Section IV: Reading Fluency

Teaching Reading Sourcebook 2nd edition

Fluency: The Bridge Between Decoding and Comprehension At one end, fluency connects to accuracy

and automaticity (rapid word recognition) in decoding.

At the other end, it connects to comprehension through prosody or expressive interpretation.

Fluency consists of accuracy rate prosody

Fluent readers are able to devote their attention to comprehension.

Fluency is

Accuracy: This is the ability to recognize or decode words correctly.

Rate: This is the speed or ability to read words automatically, which frees cognitive resources for comprehension.

Prosody: They are the features that convey information beyond that provided by the actual words themselves: pitch (intonation, inflection), stress patterns, phrasing (chunking groups of phrases into meaningful units).

Influences on Reading Fluency

• Comprehension: It facilitates fluent reading, especially for beginning or struggling readers. Students read words in meaningful context faster than out of context (word lists).

• Proportion of the words recognized instantaneously or by “sight” (automaticity): This is the most important variable in reading fluency differences.

• Speed and Accuracy of Decoding: Unfamiliar words must be identified analytically using sound/spelling correspondences or “chunks” of words.

Influences on Reading FluencyContinued• Metacognition and Purpose for Reading:

Students must make decisions or self regulate in terms of rate and prosody, depending on type of text.

• Vocabulary Size: Words that are part of a student’s oral vocabulary are more easily recognized and understood. How quickly a student accesses known meanings influences rate and prosody.

• Motivation and Engagement: Fluency is likely to suffer if a student is not motivated to read or if the text is not engaging.