Fluency

From Building Fluency: Lessons and Strategies for Reading Success By Wiley Blevins

A Definition
Fluency is the ability to read smoothly, easily, and readily with freedom from word recognition problems A lack of fluency is characterized by a slow, halting pace; frequent mistakes; poor phrasing; and inadequate intonation.
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Fluent reading is a major goal of reading instruction because decoding print accurately and effortlessly enables students to read for meaning.
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A fluent reader can:

1. Read at a rapid rate
(pacethe speed at which oral or silent reading occurs)

2. Automatically recognize words

(smoothness/accuracyefficient decoding skills)

3. Phrase correctly
(prosodythe ability to read a text orally using appropriate pitch, stress, and phrasing)

Automaticity
Refers to knowing how to do something so well you dont have to think about it. For reading, refers to the ability to accurately and quickly recognize many words as whole units. Advantagerecognizing a word as a whole unit is that words have meaning.

Exposure
To recognize a word automatically: The average child
Struggling reader
4-14 exposures 40 or more exposures Students need a great deal of practice reading stories at their independent reading level to develop automaticity.

Why do children fail to read fluently?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Lack of exposure The good-reader syndrome Lack of practice time Frustration Missing the why of reading

Ways to teach fluency

1. Model fluent reading

2. Provide direct instruction and feedback

Teach sight words and phonics Practice reading prior to reading a text scan a text, preteach vocabulary Time students reading Include oral recitation lessons Teach smooshing words together Explain return-sweep eye movement
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Teach about the eye-voice span

eyes are 1 to 3 words ahead of oral reading Find alternatives to round-robin reading Teach phrasing and intonation

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Recite the alphabet/numbers as a conversation.

Activity

ABCD? EFG! HI? JKL. MN? OPQ. RST! UVWX. YZ!

123. 4! 567? 89. 10!

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Recite the same sentence using different punctuation. Dogs bark? Cows moo.

Dogs bark!
Dogs bark.

Cows moo?
Cows moo!

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Practice placing the stress on different words in the same sentence.

I am tired.
I am tired.

We are happy.
We are happy.

I am tired.

We are happy.
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3. Provide reader support

Reading aloud simultaneously with a partner or small group Echo reading Readers theater Choral reading Paired repeated readings Books on tape
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Activity
Book
You Read to Me, Ill Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman ISBN 0-316-01316-1 (Also, fairy tales and mother goose rhymes)

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4. Use repeated readings of one text.

Child reads at his instructional level Teacher times the reading Feedback is given on word recognition errors and the number of words per minute

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6. Provide easy reading materials.

Enormous amounts of individualized reading material At least 30 minutes per day Must be independent or instructional level

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