1. FLUENCY Assessing & Teaching this KEY Reading Skill
Fluency J. Hasbrouck, Ph.D.
FLUENCY Assessing & Teaching this KEY Reading Skill
Jan Hasbrouck, Ph.D.
Seattle, WA
©2005 JH Consulting

2. WHAT IS READING FLUENCY?
The ability to read
accurately
quickly
with expression

3. WHO ARE THESE STUDENTS? DESCRIPTORS: Read haltingly
Slow, laborious readers
Read word—by—word
Uncertain of sight words
Ignore punctuation

4. REAL TARGET: Comprehension & Motivation
Multiple Causes of Comprehension Problems:
Lack of sufficient background knowledge
Lack of sufficient language foundation
Fails to organize & use information to understand--Does not realize when s/he fails to understand
Decoding/fluency skills poor

5. Comprehension Strategies
National Reading Panel (2000)
Five Key Instructional Components
Phonemic Awareness
Phonics
Fluency
Vocabulary
Comprehension Strategies

6. WHY IS FLUENCY SO IMPORTANT?
Comprehension limited by labored, inefficient reading (working memory)
Lack of fluency = lack of motivation = fewer words read = smaller vocabulary = limited comprehension (self-perpetuating)
“There is no comprehension strategy that compensates for difficulty reading words accurately & fluently.” (Torgeson, 2003)

7. Bridge to Comprehension
Fluency J. Hasbrouck, Ph.D.
Bridge to Comprehension
Fluency forms the bridge between word recognition & comprehension
FLUENCY
Constructing
Meaning
Identifying
Words
©2005 JH Consulting

8. MEASURING READING FLUENCY
the number of words in text read correctly per minute (wcpm) or…
letters, sounds, words

9. 3 ROLES ASSESSING FLUENCY:
#1 FINDING students who may need intervention assistance in reading
#2 DIAGNOSING fluency problems
#3 MONITORING PROGRESS to determine if reading skills are improving

10. OSPI Reading Fluency GLEs
Grade 1: words correct per minute
Grade 2: wcpm
Grade 3: wcpm
Grade 4: wcpm
Grade 5: wcpm
Grade 6 & up: wcpm
Unpracticed, cold reading by end of the year

11. Hasbrouck & Tindal Norms for Oral Reading Fluency for Grades 2-5
Fluency J. Hasbrouck, Ph.D.
Hasbrouck & Tindal Norms for Oral Reading Fluency for Grades 2-5
Upper grades: 150 wcpm/50th percentile
©2005 JH Consulting

12. Fluency J. Hasbrouck, Ph.D.
PROVIDING FLUENCY INSTRUCTION or INTERVENTION
ON & BEYOND / APPROACHING LEVEL In-class practice opportunities
INTERVENTION Explicit, systematic instruction/practice
©2005 JH Consulting

13. Key Research Findings
Guided reading practice improves fluency for “typical” students
Independent practice (silent reading) NOT sufficient to improve fluency

14. PASSAGE READING PRACTICES TO IMPROVE FLUENCY
Traditional practice:
Round robin reading from science, social studies, literature, chapter books
Students take turns
reading parts of a text aloud

15. ALTERNATIVES TO ROUND ROBIN
Choral Reading
Cloze Reading
Partner Reading

16. CHORAL READING Whole class reads ALOUD & TOGETHER from same selection
NON-THREATENING practice
PROCEDURE:
Orally read with students
Read at a moderate rate
Use pre-correction procedures: “Keep your voice with mine.”

17. CLOZE READING ASSISTS students in reading difficult material
Provides GROUP PRACTICE & MAINTAINS student ATTENTION
PROCEDURE:
Orally read the material to students
Read at a moderate rate
Pause & have students say the next word
Intentionally delete “meaningful words”

18. PARTNER READING EASY & EFFECTIVE way to involve students
Increases instructional TIME ON TASK
PROCEDURE:
Assign students partners (#1 is higher performing student who readers first)
Designate amount to read to partner
When an error is heard, have students use the “Ask, then Tell” procedure:
Ask “Can you figure out this word?”
Tell “The word is _________.”
“Read the sentence again.”

19. Establishing Partners
Avoid pairing highest and lowest skilled readers
Consider taking lowest readers into a small group for practice with the teacher

20. Establishing Partners
Ebonie
Jazmine
Bobby
Celisse
Marsha
Krishon
Sammy
Jamie
Orlando
Miquel
Michael
Andrea
Ezra
Juan
Amy
Hyun Ha
Mari
Harry
Sarah
Ashante’
Quan
Kyesha
Francisco
Angelica

21. PARTNER READING VARIATIONS
Side by Side- Reading to a Partner
Students sit next to each other with one book between them. One partner reads & points to the words; the other partner follows along.
Shoulder to Shoulder- Reading to a Partner
Students sit facing opposite directions with shoulders aligned. Each partner has a book.
Reading WITH a Partner
Students sit side to side with one book between them. Both partners read at the same time as partner one touches the words.

22. INSTRUCTION for INTERVENTION
(a) FOLLOWING A MODEL
Reading along with a model of accurate reading from an audio tape/CD OR a skillful reader

23. (c) MONITORING PROGRESS
(b) REPEATED READING
Students reread passage orally to themselves or a partner — until predetermined goal achieved (30-40 words above baseline)
(c) MONITORING PROGRESS
Students graph their performance: “Cold” reading first; then again after practice

24. Fluency J. Hasbrouck, Ph.D.
PROVIDE FLUENCY INSTRUCTION AT A CHALLENGING INSTRUCTIONAL LEVEL
Model provides SCAFFOLDING;
Students must WORK HARD toward achieving goal to see real progress
©2005 JH Consulting

25. COMMERCIAL FLUENCY PROGRAMS
Read Naturally Levels
Audio tapes/CD or software editions
Six Minute Solution passages Grades
Partner reading

26. Focus on Fluency
Osborn & Lehr
FREE!

27. Assessing Fluency
Tim Rasinski
FREE!

28. REFERENCES
Chard, D., Vaughn, S., & Tyler, B.J. (2002). A synthesis of research on effective interventions for building reading fluency with elementary students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36(5),
DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills).
Edformation
Fuchs, L., Fuchs, D., Hamlett, C., Walz, L., & Germann, G. (1993). Formative evaluation of academic progress: How much growth? School Psychology Review, 22(1),

29. Fuchs, L. S. , Fuchs, D. , Hosp, M. K. , & Jenkins, J. R. (2001)
Fuchs, L. S., Fuchs, D., Hosp, M. K., & Jenkins, J. R. (2001). Oral reading fluency as an indicator of reading competence: A theoretical, empirical, and historical analysis. Scientific Studies of Reading, 5(3),
Hasbrouck, J.E., Ihnot, C., & Rogers, G. H. (1999). “Read Naturally”: A strategy to increase oral reading fluency. Reading Research & Instruction, 39(1),
Hasbrouck, J.E., Woldbeck, T., Ihnot, C., & Parker, R. I. (1999). One teacher’s use of curriculum-based measurement: A changed opinion. Learning Disabilities: Research & Practice, 14(2),

30. Hasbrouck, J. E. & Tindal, G. (Spring, 1992)
Hasbrouck, J. E. & Tindal, G. (Spring, 1992). Curriculum-based oral reading fluency norms for students in grades Teaching Exceptional Children, 24(3),
NATIONAL READING PANEL REPORT (2000)
Osborn, J. & Lehr, F. A Focus on Fluency (free booklet)

31. Fluency J. Hasbrouck, Ph.D.
Rasinski, T. Assessing Reading Fluency (free booklet)
READ NATURALLY “Reading Fluency Monitor”
Shinn, M. R. (Ed.) (1989). Curriculum-Based Measurement: Assessing Special Children. NY: Guilford. ISBN: X
SOPRIS WEST “6 Minute Solution”
©2005 JH Consulting

32. Fluency J. Hasbrouck, Ph.D.
Contact Information:
Jan Hasbrouck, Ph.D.
Educational Consultant
Seattle, WA
©2005 JH Consulting