[MOSAIC] Re-replies to my fluency v. comprehension

[Dave Middlebrook]

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
dmiddlebrook at textmapping.org

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Readinglady1 at aol.com>
To: <mosaic at 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,
> hagertyn at slcs.us 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
>
>
>
>
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