Fluency

Fluent readers read orally with accuracy, ease and expression. Students who read smoothly and with attention to punctuation and phrasing are likely to comprehend the meaning of the text. Children who struggle with word-by-word reading usually don’t find reading pleasurable and usually read less than their peers.

Suggested Reading Rates Allington  1 st grade wpm  2 nd grade wpm  3 rd grade wpm  4 th grade wpm  5 th grade wpm Harris and Sipay  Rates range from 60 to 90 wpm in first grade to 115 to 140 wpm in third grade

Principles for Fluency Instruction Adapted from Rasinski, Allington, Stahl, and others: Students need repeated practice with texts until they reach a level of proficiency Students need frequent opportunities to see and hear fluent reading Students need instruction in specific fluency practices Students need to receive feedback from others about their fluency

Principles for Fluency Instruction Students need to be supported or scaffolded as they work on their fluency Students need to read in chunks or phrases, rather than word-by-word Students need to practice in easy materials (independent level) so they can pay attention to phrasing, expression, and comprehension, rather than decoding

Strategies for Developing Fluency Individual strategies  Repeated readings, charting time for each reading  Repeated readings, charting miscues  Repeated readings, reading with tape recorded passages, or reading with programs for fluency that are computer based  Repeated readings, reading passages that teachers chunk or mark for phrasing

Strategies for Developing Fluency Individual strategies  Be the Character Be the Character is usually a solo performance. A student assumes the role of a character they have selected from a story or a book and they prepare a short performance from their book, reading and interpreting portions of the text.

Strategies for Developing Fluency Reading with others  Reading with the teacher, with the teacher gradually turning the text over to the student after a time of teacher reading and student warm-up  Echo Reading, where the student reads the section immediately after the teacher reads it  Buddy Reading, Paired Reading or peer tutoring, where the student reads with someone other than the teacher

Strategies for Developing Fluency Reading with others  Choral reading  Readers Theater

Steps in Choral Reading Teacher selects the text Teacher models the text, reading it several times for the students Teacher and students discuss the text, the words, rhythms etc. Teacher and students read the text together, tapping out the rhythms Students practice reading the text chorally, with or without the teacher Students perform the text for others

Instructionally, fluency is generally considered in relation to oral reading, although fluency in silent reading should be the ultimate goal. However, fluency in silent reading is an area needing further investigation. The NRP report did not find that encouraging children to read on their own, such as SSR, DEAR, AR, and other independent reading strategies, improved fluency or general reading achievement. This finding of the NRP seems to go against common sense and long- standing tradition that says the more you practice, the better you’ll get.

A Check List for Oral Reading Does the student read for meaning? What does the child do when meaning is not maintained? What cues, syntactic, semantic, and/or graphophonic, does the child use when an unknown word is encountered? Is there any pattern to the child’s miscues? Does the child depend on the teacher or himself/herself when difficulties are encountered? Does the student identify high-frequency words?

A Checklist for Oral Reading Does the reader read with a sense of meaning, expression, and fluency? How well can the child recall or retell what was read? Is the child willing to talk about the text with another person? How does the reader perceive her own/his own reading performance?

Fluency development is best seen as a continuum that develops throughout the school years. It begins in the primary grades and continues as students experience more different texts and increasing academic expectations. Primary teachers are crucial in helping students begin the process of reading easily and well and knowing how to fix-up their reading when their strategies aren’t working effectively. Helping students become fluent helps them build confidence in themselves as readers and learners.