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                                                              Darlene from Virginia asks...

How Important is Oral Reading Fluency?

                                    " Our son transferred to a small private  school
                             with limited resources for his second grade year.  In his
                             previous two years he was on an individualized reading
                             program and after first grade , he was on a fourth
                             grade reading level.  This was documented by computerized
                             testing of literacy.  He was noted to have excellent decoding
                             skills and comprehension. 
                                    At his present school, he has constantly received
                             unsatisfactory or just barely passing evaluations in reading. 
                             His teacher says this is due to oral fluency.  He has been
                             held back (despite our objections) and placed in a remedial
                             reading group to work on  oral fluency.  Our son does not
                            feel challenged in this group, and I feel that he has
                            regressed. Our once enthusiastic reader has become
                            discouraged. 
                                 How important is oral fluency to a child's success
                            in reading? We were told by his previous teachers that
                            oral fluency comes with practice and that a child's reading
                            level should not be adjusted solely due to oral fluency.  His
                            current teacher says that his comprehension is excellent. 
                           This is evidenced by the good grades he is making in his other
                            subjects.  Our son does wear glasses for farsightedness.
                           Any advice that you can give would be appreciated.  We
                           have devised our own reading program at home to keep him 
                           encouraged and challenged."


OUCH!   It must be so hard to see your child regressing and becoming discouraged at a time when he should be enthusiastically taking off as a reader.  So, let's look at oral fluency, it's importance, and some suggestions for you and your son.

Both of the teachers at your former and present schools are "right"  if we look at current reading models and oral fluency.  However, the need here is to look at your son, and not at a reading model.

Yes, for many children oral fluency is important.  This is because they are slowing down to figure words out and they lack automatic word recognition skills.  Their mental focus is on the words, and not on the meaning of the words.  Therefore their slow speed affects their comprehension, which is the heart of reading.  For them, working on oral fluency (through strengthening a child's decoding and word recognition skills) is important.  It sounds like this may be the philosophy that is being misguidedly applied to your son's situation.

For a child who has excellent reading comprehension and a slow reading speed,  here are some questions you might ask his teacher...

  • Is he being tested with material he's never seen before?  This is usually the case.  Does his reading speed increase after a couple rereadings, which would be expected?  If not, then his speed may simply be a habit, and activities at his reading level  designed to break out of the habit would be appropriate  (see suggestions below).

  • Is he a quiet, shy child, and is reading in front of others hard for him?
         If this is true, then working on his anxiety,and not his oral fluency 
         would be helpful.

  • Is his silent reading speed faster than his oral reading speed?  This is true for most of us.   Have they measured his silent reading speed, and is it more in line with "normal" for his age?  If so, being placed in a remedial situation is probably unnecessary.

        If his silent reading speed is not much faster than his oral speed, then
        he is probably subvocalizing, that is "saying" the words inside as he
        reads them.  Discouraging subvocalization has been shown by
        research to negatively influence comprehension.  This is because
        individuals who naturally subvocalize tend to learn best when they
        hear information, and removing the ability to "hear" what they're
        reading will cause their comprehension and memory to plummet.

So, what would be good ways to work with a child who has excellent comprehension, and who's reading speed is slower than "normal" for his age?  Let's look at several...

  • Reader's Theater:  Using reading material at his level, reader's theater is a wonderful way to practice fluency and make reading fun.
         Reader's theater is essentially like an old-time radio show, where different readers have 
         parts and take turns reading aloud while   
         telling a tale.  Almost anything can be turned into reader's theater
         simply by dividing it up among two or more readers.  Stories with a
         lot of dialogue are especially fun, since each reader can be a  
         character.  Reading with others in this way would be especially good  for you son.  If his
         speed is merely due to a habit, then the need for fluency to keep the story going is a
         natural extension, and helpful for learning to speed up a bit.  And because it's so much
         fun, it removes some of the anxiety associated with reading aloud, if this is an issue
         for him.

  • Reading Buddies:  Is there a kindergartner in his school who needs someone to read to him or her?  Many schools will match an older class with a younger class and assign an older child to a younger one.  The older will practice a book ahead of time, trying to make it as smooth and expressive as he can, and when he's ready, he'll share it with his little buddy.  In this case, fluency, expression, and confidence are all reinforced, as well as the fun and pride that comes from seeing a smile on someone's face as they enjoy your reading.

  • Taped Puppet Shows:  This is like reader's theater, except that one child could do all of the parts, if necessary.  Once the story has been practiced, and can be read expressively and fluently, it is recorded.  Sound affects can also be added for fun.  I've had slow readers put on a puppet show this way, do all of the parts, make puppets to go along, and then put on a show for as many people as I can find!  When doing the show, all the child has to do is work the puppets, since his reading is on the tape.  Again, this is a great way to work on oral fluency in a fun, non-threatening, but challenging way.

Doing activities like this have made enthusiastic, fluent readers out of many slower ones that I've worked with.  My hope is that his present teacher will be open to considering some of the questions and activities shared here.  Please keep in touch, Darlene, and may your son soon be a challenged and happy reader at his school.