EngEd 370 – Week 7 – Nicole Kavajecz
Reading fluency can be described as the ability to read easily, smoothly, and with full comprehension (Vacca, Vacca, Gove, Burkey, Lenhart, & McKoen, 2010, p 189). Fluency can be broken into three dimensions: accuracy in word decoding, automatic processing, and prosody or prosodic reading. Effective fluency instruction includes explicit teaching of phonemics, phonics, and especially models the fluency. Automaticity is a skill which develops with time and practice. Readers can be accurate but not automatic, which means reading will be constantly mentally taxing and exhausting for the individual. It is important to remember that reading quickly is not necessarily a sign of a fluent reader, as they might not comprehend what they are reading. Prosody is the ability to read aloud with expression.
Children require exposure to predictable texts where they can gain confidence in their fluency and prosody (Vacca, Vacca, Gove, Burkey, Lenhart, & McKoen, 2010, p 193). These familiar but slightly different stories are just what a beginning reader needs to support the growing ability. Types of predictable texts include chain or circular story, cumulative story, pattern story, question and answer, repetition of phrase, rhyme, and songbooks.
There are a number of strategies to assist with fluency which teachers use for the whole class (Vacca, Vacca, Gove, Burkey, Lenhart, & McKoen, 2010, p 194). Choral reading employs the use of modeling by the teacher and peers for expression, as well as being enjoyable for the group. Even the most reluctant and scared reader will join in when the entire class is participating. Echo reading is a technique where the teacher reads a line or two of text modeling the phrasing and intonation appropriate, then students repeat it exactly. Fluency-orientated reading instruction (FORI) is a research based practice. The teacher uses the three components of the process to develop the readers’ fluency: teacher-led repeated reading, free-reading period, and home reading. Readers theater is an important step in most students’ development because it allows them to make connections to the acting they know and love. The emphasis is on what the audience hears rather than what they see, so the ‘actors’ need to be especially effective with their prose in order to get good ‘reviews’.
Teachers can use different strategies for small group or individual lessons (Vacca, Vacca, Gove, Burkey, Lenhart, & McKoen, 2010, p 198). Individual repeated readings increase confidence through repetition, and allow the student to increase fluency because of the familiarity with the text. “Samuels (1979) proposes the method of repeated readings as a strategy to develop fluent oral reading” (p 198). There are several steps: selection of text, silently reading to prepare, connection to practicing for a sport, recording the first aloud reading for comparison, and finally repeating aloud until it is perfect. Paired repeated readings is similar to the above individual, but students choose a different passage than their partner and add a comparison to each other. They also help each other identify errors and work together to increase comprehension. Fluency development lesson (FDL) involves each student being given a copy of a 50-150 word passage, the teacher reading the passage expressively, students discuss the content, practice reading in pairs, a brief word study, then reading aloud to the group. Peer tutoring is very useful in second and third grade classrooms because the varying levels of reader fluency is most apparent. Collaborative work between peers has been proven effective time and time again, so tapping into this for fluency is no surprise. “Research reviews on the effectiveness of peer tutoring with paired reading have shown that the more able reader accelerates in readign skills at least as much as the less able reader (Fuchs, Fuchs, & Burish, 2000; Sharlpey & Sharpley, 1981)” (p 201). Automated reading is where a student listens while reads silently along with the text, usually a recording not live. When students are confident they can read fluently, they should read the text to their families. Oral recitation lesson (ORL) has 5 steps. “First, the teacher models fluency by reading a story to the class. Next, the teacher leads a discussion. . The class discusses what expressive oral reading is like. . . Students read in chorus adn individually. . . [finally] the teacher chooses individual students to select and orally read a portion of the text” (p 202). Support reading strategy is a 3-day plan. Day 1 the teacher reads to a small group of students with a fluent, expressive voice, then the students discuss what’s happening in the passage. Day 2 the students are paired and alternate readings of the story. Day 3 the teacher listens to individual students read through varying passages and completes running records and comprehension checks for each. Cross-age reading provides middle school children the opportunity to practice fluency with the goal of reading to younger children, as well as the valuable listening opportunity for those younger students.
“The success of a literary program, to a certain extent, depends on the literacy environment at home and involving parents as an essential part of literacy instruction” (Vacca, Vacca, Gove, Burkey, Lenhart, & McKoen, 2010, p 203). Sending home books to be read as a family, offering strategies for parents to use, asking for one book to be read at home each day, and providing opportunities for families to report what they are seeing are great ways to get families more involved. The most effective ways to help from home are reading more, reading aloud, rereading familiar texts, echo reading, and using predictable books.
Teachers assess fluency with the use of timed passage readings and comprehension checks, as well as running records. Determining the reading rate of the student is as simple as listening to them read a passage and counting the words per minute they read correctly (WPM or WCPM). However, this does not always account for prosody, so the teacher must assess this personal skill with their professional knowledge. Silent reading fluency may be difficult to assess as it is done in the mind, but the transfer of this skill to the aloud reading fluency is very apparent. When students develop their silent reading fluency effectively, their aloud fluency is likely developed as well.
Resources
Vacca, J., Vacca, R., Gove, M., Burkey, L., Lenhart, L., & McKoen. (2010). Reading and learning to read. (Tenth Edition). Pearson.
