The Impact of Singing-Integrated Reading Instruction on the Oral Reading Fluency and Motivation of Elementary Students in an Out-of-School Time Program

Abstract

THE IMPACT OF SINGING-INTEGRATED READING INSTRUCTION ON THE ORAL READING FLUENCY AND MOTIVATION OF ELEMENTARY STUDENTS IN AN OUTOF-SCHOOL TIME PROGRAM By Yvette Marie Moorehead-Carter, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015 Director: Dr. Valerie J. Robnolt, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Teaching and Learning School of Education The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of singing-integrated reading instruction on the oral reading fluency and motivation of elementary students in an after school program. Participants were third graders (n = 29) who attended the singing-integrated oral reading fluency (SI ORF) intervention twice a week for eight weeks. Components of the intervention included teacher-modeling of fluent oral reading, oral support, repeated reading and singing activities from a variety of children’s literature, and individual free-time. The adapted Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS; McKenna & Kear, 1990) measured recreational, academic, and composite reading attitudes. The Qualitative Reading Inventory – 5 (QRI-5; Leslie & Caldwell, 2011) measured the following fluency components: Word Recognition in Isolation (WRI), both Correct Automatic and Total Number Correct, Word Recognition in Context (WRC), and reading rate, calculated as Words per Minute (WPM). Pretests and posttests for components of both assessments were compared using paired-samples t – tests. Data analyses of adapted ERAS mean percentage scores revealed a statistically significant decline in recreational reading attitude, no statistically significant difference in academic reading attitude, and a decline that approached significance in participants’ overall reading attitudes. QRI-5 scores revealed a statistically significant increase from pretest to posttest in WRI Correct Automatic, WRI Total Number Correct, WRC, and reading rate scores. The after-school environment offered a viable option for SI ORF instruction and was free from restraints that can accompany high-stakes testing environments in the traditional school setting. Overall, participants were attentive and enthusiastic, particularly enjoying the singing and repeated lyrics components of the intervention.