Fluency is the ability to read a text quickly and accurately, with proper expression. As a reader becomes more fluent, silently, they begin to recognize words automatically. They quickly group words in ways that help them understand what they read. Fluent readers read effortlessly and with prosody. They have the ability to read out loud as if they were speaking.

Factors Contributing to Fluency/ Vocabulary:​

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• ​Reading Speed – How quickly someone can read a text
• Prosody – When a person reads a text using appropriate vocal expression
• Accuracy – The average of how many words a reader reads correctly out of how many words they read
• Automaticity - Fast, effortless word recognition (not necessarily reading with expression)

As readers get better at recognizing sight words, they will become more automatic and won’t have to spend time decoding small words such as “a” or “it.”
 

Reading Levels - These are the various levels that students can read at and can be determined through assessing students.  

         - Independent – A person is able to read the text by themselves with 95% accuracy
         - Instructional - A person is able to read the text with help at 90% accuracy
         - Frustration - A person is unable to read the text with better than 80% accuracy





​How to Teach/ Activities:

 

​Modeled Reading - This is where the teacher reads to the students. They are showing how to express their voice as a fluent reader would. This includes appropriate punctuation, because many students read through punctuation.



​Choral Reading – This is when all of the students in the class or small group read the same thing at the same time. This allows students to hear how other people sound when they read.

Repeated Reading – Having a student read and reread a passage. This helps them recognize words by seeing them over and over again. When they read the word correctly, they will begin to remember it. The teacher should be providing guidance throughout.



Partner Reading – Have two students pair up and take turns reading to each other. This allows them both to practice a lot of reading and still hear how other people read.

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Assessment:
 

DIBELS – Some schools use the DIBELS to test their students fluency. There are multiple tests that fall under the DIBLES, such as Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) and Nonsense Word Fluency. In the ORF, students will read a passage during the span of one minute, and then will be asked to summarize what they read. In the Nonsense Word Fluency, students will be given made up words to see if they can segment the letters together to form a fluent word.