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I'm not finished with my literature review yet. However, here is what I have so far.

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If you are considering using Reader's Theater be sure you look at scholarly sources that discuss the use to build fluency.

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Good background knowledge, some

ideas for implementation and even

ways to collect data.

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You have this listed as n.d. but the

text shows it is from 2004.

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Great resource that overviews fluency and possible ways to improve it.

(Central Connecticut State University, 2006)

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Great research on fluency and ways to improve it.

(Utah State University, n.d.)

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Great resource to explain what fluency is

and why it's important. Also discusses ways

to create fluent readers.

(ASCD, n.d.)

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Fifth grade has turned into a difficult year for Jonah. He is a bright student, but he has difficulty reading. Although he can accurately sound out the words he encounters, he plods along word-by-word, often hesitating at challenging vocabulary. His oral reading shows little attention to punctuation and phrasing, and it lacks expression and enthusiasm. Jonah can, however, understand material read to him. His difficulty seems to lie somewhere on the path from decoding to comprehension-in reading fluency.

Since the publication of the National Reading Panel report (2000) and other recent scholarly reviews of scientific research (Chard, Vaughn, & Tyler, 2002; Kuhn & Stahl, 2000; Rasinski & Hoffman, 2003), reading fluency has taken a front seat in discussions about student reading success and effective instruction in reading. Yet programs and materials addressing reading instruction and teacher training seldom tackle reading fluency (Rasinski & Zutell, 1996). This lack may be due to the fact that fluency has long been associated with oral reading, a form of reading traditionally viewed as having little importance in learning to read (Gibson & Levin, 1975; Smith, 2002).

Three Dimensions of Reading Fluency

Defining reading fluency may help clarify the issue. Successful reading requires readers to process the text (the surface level of reading) and comprehend the text (the deeper meaning). Reading fluency refers to the reader's ability to develop control over surface-level text processing so that he or she can focus on understanding the deeper levels of meaning embedded in the text.

Reading fluency has three important dimensions that build a bridge to comprehension. The first dimension is accuracy in word decoding. Readers must be able to sound out the words in a text with minimal errors. In terms of skills, this dimension refers to phonics and other strategies for decoding words. The second dimension is automatic processing. Readers need to expend as little mental effort as possible in the decoding aspect of reading so that they can use their finite cognitive resources for meaning making (LaBerge & Samuels, 1974). The third dimension is what linguists call prosodic reading (Schreiber, 1980, 1991; Schreiber & Read, 1980). The reader must parse the text into syntactically and semantically appropriate units. If readers read quickly and accurately but with no expression in their voices, if they place equal emphasis on every word and have no sense of phrasing, and if they ignore most punctuation, blowing through periods and other markers that indicate pauses, then it is unlikely that they will fully understand the text.

Assessing Reading Fluency

Teachers can easily assess each of the three dimensions of reading fluency. To determine proficiency in decoding connected text, calculate the percentage of words a reader can accurately decode on grade-level material. An accuracy level of 90-95 percent is usually considered adequate. Thus, a 3rd grader who is progressing normally in decoding accuracy should be able to read a 100-word text written at a 3rd grade level with no more than 10 uncorrected decoding errors. More than 10 uncorrected errors per 100 words indicates that decoding is a concern, one that requires additional instruction and practice.

Teachers can normally assess automaticity in decoding by looking at the student's reading rate. Reading rates increase as students mature, so the target reading rate increases as students move through school. An easy method for determining reading rate, and thus automaticity, involves having students orally read a grade-level passage for 60 seconds and then calculating the number of words read correctly (corrected errors count as words read correctly) (Deno, 1985). Compare students' scores with target rates (oral fluency norms) for each grade level (Rasinski, 2003). Readers who fall 20-30 percent below the target rate will normally require additional instruction.

The best way to assess prosodic reading is to listen to a student read a grade-level passage and to then judge the quality of the reading using a rubric that scores a student on the elements of expression and volume, phrasing, smoothness, and pace (see fig. 1, p. 49). Students who score poorly may be considered at risk in this dimension of reading fluency.
Figure 1. Multidimensional Fluency Scale
Figure 1. Multidimensional Fluency Scale

By having students read one or two grade-level passages for one minute each, teachers can get a quick sense of their students' level of decoding accuracy, automaticity, and prosodic reading. Although such quick assessments may not be definitive, they do provide teachers and school administrators with a method for screening new students, tracking students' ongoing progress in the various dimensions of reading fluency, and identifying the students who may require additional assessment and instruction.

Teaching Reading Fluency

Instruction in reading fluency depends on the area in which students require the most help. Students with difficulties in accuracy require instruction in learning how to decode words. Although teachers are familiar with this kind of instruction, which develops skills in phonics and decoding, they may not be as familiar with methods for developing students' strength in automaticity and prosodic reading.

In my own instructional efforts to develop automaticity and prosodic reading, I use assisted readings and repeated readings, two methods that research has shown to improve reading fluency (Kuhn & Stahl, 2000; National Reading Panel, 2000; Rasinski & Hoffman, 2003). Students need to hear what fluent reading sounds like and how fluent readers interpret text with their voices.

Hearing fluent reading, however, is not the same as being a fluent reader. Fortunately, assisted readings can help. After reading a passage aloud to students, I ask them to follow along with me, first silently and then aloud, as a group. Sometimes I ask students to orally read a passage with a partner who is at the same reading level. At other times, I ask more fluent readers to read with students who are having difficulty with reading (Eldredge & Quinn, 1988; Topping, 1987a, 1987b, 1995) or I have students silently read while listening to a fluent rendering of the passage on tape (Carbo, 1978; Pluck, 1995). Such practices constitute a powerful strategy for improving fluency and comprehension.

Developing fluency in reading requires practice; this is where the method of repeated readings comes in (Samuels, 1979). Research indicates that repeated readings lead not only to improvement in reading the passage but also to improvement in decoding, reading rate, prosodic reading, and comprehension of passages that the reader has not previously seen (Dowhower, 1994; Koskinen & Blum, 1986; Kuhn & Stahl, 2000; National Reading Panel, 2000).

Passages meant to be read aloud as a performance-poetry, for example, or scripts, speeches, monologues, dialogues, jokes, and riddles-are perfect texts for developing fluency. I see many teachers converting their classrooms into poetry cafés and readers' theater festivals on Friday afternoons to give students the opportunity to perform the assigned texts that they have diligently practiced during the week.

The teacher plays a key role in developing prosodic reading skills by modeling prosodic reading in classroom read-aloud sessions and then discussing the specific oral interpretation that he or she chose. Coaching provides another opportunity for developing these skills by making students aware of their own interpretation of the text and moving readers toward deeper levels of interpretation and meaning.

Here are some comments I have heard teachers make while coaching students in oral interpretation.

"You got all the words right, Thomas, but you read too fast. It was hard for me to follow what you were trying to tell me."

"Eliza, the way you made each character sound different in this dialogue was fantastic. It was easy and fun to listen to these characters arguing."

"I really like how you paused between sentences. This gave me a chance to think about the author's message. Now think about finding places to pause for just a second more inside longer sentences."

"I loved how you made your voice strong and loud in this section. It really told me that this section of the passage was important."

"Try slowing down here and making your voice a bit softer. Remember, you're trying to tell me about something mysterious. Tell the story with your voice as well as with the words."

As assisted and repeated reading, coupled with coaching, become part of the classroom routine, teachers can track changes in students' accuracy, reading rate, and prosodic reading. Jonah, our struggling 5th grade reader, originally read a 4th grade-level passage at 60 words correct per minute and a 5th grade-level passage at 52 words correct per minute. A 5th grader, however, should be reading approximately 100-125 words correct per minute during the first half of the school year. After just two months of working in small groups with a reading teacher for three 40-minute sessions each week, Jonah's reading rate on 5th grade-level passages increased to 84 words correct per minute. His accuracy, prosodic reading, and comprehension improved as well.

Several instructional routines for developing reading fluency show promise for improving reading in all readers. Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction (Stahl & Heubach, in press) has students engage in modeled, repeated, and assisted reading of passages from basal readers. The Fluency Development Lesson (Rasinski, Padak, Linek, & Sturtevant, 1994) uses poetry, monologues, dialogues, speeches, and other performance texts to promote reading fluency. Fast Start (Rasinski, 1995; Stevenson, 2002) promotes early reading fluency through parental involvement.

Confusing Fast with Fluent

The new focus on reading fluency has great potential for improving the reading achievement of all students, particularly those who have not met with great success in reading. I am, however, concerned about how some schools define reading fluency and how some teachers teach it. In some schools, where improvement of the reading rate has become the chief goal of fluency instruction, teachers admonish students to "pick up the pace," regularly time them on their reading to encourage them to beat their previous scores, and engage students in daily reading exercises that emphasize speed over meaning.

This is a corruption of the concept of reading fluency. If we emphasize speed at the expense of prosodic and meaningful reading, we will end up with fast readers who understand little of what they have read. Fluency instruction leads to impressive gains when it provides regular opportunities for expressive reading through assisted and repeated readings coupled with coaching; it doesn't require explicit reference to reading for speed. Students' reading rates will improve as they become naturally more efficient and confident in their ability to decode words.

Fluency Into the Future

Research (Pinnell et al., 1995) suggests that reading fluency is a crucial factor among 4th grade students, but it can also be an important issue beyond the elementary grades. I recently worked with a group of colleagues from Kent State University to examine the fluency of high school students in an urban setting. We found that variations in the reading fluency of these students accounted for approximately 30 percent of the variance in their performance on Ohio's High School Graduation Test. Clearly, this finding suggests that fluency may be an issue that goes well into the high school years, especially among students from less advantaged backgrounds.

If teachers and school leaders are truly committed to leaving no child behind in reading, then they must actively pursue the goal of reading fluency in elementary and middle school classrooms. Existing scientific research on reading fluency indicates that it is an important factor in reading education and thus should be part of any comprehensive and effective reading curriculum.

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Fifth grade has turned into a difficult year for Jonah. He is a bright student, but he has difficulty reading. Although he can accurately sound out the words he encounters, he plods along word-by-word, often hesitating at challenging vocabulary. His oral reading shows little attention to punctuation

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I know that informed consent is important. However, I collect information on their fluency throughout the entire year as is. I understand that I need to get consent from parents and am hopeful that they will be on board.

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A major issue that may arise is not

being accurate when collecting data.

I need to make sure that I am

recording their correct words per minute to help determine if what I'm incorporating in my teaching is actually benefiting my students.

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Different student-centered activities

for students to participate in to

strengthen fluency.

(Florida State University, 2015)

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For Educators | Florida Center for Reading Research

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During the spring 2004 Florida Reading First school site visits, staff from the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) determined that teachers may benefit from classroom materials that would be immediately useful in implementing independent student center activities.

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How should I collect data?

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Issues that can arise:

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Fluency Reading Passages/

Reader's Theater Scripts

(Learning A-Z, n.d.)

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Award-winning reading solution with thousands of leveled readers, lesson plans, worksheets and assessments to teach guided reading, reading proficiency and comprehension to K-5 students

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Reading Fluency Strategies

(Reading Resource, 2009)

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The following strategies and activities are designed to achieve two primary goals:

1. To help children read words accurately and effortlessly.

2. To help children read with appropriate rates of reading fluency. Katie and I frequently discuss the keys that allow us to help many new or struggling readers achieve the above goals. From our experience, we both agree the creation of fluent readers is dependent on two instructional ingredients (it is also nice to know our conclusions are backed by research as well).

Readers become fluent from:

Explicit instruction, feedback & guidance AND

Practicing with appropriate textsFor detailed knowledge on reading fluency itself we recommend the following information: Click here to download Fluency Tasks, Texts, and Teaching

Reading Fluency Strategies

Repeated reading means that students read the same reading passages or texts repeatedly until a desired level of reading fluency is achieved. Katie and I both incorporate this specific reading fluency strategy almost daily into our reading instruction.

A version of the method of repeated reading we often use is as follows:

An adult chooses a passage to read that is slightly above the child's instructional level but still one that will promote student success. Out of grade-level materials may be used for a child reading significantly below grade level. A reading passage or excerpt with approximately 100 words is desirable although different lengths can be used depending on the reader.

The child reads the passage aloud, while the adult times him or her using a stopwatch for a specific amount of time (usually one minute). Some choose to make an audiotape recording of the child's reading. As the child reads, the adult marks all of the words read incorrectly. If a child gets stuck on a word the adult gives them the word after 5 seconds.

When the time is up the student or adult marks where they stopped. The adult reviews the miscues with the child, using the audiotape or discussion and counts the number of words the child read correctly. This number is the goal to beat on the next reading! Our students love to graph the number of words they read correctly each time. Plus, it helps build math skills!

The child rereads the same passage for the same amount of time and the adult marks the child's miscues again. Remember, the child is trying to read past their previous ending mark.

The child and adult continue Steps 3 and 4 until the child achieves a predetermined goal. This goal could be a predetermined number of words read correctly or a predetermined number of times the child has to beat their previous score. If the child does not significantly improve the number of words read correctly each try, the adult might want to discontinue and use an easier passage.

When the child can read a passage relatively fluently on the first reading, the adult provides a more difficult passage. It is important to progressively challenge the child so that reading improvement can be made.

Click here to download a First Grade Words Correct Per Minute Graph

Click here to download a Second Grade Words Correct Per Minute Graph

Click here to download a Third Grade Words Correct Per Minute Graph

We've created a parent-friendly homework log to help your students practice reading fluency with repeated reading at home! Check it out, here:

Repeated Reading Homework Log

Repeated Reading (Group Version)

This version of repeated reading can be done individually or with both small groups and whole classes. Here is how to use this reading fluency strategy with more than one child:

Children begin reading orally from multiple copies of the same text on cue. After 1 to 3 minutes, the teacher calls "time" and children mark where they stopped with a pencil. After the reading, the teacher or the children can bring up words that gave the children difficulty. The teacher then repeats the procedure two more times, with the children marking how far they got each time.
Here is another version of the repeated reading method commonly used:

An adult chooses a passage that is slightly above the child's instructional level.

The child reads the ENTIRE passage aloud (a using an excerpt around 100 words is desirable), while the adult times him or her using a stopwatch. The adult can choose to make an audiotape recording of the child's reading. As the child reads, the adult marks any word that is not read correctly. The adult records the amount of time it took to read the passage.

The teacher reviews the miscues with the child, using the audiotape or discussion.

The child rereads the passage, and tries to beat their previous time while making less reading errors.

The child and adult continue Steps 3 and 4 until the child achieves a predetermined number of words read correctly per minute (number of words read correctly divided by time). If it takes more than seven tries to reach the goal, the adult might want to discontinue and use an easier passage. Repeated reading of a passage usually takes more than one teaching session. The adult charts each attempt.

The adult selects another passage at the same level. When the child can read a passage relatively fluently on the first reading, the teacher provides a more difficult passage. It is important to progressively challenge the child so that reading improvement can be made. Several variations to this strategy can be made to keep the task fun for kids. Just remember to provide corrective feedback and guidance and to choose appropriate texts.

In paired reading a capable reader and a struggling reader read in unison. The struggling reader indicates when they are ready to try reading alone. If the student makes an error, the capable reader provides the correct word. The pair then reads the sentence with that word in unison and continues reading. Different from repeated reading, Topping and Whitley (1987, 1990) found that paired reading can significantly improve reading fluency.

Ways Parents Can Improve Reading Fluency with Paired Reading

Rasinski (1995) describes how paired reading is used at home. Each night the parent reads a brief poem or passage to their child. This is followed by the parent and child reading the passage together several times. Then the child reads the text to the parent.

A great book for this type of paired reading is You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman.

In his study, Rasinski found that children who engage in this form of paired reading demonstrated significant gains over children who received tutoring without this paired reading support. Parents, if you are paying for tutoring get more bang for your buck by using this practice at home with your child. Teachers and tutors, share this information with your parents to support your teaching efforts and help increase your students' reading fluency!

Choral reading (where groups of children read the same text aloud in unison) is one of our favorite reading fluency strategies. Because of its effectiveness, teachers should find ways to incorporate choral reading into their daily classroom instruction. Choral reading is great because it maximizes the amount of reading done per each child. Compared to round robin reading the use of choral reading certainly results in more reading than one child reading one line or paragraph of text, one at a time. Katie and I rely heavily on repeated reading AND choral reading during our fluency instruction. Struggling readers truly benefit from combining both approaches! We will choral read a poem or story several times and each time we read their confidence grows.

Echo Reading

Echo reading is another favorite of ours because it allows children to practice proper phrasing and expression while building oral reading fluency. In echo reading, the teacher or parent reads one sentence or paragraph (length can vary) at a time while the student follows along in the text with their finger. Once the adult pauses, the student echoes back the same sentence or paragraph following along with their finger so that you can be sure the student is actually reading and not simply copying you. The guided practice and support of the echo reading structure instills confidence in students aiming to develop greater reading proficiencies.

Parents, have a reluctant reader at home? Use this method as a way to get hesitant readers to practice with you at home. We have found that stubborn readers have a tendency to let their guard down when you practice with them using the echo reading method.

Teachers, share this method with your parents as a way to encourage structured reading practice at home!

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The following strategies and activities are designed to achieve two primary goals: 1. To help children read words accurately and effortlessly. 2. To help children read with appropriate rates of reading fluency. Katie and I frequently discuss the keys that allow us to help many new or struggling readers achieve the above goals.

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Tips for developing fluent readers.

(Reading Rockets, n.d.)

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What should fluency instruction look like? And, what can teachers do to help students whose fluency is far behind their peers'? This article can help practitioners effectively use fluency-based assessments and select instructional practices.

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Great resources that discusses possible teaching strategies to incorporate to help improve fluency levels.

(ThistleGirl Designs, n.d.)

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Possible Resources:

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Potential Problem to Research (topic):

This year I have a wide range of students

with varied reading skills. My focus is on ways

to improve their reading fluency.