Reading Fluency and Its Effect on Reading Comprehension
Reading Fluency and its Effect on Reading Comprehension
Topic Selection As an elementary teacher, I have often thought reading fluency plays a large role in a child’s reading development. Few reading programs give fluency the recognition it deserves. Reading fluency has been a prominent and reliable benchmark for me, even when students have comprehension difficulties. Once fluency is assessed, the results were used to place students in their reading ability group. Often times, the fluent readers were placed in the high ability reading groups. In the past, our district used a reading program that gave very little focus to reading fluency and few strategies for improvement. It assessed fluency based on rate and accuracy—not prosody. The previous reading series also failed to assess the students’ comprehension after they read independently. The non-fluent readers spent so much effort on word identification; it is difficult for them to enjoy reading the selection. I believe this is one reason they enjoy being read to. Students can comprehend a story when it is read aloud to them, but it is their lack of fluency that inhibits comprehension when it is their turn to read. A current goal in our school improvement plan is to improve reading fluency; therefore, in this review of literature, I will examine reading fluency by focusing on how it affects comprehension.
Literature Review The attention given to reading fluency has fluctuated throughout the years in education. It is currently gaining recognition and once again becoming an advertised component in most reading programs. According to Avanchan (2010), fluency is a critical element of reading and should be taught in every school. This Literature Review will focus on the following research questions: 1. What is reading fluency? 2. What strategies can be used to improve reading fluency? 3. How does reading fluency affect reading comprehension?
What is reading fluency?
Topic Selection As an elementary teacher, I have often thought reading fluency plays a large role in a child’s reading development. Few reading programs give fluency the recognition it deserves. Reading fluency has been a prominent and reliable benchmark for me, even when students have comprehension difficulties. Once fluency is assessed, the results were used to place students in their reading ability group. Often times, the fluent readers were placed in the high ability reading groups. In the past, our district used a reading program that gave very little focus to reading fluency and few strategies for improvement. It assessed fluency based on rate and accuracy—not prosody. The previous reading series also failed to assess the students’ comprehension after they read independently. The non-fluent readers spent so much effort on word identification; it is difficult for them to enjoy reading the selection. I believe this is one reason they enjoy being read to. Students can comprehend a story when it is read aloud to them, but it is their lack of fluency that inhibits comprehension when it is their turn to read. A current goal in our school improvement plan is to improve reading fluency; therefore, in this review of literature, I will examine reading fluency by focusing on how it affects comprehension.
Literature Review The attention given to reading fluency has fluctuated throughout the years in education. It is currently gaining recognition and once again becoming an advertised component in most reading programs. According to Avanchan (2010), fluency is a critical element of reading and should be taught in every school. This Literature Review will focus on the following research questions: 1. What is reading fluency? 2. What strategies can be used to improve reading fluency? 3. How does reading fluency affect reading comprehension?
What is reading fluency?
References: Applegate, M., Applegate, A. J., & Modla, V. B. (2009). She 's my best reader; She just can 't comprehend: Studying the relationship between fluency and comprehension. Reading Teacher, 62(6), 512-521. doi:10.1598/RT.62.6.5 Evanchan, G. (2010). Fluency is a vital link in the comprehension chain. Ohio Reading Teacher, 40(1), 11-18. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/577071584?accountid=28680 Hudson, R. F., Lane, H. B., & Pullen, P. C. (2005). Reading fluency assessment and instruction: What, why, and how?. Reading Teacher, 58(8), 702-714. doi:10.1598/RT.58.8.1 Nathan, R. G., & Stanovich, K. E. (1991). The causes and consequences of differences in reading fluency. Theory Into Practice, 30(3), 176. Pikulski, J. J., & Chard, D. J. (2005). Fluency: Bridge between decoding and reading comprehension. Reading Teacher, 58(6), 510-519. Worthy, J., & Broaddus, K. (2001). Fluency beyond the primary grades: From group performance to silent, independent reading. Reading Teacher, 55(4), 334.