Development of reading fluency in grades 1 and 2 in schools using Beginning Literacy

Abstract

Achieving good reading fluency is an important aspect of literacy learning and is generally emphasised in the early years of reading instruction. In Iceland formal reading instruction begins at age six when children enter elementary school. According to the Icelandic national curriculum guide for elementary schools, children should be capable of reading smoothly and effortlessly by the end of grade 4. Beginning Literacy (BL) is an approach to literacy education in the first two years of elementary school, developed collaboratively by the Centre of School Development at the University of Akureyri and elementary school teachers around Iceland. BL is based on an interactive model of literacy learning and emphasises balanced literacy instruction, including reading, writing, oral expression and listening. The approach also draws on learning theories of constructivism and inclusive education, where every child is meant to learn within their class community by means of interdependent collaboration, scaffolding, active learning and other means of adapting learning to the various needs of children. Previous studies on BL have examined the implementation of the method in schools. Teaching in BL schools has been examined and it has been evaluated how well it aligns with the concepts of effective literacy instruction. However, there have so far been no studies on the progress in reading skills of children in BL schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of children’s reading abilities in grades 1–2 in schools using the BL approach. Specifically, the study aimed to examine how their letter knowledge and reading fluency develop in grades 1–2 and whether the progress of children identified as at risk for reading difficulties at the beginning of grade 1 differs from that of children not identified as at risk.

A total of 314 children from 11 schools employing BL were followed through grade 1 and 2. At the beginning of grade 1 a screening test for reading difficulties was administered. Letter knowledge was estimated three times in grade 1 and reading fluency was assessed twice in grade 1 and three times in grade 2. The results were compared with results of previous studies on Icelandic children’s letter knowledge and official data on reading fluency for children across all schools in Iceland.
The results show comparable progress in letter knowledge and reading fluency within the research group as amongst other Icelandic children. When children enter elementary school their letter knowledge is generally well established, and by the end of first grade most children know the names and sounds of all or nearly all the letters. Only 3% of the children still know less than two-thirds of the letters of the alphabet by the end of grade 1, which is a smaller proportion than in former research on Icelandic children’s letter knowledge. The average number of words read correctly per minute was on all data points the same for the research group as for Icelandic children nationwide, and the distribution was also comparable. Large individual differences were observed in children’s performance and progress. Children identified as at risk for reading difficulties based on the screening test at the beginning of grade 1 made less progress than those not identified as at risk. Similar findings have been reported in other research on reading development in Icelandic children. Previous research
also suggests that, despite the widespread use of screening tests for reading difficulties in Icelandic schools, there is often uncertainty about how to follow up with at-risk students. The BL approach emphasises inclusion and adapted teaching, where individual needs should be addressed within the classroom through differentiated tasks and support. The findings of this study raise questions about how learning adaptations are implemented in this approach and whether teachers require additional support to effectively meets the needs of all students.