1. Fluency
Spider, Spider Video

2. Agenda
1. What is fluency? Why does it matter?
2. How does a reader’s brain produce fluent
reading?
3. Critical elements of teaching fluency:
•Modeling
•Guided practice
•Independent practice

3. What is fluency?
Fluency is the ability of readers
to read quickly, effortlessly, and
efficiently with good, meaningful
expression.
(The Fluent Reader, p. 26)

5. Fluent readers:

6. Fluent readers:
•
ecognize words automatically
R

7. Fluent readers:
•
ecognize words automatically
R
•
ead aloud effortlessly and with expression
R

8. Fluent readers:
•
ecognize words automatically
R
•
ead aloud effortlessly and with expression
R
•
o not have to concentrate on decoding
D

9. Fluent readers:
•
ecognize words automatically
R
•
ead aloud effortlessly and with expression
R
•
o not have to concentrate on decoding
D
•
an focus on comprehension
C

11. Non-fluent readers:

12. Non-fluent readers:
1) read less text than peers and have less time to
remember, review, or comprehend the text

13. Non-fluent readers:
1) read less text than peers and have less time to
remember, review, or comprehend the text
2) expend more cognitive energy than peers trying to
identify individual words

14. Non-fluent readers:
1) read less text than peers and have less time to
remember, review, or comprehend the text
2) expend more cognitive energy than peers trying to
identify individual words
3) may be less able to retain text in their memories and
less likely to integrate those segments with other parts of
the text

15. Non-fluent readers:
1) read less text than peers and have less time to
remember, review, or comprehend the text
2) expend more cognitive energy than peers trying to
identify individual words
3) may be less able to retain text in their memories and
less likely to integrate those segments with other parts of
the text
(Mastropieri, Leinart, & Scruggs, 1999).

16. How does the reader’s brain
produce fluent reading?

17. Reading in the Brain
from Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz

18. Reading in the Brain
from Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz
Readers use three primary areas of the brain:

19. Reading in the Brain
from Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz
Readers use three primary areas of the brain:
✴ Broca’s area - articulating spoken words

20. Reading in the Brain
from Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz
Readers use three primary areas of the brain:
✴ Broca’s area - articulating spoken words
✴ Parieto-temporal area - “pulling apart” words and
linking their letters to sounds

21. Reading in the Brain
from Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz
Readers use three primary areas of the brain:
✴ Broca’s area - articulating spoken words
✴ Parieto-temporal area - “pulling apart” words and
linking their letters to sounds
✴ Occipito-temporal area - “Word Form” - reacts
almost instantly to the whole word as a pattern

22. How the word form
system works:

23. How the word form
system works:
• Reader analyzes an unfamiliar word

24. How the word form
system works:
• Reader analyzes an unfamiliar word
• After correctly reading the word several
times, forms an exact model (form) of the
word

25. How the word form
system works:
• Reader analyzes an unfamiliar word
• After correctly reading the word several
times, forms an exact model (form) of the
word
• Word form includes word’s spelling,
pronunciation, and its meaning.

26. How the word form
system works:

27. How the word form
system works:
• From now on, just seeing the word in print
activates the word form area, calling up all relevant
information about the word.

28. How the word form
system works:
• From now on, just seeing the word in print
activates the word form area, calling up all relevant
information about the word.
• Skilled readers rely upon the word form system.

29. How the word form
system works:
• From now on, just seeing the word in print
activates the word form area, calling up all relevant
information about the word.
• Skilled readers rely upon the word form system.
• Dyslexic readers show less brain activation in this
area, and much more activation in other areas - less
automatic.

30. How automatic is automatic? Part 1

31. How automatic is automatic? Part 2

32. Fluency Takes Practice...
A reader must have four or more successful
encounters with a new word to be able to read
it fluently.

33. Fluency: Critical Elements

34. Fluency: Critical Elements
• Focus on oral reading

35. Fluency: Critical Elements
• Focus on oral reading
• Fluency is built on accuracy - select decodable text (less
than one error for every twenty words)

36. Fluency: Critical Elements
• Focus on oral reading
• Fluency is built on accuracy - select decodable text (less
than one error for every twenty words)
• Provide frequent opportunities for practice - need only be
a few minutes a day

37. Fluency: Critical Elements
• Focus on oral reading
• Fluency is built on accuracy - select decodable text (less
than one error for every twenty words)
• Provide frequent opportunities for practice - need only be
a few minutes a day
• Ongoing feedback

38. Fluency: Critical Elements
• Focus on oral reading
• Fluency is built on accuracy - select decodable text (less
than one error for every twenty words)
• Provide frequent opportunities for practice - need only be
a few minutes a day
• Ongoing feedback

39. Fluency: Critical Elements
• Focus on oral reading
• Fluency is built on accuracy - select decodable text (less
than one error for every twenty words)
• Provide frequent opportunities for practice - need only be
a few minutes a day
• Ongoing feedback
This technique is sometimes referred to as guided repeated
oral reading.

40. Faster is not
always better!

41. Components of Fluency Instruction:
•Modeling
•Guided practice
•Independent practice

42. Modeling
What does fluent reading look and sound like?
What does it NOT sound like?
•Automatic decoding
•Pitch
•Stress
•Phrasing
Ways to model: teacher or parent read-alouds, older buddy
reading with a younger child, listening to a book on CD

43. What does fluent reading sound like?
Fluency Comment Form - Students can begin by
rating the teacher!

44. Rory Reading,
Age 3

45. Nia Reading In
Spanish and English

46. Modeling Visually
Poetry books - how phrases are arranged
“Scooping” text to show phrasing
Highlighting stressed syllables and
punctuation
Drawing symbols to indicate pauses (like in
music!)

47. Try:
noticing line
breaks
highlighting
drawing
“pause”
symbols

48. Try:
scooping phrases
highlighting

50. More visual modeling...
Select a short passage from a
text to rewrite in “poem” format.
Use visual cues (size, shape,
position on the page, color) to
represent the text as it would be
heard.

51. Guided Practice

52. Guided Practice
•Echo reading - Teacher reads and students
echo. Students might follow along on a sheet, in a
book, or on an overhead/computer screen.

53. Guided Practice
•Echo reading - Teacher reads and students
echo. Students might follow along on a sheet, in a
book, or on an overhead/computer screen.
• As students gain fluency, they may take turns as
the “echo leader”.

54. Guided Practice
•Echo reading - Teacher reads and students
echo. Students might follow along on a sheet, in a
book, or on an overhead/computer screen.
• As students gain fluency, they may take turns as
the “echo leader”.
This is the strategy that Lisa uses for theater
practice, especially the first few months that the
children are working with their scripts.

55. Guided Practice

56. Guided Practice
•Choral reading - Teacher and students read
together. Students might follow along on separate
sheets, in a book, or on an overhead/computer
screen.

57. Guided Practice
•Choral reading - Teacher and students read
together. Students might follow along on separate
sheets, in a book, or on an overhead/computer
screen.
Works well with

58. Guided Practice
•Choral reading - Teacher and students read
together. Students might follow along on separate
sheets, in a book, or on an overhead/computer
screen.
Works well with
• Poems, song lyrics, familiar rhymes

59. Guided Practice
•Choral reading - Teacher and students read
together. Students might follow along on separate
sheets, in a book, or on an overhead/computer
screen.
Works well with
• Poems, song lyrics, familiar rhymes
• Excerpts from chapter books - posted on an
overhead so students can follow along.

60. Guided Practice
•Choral reading - Teacher and students read
together. Students might follow along on separate
sheets, in a book, or on an overhead/computer
screen.
Works well with
• Poems, song lyrics, familiar rhymes
• Excerpts from chapter books - posted on an
overhead so students can follow along.
• Text with simple dialogue - break the class up
into two groups.

61. Tips for Choral Reading

62. Tips for Choral Reading
• Read each text repeatedly - several times at once
or spread out over time.

63. Tips for Choral Reading
• Read each text repeatedly - several times at once
or spread out over time.
• Pause the group to review sections that are difficult
to decode or that require particular phrasing and
expression.

64. Tips for Choral Reading
• Read each text repeatedly - several times at once
or spread out over time.
• Pause the group to review sections that are difficult
to decode or that require particular phrasing and
expression.
• Encourage students to read loudly and with slightly
exaggerated expression - build their confidence.

65. Tips for Choral Reading
• Read each text repeatedly - several times at once
or spread out over time.
• Pause the group to review sections that are difficult
to decode or that require particular phrasing and
expression.
• Encourage students to read loudly and with slightly
exaggerated expression - build their confidence.
• Assign students to sections of text based on
strengths and needs.

66. Types of Choral Reading

67. Types of Choral Reading
• Refrain – for texts that have a repeating line

68. Types of Choral Reading
• Refrain – for texts that have a repeating line
• Line-a-child

69. Types of Choral Reading
• Refrain – for texts that have a repeating line
• Line-a-child
• For a piece with dialogue, assign small groups of students to act as
each character.

70. Types of Choral Reading
• Refrain – for texts that have a repeating line
• Line-a-child
• For a piece with dialogue, assign small groups of students to act as
each character.
• Antiphonal reading – Divide the class into groups and assign parts of
the text or poem

71. Types of Choral Reading
• Refrain – for texts that have a repeating line
• Line-a-child
• For a piece with dialogue, assign small groups of students to act as
each character.
• Antiphonal reading – Divide the class into groups and assign parts of
the text or poem
• Call and response – One student reads a part of the text and the rest
of the class responds

72. Types of Choral Reading
• Refrain – for texts that have a repeating line
• Line-a-child
• For a piece with dialogue, assign small groups of students to act as
each character.
• Antiphonal reading – Divide the class into groups and assign parts of
the text or poem
• Call and response – One student reads a part of the text and the rest
of the class responds
• Cumulative/layered reading – One or two students read the first line,
then another student chimes in, etc., until the whole class is reading.
Alternately, point to students to prompt them to “drop out”.

73. Types of Choral Reading
• Refrain – for texts that have a repeating line
• Line-a-child
• For a piece with dialogue, assign small groups of students to act as
each character.
• Antiphonal reading – Divide the class into groups and assign parts of
the text or poem
• Call and response – One student reads a part of the text and the rest
of the class responds
• Cumulative/layered reading – One or two students read the first line,
then another student chimes in, etc., until the whole class is reading.
Alternately, point to students to prompt them to “drop out”.
• Choral singing – use songs for word work

74. Types of Choral Reading
• Refrain – for texts that have a repeating line
• Line-a-child
• For a piece with dialogue, assign small groups of students to act as
each character.
• Antiphonal reading – Divide the class into groups and assign parts of
the text or poem
• Call and response – One student reads a part of the text and the rest
of the class responds
• Cumulative/layered reading – One or two students read the first line,
then another student chimes in, etc., until the whole class is reading.
Alternately, point to students to prompt them to “drop out”.
• Choral singing – use songs for word work
• Impromptu choral reading – children join in reading the text, as
desired, at different times

75. Choral Reading Example

76. The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
Excerpt from “The The billows smooth and bright--
Walrus and the And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.
Carpenter”
The Walrus and the Carpenter
Were walking close at hand;
Lewis Carroll, They wept like anything to see
Such quantities of sand:
“Through the Looking "If this were only cleared away,"
Glass” They said, "it would be grand!"
"O Oysters, come and walk with us!"
The Walrus did beseech.
"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach:
We cannot do with more than four,
To give a hand to each."
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

77. Guided Practice

78. Guided Practice
Paired/Buddy Reading -

79. Guided Practice
Paired/Buddy Reading -
• Students alternate reading paragraphs or pages of a text,
stanzas of a poem, or dialogue from a reader’s theater script.

80. Guided Practice
Paired/Buddy Reading -
• Students alternate reading paragraphs or pages of a text,
stanzas of a poem, or dialogue from a reader’s theater script.
• Material should be at the student’s instructional decoding
level - not too easy or too difficult.

81. Guided Practice
Paired/Buddy Reading -
• Students alternate reading paragraphs or pages of a text,
stanzas of a poem, or dialogue from a reader’s theater script.
• Material should be at the student’s instructional decoding
level - not too easy or too difficult.
• Each student should follow along with a finger or pencil
eraser both while reading and while the other is reading.

82. Guided Practice
Paired/Buddy Reading -
• Students alternate reading paragraphs or pages of a text,
stanzas of a poem, or dialogue from a reader’s theater script.
• Material should be at the student’s instructional decoding
level - not too easy or too difficult.
• Each student should follow along with a finger or pencil
eraser both while reading and while the other is reading.
• Students can use the rating scale to rate their partners.

83. Guided Practice
Paired/Buddy Reading -
• Students alternate reading paragraphs or pages of a text,
stanzas of a poem, or dialogue from a reader’s theater script.
• Material should be at the student’s instructional decoding
level - not too easy or too difficult.
• Each student should follow along with a finger or pencil
eraser both while reading and while the other is reading.
• Students can use the rating scale to rate their partners.
• Depending on the group, students may be able to correct
one another’s miscues, or they may require a teacher’s
presence.

84. Independent
Practice

85. Independent
Practice
•Repeated readings - Students re-read a text until they
have achieved fluency with it.

86. Independent
Practice
•Repeated readings - Students re-read a text until they
have achieved fluency with it.
Possible activities:

87. Independent
Practice
•Repeated readings - Students re-read a text until they
have achieved fluency with it.
Possible activities:
★ Individual work - Children read to a teacher, who marks miscues and
times the reading (fluent reading = approx. 100 words per minute).

88. Independent
Practice
•Repeated readings - Students re-read a text until they
have achieved fluency with it.
Possible activities:
★ Individual work - Children read to a teacher, who marks miscues and
times the reading (fluent reading = approx. 100 words per minute).
★ Poems - Work up to a recital!

89. Independent
Practice
•Repeated readings - Students re-read a text until they
have achieved fluency with it.
Possible activities:
★ Individual work - Children read to a teacher, who marks miscues and
times the reading (fluent reading = approx. 100 words per minute).
★ Poems - Work up to a recital!
★ Excerpts from current chapter book or text of interest to the child
(Oompa Loompa songs from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory)

90. Independent
Practice
•Repeated readings - Students re-read a text until they
have achieved fluency with it.
Possible activities:
★ Individual work - Children read to a teacher, who marks miscues and
times the reading (fluent reading = approx. 100 words per minute).
★ Poems - Work up to a recital!
★ Excerpts from current chapter book or text of interest to the child
(Oompa Loompa songs from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory)
★ “Radio show” - students practice their pieces until ready for
recording.

91. Independent
Practice
•Repeated readings - Students re-read a text until they
have achieved fluency with it.
Possible activities:
★ Individual work - Children read to a teacher, who marks miscues and
times the reading (fluent reading = approx. 100 words per minute).
★ Poems - Work up to a recital!
★ Excerpts from current chapter book or text of interest to the child
(Oompa Loompa songs from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory)
★ “Radio show” - students practice their pieces until ready for
recording.
★ Older students can prepare a text to read to younger students - a
good way to help them feel OK with practicing easier texts.

92. Independent
Practice

93. Independent
Practice
Speeded Word Training (Shaywitz, 2003)

94. Independent
Practice
Speeded Word Training (Shaywitz, 2003)
• Use flash cards, slides on a computer screen, game
pieces

95. Independent
Practice
Speeded Word Training (Shaywitz, 2003)
• Use flash cards, slides on a computer screen, game
pieces
• Stimulus: single printed words

96. Independent
Practice
Speeded Word Training (Shaywitz, 2003)
• Use flash cards, slides on a computer screen, game
pieces
• Stimulus: single printed words
• Deadline: Child must name word aloud in ___ seconds

97. Independent
Practice
Speeded Word Training (Shaywitz, 2003)
• Use flash cards, slides on a computer screen, game
pieces
• Stimulus: single printed words
• Deadline: Child must name word aloud in ___ seconds
• Goal: increase reader’s ability to read words accurately
and quickly (less than one second per word = 60 words
per minute)

98. Science Terms
• Homeostasis • Chemical
• Photosynthesis • Reproduction
• Habitat • Hypothesis
• Cycle • Biological
• Oxygen • Equipment
• Laboratory • Scientist

99. Science Review
Each slide will stay up for 5 seconds.

100. Oxygen

101. Habitat

102. Laboratory

103. Scientist

104. Temperature

105. Science Review
Each slide will stay up for 2 seconds.

106. Oxygen

107. Habitat

108. Laboratory

109. Scientist

110. Temperature

111. Science Review
Each slide will stay up for 1 second.

112. Oxygen

113. Habitat

114. Laboratory

115. Scientist

116. Temperature

117. Science Review
Each slide will stay up for 1/2 second.

118. Oxygen

119. Habitat

120. Laboratory

121. Scientist

122. Temperature

123. Independent
Practice

124. Independent
Practice
“Jazzing up” repeated readings...

125. Independent
Practice
“Jazzing up” repeated readings...
• Relay race - assign each child a section of a text
and time the group

126. Independent
Practice
“Jazzing up” repeated readings...
• Relay race - assign each child a section of a text
and time the group
• Reverse relay race - for students who tend to
speed at the expense of accuracy

127. Independent
Practice
“Jazzing up” repeated readings...
• Relay race - assign each child a section of a text
and time the group
• Reverse relay race - for students who tend to
speed at the expense of accuracy
• “Tic-tac-toe” board filled with sounds, words,
phrases or sentences.

128. Independent
Practice
“Jazzing up” repeated readings...
• Relay race - assign each child a section of a text
and time the group
• Reverse relay race - for students who tend to
speed at the expense of accuracy
• “Tic-tac-toe” board filled with sounds, words,
phrases or sentences.
• Reading “in character” - especially useful if
reading from a book or readers theater script.

129. Independent
Practice
“Jazzing up” repeated readings...
• Relay race - assign each child a section of a text
and time the group
• Reverse relay race - for students who tend to
speed at the expense of accuracy
• “Tic-tac-toe” board filled with sounds, words,
phrases or sentences.
• Reading “in character” - especially useful if
reading from a book or readers theater script.
•ç

130. Tips for Repeated Reading

131. Tips for Repeated Reading
• Keep texts short and manageable. Texts can be word lists, phrases, or short
stories.

132. Tips for Repeated Reading
• Keep texts short and manageable. Texts can be word lists, phrases, or short
stories.
• Students should stay with a selection until achieving a pre-determined
criterion - specify both accuracy level and speed.

133. Tips for Repeated Reading
• Keep texts short and manageable. Texts can be word lists, phrases, or short
stories.
• Students should stay with a selection until achieving a pre-determined
criterion - specify both accuracy level and speed.
• Help students take pride in mastering each selection. Some programs (i.e.
Great Leaps) provide a chart for tracking progress.

134. Tips for Repeated Reading
• Keep texts short and manageable. Texts can be word lists, phrases, or short
stories.
• Students should stay with a selection until achieving a pre-determined
criterion - specify both accuracy level and speed.
• Help students take pride in mastering each selection. Some programs (i.e.
Great Leaps) provide a chart for tracking progress.
• HOWEVER, students may feel demoralized at having to stick with the same
passage for another day, or having an “easier” passage in comparison to
classmates. I have dealt with this by giving students a second passage to work
on or temporarily “retiring” a story text in favor of a word or passage list
instead.

135. Tips for Repeated Reading
• Keep texts short and manageable. Texts can be word lists, phrases, or short
stories.
• Students should stay with a selection until achieving a pre-determined
criterion - specify both accuracy level and speed.
• Help students take pride in mastering each selection. Some programs (i.e.
Great Leaps) provide a chart for tracking progress.
• HOWEVER, students may feel demoralized at having to stick with the same
passage for another day, or having an “easier” passage in comparison to
classmates. I have dealt with this by giving students a second passage to work
on or temporarily “retiring” a story text in favor of a word or passage list
instead.
• Students who are anxious may miscue or speed with a teacher or peer, but
perform well when allowed to tape their performance in private.

136. Tips for Repeated Reading
• Keep texts short and manageable. Texts can be word lists, phrases, or short
stories.
• Students should stay with a selection until achieving a pre-determined
criterion - specify both accuracy level and speed.
• Help students take pride in mastering each selection. Some programs (i.e.
Great Leaps) provide a chart for tracking progress.
• HOWEVER, students may feel demoralized at having to stick with the same
passage for another day, or having an “easier” passage in comparison to
classmates. I have dealt with this by giving students a second passage to work
on or temporarily “retiring” a story text in favor of a word or passage list
instead.
• Students who are anxious may miscue or speed with a teacher or peer, but
perform well when allowed to tape their performance in private.
•Recording also allows the child to reflect upon the improvement as s/he
listens to what the passage sounded like before practice, and then afterwards.

140. Effective Learning
Moving From Modeling to Independent Reading
Graph adapted from The Fluent Reader, p. 57
Higher level
of support
Scaffolding fluent reading Independent
Lower level Guided practice practice
of support
Shared reading Student reads
Teacher reads
Choral reading independently
aloud (modeling
Paired reading (timed, recitals,
oral reading)
Echo reading Readers Theater)

141. Summary

142. Summary
Fluency is essential for skilled reading.

143. Summary
Fluency is essential for skilled reading.
Fluency includes reading speed, accuracy
AND expression.

144. Summary
Fluency is essential for skilled reading.
Fluency includes reading speed, accuracy
AND expression.
Select decodable texts and gradually
increase difficulty level.

145. Summary
Fluency is essential for skilled reading.
Fluency includes reading speed, accuracy
AND expression.
Select decodable texts and gradually
increase difficulty level.
Practice consistently, but can be in short
sessions - just a few minutes per day.

146. Summary
Fluency is essential for skilled reading.
Fluency includes reading speed, accuracy
AND expression.
Select decodable texts and gradually
increase difficulty level.
Practice consistently, but can be in short
sessions - just a few minutes per day.
Repetition!