A Multi-Genre Presentation!
Let’s Start with a Song
(and a metaphor)
by David Mallett
Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
Gonna mulch it deep and low
Gonna make it fertile ground
Inch by inch, row by row
Please bless these seeds I sow
Please keep them safe below
‘Till the rain comes tumbling down
Slug by slug, weed by weed
Boy this garden's got me teed
All the insects come to feed
On my tomato plants
Sunburt face, skinned up knees
The kitchen's choked with zuchinis
I'm shopping at the A&P's
Next time I get the chance
It’s Still Vacation!
By the Sea
By the sea, by the sea, by the
beautiful sea.
You and me, you and me, oh how
happy we’ll be.
When each wave comes a rolling in
We will float or swim, and we’ll duck
and fool around the water.
Over and under and then up for air.
Pa is rich, Ma is rich, so now what do
we care.
I want to be beside your side beside
the sea beside the seaside, by the
beautiful sea!!!
From: Rebecca I
Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2011 11:04 PM
To: RASINSKI, TIMOTHY
Subject: Singing and Fluency
\
Hi Dr. Rasinski,
Over the summer and again in October you spoke at Teachers College
about the power of singing. I challenged myself in October to begin
singing with my students and they have been singing ever since.
I've thanked you once and have to thank you AGAIN. I have
never seen so much progress in reading. Everyone of my first graders
are reading on grade level (or higher) and they love to sing.
Reader's Theater has also made a difference. You have changed the
way I teach. My students enter my classroom most mornings with their
current song playing. They hum or sing throughout the day.
I am so proud of these joyful learners.
Thank you again,
Becky I
South Street School
Danbury, CT
Now a Word Game –
A Word Ladder
 science
 science
 since
 science
 since
 sin
 science
 since
 sin
 sip
 science
 since
 sin
 sip
 sap
 science
 since
 sin
 sip
 sap
 cap
 science
 since
 sin
 sip
 sap
 cap
 car
 science
 since
 sin
 sip
 sap
 cap
 car
 cart
 Science
 since
 sin
 sip
 sap
 cap
 car
 cart
 Art
!
Whatever Happened to
the Art of Teaching
Reading?
Great Minds Have Recognized the
Importance of Art
“It is the supreme art of the
teacher to awaken joy in creative
expression and knowledge.”
“Imagination is more important
than knowledge!”
Albert Einstein
The Genius of Steve Jobs
Walter Isaacson
NY Times 10/30/2011
“I always thought of myself as a
humanities person, but I liked
electronics. Then I read something
that one my heroes, Edwin Land of
Polaroid, said about the importance
of people who could stand at the
intersection of humanities and
sciences, and I decided that is what I
wanted to do.”
Steve Jobs
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Remember
Understand
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Remember
Understand
Apply
Analyze
Evaluate
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Remember
Understand
Apply
Analyze
Evaluate
Create!
And yet, art is increasingly
diminished in education
“We live in a time that puts a premium
on the measurement of outcomes, …
on the need to be absolutely clear
about what we want to accomplish.
We like our data hard and our
methods stiff – we call it rigor.”
Elliot Eisner (2004)
Reading is a Science

Scientifically based reading instruction
Reading is a Science


Scientifically based reading instruction
Scripted instruction
Reading is a Science



Scientifically based reading instruction
Scripted instruction
NCLB
Reading is a Science




Scientifically based reading instruction
Scripted instruction
NCLB
Fidelity of implementation
Reading is a Science





Scientifically based reading instruction
Scripted instruction
NCLB
Fidelity of implementation
Quantitative benchmarks and cut scores
Reading is a Science






Scientifically based reading instruction
Scripted instruction
NCLB
Fidelity of implementation
Quantitative benchmarks
AYP
Reading is a Science







Scientifically based reading instruction
Scripted instruction
NCLB
Fidelity of implementation
Quantitative benchmarks
AYP
RTI
Reading is a Science








Scientifically based reading instruction
Scripted instruction
NCLB
Fidelity of implementation
Quantitative benchmarks
AYP
RTI
Value Added
Reading is a Science









Scientifically based reading instruction
Scripted instruction
NCLB
Fidelity of implementation
Quantitative benchmarks
AYP
RTI
Value Added
DIBELS (Nonsense word fluency)
Reading is a Science










Scientifically based reading instruction
Scripted instruction
NCLB
Fidelity of implementation
Quantitative benchmarks
AYP
RTI
Value Added
DIBELS (Nonsense word fluency)
Progress monitoring/Endless testing
Reading is a Science











Scientifically based reading instruction
Scripted instruction
NCLB
Fidelity of implementation
Quantitative benchmarks
AYP
RTI
Value Added
DIBELS (Nonsense word fluency)
Progress monitoring/Endless testing
Accountability – determined by testing
Reading is a Science












Scientifically based reading instruction
Scripted instruction
NCLB
Fidelity of implementation
Quantitative benchmarks
AYP
RTI
Value Added
DIBELS (Nonsense word fluency)
Progress monitoring/Endless testing
Accountability – determined by testing
Common core standards
Reading is a Science













Scientifically based reading instruction
Scripted instruction
NCLB
Fidelity of implementation
Quantitative benchmarks
AYP
RTI
Value Added
DIBELS (Nonsense word fluency)
Progress monitoring/Endless testing
Accountability – determined by testing
Common core standards
Decodable texts
Reading is a Science













Scientifically based reading instruction
Scripted instruction
NCLB
Fidelity of implementation
Quantitative benchmarks
AYP
RTI
Value Added
DIBELS (Nonsense word fluency)
Progress monitoring/Endless testing
Accountability – determined by testing
Common core standards
Decodable texts
Reading is a Science














Scientifically based reading instruction
Scripted instruction
NCLB
Fidelity of implementation
Quantitative benchmarks
AYP
RTI
Value Added
DIBELS (Nonsense word fluency)
Progress monitoring/Endless testing
Accountability – determined by testing
Common core standards
Decodable texts
Complex texts and close reading
Stiff methods for hard data!
Stiff methods for hard data!
And disengaged students.
Consider
the following
decodable text:
Mr. Zag
(a decodable book)
Page 1
Mr. Zag had a bag.
Page 2
Mr. Zag had a bag, and the bag had a
tag.
Is
this science?
Is
this art?
No
Yes
The Consequence of All Science?
“Drilling children on how to take tests
discourages innovation, creativity,
punishes divergent thinking, and
prioritizes skills over knowledge.
And the endless hours devoted to
test preparation certainly deaden
students’ interest in school.”
Diane Ravitch
Former Assistant Secretary of Education
Newsweek, April 4, 2011
The Consequence of All Science?
CREATIVITY and INNOVATION!
“For the first time, research shows
that American creativity is declining.”
Newsweek, July 10, 2010
“Art has the means of keeping
alive the sense of purposes that
outrun evidence and of meanings
that transcend habit.”
John Dewey
A Study of Creativity
Art Students
Amabile, Teresa. (1979). Effects of external evaluation on artistic
creativity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 37(2),
221-233.
“… students in the evaluation groups
produced artworks significantly lower on
judged creativity than did students in the
nonevaluation control groups.”
Art - Aesthetic
 The
–A
–A
–A
–A
–A
–A
OR
feeling that comes from
musical composition by Mozart
painting by Picasso
dance choreographed by Twyla Tharp
sculpture by Michelangelo
photo by Annie Leibovitz
play by Wilder
Art - Aesthetic
A book, a speech, a song,
a poem, a quote, an
interesting sentence,
even a well chosen word.
Can Reading be Both
Art and Science?
Can Reading be Both
Art and Science?
YES!
Consider my area of expertise:
Reading Fluency
Scientific research has demonstrated
and validated the potential of
repeated readings (deep reading)
When readers read a text several
times:

Reading of the practiced text
improves.
 Reading
of new, more challenging
texts also improves:
– Word recognition
– Fluency (reading speed)
– Comprehension
Deep (Repeated) Reading
(A summary of the research)
x
x
Deep (Repeated) Reading
(A summary of the research)
A
x
1
Deep (Repeated) Reading
(A summary of the research)
A
2
x
1
Deep (Repeated) Reading
(A summary of the research)
A
2
x
1
3
Deep (Repeated) Reading
(A summary of the research)
A
3
2
x
1
4
Deep (Repeated) Reading
(A summary of the research)
A
4
3
B
3
2
2
1
x
1
Deep (Repeated) Reading
(A summary of the research)
A
4
3
B
3
2
2
1
x
1
Deep (Repeated) Reading
(A summary of the research)
A
4
3
B
3
C
2
2
1
2
1
x
1
Deep (Repeated) Reading
(A summary of the research)
A
4
3
B
3
C
2
2
1
2
1
x
1
That’s science
And as a result we now have students
reading largely informational texts
repeatedly for the singular purpose
of reading it fast.
That’s Fake Fluency
Consider the following text that is from
a published and popular fluency
program. Students are intended to
read this text multiple times.
Ice Age Animals of Malta
Some strange animals lived on a tiny
island called Malta 150 thousand
years ago. The elephants and hippos
were shorter than you. But the
turtles, mice, and birds were huge.
Read this 5 times until you can read it
at 120 words per minute!
Fluency is more than speed
 Fluency
is automaticity in word
recognition (measured by speed)
Fluency is more than speed
 Fluency
is automaticity in word
recognition (measured by speed)
BUT
 Fluency
is also meaningful prosody
(expression) when reading.
Ice Age Animals of Malta
Some strange animals lived on a tiny
island called Malta 150 thousand
years ago. The elephants and hippos
were shorter than you. But the
turtles, mice, and birds were huge.
Let’s take another look at fluency…
Scientifically and Artfully
Abraham Lincoln
We continue to celebrate the
bicentennial of his birth.
His life is worth studying –
cultural literacy
Lot’s of books are written about Mr.
Lincoln.
A book and a song…
 Meant
to be read/sung repeatedly for
eventual meaningful and purposeful
performance to an audience?
That’s Fluency!
A book and a song…
 Meant
to be read/sung repeatedly?
Fluency
But there’s more that can be read
repeatedly and performed…….
Lincoln’s Speeches
Cooper Union
Let us have faith that right makes
might, and in that faith let us to the
end, dare to do our duty as we
understand it.
First Inaugural
We are not enemies, but friends. We
must not be enemies. Though
passions may have strained, it must
not break our bonds of affection. The
mystic chords of memory, stretching
from every battlefield and patriot
grave to every living hearth-stone all
over this broad land, will yet swell the
chorus of the Union, when again
touched, as surely they will be, by the
better angels of our nature.
Second Inaugural
Fondly do we hope--fervently do we pray-that this mighty scourge of war may
speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it
continue, until all the wealth piled by the
bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of
unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every
drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be
paid by another drawn with the sword, as
was said three thousand years ago, so still it
must be said "the judgments of the Lord,
are true and righteous altogether” .
Gettysburg
…that we here highly resolve that
these dead shall not have died in
vain -- that this nation, under
God, shall have a new birth of
freedom -- and that government
of the people, by the people, for
the people, shall not perish from
the earth.
But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this
earth and flit unseen around those they
loved, I shall always be near you; in the
garish day and in the darkest night -amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest
hours - always, always; and if there be a soft
breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath;
or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it
shall be my spirit passing by.
Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone
and wait for thee, for we shall meet again.
Sullivan
BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM!
Yes we'll rally round the flag, boys,
we'll rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,
We will rally from the hillside, we'll
gather from the plain,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
What would happen if we
had students practice and
then perform such historic
and artful texts?
Is this…..
 History?
 Reading?
 Fluency
-- Repeated reading?
– Scientifically?
– Artfully?
 Even
a model for our students’ own
writing?
And we could continue our artful
and scientific study of Lincoln and
the American Civil War…
 With
other songs
 With heartfelt letters
 With powerful rhetoric
 With poetry that inspires
 With prose that tell the inside story
 With other primary sources
 And with informational text
Effective Teaching of
Reading Fluency
Is a science
And it is an art!
But does it really work?
RESULTS
Lorraine Griffith: 4th grade teacher West Buncombe
County Elementary.
Artful Repeated Readings:
2.9 years average growth of struggling readers
59 words correct per minute gain (25 wcpm is the
normal gain for grade 4)
Griffith, L. W., & Rasinski, T. V. (2004). A focus on fluency: How one teacher incorporated fluency with
her reading curriculum. The Reading Teacher, 58, 126- 137.
Other Studies…






Young, C., & Rasinski, T. (2009). Implementing readers theatre as an approach to
classroom fluency instruction. The Reading Teacher, 63(1), 4–13.
Biggs, M., Homan, S., Dedrick, R., & Rasinski, T. (2008). Using an interactive singing
software program: A comparative study of middle school struggling readers. Reading
Psychology, An International Quarterly, 29, 195-213.
Wilfong, L.G. (2008). Building Fluency, Word-Recognition Ability, and Confidence in
Struggling Readers: The Poetry Academy. The Reading Teacher, 62(1), 4–13.
Rasinski, T., & Stevenson, B. (2005). The Effects of Fast Start Reading, A Fluency
Based Home Involvement Reading Program, On the Reading Achievement of
Beginning Readers. Reading Psychology: An International Quarterly, 26, 109-125.
Martinez, M., Roser, N., & Strecker, S. (1999). “I never thought I could be a star”:
A Readers Theatre ticket to reading fluency. The Reading Teacher, 52, 326-334.
Rasinski, T. V., Padak, N. D., Linek, W. L., & Sturtevant, E. (1994). Effects of fluency
development on urban second-grade readers. Journal of Educational Research, 87,
158–165.
Rhonda P
6th grade teacher
South Carolina
Using poetry performance as the fluency intervention in her
classroom
Student Profile in Reading
Beginning of the Year




Below Basic:
Basic:
Proficient:
Advanced:
67%
30%
3%
0%
Rhonda P
6th grade teacher
South Carolina
Using poetry performance as the fluency intervention in her
classroom
Student Profile in Reading
Beginning of the Year
End of Year
Below Basic:
Basic:
Proficient:
Advanced:
24%
45%
25%
6%





67%
30%
3%
0%
Can Phonemic Awarness be
Taught Artfully?
Can Phonemic Awarness be
Taught Artfully?
Can Phonics be Taught Artfully?
Can Phonics be Taught Artfully?
Star light, star bright
First star I sea tonight
I wish I may I wish I might
Have the wish I wish tonight.
Can Phonics be Taught Artfully?
Can Phonics be Taught Artfully?
Can Vocabulary be Taught
Artfully?
Can Vocabulary be Taught
Artfully?
Harvest words from the books we
read.
Engage in activities that are game
like.
Tap into the roots of English –
Latin/Greek.
Can Vocabulary be Taught
Artfully?
Can Comprehension be Taught
Artfully?
Can Comprehension be Taught
Artfully?
Yes, have students use or transform
the texts they read into authentic
artifacts and uses.
Can Comprehension be Taught
Artfully?
My Own Story….
 Maybe
 But
not empirical research.
true…. And artful.
And so…..
 What
 How
does this all mean?
I can I transform or represent
what I have been trying to say in
some other form….
How about a Poem (or Two)
This is What You Shall Do
A manifesto for teachers.
This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun
and the animals, despise riches, give alms to
every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and
crazy, devote your income and labor to others,
hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have
patience and indulgence toward the people, take
off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to
any man or number of men, go freely with
powerful uneducated persons and with the young
and with the mothers of families, read these
leaves in the open air every season of every year
of your life, re-examine all you have been told at
school or church or in any book, dismiss
whatever insults your own soul,
and your very flesh shall become a great
poem.
I Read It Because It’s Beautiful
by Karen Morrow Durica
Somehow a life without poetry seems…
Dismal
Empty
Flat—
Not much.
So each day in my classroom I read…
Sonnets
Haikus
Free verse—
And such.
An observer sat in my room one day…
Noted poem’s title
Evaluated delivery
Recorded “lesson” sequence—
Said dryly: “It seems
There’s no connection curricular-wise…
No anticipatory set
No vocabulary drill
No comprehension query—
Do they even know what it means?”
I could have contrived a defense or two, but…
Spirits flowed with peaceful joy
Honesty prevailed
Simple truth explained—
“I read it because it’s beautiful,” I said.
She didn’t quite frown but recalled all the same, “We’ve…
Standards to meet
Timelines to keep
Pages to cover—
Important content to be read.”
I looked from her to my students’ gaze; they…
Had relished the words
Danced with the rhythm
Mused with the meaning—
Were richer in spirit than when we began.
I read it because it was beautiful. And beauty is…
Never superfluous
Never irrelevant
Always needed—
Always in my “lesson” plan.
May all teachers find the poet (and
artist) in themselves to inspire their
students and change the world.
Thank you teachers.
Timothy Rasinski, Ph.D.
 trasinsk@kent.edu
 330-672-0649
In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be
understood by everyone, something that no one ever
knew before. But in poetry and art, it's the exact
opposite.
Franz Kafka (1883-1924)