Fluency

Fluency is the ability to read with accuracy, with an appropriate rate, expression and phrasing.

• Rate: speed or pace of reading; not too slow and not too fast
• Expression: uses intonation and various pitches in voice
• Accuracy: reads text with no, or few, omissions, substitutions, or errors in decoding
• Phrasing: attends to punctuation, pausing at appropriate places

Why is fluency important?

We have all seen readers who read haltingly with little or no expression. Not only does this impact their understanding of what they have read, it also adversely affects their enjoyment of reading. Our goal for all children should be fluency. Research supports the notion that the ability to read fluently is highly correlated with many measures of reading competence.

What are some examples of fluency skills?

• Immediately recognizing letters and frequent clusters of letters
• Automatic decoding skills
• Have good word attack skills
• Self corrects
• Learning frequent words by sight
• Seeing phrases as wholes
• Using prediction skills within the phrase or clause

Strategies to develop fluent readers

Model fluent reading, then have students reread the text on their own.

Have students repeatedly read passages aloud with guidance.

• Student-adult reading
• Choral reading
• Tape-assisted reading
• Partner reading
• Readers’ Theatre

Students should practice orally rereading text that is reasonably easy for them.

How and when to assess fluency?

You should formally and informally assess fluency regularly to ensure that your students are making appropriate progress. Probably the easiest way to formally assess fluency is to take timed samples of students’ reading and to compare their performance (number of words read correctly per minute) with published oral reading fluency norms or standards.

Source: Put Reading First