Gillian Kutches TE 842, Section 730 June 17, 2010 Fluency

What is fluency? n Fluency consists of rate, accuracy, prosody and automaticity of reading n The flow at which sounds, syllables, words and phrases are connected when reading quickly (Wikipedia) n Fluency is recognized as critical to students’ literacy development

What, Why and How? n There are three key elements to fluency (Hudson, 2005) –Accuracy in word decoding –Automaticity in recognizing words –Appropriate use of prosody or meaningful oral expression while reading

Why is fluency important? n “Students who are not developing fluency have a hard time understanding and keeping up with schoolwork and often find themselves in increasing difficulty even if they have previously done well.” (Worthy, 2001/2002, p. 335) n Students with inadequate fluency are also more prone to “avoid reading because their fear of failure and negative attitudes” (Worthy, 2001/2002, p. 335)

What knowledge do readers need to develop in order to be considered proficient? n Sight words and high frequency words to be able to read fluently and with automaticity n Have a grade-level appropriate vocabulary n What fluent readers sound like (from parents, adults, peers or teachers) n Voice inflection and punctuation awareness n How to read with expression and proper phrasing

What skills do readers need in order to be considered proficient? n Automaticity n Phrasing n Smoothness n Expressiveness n Rate and accuracy

What habits/attitudes do readers need to be considered proficient? n Multiple experiences with text and reading orally n Paying attention to punctuation and quotations n Reading “quickly” and with few errors (but also reading for meaning) n Recognizing sight words automatically from memory n Noting different characters or perspectives in the text n Letter to sound relationships n Decoding skills

What is the relationship between fluency and comprehension? n With0ut fluency, comprehension cannot be achieved (If the reader cannot read the text, they cannot understand what they read) –“Until readers achieve automaticity in word recognition, they will necessarily depend more on alternate knowledge sources in order to figure out what the words say…automatic word recognition allows readers to concentrate on the meaning of text, rather than on identifying words” (Kuhn & Stahl, 2000, p.5) n “Prosody may also provide a link between fluency and comprehension… in order to read a sentence with intonation, one must assign syntactic roles into the words in the sentence” (Kuhn & Stahl, 2000, p. 6) n “In order to be truly fluent, a reader must comprehend and interpret text” (Worthy, 2001/2002, p. 337)

What is the relationship between fluency and vocabulary? n The reader must have an on-level vocabulary to be able to read words in the text. n Fluent readers must have a vocabulary of high frequency words and strategies for accurately decoding new words (Worthy, 2001/2002) n “Students who avoid reading have less exposure to ideas and vocabulary in books and may lose intellectual as well as academic ground” (Worthy, 2001/2002, p.335)

What is the relationship between fluency and phonics/phonemic awareness? n “The learner develops a foundation that will allow later instruction to proceed in a meaningful manner. For example, children develop insights into the reading process that includes concepts about print, phoneme awareness and book handling knowledge” (Kuhn & Stahl, 2000, p.2) n Without phonemic awareness, the reader will not understand phonics rules, spelling patterns and letter combinations in print n To be able to effectively decode, the reader must be equipped with phonics strategies

What should first graders know and be able to do? n Exhibit basic phonemic awareness and multiple experiences with print (past story reading with parents, magnetic letters, etc) n Know what sound each letter makes n Some phonics rules and spelling patterns n Read at an emerging first grade level n Have several strategies for decoding

According to MI state standards, by the end of first grade, students should be able to… n MI R.WS – automatically recognize frequently encountered words in and out of context with the number of words that can be read fluently increasing steadily across the school year. n MI R.WS make progress in automatically recognizing the 220 Dolch basic sight words and 95 common nouns for mastery in third grade. n MI R.WS use strategies to identify unknown words and construct meaning by using initial letters/sounds (phonics), patterns of language (syntactic), picture clues (semantic), and applying context clues to select between alternative meanings. n MI R.WS know the meanings of words encountered frequently in grade- level reading and oral language contexts. n MI R.WS in context, determine the meaning of words and phrases including objects, actions, concepts, content vocabulary, and literary terms, using strategies and resources including context clues, mental pictures, and questioning. n MI R.FL – automatically recognize and fluently read identified grade-level high frequency words encountered in or out of context.

In order for students to be fluent, they should be able to… –Blend sounds –Understand that words are comprised of sounds –Understand that words carry meaning –Alphabetic principle and that words are composed of letters of the alphabet –Recognize blends, onsets and rimes, word families –Read all Dolch sight words for Grade 1

How do effective teachers plan and implement lessons to increase proficiency? n Repeated reading n Unrehearsed oral reading, such as “Round Robin” reading or “Popcorn” reading (Worthy, 2001/2002, p.335) n Exposure to multiple text (Rasinski, 2006, p.704) –Poetry –Song lyrics –Chants –Rhymes –Plays (such as Readers’ Theatre) –Monologues and dialogues –Letters –Series books –Non-fiction

Repeated Reading…One Strategy “In addition to improving speed and accuracy, guided repeated reading has been shown to improve word recognition, fluency, and comprehension across a variety of grade levels and educational settings” (Worthy, 2001/2002, p.336) “In addition to improving speed and accuracy, guided repeated reading has been shown to improve word recognition, fluency, and comprehension across a variety of grade levels and educational settings” (Worthy, 2001/2002, p.336) “Repeated reading is one of the best ways to develop fluency” (Rasinski, 2006, p. 705) “Repeated reading is one of the best ways to develop fluency” (Rasinski, 2006, p. 705) Teachers should remember that repeated reading needs to accompany the other components of reading. “I fear that a single- minded focus on using repeated reading to improve reading rate, without commensurate emphasis on reading for meaning, will not have the desired result of improving comprehension and will eventually return reading fluency to a secondary role in the curriculum” (Rasinski, 2006, p.705) Teachers should remember that repeated reading needs to accompany the other components of reading. “I fear that a single- minded focus on using repeated reading to improve reading rate, without commensurate emphasis on reading for meaning, will not have the desired result of improving comprehension and will eventually return reading fluency to a secondary role in the curriculum” (Rasinski, 2006, p.705)

When and in what order should these aspects be taught? n “Reading fluency develops over time through modeling and instruction, and guided and independent practice in a variety of texts” (Worthy, 2001/2002, p.336) n “Frequent opportunities to practice identifying words through meaningful reading and writing experiences help the reader to achieve automatic word identification and automaticity. As the reader begins to group words together meaningfully, there is a gradual transition from word-by-word reading to reading in meaningful phrases” (Worthy, 2001/2002, p. 335)

How do effective teachers plan and implement lessons to increase proficiency? n Teachers need to find students’ instructional level to work on fluency. “Frustration level reading does not improve oral reading fluency and can lead to negative feelings about reading” (Worthy, 2001/2002, p.335) n Modeling by reading aloud “Teacher read- alouds provide models on fluent reading, and explicit instruction shows students how to develop their own fluency”(Worthy, 2001/2002, p.337)

How do effective teachers plan and implement lessons to increase proficiency? –Students listen to teacher/peer –Echo reading –Choral reading –Books on tape/ Listening Centers –Buddy reading/ Peer reading –Small group guided reading –Free choice reading –Repeated reading

How do teachers scaffold students’ motivation and engagement in fluency lessons? n Have a way for students to chart or see their own progress. One way to assess: –“Cold” read: Student reads instructional level passage with no practice, record words read for 1 minute –Student practices reading passage at least 3 times (with teacher assistance or peer) –“Hot” read: Student reads same passage again after practice, record words read for 1 minute –Records growth from “cold” to “hot” read n Encourage and praise students consistently when progress is made n Model and “think out loud” effective strategies during whole group and guided reading n Differentiating instruction based on student level and needs

How do teachers fit fluency instruction into the overall literacy program? n Read alouds/ Whole group –Modeling –Class discussions n Independent practice –Repeated reading –Exposure to multiple texts n Guided reading –Modeling and discussion –Repeated reading n During all subjects, throughout the school day n Teacher needs to provide explicit fluency instruction

What characteristics and behaviors do teachers have to promote student achievement in fluency? n Implementing an effective literacy block that includes multiple opportunities for fluency practice n Guided reading/ Small group n Independent practice n Whole group n Realizes the goal of fluency is not “speed reading” n Aims to teach both prosody and automaticity (separately through explicit instruction) n Models thinking for students during read-alouds and models fluent reading n Provides opportunities to engage in a variety of texts

How might these characteristics be translated to each component of reading instruction? Teachers need to realize that fluency instruction must be embedded within all other components of reading instruction, including comprehension, vocabulary and phonemic awareness/phonics. Fluency needs to be modeled and practiced daily to ensure students are making gains in their reading achievement. “Fluency is a critical component of successful reading”, writes Worthy (2001/2002, p.334). Teachers need to provide their students with positive, encouraging experiences with reading so it can foster a love of reading in their students.

References n Fluency. (2010, May 9). In Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved June 16, 2010, from n Hudson, R.F., Lane, HB & Pullen PC Reading Fluency Assessment and Instruction: What, Why and How? The Reading Teacher, 58, n Kuhn, M., & Stahl, S. (2000). Fluency: A review of developmental and remedial practices (Report No ). Ann Arbor, MI: Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. n Rasinski, T. (2006). Reading fluency instruction: Moving beyond accuracy, automaticity, and prosody. The Reading Teacher, 59, n Worthy, J., & Broaddus, K. (2001). Fluency beyond the primary grades: From group performance to silent, independent reading. The Reading Teacher, 55, n Worthy, J., & Broaddus, K. (2001). Fluency beyond the primary grades: From group performance to silent, independent reading. The Reading Teacher, 55,