Fluency: Freeing the Mind for Comprehension

EDC423Fluency: Freeing the Mind for ComprehensionTURN & TALK: What is fluent reading?

Three aspects of fluent reading (EAR)Expression (Prosody) phrasing, word emphasis, musical aspects of languageAccuracy correct and automatic without effort or thinking powerRate oral and silent ratesRecommended Fluency RatesInstructional LevelOral RateSilent RateGrades 1-250-10075-100Grades 2-370-110115-140Grades 3-480-140130-175Grades 4-5100-150160-200Grades 5-6110-160185-225Grades 7-8130-180200-250Fluency Developing AutomaticityWhy is fluency so important? Automaticity: the ability to read without consciously thinking about it Readers no longer need to use their working memory to decode the words they can use that memory for things like interpretation, comprehension, and critical thinking. Thus, increased fluency can foster increases in reading comprehension!

Assessing FluencyOral Reading with DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) One minute tests

Assessing Fluency with DIBELSPotential Problems? (Fluency = expression, accuracy, and rate)Bringing words to life in the context of a story (storytelling vs. reading isolated word lists) Importance of changing rate and phrasing to match the purpose for reading (When might you need to slow down?) How can we help children monitor and improve their fluency?

Advantages?

Disadvantages?

More Engaging Alternatives? Instructional Practices for Improving FluencyNOT Round Robin ReadingUse Repeated ReadingUse Shared Reading / Choral ReadingUse Partner ReadingAuthentic ways to integrate these oral reading practices?

Poetry Feast & Favorite Poem Project

Readers Theatre

Grade 1Readers Theatre

Grade 1Readers TheatreInterpretive voice-only performance goal: to expressively read a text so that the audience can visualize the story Oral, volume, intonation, pitch, & timing Requires deep understanding of a characters emotions and the plotImplementing for as little as 10 weeks resulted in consistent gains in comprehension of more than one year! (Griffith & Rasinski, 2004; Martinez et al, 1999) Purposeful matching with technology motivated children even more! (Vasinda & McLeod, 2011)

Readers Theatre

Readers Theatre Script ChoicesHelp! Hilary! Help! (Hilary gets the change to show just how helpful she can be.)Which Shoes Do You Choose? (With so many kinds of shoes at the store, how can Katie ever choose?) Casey at the Bat (It looked extremely rocky for the Mudville nine that day) Audacity