This article explores problems that have surfaced in the teaching of reading fluency and how teachers and reading coaches can resolve those problems. Specific issues addressed include reading fluency ...being defined as reading fast and instruction that is focused on having students read fast, reading fluency viewed as solely and oral reading activity, reading fluency seen as an issue only for the primary grades, and reading fluency instruction viewed as a distinct form of reading instruction not integral to authentic reading that focuses on meaning. The author makes the case for an authentic, meaning‐based, and comprehensive approach to fluency instruction that is integral part of the core reading program.
Research has indicated that a large percentage of primary‐grade students who struggle in reading have not achieved full competency in the foundational reading competencies (word recognition and ...fluency). In this article, the author argues that more intensive instruction of the foundational competencies is needed and proposes a simple lesson approach that may help improve the reading outcomes of students who struggle.
Fluency Matters Rasinski, Timothy
International electronic journal of elementary education,
10/2014, Volume:
7, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Open access
Although reading fluency has been dismissed and overlooked as an important component of effective reading instruction, the author makes that case that fluency continues to be essential for success in ...learning to read. Moreover, many students who struggle in reading manifest difficulties in reading fluency. After defining reading fluency, the article explores proven methods for improving reading fluency, and finally explores questions regarding fluency that when answered may lead to a greater emphasis on and understanding of reading fluency as a necessary part of teaching reading.
...If fluency Is Ignored instructionally and conceptually, I think that many students In the elementary, middle, and secondary grades around the world will pay the price as they will undoubtedly ...struggle to achieve full proficiency In reading. Recognizing how fluency Is becoming Increasingly marginalized In our school reading programs, I was honored and delighted to be asked by the editors for the International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education to edit an Issue of the journal devoted specifically to reading fluency. Next, Richard Allington, the same scholar who called our attention to reading fluency In the early 1980s, makes the point that fluency Is a matter of authentic reading practice, and that many students do not have sufficient opportunities to engage In authentic reading.
This study investigated the efficacy of the Fluency Development Lesson (FDL) in improving reading achievement in primary grade struggling readers. 30 readers, enrolled in a summer reading clinic, ...participated in daily 40-min mini-reading lessons across 5 weeks. During the fluency lessons, readers practiced and developed their literacy skills through participation in repeated readings, word work, rehearsal, and performance. Assessments measured comprehension, reading fluency, including word recognition accuracy, reading speed, and prosody. Control students also took the pre- and post-intervention tests; their performance did not change with repeated testing. The Fluency Development Lesson students showed significant gains on all measures.
ABSTRACT
The role of the teacher, specifically teacher craft, is central to engaging students in effective reading instruction. However, the science of reading has revealed that the content taught is ...also important to reading acquisition. Although the science of reading was aggregated some two decades ago to result in what became known as the five big pillars, it has not been fully incorporated into instructional practice. Subsequent research has continued to inform and strengthen what we understand about reading, and new energy has now emerged to bring the science of reading fully into practice. However, the science of reading and teacher craft are each insufficient without the other. In this article, we discuss the art of teaching and advocate that it must be given serious consideration if the science of reading is to be adopted en masse by teachers. We also discuss several reading strategies and their role in effective reading instruction and the art of teaching.
Prepare middle school students for college and career with 12 close reading units designed to support content-area instruction and literacy development. Each unit includes text-dependent questions ...and paired fiction and nonfiction texts.
Knowledge of word meanings is critical to success in reading. A reader cannot fully understand a text in which the meaning to a significant number of words is unknown. Vocabulary knowledge has long ...been correlated with proficiency in reading. Yet, national surveys of student vocabulary knowledge have demonstrated that student growth in vocabulary has been stagnant at best. This volume offers new insights into vocabulary knowledge and vocabulary teaching. Articles range from a presentation of theories of vocabulary that guide instruction to innovative methods and approaches for teaching vocabulary. Special emphasis is placed on teaching academic and disciplinary vocabulary that is critical to success in content area learning. Our hope for this volume is that it may spark a renewed interest in research into vocabulary and vocabulary instruction and move toward making vocabulary instruction an even more integral part of all literacy and disciplinary instruction.
Although reading fluency has been identified as a critical element in successful literacy curricula for elementary students, fluency has been relatively neglected beyond the elementary grades. Prior ...research has shown that word recognition automaticity (one component of fluency) is strongly associated with overall reading proficiency among secondary students. Prosody (expressive oral reading; the other component of fluency) has not been previously studied with secondary students. The present study examines the relationship between oral prosody and silent reading comprehension among secondary students. Findings indicate a strong association between prosody and silent reading comprehension. Moreover, a significant number of students have not achieved even a minimally acceptable level of prosody in their reading. Based on these and previous studies into fluency and secondary students’ reading, we argue that fluency be made an integral part of reading instruction for secondary students struggling in reading.
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