Reading fluency is an important focus of literacy teaching, and can be thought of in two different but complementary ways: Show
Quality and efficiency together are indicators of fluent reading, and are necessary for reading achievement, but not sufficient. The case for fluencyIt is an important goal for children to become accurate, efficient, and therefore fluent readers. Facilitating repeated practice of reading aloud is key to developing fluency. The goal for all children is for decoding to become easy and automatic, so they can free up their attention to focus on the meaning of the text. While easy and automatic reading allows readers to attend to the meaning of texts, fluency alone does not indicate good comprehension. As noted by Afflerbach, Pearson and Paris (2008), ‘fluent reading begins with strategies that integrate intentions, actions, and goals, and fluency increases with repeated practice’ (p.369). Theory to practiceEarly readers spend much of their attention and effort on decoding words, which will inevitably affect their speed and efficiency. As students become more familiar with basic graphemes, and build up a bank of automatically recognisable words, their reading rate increases. Fluency is dependent upon the ability to decode the text (including phonemic awareness, phonics and vocabulary abilities), and fluent readers work with meaningful units such as phrases and clauses as they read. Readers become more fluent when they can quickly and accurately decode the text with ease. Once reading fluency is developed to an automatic/proficient level, readers can focus much less on decoding and more on the comprehension of text. What other areas of literacy relate to fluency?Fluency is related to other decoding focuses, including phonological awareness and phonics. This is because accurate and timely decoding of unfamiliar words helps to improve the fluency of reading. Another area which supports fluent reading is vocabulary knowledge (including morphology) because familiarity with a variety of words (and word parts, i.e., morphemes) can help to read these words with greater ease and fluency. Finally, awareness of sentence structure (grammar) and punctuation is also linked to fluency (particularly rhythm, phrasing, and intonation). This is because knowing how to break sentences into appropriate phrases, and including pauses at different punctuation, is a key component of the qualitative aspects of reading fluency. Evidence baseResearch into fluency has examined the role that it plays in contributing to comprehension. In a review of research into this area, Konza (2016) examines three key areas which contribute to fluent – accuracy, rate and prosody (expression) – and which enable students to engage in meaningful and enjoyable experiences of reading (cf Kuhn & Stahl, 2000; Rasinski, Rikli, & Johnston, 2009 as cited in Konza, 2016). Rasinski and Samuels (2011, p. 95) note that when readers develop fluency, ‘they are able to devote their finite cognitive resources to the more important task in reading – that is, comprehension’. Key conceptsGrammar and punctuationAnother component of the teaching of fluency is the teaching of grammar and punctuation. This can include (but is not limited to) the following:
For more information, see: Vocabulary Developing fluencyOpportunities for developing reading fluency include:
Links to Victorian Curriculum - EnglishFoundationReading
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Links to Victorian Curriculum - English as an Additional Language (EAL)Pathway A Reading and viewing
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Reading and viewing
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ReferencesAbbott, M, Wills, H, Greenwood, CR, Kamps, D, Heitzman-Powell, L & Selig, J (2010), The combined effects of grade retention and targeted small-group intervention on students’ literacy outcomes, Reading & Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 26(1), pp. 4-25. Afflerbach, P., Pearson, P., & Paris S. G. (2008). Clarifying differences between reading skills and reading strategies. The Reading Teacher, 61(5), 364 - 373. Konza, D. (2016). Understanding the process of reading: The big six. In J. Scull & B. Raban (Eds), Growing up literate:Australian literacy research for practice (pp. 149-175). South Yarra, Vic. : Eleanor Curtain Publishing Rasinski, T.V. & Samuels, S.J. (2011). Reading fluency: what it is and what it is not. In S.J. Samuels & A.E. Farstrup (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction (4th ed.) (pp. 94 - 114). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. What are the best strategies for increasing fluency?10 Strategies for fluency. Record students reading aloud on their own. ... . Ask kids to use a ruler or finger to follow along. ... . Have them read the same thing several times. ... . Pre-teach vocabulary. ... . Drill sight words. ... . Make use of a variety of books and materials. ... . Try different font and text sizes. ... . Create a stress free environment.. WHAT IS strategies in developing reading fluency?Practice and repetition have been shown to increase fluency, even for very short periods every day. Remember to practice at a level that the student is already able to decode easily. The student should feel confident and comfortable with the text selected.
What strategies can you use to teach reading to English language learners?Supporting ELLs in the Mainstream Classroom: Reading Instruction. Read to students every day. ... . Support students' comprehension as much as possible. ... . Teach the alphabet when necessary. ... . Teach phonics in context. ... . Check comprehension frequently. ... . Use audiobooks. ... . Support native language literacy.. |