Topic: Fluency in Learning to Read

10-second review: There is a relationship between early oral reading fluency and comprehension.

Title: “A Longitudinal Study of the Development of Reading Prosody as a Dimension of Oral Reading Fluency in Early Elementary School Children.” J Miller and PJ Schwanenflugel. Reading Research Quarterly (October/November/December 2008), 336-354. A publication of the International Reading Association (IRA).

Quote: “Decreases in the number of pausal intrusions between the first and second grades and early acquisition of an adult-like intonation contour predicted better comprehension later.” [I think this means that few pauses in oral reading with good expression between first and second grades predicts better comprehension in later grades. RayS.]

Quote: “…there is a correlation between reading fluency and comprehension skills.”

Quote: “In fact, research has suggested that children who do not develop fluency early on in the schooling process are likely to experience difficulty learning and comprehending important material from texts introduced in later grades.”

Comment: For me the important message in this piece of research is that training students in oral reading fluency correlates with good comprehension in silent reading in later grades. The oral training should occur with prose—I’m guessing material in science and social studies. RayS.