The Reading Fluency Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Reading Fluency Strategies - Essay Example There are many ways to help improve reading fluency for students. According to researchers Wolf& Katzir-Cohen, (2001) there are 25 words used daily by the student which make up about 33 percent of what students read at school. The reading strategies for teachers to use with struggling readers are very broad. There are several studies which involve demonstrating reading techniques to increase fluency, including having the books the students read in class also taken home and read again with family members. Author Darling (2005) implied that â€Å"Engaging parents in their children's reading acquisition, particularly by focusing their attention on the skill areas outlined in this column, can help children find greater success in school.† The author further explains that children can learn more with teacher and parent collaboration. This suggests that the onus of learning is not placed solely upon the teacher, but is also a responsibility the parent must undertake. The reasons for this are clear: 1) to reinforce the strategies learned in school, 2) to allow the child to read in a non-judgmental environment, away from peers and 3) to involve the parent in the child’s learning process. ... Prosody refers to expressive interpretation, which speaks to the student’s comprehension of the reading material. These three components allow the teacher (and the parent) to accurately assess each student’s reading and comprehension. According to authors Morrow, Kuhn, & Schwanenflugel (2006) their Family Fluency Program shows that children who read automatically become fluent readers and are able to decode words more freely. The authors also stated that prosody is used by fluent readers who use â€Å"appropriate pitch, pace, and phrasing† for better comprehension (p. 1). The program by Morrow, Kuhn, & Schwanenflugel (2006) shows the importance of parental involvement at the school and home, which also improves the student’s fluency. Students who are behind in reading may have a hard time adapting to new reading strategies. This is why it is particularly important that the strategies being used in school are reinforced at home. According to the National In stitute of Child Health and Human Development (2000) there are five key components to watch for in assessing reading ability in students aged 3-9. These components are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension. Watching for these key skills at home during parent-child reading sessions can assist a student with early development, particularly if the process starts before the student reaches kindergarten. There are reports on early literacy skills by Chard,Simmons, & Kameenui (1995) Snowv, Bums, &Griffin (1998) showing rates for early increase and indicating the importance of reading as a life skill. Useful Approaches for Struggling Readers There are three main approaches used for struggling readers: whole class reading and partnership reading,