Jamie, a 2nd-grade student, has demonstrated proficiency in recognizing words… but struggles with expression and chunking phrases. Which instructional practice would you recommend as a next step?

Jamie, a 2nd-grade student, has demonstrated proficiency in recognizing words… but struggles with expression and chunking phrases. Which instructional practice would you recommend as a next step?

• A. Silent reading until mastery
• B. Focus only on spelling
• C. Skipping difficult words
• D. Engage the student in repeated readings of a passage after receiving specific corrective feedback and guidance

Answer: (D)

Developing expressive reading and proper phrase chunking comes from guided, repeated oral practice with specific corrective feedback. Since Jamie can recognize words but struggles with expression and chunking, the best next step is to have Jamie read the passage aloud multiple times, with targeted feedback after each reading on phrasing, pauses, and emphasis. Repeated readings with guidance help Jamie build prosody and natural chunking because practice reinforces where to pause, how to group words into meaningful phrases, and how to pace the reading. The ongoing feedback helps model correct phrasing and fluency, while repetition builds speed and automaticity so expression becomes more fluent. Silent reading until mastery won’t develop oral fluency, focusing only on spelling ignores expression and chunking, and skipping difficult words with no guidance misses opportunities to practice phrasing.

Developing expressive reading and proper phrase chunking comes from guided, repeated oral practice with specific corrective feedback. Since Jamie can recognize words but struggles with expression and chunking, the best next step is to have Jamie read the passage aloud multiple times, with targeted feedback after each reading on phrasing, pauses, and emphasis. Repeated readings with guidance help Jamie build prosody and natural chunking because practice reinforces where to pause, how to group words into meaningful phrases, and how to pace the reading. The ongoing feedback helps model correct phrasing and fluency, while repetition builds speed and automaticity so expression becomes more fluent.

Silent reading until mastery won’t develop oral fluency, focusing only on spelling ignores expression and chunking, and skipping difficult words with no guidance misses opportunities to practice phrasing.