FLUENCY
Fluency is the power to read quickly and accurately. The more fluent a reader, the more he or she automatically groups and recognizes words. Fluent readers excel at oral reading, which is highlighted by smooth and natural expression.
Reading fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and reading comprehension. Since fluent readers don’t have to concentrate on decoding the actual words, they can focus their attention on what the text actually means. They can make mental connections throughout the text, as well as apply those connections to their personal backgrounds and experiences. In other words, fluent readers recognize the words and comprehend their overall meaning at the same time.
Reading fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and reading comprehension. Since fluent readers don’t have to concentrate on decoding the actual words, they can focus their attention on what the text actually means. They can make mental connections throughout the text, as well as apply those connections to their personal backgrounds and experiences. In other words, fluent readers recognize the words and comprehend their overall meaning at the same time.
From: http://www.learningrx.com/reading-fluency.htm
For information on ways to improve students' reading fluency, check out this video from Diane Murphy at http://www.ber.org.
English Language Learners
Two instructional approaches have typically been used to teach reading fluency. One, guided repeated oral reading, encourages students to read passages out loud with systematic and explicit guidance and feedback from their teacher. The other, independent silent reading, encourages students to read silently on their own, inside and outside the classroom, with little guidance or feedback from their teachers.
Considerations when instructing ELLs in fluency
Considerations when instructing ELLs in fluency
- The Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) states that ELLs should learn to read initially in their first language. If this is not possible, students need to see and hear literally hundreds of books over a school year in order for fluency to be modeled to them. CIERA recommends that ELLs participate in read-alouds of big books, read along with proficient readers, and listen repeatedly to books read aloud in order to gain fluency in English (Hiebert et al., 1998).
- The NRC complements CIERA's recommendations about initial literacy in the native language. The NRC asserts that learning to speak English first contributes to children's eventual fluency in English reading, as oral proficiency provides a foundation to support subsequent learning about the alphabetic principle through an understanding of the structure of spoken English words and of the language and content of the material they are reading (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). This reinforces the recommendation for vocabulary development in ELLs: that in addition to reading instruction, ESL or ELD instruction must be an integral part of curriculum for ELLs.
- Fluency should not be confused with accent. Many ELLs will read and speak English with an accent as they are beginning to learn English, and others will have one throughout their lives. Students can read fluently in English with a native language accent.
From: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/english-language-learners-and-five-essential-components-reading-instruction
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Lesson Plans: