Five Ways to Ensure Fluency

Keith Pruitt, Ed.S.Words of Wisdom Educational

Consultingwww.woweducationalconsulting.com

How We Understand Fluency Determines How

We Instruct It—

How Do You DefineFluency?

Turn and Talk

“Fluency is one of several critical factors necessary for reading comprehension. Despite its importance as a component of skilled reading, fluency is often neglected in the classroom.”

Report of the National Reading Panel – Teaching Children to Read, 2000.

Wh

at

Does A

Flu

en

t R

ead

er

Do?

•Fluent readers read with automaticity•Fluent readers read with prosody•Fluent readers read naturally as though speaking (phrasing)•Fluent readers read accurately and with natural flow or pace

Is It Necessary to Teach Fluency?

The teacher said the principal is the best in the district.

“The teacher,” said the principal, “is the best in the district.”

Defining Terms•Automaticity- By “automatic” we simply mean that the words in the text can be decoded with ease, speed, and accuracy. -- S. Jay Samuels, Reading Fluency: It’s Past, Present, and Future. (2006). Fluency

Instruction: Research-based Best Practices. Guildford.

The author goes on to use the comparison of a person driving a car.

From www.buzzle.com

Defining Terms• Prosody- “Expression (the technical term is prosody) includes pausing, phrasing, rhythm, pitch, smoothness, and stress, all working together in an integrated was to reflect the reader’s interpretation of the text.” --p.71, Fountas & Pinnell, Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency(2006). Heinemann.

Defining Terms• Phrasing- “refers to the way readers put words together in groups to represent the meaningful units of language.”—Fountas and Pinnell (2006). Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency. Heinemann

Ensuring Fluency1.Students need to hear language. Reading TO

students.

Students should be able to read with fluency, expression, and correct phrasing—all indicators of effective, meaningful reading. Research has shown that oral reading is one of the best ways to help children develop these skills… p.4

Ensuring Fluency1.Students need to hear language. Reading TO

students.2.Students should read to each other. INTERACTIVE

READING.

Isn’t as threatening.Allows for familiarity with difficult text and vocabularyProvides opportunity for active listening activitiesBuilds confidence as a reader From Reading Partnerships

website

Ensuring Fluency1.Students need to hear language. Reading TO

students.2.Students should read to each other. INTERACTIVE

READING.3.Students should use technology. Books on

electronic file.Hearing a book read on tape helps her see how the words on the page can come alive in a fluid, expressive way. It helps her focus on the sounds of words read without interruption and provides a model of fluent reading. Audio books also give her an important introduction to listening — a skill that she must master in order to learn to read. --Susan Neuman, The Literacy Benefits of Listening, from Scholastic website

Ensuring Fluency1.Students need to hear language. Reading TO

students.2.Students should read to each other. INTERACTIVE

READING.3.Students should use technology. Books on

electronic file.4.Students should read to themselves.

INDEPENDENT READING

Ensuring Fluency1.Students need to hear language. Reading TO

students.2.Students should read to each other. INTERACTIVE

READING.3.Students should use technology. Books on

electronic file.4.Students should read to themselves. INDEPENDENT

READING5.Students should read to their teachers. GUIDED

READING.

Unless you are listening to your students read, how are you going to know their abilities and deficits?

Ensuring Fluency1.Students need to hear language. Reading TO

students.2.Students should read to each other. INTERACTIVE

READING.3.Students should use technology. Books on

electronic file.4.Students should read to themselves.

INDEPENDENT READING5.Students should read to their teachers. GUIDED

READING.

Fluency involves many aspects of literacy. It isn’t just reading fast!

But so much rests on the student’s ability to read as a fluent reader. It has impact on comprehension and in the end shows in the assessment.

Thank You

Keith PruittWords of Wisdom

www.woweducationalconsulting.com