1. 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

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

3. Unpacking the Fluency Definition
Ability

4. Unpacking the Fluency Definition
Text

5. Unpacking the Fluency Definition
Quickly

6. Unpacking the Fluency Definition
Accurately

7. Unpacking the Fluency Definition
Proper Expression

8. Unpacking the Fluency Definition
Oral

9. Unpacking the Fluency Definition
Role of Comprehension

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

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

12. 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.

13. Who Needs Fluency Instruction?
Everybody

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

21. 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).

22. 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).

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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).

28. 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

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

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

31. Fluency Assessment http://dibels.uoregon.edu
Qualitative Reading Inventory (L. Leslie)
Informal Reading Inventory (Burns & Rowe)
Running Records for the Classroom Teacher (Clay)

32. Other Information on Fluency
Pacific Regional Educational Laboratory
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.

33. Other Questions
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34. 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