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What Works in Fluency Instruction
Fluency, reading in a fast and fluid manner, is what often distinguishes to observers the reading performance of a good reader from a poor reader. Find out what the research says about the two most common instructional methods for developing fluency: guided oral reading and independent silent reading.
Fluent readers are able to read orally with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. Fluency is one of several critical factors necessary for reading comprehension.
Despite its importance as a component of skilled reading, fluency is often neglected in the classroom. This is unfortunate. If text is read in a laborious and inefficient manner, it will be difficult for the child to remember what has been read and to relate the ideas expressed in the text to his or her background knowledge.
Recent research on the efficacy of certain approaches to teaching fluency has led to increased recognition of its importance in the classroom and to changes in instructional practices.
Two instructional approaches, each of which has several variations, have typically been used to teach reading fluency. One approach, called guided repeated oral reading, encourages students to read passages orally with systematic and explicit guidance and feedback from the teacher. The other approach, called independent silent reading, encourages students to read silently on their own, inside and outside the classroom, with minimal guidance or feedback.
Guided oral reading
The National Reading Panel concluded that repeated oral reading procedures that included guidance from teachers, peers, or parents had a significant and positive impact on word recognition, fluency, and comprehension across a range of grade levels.
These studies were conducted in a variety of classrooms in both regular and special education settings with teachers using widely available instructional materials. These results also apply to all students – good readers as well as those experiencing reading difficulties.
[Editor's note: Here's an article called "What is Guided Oral Reading?" that explains how teachers can use this instructional method.]
Independent silent reading
There has been widespread agreement that encouraging students to engage in wide, independent, silent reading increases reading achievement. Literally hundreds of correlational studies find that the best readers read the most and that poor readers read the least.
These correlational studies suggest that the more that children read, the better their fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. However, these findings are correlational in nature, and correlation does not imply causation. No doubt, it could be that the more that children read, the more their reading skills improve, but it is also possible that better readers simply choose to read more.
In order to address this issue of causation, the panel examined the specific impact that encouraging students to read more has on fluency, vocabulary development, and reading comprehension. The studies that were identified that address this issue were characterized by three major features.
First, the studies emphasized silent reading procedures with students reading on their own with little or no specific feedback. Second, the studies did not directly assess fluency or the actual increase in the amount of reading due to the instructional procedures. Rather, only changes in vocabulary and/or comprehension were typically measured as outcomes rather than increases in fluency that could be expected from the increased reading practice. Third, very few studies that examined the effect of independent silent reading on reading achievement could meet the NRP research review methodology criteria (n = 14), and these studies varied widely in their methodological quality and the reading outcome variables measured. Thus, a meta-analysis could not be conducted. Rather, the 14 studies were examined individually and in detail to identify converging trends and findings in the data.
Findings and determination
With regard to the efficacy of having students engage in independent silent reading with minimal guidance or feedback, the Panel was unable to find a positive relationship between programs and instruction that encourage large amounts of independent reading and improvements in reading achievement, including fluency.
In other words, even though encouraging students to read more is intuitively appealing, there is still not sufficient research evidence obtained from studies of high methodological quality to support the idea that such efforts reliably increase how much students read or that such programs result in improved reading skills. Given the extensive use of these techniques, it is important that such research be conducted.
It should be made clear that these findings do not negate the positive influence that independent silent reading may have on reading fluency, nor do the findings negate the possibility that wide independent reading significantly influences vocabulary development and reading comprehension. Rather, there are simply not sufficient data from well-designed studies capable of testing questions of causation to substantiate causal claims.
The available data do suggest that independent silent reading is not an effective practice when used as the only type of reading instruction to develop fluency and other reading skills, particularly with students who have not yet developed critical alphabetic and word reading skills. In sum, methodologically rigorous research designed to assess the specific influences that independent silent reading practices have on reading fluency and other reading skills and the motivation to read has not yet been conducted.
References
Click the "References" link above to hide these references.
Cooper, H., & Hedges, L.V. (1994). The handbook of research synthesis. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Durkin, D. (1993). Teaching them to read (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Harris, T., & Hodges, R. (Eds.). (1995). The literacy dictionary (p. 207). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Snow, C. E., Burns, S. M., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Whipple, G. (Ed.). (1925). The Twenty-fourth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education: Report of the National Committee on Reading. Bloomington, IL: Public School Publishing Company.
Excerpted and adapted from the Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (April 2000).
To improve fluency at home I suggest books on tape or CD. The local library should have them.Have your child listen to the selection three times and then read along with the recording.Do this for at least three days using the same book. After three days use a timer to time your child reading the selection three times each making sure the time reading the selection without the tape decreases.The goal should be 120 words per minute by third grade. A use of a Whisperphone that you can purchase at a school supply store will allow your child to hear herself along with the recording. At school try to lobby to get your school to purchse the Quickreads program by Pearson or Reading Assistant by Scientific learning. These programs provide daily interactive fluency,vocabulary and comprehension practice that allows the student to read into a microphone and increases the pace as they get better and corrects them or moves them to a different level of insruction if they are having difficulty. There maybe interactive fluency programs out there for home use but you have to look for them.
Posted by: Carla | January 09, 2011 06:35 PMMy son is in 2nd grade and his teacher has just advised that he is doing great in other subjects (Math is his favorite) however, he has to improve his fluency and phoneme (?) awareness or he is in jeopardy of being retained. He is reading at a level 18 and should be reading at a level 20 (unguided). I need help - I will not see him be retained especially when he has no disabilities and is doing well otherwise. I have to get him up to where he needs to be by end of the year (be here before we know it). I have him working with a tutor on reading and just added an extra day to work on writing as well. On writing, an example of where he needs improvement is, he'll write race correctly and then spell face, fas. Thank you for any help! I'm so desperate and not a lot of time.
Posted by: Kaye | January 31, 2011 03:03 PMKaye...they can only retain your child with your permission. If you do not agree, then don't. I would continue to what you are doing. Research the internet for ways to help. You will also have the summer to help him.
Good Luck.
I have a 14 year old middle school student who must read aloud in order to understand what has been read. What strategies are there that can help this child. The student is already in a reading class at school - hates it & is already convinced that failure is the only option.
Posted by: Nancy | April 18, 2011 04:05 PMKaye, Do not hold your child back. There is no actual research backing this practice. It's basically a cop-out for schools. It's consequences are much more likely to harm your child rather than help them. The best piece of advice is "Easy reading makes reading easy." Practice reading with your child. I take turns reading sentences, pages, etc. to encourage the child to read. Do not discourage them after they are finished. Give them positive praise and how they could improve feedback.Also, I have found that some students improve by listening to their voice reading over a passage and another voice reading over the same passage. They need to hear how they sound and have great reading models. Make reading fun with activities. Make sure you do repeated readings of the same book, passage, poem, etc.
Posted by: Lacey B | June 16, 2011 12:06 PMRetention is not a cop-out for schools-what a ridiculous statement! Teachers are required to recommend retention with certain criteria. While retention does not always work for all students, it has proven successful for many. Take the time to show your child reading is fun. Read other things besides books (magazines, recipes, comics, etc) and make sure your child witnesses you reading for pleasure as well. Tutoring is an excellent option. There are also many phonics games that could be played - your child can have fun playing a game while practicing their skills. Don't jump to blame the teacher and schools. Every child learns at a different pace. There is nothing wrong with a child that needs to be retained, it just means that child needs more time to master the needed skills.
Posted by: Jaylyn | July 16, 2011 10:32 AMIn fact there is no research to show that retention helps a student do better. I would not recommend it. Find out what specific skills your child lacks and get advice on how to help improve those skills at home. Reading is a very complex skill and not all students master the skills by 2nd grade. Consult with his 3rd grade teacher frequently.
Posted by: SJL | July 25, 2011 04:58 PMBefore DICK AND JANE was the standard reading program in schools, everyone seemed to be able to read. Do you know very many folks who are 70 or older who can't read? The way reading was taught was by "real phonics" and the text for many years was the Bible because other books were rare. There are many "big" words in the Bible, but if one knows what sounds a letter or combination of letters makes, one can take apart any word and read it. An organization that still teaches "real phonics" and is helpful to schools (public and private), homeschools, and parents is Riggs Institute in Oregon. Their website is helpful and so are the folks who work there and have a passion to make us a nation of readers again. Do you know that there are eight ways to spell the long "a" sound in English? If a child knows that "a", "ai", "ay", "eigh", "ea", "ey", "a consonant e", and "ei" all can spell "a", won't he have a better chance to figure out how a new word spelled with one of those combinations is read? Most schools these days teach "phony phonics" and children are confused, discouraged and rendered hopeless. Riggs (based on the work of Dr. Samuel Orton, neuropathlogist of the post World War I era) has made remarkable changes in the lives of many students, children and adults alike who thought they'd never learn to read. It's never too late to enjoy, or at least, accomplish the ability to read.
Posted by: Margaret | September 10, 2011 07:47 PM
Comments
My nine year old daughter does not like to read. When she does, it is because it is required. When she reads aloud, her fluency, while not awful, can be improved. When I read to her, she loves it, and comprehends very well. I do not want to continue "waiting" for her reading to improve, for fear that it won't. She makes good grades in school, but I'm guessing it is due to great listening skills. I don't feel that I got specific advice or an answer from your article, though it is still helpful. I must continue seeking an answer and solution to this problem.
Posted by: Anita | March 24, 2010 12:20 PMSincerely, Anita