Reading Fluency & Your Child

Both educators and researchers alike believe that the ability to read smoothly and comfortably is essential in comprehending text. According to the research of Stanovich (1991), reading fluency is one of the defining characteristics of good readers and a lack of fluency is a common trait of those who struggle. “Fluent readers are able to read with speed, expression, and accuracy, and fluency is considered to be a critical factor in effective reading comprehension, “(National Reading Panel, 2000). In the classroom, reading fluency exhibits itself more than when students are reading aloud. Differences in it not only distinguish good readers from struggling readers, but poor fluency is also a reliable predictor of reading comprehension problems.

Over the past few decades, researchers and scientists have spent much time focusing on the connection between reading fluency and comprehension. Their studies have led to the following conclusions:

Reading fluency is an essential element of every successful reading program.
Building fluency skills should be a key component in reading lessons both in elementary and middle schools.
Students who read fluently are more likely to comprehend better than those who do not.
A lack of fluency raises a red flag and could signal deficits in comprehension, word

recognition, phonemic awareness, and writing.

There are several ways to remediate and build fluency. These include repeated readings, Reader’s Theater, timed readings, and other activities focusing on accuracy, prosody (the rhythmic and tonal aspects of speech; the “music” of oral language), and speed.

Knowing this, it is our responsibility as educators and parents to support the development of fluency in our children’s reading. But first, we all must have a solid understanding of how researchers have come to these assumptions.

According to Duffy (2003), “fluency is the ability to orally and silently read text smoothly and with appropriate phrasing and intonation.” Many teachers refer to it as “reading like you are talking.” As children grow and develop, they expand upon their reading skills. If you think back to your child’s days in kindergarten, he began by learning what the letters of the alphabet looked like and, as he progressed through school, their sounds, written formation, etc. Elementary school soon focused on stringing words together in sentences and eventually paragraphs. Comprehension then emerged as a major focal point in the upper elementary years. Now, in middle school, students are expected to put all of these skills together to fully comprehend and analyze what they are reading. Think of it as a puzzle; each isolated skill pieces together the puzzle of proficient reading.

During the 1970s, LaBerge and Samuels, two major researchers in fluency, studied how the brain works and functions while reading. Their discoveries found that there is a limited amount of space available for word recognition and decoding if comprehension is to occur. In layman’s terms, if a child is able to correctly identify words without struggling, more space in the brain is available to focus on understanding what is happening in a story, book, or poem. “Because comprehension requires higher order processes that cannot become automatic, word identification must become the automatic process,” (LaBerge and Samuels, 1974). Therefore, in order for students to be successful, they must be able to read effortlessly – fluently – for comprehension to occur.

The strong correlation between reading fluency and reading comprehension should serve as the most compelling reason for educators to focus on students become fluent readers (Allington, 1983). Each aspect of fluency has a clear connection to text comprehension. If a student cannot accurately identify words, he will not understand the author’s intended meaning and may misinterpret what the text is saying. Slow, laborious movement through a text taxes the reader’s capacity to build an ongoing interpretation of meaning. Poor prosody or speed could lead to confusion or inappropriate applications of expression. As you can see, there’s a lot to become a good reader; fluency is a major step in the right direction.

What’s Being Done at School & Ways YOU Can Help

In school, a lot is being done to help your child build his reading fluency skills. This includes the use of repeated and timed readings, discussions about fluent reading components – accuracy, rate, prosody, etc., and Reader’s Theater.

Repeated Readings

The repeated readings technique is one method I use to help students improve their skills. Students read selected passages or parts of a larger text numerous times. In doing so, the technique emphasizes practice as a way of working on all of the areas of reading fluency. It is one of the most-studied and used methods for increasing fluency in students (Samuels, 1979).

Timed Repeated Readings

Timed repeated readings are similar to that described above but also contain a setting of criteria to be met within a certain amount of time. The method incorporates the use of a short passage, rating scale, and time to practice reading over and over again until specific criteria is met. In our classroom, this is done both formally and informally interspersed throughout lessons and during Reader’s Theater.

Reader’s Theater

This activity incorporates both of the techniques described above. It is an increasingly popular method of reading practice that can be a powerful way to increase prosody. Students are given scripts based on interesting scenarios or children’s literature that are rich in dialogue. The teacher first models how the script sounds by reading it expressively and discussing her own fluency skills while doing so. Students then practice reading the script with partners and, later on, in small groups. They then select roles for a “final reading” and focus solely on those lines. “Rehearsing and performing the play for peers [or younger children] provides an authentic purpose for rereading the text multiple times,” (Robinson & McKenna, 2008). Doing so motivates students to practice continuously; as they are doing so, they are developing accuracy, rate, and prosody skills.

Assisted Reading Methods

There are several effective methods for improving prosody through assisted readings. This includes mimicking or echoing a teacher’s reading of a phrase or short sentence. Students are first given the opportunity to observe the components of the fluently read statement and then mimic it themselves. In unison reading, the teacher and students read together paying carefully attention to intonation and tone. Similarly, assisted cloze reading involves the teacher reading and pausing at selected points in the text for students to read the next few words. All methods provide explicit instruction in reading fluency skills needed to build comprehension (Robinson & McKenna, 2008).

But Miss Mancini, what can I do at home to help even if I don’t have a background in literacy education and development?

There’s plenty that can be done at home to help your child build fluency skills. One of the easiest ways to help is to read with your child and have him read to you. Not only does this provide a special time between parent and children, but it also helps foster a love of reading and development of strong fluency skills. According to Duffy, ensuring that children read frequently is the most important technique that can be used at home. Texts used for reading should be easy and comfortable for the child. “Without lots of easy reading, students seldom develop the sense of what it feels like to be fluent,” (2003).

Here are a few other literacy activities that can be used at home to build strong fluency skills. All of them are based on the original and current research focusing on this important area of reading:

Read Together Often: Schedule a time every day or every other day to read with your child. Model the reading of a selection first and then have the child read it to you. Discuss their accuracy, rate, and expression.

Build Fluency During Homework Time: We all know that it can be difficult to incorporate extra activities into a busy schedule. A successful and popular way to help your child build fluency is to “sneak in” practice while he is completing regular daily assignments. For example, if the child is assigned to read a section in Science or Social Studies, have him do it aloud. Help him self-correct any exhibited errors and discuss ways to improve accuracy, rate, and expression at a few points during the reading.

Use a Modified Reader’s Theater Approach: While your child is reading a novel (chapter book), ask if you can join in on the fun. Sit together and decide who is going to read what character’s lines or which pages. Then, do so while discussing each other’s fluency skills. This is another great way to integrate practice while your child is doing his reading homework and it does not add more than an extra few minutes of discussion.

Recorded Readings: All of the novels in the fifth grade curriculum are available on cassette or CD. Having your child play the tape while he is reading a chapter builds fluency. We also do this in class from time to time and I remind my students to “read the words in [their] heads while the author is reading them.” This forces them to “say” the words and mimic the audio-recording.

Self-Recordings: Hearing one’s own voice on audiotape can be an eye-opening and insightful experience. For struggling readers, this gives them the opportunity to record, listen, reflect, and rerecord themselves. Using a simple cassette player or even a computer and microphone, have your child read a paragraph or selection from a text in a magazine, novel, or poem. Next, ask him to listen to the recording and think about ways it can be improved. Finally, have him rerecord his reading using the ideas he came up with. Discuss how it has changed. This can be a fun activity to do on a Friday night or during the weekend as children enjoy incorporating technology into their learning.

Discuss Your Interests in Reading: Share your favorite types of books or magazines with your child. Talk about why you enjoy reading them and then practice reading together. This will not only provide opportunities for communication and the building of skills, but also encourage lifelong reading.

Use “Real Life Texts” for Practice: Incorporate fluency practice into daily activities such as cooking, sending letters or emails, and so forth. Have your child read recipes to you while you are cooking, assist in writing letters and proofreading them, etc. This will integrate small chunks of practice into your day that will promote fluency development.

These ideas do not take much extra time, but definitely make a huge impact. You can also take another look at what we do in the classroom to build fluency and adapt it to work at home. Repeated or assisted readings, for example, can be done very easily at home or during a vacation. I’ve had parents tell me how enjoyable it was to do so on road or plane trips.

Please keep in mind that the more practice done equates to higher levels of fluency. I recommend participating in such activities at least twice a week, if not more. Most importantly, try to make fluency practice as enjoyable and motivating as possible. The research done by Juvonen states that “students in grades 5 and 6 often believe that they are doing worse than they are,” (1988). The weaker the student, the more pessimistic the self-appraisal and the less enthused the student is about participating in academic activities (Renick & Harter, 1989). To combat these startling findings, make games out of the above suggested activities and praise your child often. Tell him the things he is doing well and refer to this constantly. When focusing on problematic areas, make suggestions instead of negatively criticizing. As is the case for many activities, for academic motivation to remain high, students must perceive that they are successful and see concrete evidence of their success (Pressley, 2002).

Along with praise, you can also motivate your child by using practice texts that pertain to his interest. This might be sports, animals, magic, or other topics that he can relate to. “High interest increases student engagement and learning from text,” (Hidi, 1990). Find novels, magazines, and poetry collections that “grab” your child’s interest right from the start. Don’t be fearful of using comic books or graphic texts either. Sometimes, these are the best sources to use for unmotivated readers.

Whatever method or methods you choose, remember that you are building a strong foundation for your child’s future. As you learned above, fluency is critical to overall reading comprehension. If one can’t recognize words, he can’t read fluently; and, if he can’t read fluently, he can’t comprehend. Working with your child on this important skill is an investment in their futures both in and outside of a classroom setting.

If you need more ideas or assistance, feel free to contact me at anytime. I will continue to work on fluency in the classroom and keep you informed of our progress.

Resources for Parents

Reading Rockets: Fluency

New Research on an Old Problem: A Brief History of Fluency

Read Aloud Stories with Audio – Through Grade 7

References

Allington, R.L. (1983). Fluency: The neglected reading goal. The Reading Teacher, 36, 556-561.

Duffy, G. (2003). Explaining reading: A resource for teaching concepts, skills, and strategies. NY:

The Guildford Press.

Hidi, S. (1990). Interest and its contribution as a mental resource for learning. Review of

Educational Research, 60, 549-571.

Juvonen, J. (1988). Outcome and Attributional disagreements between students and their teachers.

Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 330-336.

Laberge, D., & Samuels, S.J. (1974). Toward a theory of automatic information processing in

reading. Cognitive psychology, 6, 293-323.

National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the

scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health.

Renick, M.J., & Harter, S. (1989). Impact of social comparisons on the developing self-perceptions

of learning disabled students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 631-638.

Robinson, R., & McKenna, M. (2008). Issues and trends in literacy education. MA: Pearson.

Samuels, S.J. (1979). The method of repeated readings. The Reading Teacher, 32, 403-408.

Stanovich, K.E. (1991). Word recognition: Changing perspectives. In R. Barr, M.L. Kamil, P.

Mosenthal, & P.D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research. NY: Longman.

Pressley, M. (2002). Reading instruction that works. NY: The Guildford Press.

MissMancini

Grade 5 Reading & Language Arts

BedminsterTownshipSchool