Reading Fluency Explained

What Fluent Reading Is & How Reading Fluency is Developed 

How to Help a Child or Student Become a Fluent Reader

What is fluency?

Fluency is ‘fast’ or ‘automatic’ reading. Fluent readers are able to read quickly and accurately without effort. By appearances, the student instantly recognizes words and reads the ‘fast way’ without slowly sounding out. It seems by simply ‘knowing’ the words the student is able to read easily and quickly.

We know fluency is critical to reading comprehension and skilled reading.  However, it is important to realize appearances do not reveal the actual process involved in fluent reading. To help students become fluent readers, we need to learn specifically about the actual process of fluent reading and how fluent reading is developed. The necessary answers lie in the amazing field modern neuroscience.

The remarkable advances in neural imaging allow scientists to look closely at the process of fluent reading.  Researchers have learned and discovered much about the neural processes involved with fluent reading and how fluent reading is developed.  Neuroscientists learned fluent reading uses a ‘fast reading area’ different from the ‘slow’ phonologic processing pathways used by beginning readers. Fluent reading uses a neural ‘expressway’ to process the word. With fluent reading, a quick look at the word activates a stored neural model. This neural model allows not only ‘fast’ reading but also activates correct pronunciation and understanding of the word. These ‘fast’ pathways allow rapid, effortless reading.

How is fluency developed?

Importantly, neuroscientists are learning how fluency is developed. Fluent reading is established after the individual reads the word at least four times using accurate phonologic processing (slow accurate sounding out). Fluency is build word by word and entirely dependent on repeated, accurate, slow sounding out of the specific word.  Fluency is not established by ‘memorizing’ what words look like but rather by developing correct neural-phonologic models of the word.  Repeated accurate phonologic processing is essential for developing fluency. In simplified terms, the repeated accurate phonologic processing literally engraves a neural model of the word. This neural model is then is stored in the ‘fast reading area’ available for rapid retrieval.  An individual’s storehouse of fluent ‘fast’ words is built word by word and is dependent on repeated accurate print to sound (phonologic) processing.

Neuroscientists also discovered dyslexic readers do not develop these fluent or ‘fast reading’ pathways. Struggling readers do not convert print to sound. Because the struggling readers are not accessing the initial phonologic processing pathways the neural models of the words are never made and fluent reading is not developed. Consequently struggling readers fail to develop fluent ‘fast’ reading pathways. Without these ‘fast’ reading pathways, reading remains slow and takes much effort. Students who fail to establish initial correct phonologic processing do not develop fluency.

In summary, ‘fast’ or fluent reading is different than slow sounding out. However, this rapid effortless reading is entirely dependent on initial phonologic processing. Individuals build fluency one word at a time by repeatedly sounding out individual words using correct phonologic processing pathways. Phonologic processing is key to developing fluency.

How do I help a student become a fluent reader?

The critical information to keep in mind for effective reading instruction is fluency or effortless ‘fast’ reading is developed word-by-word based on repeated accurate phonologic processing of specific words.  To develop fluency, the student FIRST has to be reading by correct, accurate phonologic processing. The student must be ‘sounding out’ the words correctly. THEN, the student needs to build their storehouse of fluent or ‘fast’ words by repeated accurate phonological processing of individual words. This expansion of fluent reading requires practice repeatedly reading individual words.

To help a student develop fluency:

• First you must ensure the student is reading using proficient phonologic processing pathways. The best way to ensure your student is reading with phonologic pathways is to teach him with an effective direct systematic phonics program. If the student is NOT using phonologic neural processing pathways to convert print to sound, he will be unable to develop the neural ‘expressway’ of fluent reading.  The initial phonologic processing or ‘slow sounding out’ is essential to developing fluency.

• Teach the student the complete phonetic code (all the vowel combinations, r-controlled vowel combinations and other complexities). This gives the student the necessary knowledge to process print to sound proficiently and form accurate phonologic models of the word. If their code is incomplete they may not be processing the word accurately. Knowledge of the complete phonetic code is a necessary subskill of correct phonologic processing.

• Teach the student to pay attention to details as he reads. The details are critical to form accurate neural models of the word. 

• Remember fluency is built one word at a time based on repeated phonologic reading. This requires repeated accurate reading. Practice is essential!  Repeated practice reading correctly builds a student’s ‘storehouse’ of ‘fast reader neural models’.  With practice the student adds word-by-word to their fluency. Obviously, the more the student reads the more words he will repeatedly read correctly and the quicker he will build fluency. Because fluency is build word-by-word, students do not develop fluency overnight.  The bottom line is… practice! practice! practice!

• After fundamental skills are established, guided oral reading is the single most effective way to help your student develop and build fluency. The guided reading has significant positive impact on reading skills across all age and reading levels. Guided reading works!  Note: Guided reading is NOT the same as silent independent reading. With guided reading, the student reads out loud to an adult with feedback and correction. For additional information see the article The Importance of Guided Reading.

• Another highly effective tool for building fluency on individual words is phonologic writing/spelling of specific words.  This is spelling/writing the word by sound (writing down as you say the sounds not spelling by letter name). For this to be effective in developing fluency, the student must repeatedly print the word by sound. Have the student print the word 5 to 10 times, saying the sounds as they print. Then have the student read the word a few times paying careful attention to the specific print=sound relationship. The repeated writing by sound helps the student form the ‘fast’ neural model of the word necessary for fluency on the specific word.

Remember, fluency is build word-by-word and entirely dependent on repeated, accurate phonologic processing of the specific word.  Fluency is not established by visually ‘memorizing’ what words look like but rather by developing correct neural-phonologic models of the word.  Repeated accurate phonologic processing is essential for developing fluency and practice reading is essential for expanding fluency.  

Fluency is only one of the advanced skills necessary for proficient reading. Link to the Free Reading Information page of Right Track Reading for additional informative articles and resources on teaching students to read proficiently.

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This article was written by Miscese Gagen a mother with a passion for teaching children to read proficiently by using effective methods. She is also a successful reading tutor and author of the reading instructional programs Right Track Reading Lessons and Back on the Right Track Reading Lessons. The purpose of this article is to empower parents and teachers with information on teaching children how to read. We CAN improve reading proficiency, one student at a time!  More information is located at www.righttrackreading.com   ~ Copyright 2007 Miscese R. Gagen ~