Fluency

According to Rasinski there are three dimensions of reading fluency. These three dimensions are:

1. Accuracy in word decoding

2. Automatic processing

3. Prosodic reading

If a child can do all of these things then they are fluent readers. In order to be a fluent reader you have to be able to sound out the words with minimal errors, know the meaning of what you are reading, and know what punctuation is and how it is used. When you are reading you have expression in your voice, you don't read every word exactly the same, especially if there is punctuation. This checklist would be a good thing to have up in your classroom so that students could look and see if they were doing everything they were supposed to while reading.

I like the idea in the article of assessing the students by letting them read for one minute and then calculating the number of words they read correctly. I think that's an easy way to make sure you can test all of the kids in your classroom for reading fluency. I also liked the idea of having students read together. I like that a more fluent student is able to help another student is that is having trouble.

Thoughts to Ponder:

1. What kinds of activities would you use to help with fluency?