PROMOTING SUCCESSFUL READERS: SCRIPTED PROGRAMS VS. A GUIDED READING APPROACH

A year-long study comparing the effectiveness of two reading approaches, Scripted Vs. Guided Reading, served as the impetus for this project. Seventy-three first and second grade students were randomly selected from one rural, Title I elementary school and were assigned to an experimental or control group. Though statistically, results indicated no significant differences between groups on fluency or comprehension scores, one must consider the limited experience of the pre-service teachers providing instruction in the experimental group as compared to the teachers providing instruction in the control group. Additionally, unanticipated findings indicated that first grade students scored statistically significantly higher than the second grade students in both fluency and comprehension growth and that there was a statistically significant grade by sex interaction. Questions regarding the results are discussed and the literature outlining Scripted vs. Guided Reading approaches are presented.