FLUENCYFLUENCYAssessing & Teaching this

KEY Reading Skill

Jan Hasbrouck, Ph.D.Seattle, WA

WHAT IS READING FLUENCY?The ability to read

accurately quickly

with expression

WHO ARE THESE STUDENTS?

DESCRIPTORS:

Read haltingly

Slow, laborious readers

Read word—by—word

Uncertain of sight words

Ignore punctuation

REAL TARGET: Comprehension & Motivation

Multiple Causes of Comprehension Problems:

Lack of sufficient background knowledge

Lack of sufficient language foundation

Fails to organize & use information to understand--Does not realize when s/he fails to understand

Decoding/fluency skills poor

National Reading Panel (2000)

Five Key Instructional Components

Phonemic Awareness

Phonics

Fluency Vocabulary

Comprehension Strategies

WHY IS FLUENCY SO IMPORTANT?

Comprehension limited by labored, inefficient reading (working memory)

Lack of fluency = lack of motivation = fewer words read = smaller vocabulary

= limited comprehension (self-perpetuating)

“There is no comprehension strategy that compensates for difficulty reading words accurately & fluently.”

(Torgeson, 2003)

Bridge to ComprehensionFluency forms the bridge between

word recognition & comprehension

Identifying Words

ConstructingMeaning

FLUENCY

MEASURING READING FLUENCY

the number of words in text read correctly per minute (wcpm)

or…letters, sounds, words

#1 FINDING students who may need intervention assistance in reading

#2 DIAGNOSING fluency problems

#3 MONITORING PROGRESS to determine if reading skills are improving

ASSESSING FLUENCY:3 ROLES

OSPI Reading Fluency GLEs

Grade 1: 50-65+ words correct per minute

Grade 2: 90-100+ wcpm

Grade 3: 110-120+ wcpm

Grade 4: 115-125+ wcpm

Grade 5: 125-135+ wcpm

Grade 6 & up: 145-155+ wcpm

Unpracticed, cold reading by end of the year

Hasbrouck & Tindal Norms for Hasbrouck & Tindal Norms for Oral Reading Fluency for Grades 2-5Oral Reading Fluency for Grades 2-5

Grade

Percentile

Fall

WCPM*

Winter

WCPM*

Spring

WCPM* 2

75 50 25

82 53 23

106 78 46

124 94 65

3

75 50 25

107 79 65

123 93 70

142 114 87

4

75 50 25

125 99 72

133 112

89

143 118 92

5

75 50 25

126 105 77

143 118

93

151 128 100

Upper grades: 150 wcpm/50th percentile

PROVIDING FLUENCY INSTRUCTION or INTERVENTION

ON & BEYOND / APPROACHING LEVEL

In-class practice opportunities

INTERVENTION Explicit, systematic instruction/practice

• Guided reading practice improves fluency for “typical” students

• Independent practice (silent reading) NOT sufficient to improve fluency

Key Research Findings

Traditional practice: Round robin reading from science, social studies,

literature, chapter books

Students take turns reading parts of a text aloud

PASSAGE READING PRACTICES TO IMPROVE

FLUENCY

ALTERNATIVES TO ROUND ROBIN

Choral Reading

Cloze Reading

Partner Reading

CHORAL READING

Whole class reads ALOUD & TOGETHER from same selection

NON-THREATENING practice

PROCEDURE: Orally read with students

Read at a moderate rate

Use pre-correction procedures: “Keep your voice with mine.”

CLOZE READING

ASSISTS students in reading difficult material

Provides GROUP PRACTICE & MAINTAINS student ATTENTION

PROCEDURE: Orally read the material to students Read at a moderate rate Pause & have students say the next word Intentionally delete “meaningful words”

PARTNER READINGEASY & EFFECTIVE way to involve studentsIncreases instructional TIME ON TASK

PROCEDURE: Assign students partners (#1 is higher performing

student who readers first) Designate amount to read to partner When an error is heard, have students use the

“Ask, then Tell” procedure:Ask “Can you figure out this word?”

Tell “The word is _________.”“Read the sentence again.”

Establishing Partners Avoid pairing

highest and lowest skilled readers

Consider taking lowest readers into a small group for practice with the teacher

Establishing Partners1. Ebonie2. Jazmine3. Bobby4. Celisse5. Marsha6. Krishon7. Sammy8. Jamie9. Orlando10. Miquel

11. Michael12. Andrea13. Ezra14. Juan15. Amy16. Hyun Ha17. Mari18. Harry19. Sarah20. Ashante’

21. Quan22. Kyesha23. Francisco24. Angelica

PARTNER READING VARIATIONS

Side by Side- Reading to a PartnerStudents sit next to each other with one book between

them. One partner reads & points to the words; the other partner follows along.

Shoulder to Shoulder- Reading to a PartnerStudents sit facing opposite directions with shoulders

aligned. Each partner has a book.

Reading WITH a PartnerStudents sit side to side with one book between them.

Both partners read at the same time as partner one touches the words.

INSTRUCTION for INTERVENTION

(a) FOLLOWING A MODEL

Reading along with a model of accurate reading from an audio tape/CD OR a skillful

reader

(b) REPEATED READING Students reread passage orally to

themselves or a partner — until predetermined goal achieved (30-40 words above baseline)

(c) MONITORING PROGRESSStudents graph their performance: “Cold”

reading first; then again after practice

PROVIDE FLUENCY INSTRUCTION AT A CHALLENGING

INSTRUCTIONAL LEVEL

Model provides SCAFFOLDING;

Students must WORK HARD toward achieving goal

to see real progress

COMMERCIAL FLUENCY PROGRAMS

Read NaturallyRead Naturally Levels .8- 8.0Audio tapes/CD or software editions

Six Minute SolutionSix Minute Solution 160 passages Grades 1.0-8.0Partner reading

Focus on Fluency

Osborn & Lehr

www.prel.org

FREE!

Assessing Fluency

Tim Rasinski

www.prel.org

FREE!

REFERENCES Chard, D., Vaughn, S., & Tyler, B.J. (2002). A synthesis of research on effective interventions for building reading fluency with elementary students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36(5), 386-406.

DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills). http://idea.uoregon.edu/~dibels/

Edformation http://www.edformation.com/

Fuchs, L., Fuchs, D., Hamlett, C., Walz, L., & Germann, G. (1993). Formative evaluation of academic progress: How much growth? School Psychology Review, 22(1), 27-48.

Fuchs, L. S., Fuchs, D., Hosp, M. K., & Jenkins, J. R. (2001). Oral reading fluency as an indicator of reading competence: A theoretical, empirical, and historical analysis. Scientific Studies of Reading, 5(3), 239-256.

Hasbrouck, J.E., Ihnot, C., & Rogers, G. H. (1999). “Read Naturally”: A strategy to increase oral reading fluency. Reading Research & Instruction, 39(1), 27-38.

Hasbrouck, J.E., Woldbeck, T., Ihnot, C., & Parker, R. I. (1999). One teacher’s use of curriculum-based measurement: A changed opinion. Learning Disabilities: Research & Practice, 14(2), 118-126.

Hasbrouck, J. E. & Tindal, G. (Spring, 1992). Curriculum-based oral reading fluency norms for students in grades 2-5. Teaching Exceptional Children, 24(3), 41-44.

NATIONAL READING PANEL REPORT (2000) www.nationalreadingpanel.org

Osborn, J. & Lehr, F. A Focus on Fluency www.prel.org (free booklet)

Rasinski, T. Assessing Reading Fluency www.prel.org (free booklet)

READ NATURALLY “Reading Fluency Monitor” www.readnaturally.com 1-800-788-4085 info@readnaturally.com

Shinn, M. R. (Ed.) (1989). Curriculum-Based Measurement: Assessing Special Children. NY: Guilford. ISBN: 0-89862231X

SOPRIS WEST “6 Minute Solution” www.sopriswest.com 1-800-547-6747

Contact Information:

Jan Hasbrouck, Ph.D.Educational Consultant

Seattle, WA

www.jhasbrouck.com