Fluency

When fluent readers read silently, they recognize words automatically. They group words quickly to help them gain meaning from what they read. Fluent readers read aloud effortlessly and with expression.

Their reading sounds natural, as if they are speaking.

Why is fluency important?

• Readers who have not yet developed fluency read slowly, word by word. Their oral reading is choppy.

• Because fluent readers do not have to concentrate on decoding the words, they can focus their attention on what the text means. They can make connections among the ideas in the text and their background knowledge. In other words, fluent readers recognize words and comprehend at the same time.

• Less fluent readers, however, must focus their attention on figuring out the words, leaving them little attention for understanding the meaning of text.

Assessments

Teaching & Learning Fluency

National Assessment of Educational Progress Fluency Scale

Fluent

Level 4

Reads primarily in larger, meaningful phrase groups. Although some regressions, repetitions, and deviations from text may be present, these do not appear to detract from the overall structure of the story. Preservation of the author's syntax is consistent. some or most of the story is read with expressive interpretation.

Fluent

Level 3

Reads primarily in three- or four-word phrase groups. Some small groupings may be present. however, the majority of phrasing seems appropriate and preserves the syntax of the author. Little or no expressive interpretation is present.

Non-Fluent

Level 2

Reads primarily in two-word phrases with some three- or four-word groupings. Some word-by-word reading may be present. Word groupings may seem awkward and unrelated to larger context of sentence or passage

Non-Fluent

Level 1

Reads primarily word-by-word. Occasional two-word or three-word phrases may occur but these are infrequent and/or they do not preserve meaningful syntax.

A checklist developed by Hudson, Lane and Pullen (2005, p. 707) provides a more detailed assessment of a student's prosody:

1. Student placed vocal emphasis on appropriate words.

2. Student's voice tone rose and fell at appropriate points in the text.

3. Student's inflection reflected the punctuation in the text (e.g., voice tone rose near the end of a question).

4. In narrative text with dialogue, student used appropriate vocal tone to represent characters' mental states, such as excitement, sadness, fear, or confidence.

5. Student used punctuation to pause appropriately at phrase boundaries.

6. Student used prepositional phrases to pause appropriately at phrase boundaries.

7. Student used subject-verb divisions to pause appropriately at phrase boundaries.

8. Student used conjunctions to pause appropriately at phrase boundaries.

http://www.readingrockets.org

Classroom strategies to develop fluency skills.

Differentiation Strategies

Differentiation in fluency instruction:

Grouping for instruction is a way to differentiate. Differentiation of instruction is a teacher's response to a learner's needs guided by general principles of differentiation, such as respectful tasks, flexible grouping, and ongoing assessment and adjustment. Teachers can differentiate content, process, and product according to a student's readiness, interests, or learning profile (Tomlinson, 1996).

Flexible grouping involves the forming of temporary groups based on instructional needs or student interest. Targeted instruction can take place with small numbers of students having the same needs. For those learners having a difficult time transitioning from purposeful decoding to fluent reading, fluency instruction combined with flexible grouping is an effective strategy for meeting those needs.

Ongoing informal assessments provide critical information about students' fluency growth. Analysis of the data collected from these assessments gives the teacher evidence of how a student is progressing. In turn, the teacher can identify other students who have similar needs. Instruction can then be planned to address these needs. Flexible grouping for short periods of explicit instruction allows the teacher to meet the individual needs of all students, no matter what their skill level.