Fluency in the Classroom

This timely book offers two distinct approaches to oral reading instruction that can easily be incorporated into primary-grade literacy curricula. It enables teachers to go beyond the conventional "round-robin" approach by providing strong instructional support and using challenging texts. Grounded in research and classroom experience, the book explains what works and why in helping students build comprehension along with word recognition and the expressive elements of oral reading. Specific lesson plan ideas, helpful vignettes and examples, and reproducibles make this an indispensable classroom resource. Included are chapters on fluency's role in learning to read, motivation, the home-school connection, fluency assessment, and strategies for struggling readers.

Children's Literature

Oral reading fluency is more than rate or speed. There are a number of skills involved, and this book clearly defines oral reading fluency and its part in the classroom reading instruction program. The researchers offer classroom teachers research-based strategies to use in the classroom to support students' oral reading fluency. The two instructional approaches, Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction and Wide Reading Instruction, are clearly outlined and explained. The oral reading fluency instruction is a part of the reading instruction program in the classroom. Reading comprehension is also discussed; there is a description of how to provide and include reading comprehension support within the fluency instructional approaches. There is a chapter that also looks at formal and informal oral reading fluency assessment. Oral reading fluency practice is extended to the home; there is a description of providing home support by including the involvement of the students' families and caregivers. Elementary classroom teachers and reading specialists will find the book a helpful resource as a part of their reading program. Reviewer: Carrie Hane Hung

Melanie R. Kuhn, PhD, is Associate Professor at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She began her teaching career in the Boston public schools, has worked as a literacy coordinator for an adult education program, and spent 3 years as a clinician at an international school in England. Dr. Kuhn received her EdM in Reading and Language at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, her MPhil in the Psychological Investigation of Intellectual Development at Cambridge University, and her PhD in Reading Education from the University of Georgia. She has authored several articles and chapters, including  “Fluency: A Review of Developmental and Remedial Practices” with Steven A. Stahl, and currently teaches courses on assessing and correcting reading difficulties. Her research interests also include literacy instruction for struggling readers, comprehension development, and vocabulary instruction.

Paula J. Schwanenflugel, PhD, is Professor of Educational Psychology, Psychology, Linguistics, and Cognitive Science at the University of Georgia, where she teaches courses on child development, cognition, and psycholinguistics as applied to education. She has recently been engaged in grant research on reading fluency, preliteracy skills, vocabulary, and classroom practices related to these topics. Dr. Schwanenflugel served as principal investigator of an Interagency Educational Research Initiative grant to develop theory and classroom practices for reading fluency, funded through the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Science Foundation.