As part of my role as a Literacy Specialist, I have the pleasure of meeting with many students in grades 5-8 to listen to them read. The goal of such meetings is to check on the students' fluency and comprehension of brief passages that they read aloud. A student's comprehension of the material that they are reading is often directly related to how fluently he/she is able to read the text.
Fluency is defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. In order to understand what they read, children must be able to read fluently whether they are reading aloud or silently. When reading aloud, fluent readers read in phrases and add intonation appropriately. Their reading is smooth and has expression.
Children who do not read fluently may sound choppy, awkward, or robotic. Those students may struggle with decoding or they may simply need more practice with speed and smoothness in reading. Fluency is also important for motivation; children who find reading laborious tend not to want read! As readers head into the upper elementary grades and middle school, fluency becomes increasingly important. The volume of reading required escalates dramatically. Students whose reading is slow or labored often have trouble meeting the reading demands of their grade level, which is where specialists like Mrs. Breen, Mrs. Bailey, Ms. Metzger, Ms. Salzberg, Mrs. DeOliveira, and me come in. We work to improve students' fluency and comprehension so that they are better equipped to handle the demands within all of their content area courses.
If you are interested in more ideas on how to help your child improve, please do not hesitate to reach out for more information, or check out the infographic below!
Fluency is defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. In order to understand what they read, children must be able to read fluently whether they are reading aloud or silently. When reading aloud, fluent readers read in phrases and add intonation appropriately. Their reading is smooth and has expression.
Children who do not read fluently may sound choppy, awkward, or robotic. Those students may struggle with decoding or they may simply need more practice with speed and smoothness in reading. Fluency is also important for motivation; children who find reading laborious tend not to want read! As readers head into the upper elementary grades and middle school, fluency becomes increasingly important. The volume of reading required escalates dramatically. Students whose reading is slow or labored often have trouble meeting the reading demands of their grade level, which is where specialists like Mrs. Breen, Mrs. Bailey, Ms. Metzger, Ms. Salzberg, Mrs. DeOliveira, and me come in. We work to improve students' fluency and comprehension so that they are better equipped to handle the demands within all of their content area courses.
If you are interested in more ideas on how to help your child improve, please do not hesitate to reach out for more information, or check out the infographic below!