Fluency

Fluency:

Fluency is the ability to read text both orally and silently with proper phrasing and intonation.  Fluency is important because it is the link between reading comprehension and word recognition.  The speed at which they read is an indicator of how fluent he/she is.  If a reader is too slow, then the reader is struggling.  If the student reads too fast, then the reader is speed-reading and is not being fluent (Duffy, 2003).  One popular method for teaching fluency is reader’s theater. Reader’s theater is when people read different scripts with minimal sets or costumes. Reader’s theater is an effective way to teach fluency because of the repetition required (Shepard, 2004).

Reference:
Duffy, G.G. (2003). Explaining Reading: A resource for teaching concepts, skills, and strategies. New York: Guilford Press.

Shepard, A. (2004). What Is RT? And How Do You Really Spell It? Retrieved June 6th, 2007 from http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/whatis.html

Quotes:

Fluency derives from the reader’s ability not just to decode or identify individual words but also to quickly process larger language units.

1(Shoenbach, Greenleaf, Cziko & Hurwitz, 1999, p. 19)

 

Fluency is the ability to orally and silently read text smoothly and with appropriate phrasing and intonation.  We often refer to it as “reading like you talk.”

2 (Duffy, G. A., 2003, p.36)

 

2 Duffy, G.A. (2003).  Explaining Reading: A Resource for teaching concepts, skills, and
strategies. New York: Guilford Press.

1 Shoenbach,R.; Greenleaf, C.; Cziko, C.; & Hurwitz, L. (1999).  Reading for
understanding:  A Guide to improving reading in middle and high school classrooms.  San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass.

 

Page updated: 28-Sep-2007

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