Reading Fluency
Reading fluency means reading text with speed, accuracy, and expression. Reading fluency is essential for comprehension.
Understanding Reading Fluency
What is Reading Fluency?
Reading fluency means reading text with speed, accuracy, and expression. To read a text fluently the reader must be able to correctly identify most of the words in the text without decoding. This instant and effortless word identification is sometimes referred to as automaticity. Reading is an interaction between a reader and a text so reading fluency is the product of the reader's reading skill and the characteristics of the text.
Reading fluency is essential for making meaning from text. When a reader has to spend "cognitive resources" decoding words, they will not be able to read with the speed, accuracy, or expression necessary for fluency nor can they turn their attention to thinking about the text. As a result, until fluency is attained, reading comprehension is very difficult.
HELP Reading Fluency focuses on three instructional goals:
- Reading Accuracy. Teach readers how to correctly identify words.
- Reading Speed. Teach readers how to read with increasing speed.
- Reading Expression or Prosody. Teach readers how punctuation, sentence structure, and other textual details inform the reader to vary pace and expression while reading.
HELP K3 Literacy is the most effective way to build reading fluency because it combines systematic direct instruction, guided practice, engaging reading fluency games, and environmental literacy supports. HELP Reading Fluency Lessons use guided interactive reading strategies and repeated readings to engage readers in a variety of texts. Each reading fluency lesson features embedded direct instruction in how to correctly identify words, how to read more quickly in phrases rather than word by word, and how to read expressively attending to punctuation, sentence structure, and other textual details.
Reading fluency is reading text with speed, accuracy, and expression.
HELP Reading Fluency: Stories & Informational Texts
Designed for Learning to Read
HELP Stories are perfect for building fluency because they are short, emphasize the target phonics pattern, and include everything you find in real stories such as a setting, characters, an obstacle to overcome, and a resolution.
Preview/Practice
HELP Stories can be used to preview the targeted phonics letter-sound association or to practice applying the newly learned phonics skills while reading.
Reading to Learn
HELP Informational Texts are great for modeling to students how we use reading to learn. These short colorful fact-filled texts are a perfect invitation for young readers to learn by reading and also feature the target phonics pattern of the lesson.
HELP Reading Fluency Strategies
1. Teacher Read Aloud
"While I read, follow along in the text."
Provide an expressive, loud, and clear reading of the text. Use natural phrasing and employ character voices when possible. Vary your pace, rhythm,
volume, and pitch as appropriate to the story. Emphasize key words. Invite students to follow along in the text.
2. Guided Oral Reading
"Read this to me. I'll help you if you get stuck."
Students read aloud under the guidance of a teacher who provides immediate feedback by listening, correcting errors, offering decoding support, and modeling fluent reading.
3. Echo Reading
“Lets read this together. When I pause, echo back the part I just read."
Echo reading uses the same elements of Teacher Read Aloud but the reader pauses after each phrase to allow the others to "echo back" the text that was just read aloud. This is a good technique for focusing on phrasing or prosody.
4. Repeated Reading
“Let's read that again."
Students read the same text multiple times to increase fluency. The Literacy Leader selects appropriate texts, provides feedback, and monitors progress. .
5. Missing Word Reading
“Let's read this together. When I pause, you read the next word in the text.”
Missing Word Reading is a shared reading strategy where the teacher pauses whenever they want the students to read the upcoming word. This is a great way to focus on specific words in a text or turn any text into a "decodable" text.
6. Paired Reading
“Take turns reading with your partner. If you get stuck on a word, your partner will help you."
Pairs of students take turns reading sentences or paragraphs in a text and assisting each other as needed. The Literacy Leader pairs students and provides guidance on how to help each other read the text.
7. Character Reading
“I’ll be the narrator. When a character is speaking, I will choose someone to read that part."
Character Reading is a little bit like Reader's Theater without scripts. This is a great strategy for developing expressive reading skills.
8. Reader's Theater
“Let's read this together. You will read the part highlighted in your script."
Students present a performed reading of a script based on a book. The Literacy Leader guides the performance, selects scripts, and provides coaching on expression and pacing.