Oral Recitation Lesson

The Oral Recitation Lesson (ORL) is an instructional procedure that incorporates direct and indirect instruction during small-group reading instruction. James Hoffman (1987, 1991) developed this lesson design after studying the role of oral reading in traditional literature instruction and studying teachers' practices for teaching reading in primary classrooms. He designed the ORL so that teachers could easily use it with basal reading programs, especially with students who experience difficulty in learning to read.

How the Oral Recitation Lesson Fosters Fluency in Struggling Readers

Hoffman (1987) reported that second-grade students using the ORL made progress in reading, especially students who were placed in the lowest reading group. Other researchers (Reutzel & Hollingsworth, 1993; Reutzel, Hollingsworth, & Eldredge, 1994) have found that students who received ORL made gains in both reading fluency and comprehension.

ORL Format

Direct Instruction Component (small group instruction, 30-45 minutes/day, 2 to 4 days per story)

Part 1: Read, discuss, and analyze a story

1. The teacher reads the story aloud to the students.
2. After reading, the teacher works with students to discuss and analyze the story by constructing a story map that identifies the characters, setting, problem, events, and resolution.
3. The group uses the story map to write a brief summary that includes the critical information in the story. The teacher is careful to write down the students' language.

Part 2: Fast-paced and interactive fluency instruction

1. The teacher presents a short mini-lesson on elements of fluent reading, such as appropriate rate, expression, phrasing, and pausing for punctuation. The teacher models a selection of text.
2. Students read the selection of text on their own and practice reading it independently, chorally, and/or in pairs. The length of this selection may be just a sentence or two at first, and grow as the student feels more comfortable and confident with the text.
3. The teacher provides positive feedback, support, and praise.

Part 3: Independent practice and performance

Students select a portion of the text (about one page) and practice independently. When they are ready, the students perform their selection for the group, and receive compliments from the other students.

Indirect Instruction Component (10 minutes daily)

Students reread the stories that they have read in the small group, direct instruction component of ORL. While students practice reading quietly to themselves, the teacher listens to individuals read to see if they have achieved master in word recognition (98% accurate) and fluency (75 words per minute in 2nd grade level text).

Teacher Tips

How do you use oral reading in your class? Submit your ideas here!

Resources and Links

Websites

The Reading Performance: Understanding Fluency Through Oral Interpretation (6-8). This lesson examines how the oral reading of poetry may be useful in supporting fluency for sixth- through eighth-grade students.
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=28

Oral Recitation Lesson -- overview and description of lesson sequence
http://www.interventioncentral.org/htmdocs/interventions/rdngcompr/orl.shtml

References

Hoffman, J. V. (1987). Rethinking the role of oral reading in basal instruction. The Elementary School Journal, 87, 367-373.

Hoffman, J. V. & Isaacs, M. E. (1991). Developing fluency through restructuring the task of guided oral reading. Theory Into Practice, 30, 185-194.

Rasinski, T. V. (2003). The fluent reader: Oral reading strategies for building word recognition, fluency, and comprehension. New York: Scholastic.

Reutzel, D. R., Hollingsworth, P. M., & Eldredge, J. L. (1994). Oral reading instruction: The impact on student reading development. Reading Research Quarterly, 29, pp. 40-62.