Fluency - Mrs Badcock
Literacy-The Big 6
Research has shown that there are six key components that contribute to successful reading and because of the importance of these components, they have become known as the 'Big Six’: oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. The reading components of our school reading program focus on the Big Six.
Fluency
Reading fluency refers to three components: accuracy, rate and prosody). Accuracy is the ability name words effortlessly or to draw on skills that allow students to process unknown words. A solid knowledge of phonemic awareness, letter-sound relationships and sight words allows students to become fluent readers. Rate refers to the speed used to read although speed cannot increase to a rate that will compromise comprehension. For example, students begin by sounding out individual letters to blend words, move to reading word to word, phrases and then sentences as they increase their reading rate. Prosody is “how” words are interpreted and read and it reflects the understanding that students have of what they are reading. Students learn to use intonation to vary the pitch of their voices, respond to punctuation, read clusters of phrases and place stress on parts of speech as they develop their prosody.
How does fluency contribute to reading success? Fluent reading is an important skill for students to develop as they move through primary school and they increasingly use longer textbooks, read lengthier narratives, read poetry and read to research topics. Fluent readers read more words and because of this they have increased opportunities to develop their word recognition skills and increase their vocabulary. Fluent reading particularly supports students to read for meaning so it has an important link to comprehension skills.
Fluency at school: Fluency is developed by explicit instruction, modelling and practise through the following:
- Explicit instruction on letter-sound relationships
- Learning the Oxford 500 words.
- Reading aloud.
- Listening to teachers, students and online audio.
- Participating in Reader’s Theatre.
What can parents and caregivers do at home to encourage vocabulary development? Children's reading fluency development is dependent on consistent, nurturing and interacting learning experiences with adults and peers. Here are some ways parents and caregivers can encourage fluency:
- Read to and with children.
- Model fluency when reading by including expression while reading and modelling appropriate phrasing.
- Allow students to read the same text many times.
- Encourage new readers to track words with their finger.
- Focus on learning sight words, the Oxford 500.