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

Tue May 22 12:51:05 EDT 2007

I agree that there is a correlation with fluency and comprehension.  
Students need both, especially at the primary grades.
My question is about middle school.
With a much shorter period for literacy instruction--42 minutes per  
day for reading, how much fluency is necessary for students reading  
at grade level.
For struggling readers, I know teachers need to do further diagnosis  
to determine why students are struggling.
But I'm at a loss whether I encourage any fluency or oral reading at  
the junior high.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Carol
LA Content Specialist, K-8
La Grange, Il

On May 22, 2007, at 8:24 AM, Laura Klug wrote:

> 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: mosaic-bounces at literacyworkshop.org
> [mailto:mosaic-bounces at literacyworkshop.org] 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
> 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
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ************************************** See what's free at
>> http://www.aol.com.
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>
>
>
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