What is fluency? How might it be fostered?
What will be an ideal response?
Fluency is freedom from word identification problems that might hinder comprehension in silent reading or the expression of ideas in oral reading. Fluency has levels of complexity. Surface fluency refers to rate of reading and reading with expression. Deep fluency means that the reader controls rate of reading and reading with expression to maximize comprehension (Topping, 2006). "The critical test of fluency is the ability to decode a text and understand it simultaneously" (Samuels, 2006, p. 41). It means less reliance on sounding out and word-by-word reading. Fluency is fostered by increasing the amount of reading that students do, reading a variety of texts as well as reading one text several times. Some techniques for encouraging fluency include the following:
1 Choral reading (reading in unison with a group)
2 Reading orally to students (modeling the process of smooth and expressive reading)
3 Repeated reading (reading orally, then rereading alone, to a partner, or with a tape)
4 Instruction and practice reading in phrases.
5 Recorded-book method (reading along with a tape)
6 Alternate reading (taking turns with an adult)
7 Building needed decoded skills.
8 Lots of silent reading at the student's independent level.
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