Fluency in the Classroom

by Kuhn, Melanie R.; Schwanenflugel, Paula J.

• ISBN13: 9781593855741
• ISBN10: 1593855745
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-09-21
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

This timely book offers two distinct approaches to oral reading instruction that can easily be incorporated into primary-grade literacy curricula. It enables teachers to go beyond the conventional "round-robin" approach by providing strong instructional support and using challenging texts. Grounded in research and classroom experience, the book explains what works and why in helping students build comprehension along with word recognition and the expressive elements of oral reading. Specific lesson plan ideas, helpful vignettes and examples, and reproducibles make this an indispensable classroom resource. Included are chapters on fluency's role in learning to read, motivation, the home-school connection, fluency assessment, and strategies for struggling readers.

Author Biography

Melanie R. Kuhn, PhD, is Associate Professor at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She began her teaching career in the Boston public schools, has worked as a literacy coordinator for an adult education program, and spent 3 years as a clinician at an international school in England. Dr. Kuhn received her EdM in Reading and Language at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, her MPhil in the Psychological Investigation of Intellectual Development at Cambridge University, and her PhD in Reading Education from the University of Georgia. She has authored several articles and chapters, including  “Fluency: A Review of Developmental and Remedial Practices” with Steven A. Stahl, and currently teaches courses on assessing and correcting reading difficulties. Her research interests also include literacy instruction for struggling readers, comprehension development, and vocabulary instruction.

 

Paula J. Schwanenflugel, PhD, is Professor of Educational Psychology, Psychology, Linguistics, and Cognitive Science at the University of Georgia, where she teaches courses on child development, cognition, and psycholinguistics as applied to education. She has recently been engaged in grant research on reading fluency, preliteracy skills, vocabulary, and classroom practices related to these topics. Dr. Schwanenflugel served as principal investigator of an Interagency Educational Research Initiative grant to develop theory and classroom practices for reading fluency, funded through the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Science Foundation.

 

Table of Contents

Becoming a Fluent Reader: From Theory to Practice	p. 1
Fluency-Oriented Reading: Two Whole-Class Approaches	p. 17
Classroom Practices for Supporting Fluency Development	p. 36
Creating Opportunities for Comprehension Instruction within Fluency-Oriented Reading	p. 55
Motivating the Development of Reading Fluency	p. 75
Integrating the PHAST and RAVE-O Programs for Struggling Readers	p. 92
The Family and Fluency: Developing the Home-School Connection	p. 124
Assessing Reading Fluency	p. 135
The Word Zone Fluency Curriculum: An Alternative Approach	p. 154
Glossary	p. 171
Index	p. 179
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