We often think of reading fluency as speed: the faster you read, the better reader you are.
Or, we may think of fluency when reading aloud: a person who reads aloud with fluency, accurately, who doesn’t hesitate and doesn’t rush, who pauses and controls their tone for effect, is a fluent reader.
Both of these interpretations are useful.
Speed is important. Slow readers struggle to find meaning in what they read because their working memories drop the start of the sentence by the time they reach the end. A rough and ready minimum reading speed for useful comprehension is about 100 words per minute -about the rate we talk (not a coincidence).
Speedy readers can far exceed this rate. In my trust, children as young as year 3 have fluency rates of 250 words per minute. They whizz through books and answer basic comprehension questions – but at that speed, their comprehension is superficial. Deep comprehension takes time.
So speed is important, but I only really care about the 100 wpm threshold. Reading isn’t a race.
Our other interpretation of fluency is for reading aloud. A fluent reader reads aloud clearly with prosody. Why do we care about this when reading aloud is rare in adulthood? Partly because it is the easiest way to hear what’s going on in a reader’s head. If a reader reads clearly, accurately and with feeling, they are comprehending the text on the fly. They probably do this during silent reading as well. Secondary teachers take note (science and humanities teachers, I’m thinking of you) – you learn a lot from hearing a student read a subject text aloud.
Luckily both forms of fluency can be developed through the same strategies. The EEF recommends developing reading fluency in the following way:
Support pupils to develop fluent reading capabilities
- Fluent reading supports comprehension because pupils’ cognitive resources can be redirected from focusing on word recognition to comprehending the text.
- Develop pupils’ fluency through:
- guided oral reading instruction—teachers model fluent reading, then pupils read the same text aloud with appropriate feedback; and
- repeated reading— pupils re-read a short and meaningful passage a set number of times or until they reach a suitable level of fluency.
- Prioritise understanding pupils’ current capabilities and teaching accordingly. Most pupils benefit from an emphasis on reading fluency in Key Stage 2 but some may continue to need support with foundational reading capabilities such as decoding.
Because reading fluency is subject dependent, I believe these strategies should be used regularly in subjects where the ability to read fluently is important – not only in primary school. If you use your valuable curriculum time to develop fluency in your subject at Key Stages 1, 2, 3 or 4, I am very keen to hear from you.
Ben
Reading for Learning 