FLUENCY INSTRUCTION

DEFINITION OF FLUENCY Reading at a just right pace, accurately and with expression Combines rate and accuracy Requires automaticity Includes reading with prosody

WHY IS FLUENCY IMPORTANT? Results in increased comprehension More mental energy for comprehending Can assist in building listening comprehension and listening vocabulary

Poor readers don’t get much practice reading!! One of the major differences between good and poor readers is fluency. (poor readers may decode, but it is slow and tedious) IMPORTANCE OF FLUENCY INSTRUCTION!!

Fluency instruction begins when students can read connected text with 90% or better accuracy (usually by the middle of first grade)

SELECTING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS Teaching students word recognition skills will help them read faster. This is best done by having the students read connected text. Competent reading requires skills that extend beyond the single-word level to contextual reading, and this skill can best be acquired by practicing reading in which words are in a meaningful context.

SELECTING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IMPORTANT-Provide text at the appropriate level! Students need to be reading texts at their independent level- 95%-100% accuaracy.

IMPORTANT!!!! Teaching on the child’s instructional level text (90%-94% accuracy) can focus on word recognition or comprehension. When the child rereads the text, it may be at the child’s independent level and teaching can focus on fluency. Students should practice orally rereading text that is reasonably easy for them

KEY CONCEPTS: Reading-NOT memorizing Independent level text (95%-100%) accuracy Rereading text

INDEPENDENT LEVEL TEXT Relatively easy text for the reader, with no more than 1 in 20 words difficult for the reader (95% accuracy

INSTRUCTIONAL LEVEL TEXT Challenging but manageable text for the reader, with no more than approximately 1 in 10 words difficult for the reader (90% success)

FRUSTRATION LEVEL TEXT Difficult text for the reader, with more than 1 in 10 words difficult for the reader (less than 90% success)

FLUENCY ACTIVITIES Repeated reading Choral reading Readers Theatre Partner Reading