Description
Value of Fluent RAN
Research (e.g., Bowers, 2001; Mannis and Freedman, 2002) shows that Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN), the ability automatically recognize and name various objects, letters, numbers and letter combinations, is a key to the development of reading mastery. By achieving such automatic or fluent performance, the student establishes a foundation of the basic discriminations that are required as part of recognizing text patterns and associating them with objects and features of the world, and of his or her vocabulary. Without the ability to automatically discriminate among various letter and number shapes, readers will be unable to use those patterns consistently to recognize and identify letters and words. If students are fluent at decoding but are unable to quickly name common objects and pictures related to the reading vocabulary, they can still struggle to comprehend what they read. Naturally, rapid automatic naming of these essential components becomes an important prerequisite for fluent reading and comprehension.
Developed and field tested at the Haughton Learning Center, this unit, in conjunction with the measurement system of Precision Teaching, has been optimized for maximum efficiency in the achievement of Rapid Automatic Naming. Each practice activity has a fluency aim, expressed as range in count per minute, which mirrors performance levels of individuals with a demonstrated mastery of the skill.
Competent reading – what fluent readers do – involves many components skills coming together to ensure that readers will efficiently decode what they read, understand or comprehend it, and enjoy the activity itself. Fluent reading improves comprehension because it allows the reader to attend to the meaning of the text rather than focusing on the mechanics of decoding. The result of expending less effort while achieving greater comprehension is a deeper engagement with the natural rewards of reading, whether for professional, academic, or entertainment purposes.
This unit has been constructed with an eye towards optimization of precious practice time, while engendering a desire for more practice. It employs achievable chunks, units of material which balance learners strengths and needs, to insure that growth is a key motivational element of further practice. If a task is too difficult the learner resists and if it is too easy disinterest ensues. The optimal balance occurs when both accuracy and frequency improve at the appropriate rate and there is continual feedback of that success to the practitioner.
Practice needs to be measured for purposes of motivation; the accuracy and speed of performances are recorded with the results being made immediately available to both practitioner and coach. Improvement, which is incremental, and might go unnoticed, will become apparent allowing the learner to climb a motivational ladder on the rungs of their personal bests. To facilitate this dynamic between challenge and achievability and provide immediacy of feedback that motivates further practice these units have been closely integrated with Precision Teaching.
With Precision Teaching a student is timed on specific tasks until he/she can perform a certain amount accurately within a specified amount of time. Timings are usually one minute, but frequently range from ten seconds to ten minutes. We record a student’s performance on a Standard Celeration Chart which gives a “learning picture” to the teacher and student, enabling them to make decisions about the student’s learning program.
The goal of timed practice is to build fluency which ensures a student permanently retains the skills taught (retention); can perform them for extended periods of time (endurance); and can easily apply them to new learning situations (application).
These practice materials for Rapid Automatic Naming have been designed and implemented successfully using Precision Teaching. When you employ Precision Teaching in practice sessions, your students and you will have fun learning, enjoy joint decision making and achieve learning success.
