Rethinking Fluency
Fluency is the bridge that connects phonics and comprehension. If a student is laboriously reading word by word, comprehension often suffers. We need our students to read accurately and fluently so the focus can be on meaning making and learning.
I’ve had several conversations with amazing teachers lately questioning our fluency teaching routines. So often we put great emphasis on words per minute, and it becomes the focus of our student reading goals.
However, with all the stopwatches, graphing, fluency programs, and anxiety… we are not really seeing the reading gaps close. What are we doing wrong? Should we put emphasis on fluency at all? What can we do differently to see real change?
9 Tips for Fluency Success!
#3- Rereading a text is useful, but only when constructive feedback is given by a fluent, accurate reader. Practicing mistakes doesn’t help!
#4- Each rereading should focus on a different component of fluency (accuracy, rate, phrasing and punctuation, and expression). You can get our explicit fluency lessons in the Reading Rev VIP Site.
#6- The end goal is always comprehension! Fluent reading frees up the student’s mental desk space to comprehend. Speed is not as important as making space for comprehension to naturally occur.
#8- Fluency practice is not just for primary students. Older kids need fluency practice as well, but re-reading is often left out in intermediate grades. You can kill two birds with one stone by providing weekly fluency passages that relate to your novel studies or content. These passages reinforce vocabulary, comprehension, and test-taking skills! Check out a sample here.
#9- Use anchor charts, student note catchers, and interactive notebook graphic organizers to teach kids the purpose of fluency practice.
These fluency lesson plans and resources (along with SO much more) are available in Reading Rev’s VIP Library.
Our final advice, fluency practice should not feel like a punishment or additional work. It can become part of your engaging, structured literacy lesson.
Comment below with your favorite fluency tips!
One knowledgeable, compassionate teacher can change everything.
~Bri