TE 301 1

What is fluency? 3 components of fluency “Fluent reading should involve accurate and automatic word recognition, with appropriate prosody, or inflection” (McKenna & Stahl, 2009, p. 148). Automaticity -- reading words without conscious effort Prosody - ability to read with some sort of inflection

Fluency is the ability to read: accurately quickly smoothly naturally expressively in syntactical units with phrasing It is the ability to read that appears fairly automatic and effortless.

Fluent readers are better able to devote their attention to comprehending text LaBerge and Samuels, 1974 National Reading Panel, 2000 Students who experience reading difficulties are often dis-fluent Johns and Berglund, 2002 Pinnell et al., 1995 When we become fluent at a particular task, we can devote our attention to other related task. In the case of fluency, once we become more automatic readers, we can devote our attention to comprehension

Fluency instruction begins when students can read connected text with 90% or better accuracy (usually by the middle of first grade) If a student misses more than 10% of the words in a passage, then the material is too difficult to use for instruction Fluency instruction begins when students can read connected text with 90% accuracy. This is usually by the middle of first grade. If a student misses more than 10% of the words in a passage, then the material is too difficult to use for instruction. [1 minute]

NAEP Oral Reading Fluency Scale What are the differences between each of the four levels? How would you classify your child study students’ reading fluency based on the NAEP Oral Reading Fluency Scale?

- One Minute Reading Total Number Example: of Words Read If a student reads 66 words and has 8 errors, the student reads 58 words correct per minute - Number of Errors Words Correct Per Minute (wcpm) Always encourage students to do their best reading and not their fastest reading

Student recognizes most of the words automatically Little or no attention is required to identify words Some miscues will occur Mispronunciations Omissions Insertions The third element of fluency is accuracy. Accuracy is the ability to recognize most words automatically with little or no attention to decoding. We expect that students reading at an instructional level will make some errors. However, if students are reading text below 90% accuracy, they are reading frustration level material and most likely won’t comprehend the text. [1 minute]

= ÷ Correct Total number of number of Percent words read words read accuracy ÷ 95 - 100 independent 90-94 instructional 90 below frustration 49 ÷ 51 = (.96) 96% (Independent level)

develop instant, efficient word recognition (automaticity) practice repeated reading of texts receive feedback and guidance from others Johns and Berglund, 2002 The research suggests that fluency increases when students: have a large bank of words that they recognize automatically; practice repeated reading of texts; and get feedback from their teacher and others that guide them in their fluency. [1 minute]

Match students’ reading abilities to appropriate materials Model oral reading Provide guided oral reading opportunities Offer daily opportunities for students to read easy materials independently Johns and Berglund, 2002 The research also suggests that certain strategies help students become more fluent readers. Teachers must match students’ reading levels to their instructional materials (students should not be reading at a frustration level). Teachers should model fluent and expressive reading every day in their read aloud materials. Teachers should provide amply opportunities for students to participate in guided, oral reading. Teachers should provide opportunities for students to read easy materials independently every day. [1 minute]

Echo Reading Tape Reading Partner Reading Choral Reading Oral Recitation Paired Reading Buddy Reading The following list of instructional strategies promote fluency. Find a partner and define each of the strategies. Are there any strategies that are unfamiliar or you would like additional information? [Provide a brief overview of the unfamiliar strategies using the following descriptions from Johns & Berglund (2002).] High Frequency Words are the most common words that occur over and over in the English language. These words can comprise over 60% of the words used in beginning reading materials and over 50% of the words used in materials used in the upper grades. Language Experience Approach (LEA) involves writing down what students say, then reading and rereading it with them to develop knowledge of letter-sound associations, sight words, prosody, and language. Readers Theater is a presentation of a text read aloud expressively and dramatically by two or more readers. Echo Reading involves the student immediately echoing or imitating the performance of a more skilled reader. Choral reading involves students reading text in unison. Phrase Boundaries involves clustering reading into appropriate phrases, rather than reading word by word. Paired Reading involves a more capable reader supporting a tutee in reading materials that are generally more difficult than those read independently. Neurological Impress Method involves the teacher and the student reading aloud simultaneously from the same book. The teacher reads slightly faster than the student to keep the reading fluent. The teacher usually sits next to the student and focuses his voice near the ear of the student. Repeated Reading involves students reading text while the teacher records the student’s fluency and accuracy. The student practices reading the passage orally or silently several times. After practicing, the teacher listens to the student read and again records the time and accuracy. The teacher and student compare pre and post results and graph growth using a chart. Computer Based or Tape Assisted Reading involves using computer or tape recorded text to assist and model reading for students. [5-7 minutes]

Readers Theatre How is readers theatre different from a traditional play? Why is readers theatre a good instructional strategy to address fluency? What are the ways in which the students were engaged through readers theatre?

Some students have developed accurate word pronunciation skills but read slowly Decoding is not automatic or fluent, and their limited fluency may affect performance They read less text than peers and have less time to remember, review, or comprehend the text They expend more cognitive energy than peers trying to identify individual words They may be less able to retain text in their memories and less likely to integrate those segments with other parts of the text Many teachers have students who are not fluent readers yet have high comprehension levels. Should we worry about these students’ lack of fluency? YES! Less fluent readers: read less text than peers and have less time to remember, review, or comprehend the text; expend more cognitive energy than peers trying to identify individual words; and may be less able to retain text in their memories and less likely to integrate those segments with other parts of the text. [1 minute]

Fluency instruction for ELL students involves: listening to models repeated readings choral reading partner reading What are the benefits of fluency instruction for ELL students? They get to hear good models of oral reading. They get to repeatedly read material that is at their instructional reading level. They get to listen to and participate in choral and partner reading experiences. [1 minute]

paired reading and rereading Students with disabilities benefit from: repeated reading practice, especially in expository or informational texts more time on task paired reading and rereading additional feedback and progress monitoring Students with special needs also benefit from: repeated reading practice, especially in expository or informational texts; more time on task; paired reading and rereading; and additional feedback and progress monitoring. [1 minute]

The authors reviewed studies that tried improve the fluency of struggling readers. They found that: fluency instruction is generally effective, although it is unclear whether this is because of specific instructional features or because it involves children in reading increased amounts of text; assisted approaches seem to be more effective than unassisted approaches; repetitive approaches do not seem to hold a clear advantage over non-repetitive approaches; and effective fluency instruction moves beyond automatic word recognition to include rhythm and expression, or what linguists refer to as the prosodic features of language.