1/ What you need to know

When we say reading fluency we mean the ability of the student to read a passage like you would speak it. That requires reading with appropriate pace and prosody which requires on-the-go comprehension.

The National Reading Panel issued its report more than two decades ago where it highlighted reading fluency as a necessary part of the reading process and, as such, reading instruction. However, very few schools and curricula have embedded routines for explicit practice and support with reading fluency.

2/ What you should do about it?

We recommend one of two daily routines starting in grade two.

Option one: The daily fluency routines

Here’s how it works: You choose a text for students to read each week. The text should be 200-400 words (not longer!). The class should be paired up based on reading ability so picture the entire class from best to least skilled readers. You fold the line so the least skilled reader is paired with a reader at the 50th percentile and the reader right below the median is paired with the best reader. The class will read the same text aloud all five days of the week to their partner. Each partner will take a turn. The most skilled reader will start (at least for the first couple of days of the week) then the lesser skilled reader will go. It’s worth noting that you should keep this dynamic secret. We don’t want our struggling readers to get any more self-conscious than they may already be.

On Monday and Tuesday, the teacher models reading the text aloud and spends a few moments discussing key vocabulary terms. Bonus points for you if the text is aligned to content that is being taught in one of the students’ core content areas.

Option two: Dyad reading

Here’s how it works: Dyad reading is an instructional routine where a child reads with a partner, such as a parent, older sibling, or friend, to improve reading skills. This method involves sharing one book, sitting side by side, using one finger to track the text, reading with two voices (the child and the partner), keeping eyes on the words, and writing down unknown words for discussion. The partners read for 15 minutes and then work together to decode unfamiliar words and discuss their meanings. Dyad reading aims to enhance reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension through collaborative reading sessions that promote engagement and interaction between the child and the partner.

It’s worth noting that for both of these instructional routines, you should choose texts that are at least on grade level. Do NOT pick texts “at their level.” The dyad reading research is linked above.

Both of these have been shown to have significant and (in educational contexts) near-immediate benefits for student achievement and student reading ability.

Pilot these now and move to full-scale implementation next fall.

Keep reading

• Scarborough’s Reading Rope

• Oral Reading Fluency as an Indicator of Reading Competence: A Theoretical, Empirical, and Historical Analysis

• The effects of dyad reading and text difficulty on third-graders’ reading achievement