I agree with the importance of fluency to comprehension. The problem that arises is how we work on improving fluency. Testing speed is not the answer in my opinion.What I see a lot of in reading series and "programs" is the repetition of text and subsequent testing to record the rate of reading. Fluency has so much more to do with cadence intonation , attention to punctuation , etc,. We need to be teaching srategies for fluid reading the wy we teach strategies for comprehension. The point is to increase understanding of the text.
Things like Reader's Theatre and reading poetry do a lot more to increase fluency because the format of the text forces the reader to pay attention to the issues involved in reading fluently. Another effective approach is working on studetns' writing to improve fluency. The writer knows how he/she wants the piece to sound. The writer as reader intrinsically understands the importance of fluency to comprehension. Forgive my typos -- time presses :) -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dave Middlebrook Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 8:00 AM To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Re-replies to my fluency v. comprehension This is an interesting thread -- as evidenced in part by the fact that it has split a few times into sub-threads. My thoughts: Whether and to what degree fluency is important depends upon the text being read and what the reader needs to get from that text. Two examples come to mind: poetry and contracts. Poetry requires a lot of fluency. Lose the fluency and, more often than not, you miss the magic -- and many layers of meaning as well. Contracts can -- and are often designed to -- put you to sleep. The littlest details count. Much can hang on small words like "and" and "or"; and where you put the emphasis in a sentence -- which word or phrase -- can often make all the difference in whether a deal will work for you. In short, if you don''t put some serious fluency into the reading of a contract, you can get skinned alive. Having said all that, I can also think of plenty of texts that don't require much fluency -- but even those are richer with fluency. Think "Stop" signs and advertising slogans and other such pedestrian texts that are the wallpaper of our lives. Bottom line: fluency is important sometimes, and beneficial most of the time. Some texts make little or no sense without it, and even where it's not necessary it can add richness to our lives. I agree with Laura's comments, below. Fluency is a bridge to comprehension. Children need to make the connection between fluency and comprehension. It is an important tool. That said, I liked the way Nancy Haggerty struck the balance: "...fluency will actually allow for more in-depth reading. We do have to be careful to take the entire child into consideration. Yea for the child who is exhibiting comprehension using the thinking strategies despite low fluency, but I would also continue to work on some fluency with that child. These are all "pieces" to a complete package." Has anybody read "The Joys of Yiddish"? Now there's the argument for fluency! Dave Middlebrook The Textmapping Project A resource for teachers improving reading comprehension skills instruction. www.textmapping.org | Please share this site with your colleagues! USA: (609) 771-1781 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <mosaic@literacyworkshop.org> Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 7:22 AM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Re-replies to my fluency v. comprehension > > In a message dated 5/22/2007 7:19:03 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > Skip the fluency and work on inference and questioning techniques... > > > Hi all. Just weighing in here. Fluency is the "bridge" between decoding > and comprehension. > When we free up brain space by developing fluency that is all the more > space > children can devote to the thinking we are asking them to do. It can not > and should not be skipped. It also should not just be timed reading > without > attention to comprehension. We need to include retelling in our fluency > work > to insure that the children make the connection back to comprehension. > > Laura > readinglady.com > > > > > ************************************** See what's free at > http://www.aol.com. > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
