteria valid only with native-English speakers’ progress tracking? The motivation for this capstone was a desire to discover whether explicit instruction of ELs in reading comprehension strategies would show growth when assessed with materials use with native-English speaking students such as Fountas and Pinnell’s Benchmark Assessment System, oral reading fluency progress monitoring, and comprehension assessment of passages read orally. The project, a six-week study, was completed with four second grade participants. The study found that explicit comprehension strategy instruction does affect assessed reading ability. There was a greater positive effect shown on pre- and post-study assessment than on weekly assessment