Fluency

• Fluency is defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and

proper expression…Their reading is smooth and has expression.
• Reading fluency refers to the ability of readers to read the words in text
effortlessly and efficiently (automaticity) with meaningful expression that
enhances the meaning of the text (prosody).
• Fluency is defined as “the ability to read connected text rapidly, smoothly,
effortlessly, and automatically with little conscious attention to the mechanics
of reading, such as decoding”.
 Fluency
Reading fluency serves as a bridge between word recognition and text
comprehension.
 The importance of fluency

• Traditionally, children are expected to learn to read in first through third

grades, acquiring all the skills related to the different letter combinations,
consonants, vowels and their differing sounds dependent on the position
within the word and syllable.
• Then in fourth grade and above they are expected to use these skills to read
textbooks on science and history and math, understand what they read, and be
able to use and apply this knowledge.
• Without fluency, children are unable to read those textbooks and understand
and learn from them. Fluency, therefore, is crucial, and there is a growing
realization that fluency must be attended to much earlier than third or even
second grade (Bashir & Hook, 2009; Miller & Schwanenflugel, 2008;
Rasinski, 2014).
 Four components of reading fluency

• Automaticity – the ability to read words quickly.

• Rate – the speed at which the text is read.
• Accuracy – the ability to read words accurately.
• Prosody – the appropriate use of intonation (pitch),
phrasing and expression.
 Automaticity & Accuracy
Automaticity – the ability to read and write words quickly.
Accuracy – the ability to read and write words accurately.

Techniques/Strategies for automaticity:

• High –frequency word work
• Chunking (syllables/nonsense) word work
• Phrase work
• Speed Drills
• Speed drills build fluency because they help students rapidly
recognize common syllables and spelling patterns in
multisyllabic words.
 Speed Drills for Fluency
Tips for creating Speed Drills
• Select skills with which your students need to develop automaticity(i.e.,
words containing a specific phonics skill or regular and irregular high
frequency words).

• Select either 50 word or 100 word Speed Drill form based on the age of
your students.

• Select 20 – 25 words to include on the speed drill. Write the words in

random order, multiple times, on the speed drill form. Make copies of the
speed drill for students to use.

• Allow students time to practice reading the words on the speed drills
independently.
 Rate
Rate – the speed at which the text is read or written.

Techniques/Strategies for rate:

• Reading aloud simultaneously with a partner.
• Echo reading.
• Choral/Shared Reading
• Paired repeated readings.
• Books on iPad.
• Repeated readings.
• Shared, Interactive & Writing Workshop
 Prosody
Prosody – the appropriate use of intonation, phrasing and
expression.

Techniques/Strategies for prosody:

• Reading punctuation.
• Reading with intonation and expression.
• Reading dialogue.
• Phrased – cued text practice.
• Reader’s Theater
 Four parts of fluency

• Accuracy
• Speed
• Expression
• Comprehension
Understanding Levels of Fluency

The Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale and the American Council on the
Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).Six Levels
• 0 - No proficiency. This means that knowledge of the language is nonexistent or
limited to a few words.
• 1 - Elementary proficiency. Demonstrating this level of fluency means you know
how to structure basic sentences, which may include commons questions and
answers typically used by tourists.
• 2 - Limited working proficiency. Level two means you're able to have limited
social conversations and understand basic commands.
 Cont…
• 3 - Professional working proficiency. Level three means you
understand the language well enough to contribute greatly in the
workplace, though you may exhibit an obvious accent and need help
with advanced terminology.
• 4 - Full professional proficiency. Having level four skills on the ILR
scale is what most employers want to see on a resume. It means that
you can have conversations at an advanced level and have a firm
understanding of the language, though you may have some
misunderstandings or occasional mistakes.
• 5 - Native / bilingual proficiency. Level five means you are entirely
fluent in a language. You were raised speaking the language or have
spoken it long enough to become proficient in it.
Strategies for fluency
• Record students reading aloud on their own. ...
• Have them read the same thing several times. ...
• Make use of a variety of books and materials. ...
• Try different font and text sizes. ...
• Create a stress free environment
 Cont…
Fluency Instruction:
• Practice with phonetically controlled, decodable word lists, sentence and
passage.
• Provide text that is limited to the letter sound relationships, syllable patterns
and words that have been mastered for accurate decoding or recognition on
sight
• As students’ progress they also need to have substantial guided practice
transferring emerging skills to authentic text
• Provide significant opportunity to apply skills with interest-driven, non-
controlled text as students acquire decoding skills (Fink, 1998)
Teacher Modelling
•Teachers need to read aloud to our students, using our voice to reflect and
add to the meaning of the passage.
• Modelling can help students to understand that meaning is not just carried in
the words in the passage but also in the way that the words are expressed.
•When students have an opportunity to hear you (or another skilled reader)
model fluent reading, they get a sense of what they should sound like when
reading. This is especially important for students whose reading is choppy and
lacking in expression. (Doherty, p.8)
 Cont…
Guided Oral Reading
Guided repeated oral reading is an instructional strategy that can help students
improve a variety of reading skills, including fluency. There are a number of
effective procedures that can be used in providing guided oral reading.
In general, a teacher, parent, or peer reads a passage aloud, modelling fluent
reading. Then students reread the text quietly to themselves, sometimes
several times.
 Cont…
Audio Assisted Reading
Audio-assisted reading is an individual or group reading activity where students
read along in their books as they hear a fluent reader read the book on an
audio recording (audiotape, audio book, or iPod).
Why use Audio Assisted Reading?
It helps to build fluency skills including proper phrasing and expression.
It helps students improve sight word recognition.
It helps build comprehension.
It allows students to hear the tone and pace of a skilful reader.
It's a flexible strategy that can be used across content areas.
 Cont…

• Choral Reading
Choral Reading is an activity in which children read aloud in unison (unity)
from a chart, either with the whole class or in a small group. Though choral
reading is appropriate at any grade, when used with beginning readers, the use of
familiar poems, nursery rhymes, which the children already know is
recommended.
• Radio Reading/TV Reading
In this fluency activity, children are informed that announcers on the radio and
reporters on TV do not just talk about the news, they read a script. Children
are then encouraged to write their own news stories (these could center around
class activities, school, community or even world events) which they then read
aloud during a structured time during the week.