Meaning Matters

Written by Lauren Mitsis

How often do your students go home being able to successfully and independently read a text? Make it a priority!

Poems and songs are a wonderful achievable opportunity for students to learn to read something well and be able to share it at home.

After listening to the key note speaker, Dr. Timothy Rasinski at MRA, I am reminded that:

• Fluency is the bridge from words to comprehension.

• 75-90% of kids that have comprehension problems also have fluency problems.

• Singing is a powerful way to improve fluency, specifically to enhance comprehension and prosody. Songs can be chosen for their content as well.

 • Repeated readings are a research based effective instructional tool.Yet they are even more meaningful when given a purpose to use that reading for future use.