Fluency

What is Fluency?

Fluency is the ability to read a text aloud as if speaking.

The elements of fluency include:

Accuracy - decode words without error
Automaticity - word recognition is mastered and done without conscious attention
Rate - pace at which a student accurately reads
Prosody - reading smoothly and with expression

(University of Nebraska-Lincoln, n.d.).

Fluent readers no longer need to decode words. Their word recognition is automatic and accurate which allows for the reader to focus on comprehending the text (Reading Eggs, n.d.).

Implications for Reading

Reading fluency is a critical component in creating a skilled reader. Fluency is thought to be a bridge between word study skills and comprehension. Students must be able to accurately read the text to be successful in completing the reading. However, it is not enough to accurately read the words if too much time is spent on decoding and stringing the words together (Kuhn, 2008). It is essential for students to master word recognition to provide them the ability to read with automaticity and read words at a pace like talking. If too much time is spent on decoding words, the student will struggle to focus on the meaning of the text. Students show their understanding of text by reading with prosody or expression. Constructing meaning from the text is demonstrated by “using appropriate phrasing, stressing words to covey meaning and changing the pitch based on punctuation” (Kuhn 2008). When all of these elements are put together, a fluent reader is established.

Students who lack fluency may become discouraged because it takes a lot of effort and time to read a passage (Reading Rockets, n.d.). Fluency increases a student's motivation and confidence to read increasingly more difficult texts. As students move on to higher grades, fluency is imperative as the amount of reading increases (Reading Rockets, n.d.). Students who struggle with fluency may have a difficult time keeping up with the requirements.

Research Based Strategies

Model Fluent Reading - The teacher reads aloud a book to model how fluent readers sound when reading. Students should be given the opportunity to share what they noticed about how the teacher was reading and how they sounded.
Assisted Reading - Assisted reading comes in many forms including choral reading, paired reading, audio assisted reading, and captioned reading. Choral reading is a group reading aloud together. Paired reading can be any pairing of a stronger and weaker reader such as student-student, parent-student, or teacher-student. Audio assisted reading allows students to listen to the reading as they read along. Captioned reading shows the words that are being spoken or sung when watching tv or listening to a song.
Deep Repetitive Reading - Repeated reading provides students the chance to develop fluency and increases comprehension. Students can use different voices each time they read to make it more engaging.

([Scholastic], 2014).

Use Punctuation as Clues - Explicitly teach students about the ways in which their expressions may change while reading aloud based on the punctuation being used.
Scoop Phrases - Instead of pointing at individual words, students scoop phrases to help develop expression and comprehension while reading.

(Staake, 2020).

Research Based Interventions

Program - Read Live

Description - Builds fluency and motivation by having students read short, nonfiction passages and increased reading accuracy and expression with audio support.

Tier - 2,3

Grade Level - 1-8

Instruction Type - Individual

(Gibbons, 2017).

Program - Great Leaps

Description - Students work on phonics, phrases, stories, and depth of knowledge to support students growth in fluency and comprehension.

Tier - 1.2,3

Grade Level - K-5

Instruction Type - Individual

(Gibbons, 2017).

Program - QuickReads

Description - A supplemental literacy intervention program that improves students’ fluency, comprehension, and content knowledge. Short, nonfiction texts are read quickly, repeatedly, and meaningfully and takes just 15 minutes a day, 3 to 4 times per week.

Tier - 2,3

Grade Level - 2-6

Instruction Type - Small Group, Individual

(Gibbons, 2017).

Program - Reading A-Z

Description - In-depth guided reading lesson plans, worksheets and assessments with more than 1000 leveled books in multiple genres and formats.

Tier - 1,2,3

Grade Level - K-5

Instruction Type - Whole Group, Small Group, Individual

(Gibbons, 2017).

Program - HELPS Reading Program

Description - A free program that targets student reading fluency skills through adult modeling of fluent reading, repeated reading of passages by the student, phrase-drill error correction, verbal cueing and retell check to encourage student reading comprehension, and timely performance feedback.

Tier - 1,2,3

Grade Level - K-3

Instruction Type - Individual, Small Group

(Intervention Central, n.d.).

Assessments

Formal

Title: Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency - SECOND EDITION (TOSWRF-2)
Author: Nancy Mather, PhD, Donald D. Hammill, EdD, Elizabeth A. Allen, PhD, and Rhia Roberts, PhD
Description: A reliable and valid measure of students' ability to recognize printed words accurately and efficiently.
Age Range: 6 years 3 months - 24 years 11 months
Administration Time: 3-6 minutes
Subtests:
Companion Test - Test of Silent Contextual Reading Fluency, Second Edition (TOSCRF-2) measures a student's essential contextual reading abilities (i.e., word identification, word meaning, word building, sentence structure, comprehension, and fluency).
Cost: $311.95
Link: https://ganderpublishing.com/products/test-of-silent-word-reading-fluency-second-edition-toswrf-3?variant=23510992224314

Title: DIBELS
Author: University of Oregon
Description: A short fluency measure that can be used to regularly detect risk and monitor the development of early literacy and early reading skills in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Grade Range: K-8
Administration Time: 1-2 minutes
Subtests:
Letter-naming fluency (LNF)
Phonemic segmentation fluency (PSF)
Nonsense word fluency (NWF)
Word reading fluency (WRF)
Cost: $1 per student per year plus the cost of purchasing or printing paper materials. There is also a one-time $200 set up fee for new accounts.
Link: https://dibels.uoregon.edu/about-dibels

Informal

Oral Reading Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) - A student is given three short passages to read in one minute to give the teacher a baseline. Based on this data, the teacher sets a goal for the student. The teacher continues to provide passages and tracks the students progress on a graph. If the student is making progress toward their goal, the teacher will continue to provide the same instruction. If the student is not making progress, the instructional strategy will be changed.

(Lembke & Busch, 2004).

Fluency Scale/Rubric - Use a scale or rubric that encompasses expression, phrasing, smoothness, and pace to assess for prosody.

(Five From Five, n.d.).

iPad Apps/Technology

First Sight Words Professional: The app has more than 300 common sight words to support students learning essential vocabulary to increase fluency.
Cost: $9.99
Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id515121228

Read with Me Fluency: As students read, the app records audio and video to allow the teacher to assess the student and collect data.
Cost: $2.99
Link: https://edshelf.com/tool/read-with-me/

Reading Speed/Fluency Builder: The app is designed to create a fun, game-like environment that uses modeled and repeated reading to increase fluency.
Cost: Free
Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1080258925

Speakaboos: An interactive reading app that features read-along highlighting to capture kids’ attention and help build early reading skills. It also features touch screen interactions to engage children in reading and improve comprehension and fluency.
Cost: Free
Link: https://www.appstoreapps.com/app/speakaboos-kids-reading-app/

1000 Sight Words Superhero: The app helps kids learn to read and spell the 1000 most commonly repeated words.
Cost: Free
Link: https://edshelf.com/tool/1000-sight-words-superhero-hd-free/

(Lynch, 2021).

References

Five From Five. (n.d.). Assessing Fluency. Retrieved from https://fivefromfive.com.au/assessing-fluency/.
Gibbons, E. (2017, March 23). Five Fluency Interventions Worth Trying. Retrieved from https://www.theliteracynest.com/2017/03/five-fluency-interventions-worth-trying.html.
Intervention Central. (n.d.). HELPS Reading Program. Retrieved from https://www.interventioncentral.org/academic-interventions/reading-fluency/helps-reading-program.
Kuhn, M. (2008). HotSheet 3: Effective Practices for Reading Fluency [PDF File]. Retrieved from http://s3.amazonaws.com/cmi-teaching-ld/assets/attachments/58/DLD_FluencyHotSheet3.pdf?1304630542.
Lembke, E. & Busch, T. (2004). Teaching Tutorial 4: Curriculum-based Measurement in Reading: Oral Fluency [PDF File]. Retrieved from http://s3.amazonaws.com/cmi-teaching-ld/assets/attachments/40/cbmtutorial.pdf?1303572614.
Lynch, M. (2021, September 2). Reading Fluency Building Apps, Tools, and Resources That We Love. Retrieved from https://www.theedadvocate.org/reading-fluency-building-apps-tools-and-resources-that-we-love/.
Reading Eggs. (n.d.). Reading Fluency. Retrieved from https://readingeggs.com/articles/2019/01/08/what-is-reading-fluency/.
Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Fluency. Retrieved from https://www.readingrockets.org/helping/target/fluency#do_teachers.
[Scholastic]. (2014, September 11). The "Essentials" of Developing Reading Fluency [Video File]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM-mi_4usvE.
Staake, J. (2020, July 27). 18 Fantastic Reading Fluency Activities To Build Literacy in Young Readers. Retrieved from https://www.weareteachers.com/reading-fluency-activities/.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln. (n.d.). Student Engagement Project: Reading Fluency. Retrieved from https://k12engagement.unl.edu/reading-fluency.

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