Why Focus on Fluency?

Denise Burson
Aug 17, 2009

The definition of fluency offered by the National Reading Panel (2000) takes into consideration the components of rapid and automatic word recognition and of prosody. According to the Panel, fluency is "the ability to read a text quickly, accurately, and with proper expression."  Expanding this definition, (Armbruster, Lehr, and Osborn, 2001) explains that:  "Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately and quickly. When fluent readers read silently, they recognize words automatically. They group words quickly in ways that help them gain meaning from what they read.  Fluent readers read aloud effortlessly and with expression. Their reading sounds natural, as if they are speaking."

Fluency serves as a bridge between word recognition and comprehension.  Because fluent readers are able to identify words accurately and automatically, they can focus on comprehension.  They can make connections among the ideas in the text and between the text and their background knowledge. In other words, fluent readers can recognize words and comprehend at the same time.  Less fluent readers must focus their attention on word recognition.  Because they cannot consistently identify words rapidly, they may read word-by-word, sometimes repeating or skipping words.  They often group words in ways that they would not do in natural speech, making their reading sound choppy (Dowhower, 1987).  The result is that non-fluent readers have little attention to devote to comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2000).

In order to implement fluency teachers need to keep in mind the three components of fluency:

• Accuracy: Also known as automaticity, it refers to the person's ability to read words in a text.

• Rate: The speed a person reads.

• Prosody: Refers to stress, intonation, and pauses. Commonly known as ! "reading with feeling".

Suggestions for Improving Fluency (National Institute for Literacy):

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

• Provide opportunities for repeated reading of text through shared reading, independent reading, choral reading, home reading, reader's theater.

• Give students access to reading materials with increasing levels of difficulty, from materials that can be read independently to materials that are more challenging.

• Ensure that students spend time every day reading in materials that they can read independently.

• Have students repeatedly read passages aloud with guidance.

• Have students reread text that is reasonably easy (at their independent reading level).