1. What is it? NAEP defines fluency as the ease of naturalness of reading.
The key elements include:
Grouping or phrasing of words
Adherence to authors syntax
Expressiveness of the oral reading

2. Fluency is defined as:
The ability to read orally or silently with appropriate levels of word recognition, accuracy, phrasing, expression, and good comprehension of the text.

3. The definition of fluency is tied to comprehension
The definition of fluency is tied to comprehension. Fluency must include textual understanding or it cannot be called fluently read text. -Tim Rasinski

4. Attention to Fluency has Grown
Richard Allington calls it the neglected goal of the reading program.
1984 to present - Rasinski, Zutell, Samuels, Carbo, Hoffman, Good and others conduct numerous studeies showing positive correlation between oral reading fluency and comprehension.
NAEP assesses fluency for the first time.
NRP dedicated 1/3 of it’s report to fluency instruction as a gateway to comprehension.
NCLB incorporates fluency as 1 of 5 components of a researched based reading program.

5. Why is it important?
In 1995, the NAEP (National Assessment of Education Progress) conducted a large study of the status of fluency achievement in American education. The study examined the reading fluency of a nationally representative sample of 4th graders and found 44% of the students to be disfluent even with grade level stories that the students had read under supportive conditions. Moreover, that study found a close relationship between fluency and reading comprehension and overall proficiency scores in reading.

6. Bottom line from the NAEP study:
Students who are low in fluency may have difficulty getting meaning of what they read.

7. The Theory of Automaticity
Fluency helps enable reading comprehension by freeing cognitive resources for interpretation, but it is also implicated in the process of comprehension as it necessarily includes preliminary interpretive steps.
(National Reading Panel Report, 2000)

8. That’s the intention of fluency
That’s the intention of fluency. We want reading to become so automatic that students can begin focusing their energy on other things while reading (such as comprehension).

9. Research Based Instruction that Supports Fluency
Repetition
Modeling
Direct Instruction and Feedback
Support or Assistance
Phrasing Practice
Use of Easy Materials
FLUENCY INSTRUCTION INCREASES THE TIME STUDENTS SPEND WITH TEXT!

10. Research about Time with Text
In a study of 500,000 students, children in the 98th percentile on a standardized achievement test spent 90.7 minutes per day engaged in reading, and read a total of more than 4,000,000 words in books per year.
Students at the 60th percentile spent an average of 18.1 minutes per day and read 432,000 words in books per year.
Students at the 2nd percentile read .2 minutes per day, computing to 0 words in books per year.
Anderson, Wilson and Fielding (1988), “Growth in Reading and How Children Spend their Time Outside of School”

11. DIBELS ORF (Oral Reading Fluency) - measures reading fluency
NWF (Nonsense Word Fluency) - measures decoding fluency (automaticity)
PSF (Phoneme Segmentation Fluency ) - measures phonemic awareness fluency

12. Research in Assessment
Students show greater gains when:
The criteria are clear
They have models
The feedback is immediate
They have time and opportunity to practice skills
They are involved in self-assessment
They can tell you why and how they improved
Their parents are involved
Their teacher provides multiple opportunities to learn
Let them tell you…
Ask: Is there anything here that I don’t do in my classroom?

13. When should we start providing fluency instruction?
When a student is reading with 95% accuracy. (words correct/total words)
Doesn’t mean we can’t work on it while trying to build up to this 95% accuracy.
Does mean we shouldn’t emphasize it.
Accuracy, THEN Fluency

14. Fluency Instructional Ideas
Six-Minute Solutions
A research-based, highly effective instructional procedure to help K-12 students become more fluent readers.
Video

15. Fluency Instructional Ideas
Poetry Café
Kids choose own poetry they’d like to practice for the week (different forms, pairs, sound companion)
Friday - sit around and read to each other (free style)
Snacks, dress special, invite others to participate (custodians, paras, etc.)

16. Fluency Instructional Ideas
Reader’s Theater
Orally read performance of a script in which meaning is conveyed primarily through the readers’ expressive and interpretive reading (not through movement, memorization, props, and costumes).

17. Fluency Instructional Ideas
Lucky Listener
This is another strategy that teachers can use to encourage and motivate students to re-read text.

18. Fluency Instructional Ideas
Poems for Two Voices
Partners present a poem, recited at times by one partner, the other partner, or both.

19. Fluency Instructional Ideas
Repetitive Stories w/ Rhythmic Flow
Example = “Going on a Bear Hunt”
Have child retell the story using the
“Bear” Story Map.

20. Parting Thoughts…
“Ask not what instruction in reading speed can do for reading fluency and reading achievement; ask what instruction in authentic fluency can do for reading speed and achievement!”
-Rasinski & Lenhart Paraphrasing Kennedy’s Famous Quote