A Sin of the Second Kind The Neglect of Fluency Instruction and What We Can Do About It Timothy Shanahan University of Illinois at Chicago shanahan @uic.edu

What is fluency? “Fluency is the ability to read a text quickly, accurately, and with proper expression.” --National Reading Panel

Unpacking the Fluency Definition Ability

Unpacking the Fluency Definition Text

Unpacking the Fluency Definition Quickly

Unpacking the Fluency Definition Accurately

Unpacking the Fluency Definition Proper Expression

Unpacking the Fluency Definition Oral

Unpacking the Fluency Definition Role of Comprehension

Isn’t fluency just highly proficient word reading? No. Fluency is more closely correlated to comprehension than to word reading.

Isn’t fluency just reading comprehension? No. Fluency can be independent of reading comprehension.

Does it really matter that students read fluently? Yes. Studies of fluency training ALL considered its impact on reading comprehension and found that it mattered.

Who Needs Fluency Instruction? Everybody

Who Needs Fluency Instruction? NAEP 4th Grade Fluency Study (1995) 1 2 3 4 7% 37% 42% 13%

Who Needs Fluency Instruction? NAEP 4th Grade Fluency Study (1995) Inaccurate Reading 2 3 Too Slow Reading 43% 37% 42% 49%

Who Needs Fluency Instruction? National Reading Panel based its fluency conclusions on studies conducted in: Grades 2 through 9.

How Do You Teach Fluency? Guided oral reading practice with repetition.

How Do You Teach Fluency? Oral Studies show that oral reading practice works Studies do not consistently show that silent reading practice works.

How Do You Teach Fluency? Guided Students benefit from feedback Feedback from peers, tutors, parents, teachers Appropriate feedback

How Do You Teach Fluency? Repetition Rereading up to criteria Reading a text 3 or more times

How fluent do you need to be? Accuracy 95—100% Grade 1: 60 words per minute (wpm), Grade 2: 90 wpm, Grade 3: 120 wpm, Grade 4: 130 wpm, Grade 5: 140 wpm, Grade 6: 150 wpm, Grade 7: 150 wpm, Grade 8: 150 wpm).

How fluent do you need to be? Proper Expression 3 or 4 on NAEP Scale Grade 1: 60 words per minute (wpm), Grade 2: 90 wpm, Grade 3: 120 wpm, Grade 4: 130 wpm, Grade 5: 140 wpm, Grade 6: 150 wpm, Grade 7: 150 wpm, Grade 8: 150 wpm).

NAEP Level 4 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.

NAEP Level 3 Level 3 Reads primarily in three- or four-word phrase groups. Some smaller 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.

NAEP Level 2 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.

NAEP Level 1 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.

How fluent do you need to be? Speed* Grade 1: 60 wpm Grade 4: 120 wpm Grade 2: 90 wpm Grade 5: 130 wpm Grade 3: 110 wpm Grade 6: 140 wpm *end of year norms, 50%ile Grade 1: 60 words per minute (wpm), Grade 2: 90 wpm, Grade 3: 120 wpm, Grade 4: 130 wpm, Grade 5: 140 wpm, Grade 6: 150 wpm, Grade 7: 150 wpm, Grade 8: 150 wpm).

What are students learning when they work on fluency? Depending on relative text difficulty: How to read words efficiently How to make sense of the text/prosodic features

What kind of text is used to teach fluency? Nature of text Text difficulty Length of text

Programs for Teaching Fluency Fluency (Steck Vaughn) Quick Reads (Modern Curriculum Press) Read Naturally Soliloquy Insights: Reading Fluency (Charlesbridge)

Fluency Assessment http://dibels.uoregon.edu http://nces.ed.gov/pub95/web/95762.asp Qualitative Reading Inventory (L. Leslie) Informal Reading Inventory (Burns & Rowe) Running Records for the Classroom Teacher (Clay)

Other Information on Fluency Pacific Regional Educational Laboratory http://www.prel.org/programs/rel/fluency.asp Johns, J. L., & Berglund, R. L. (2002). Fluency: Questions, Answers & Evidence Based Strategies. Kendall-Hunt. Rasinski, T. (2003). The fluent reader: Oral reading strategies... Scholastic.

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A Sin of the Second Kind The Neglect of Fluency Instruction and What We Can Do About It Timothy Shanahan University of Illinois at Chicago shanahan @uic.edu