Fluency Focus

Victoria staff and students are concentrating on reading fluency this year. We know that students who read fluently - comprehend more and score higher on reading assessments. Working to this end, Mr. Kaufhold and Mrs. Gonzales offered a special parent workshop on reading fluency today. Approximately twenty-three families attended one of the two sessions - offered at Victoria School in the morning and at the Casa Blanca Library in the afternoon. Parents received information about reading fluency and how to help their child improve in reading fluency.

If you would like more information about this topic, contact your child's teacher or ask to speak to Mrs. Kaufhold or Mrs. Gonzales. Below is some of the information shared at today's workshop.

Approximately every six weeks, our teachers assess students' reading fluency and compare scores against benchmark goals. End of the year reading fluency goals are:

• Grade 1 = 80 word per minute (wpm)
• Grade 2 = 124 wpm
• Grade 3 = 142 wpm
• Grade 4 = 152 wpm
• Grade 5 = 168 wpm
• Grade 6 = 177 wpm

Fluency is more than reading quickly. "Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately and quickly. When fluent readers read silently, they recognize words automatically. They group words quickly to help them gain meaning from what they read. Fluent readers read aloud effortlessly and with expression. Their reading sounds natural, as if they were speaking." Put Reading First, p. 22

FLUENT READERS:

• Focus their attention on making connections among ideas in the text and their background knowledge
• Recognize words and comprehend at the same time
• Divide words into meaningful chunks so that they are able to read with expression
• Score higher on comprehension assessments

NON-FLUENT READERS:

• Focus their attention primarily on decoding individual sounds or words
• Spend their energies trying to “figure out” the words not the meaning
• Read in a slow, deliberate, and labored manner often pausing at inappropriate places
• Score lower on comprehension assessments
• Fluency and automaticity are often interchanged, however they are not the same thing.

Fluency means reading with accuracy, pacing (automaticity), and expression (prosody). "The fluent reader sounds good, is easy to listen to, and reads with enough expression to help the listener understand and enjoy the material." (Clark, Read All About It, p. 282)

Automaticity is the fast, effortless recognition of words that comes with a great deal of reading practice. "As a result of extended practice, an important change takes place: students learn to decode the printed words using significantly less attention. Because they require so little attention for word recognition, they have enough left over for comprehension." (Samuels, Schermer, Reinking, Read All About It, p. 269)

Prosody is reading with intonation and expression that sounds like normal speech.

What does scientifically-based reading research tell us about fluency practice? (From Put Reading First, pp. 21-31 and Read All About It, pp. 251-287) Repeated and monitored oral reading:

• Substantially improves word recognition, speed, and accuracy
• Improves reading comprehension
• Improves the reading ability of all students throughout the elementary school years
• Helps struggling readers at higher grade levels

How can you help your child become more fluent readers?

• Read aloud to your child
• Have you child read to you
• Encourage your child to read books that are at their independent reading level (like their Accelerated Reading or AR level )

Remember, fluency practice isn't just about speed. Practice doesn't make it perfect -- perfect practice makes it perfect!