Building Fluency There Are Several

Building Fluency There are several issues addressed in the article Building fluency through the phrased text lesson by Rasinski, Yildrim, & Nageldinger (2011). In summary, these problems include students who read slowly and robotically, students who read too quickly, and students who struggle with reading comprehension. The comprehension issue can occur as a result of or in addition to the speed and quality of the reading (Rasinski, Yildirim, & Nageldinger, 2011).

The article addresses all of those issues, and then the authors move on to consider how phrased text lessons can be used to ensure students have a better chance to learn to read and comprehend properly. The goal is not just being able to read correctly out loud, but to actually understand what one is reading and be able to have a high level of comprehension (Rasinski, Yildirim, & Nageldinger, 2011).

Students who are reading word by word are not receiving that level of comprehension, because they are simply saying each word and not understanding the way that all of the words they are reading work together in context. In order to understand the context, students need to learn to read in phrases (Rasinski, Yildirim, & Nageldinger, 2011). The first issue pointed out in the article is that reading too slowly and robotically is a concern for many students.

Students do this because they struggle with pronunciation, but also because they may not be clear on the words they are reading. If they attempt to put the words into context while they are reading but they are not good at that task, they could find themselves saying each word without understanding what the word means or how to include it in the rest of the phrase or sentence (Benjamin & Schwanenflugel, 2010).

While not all students read this way when they struggle with comprehension, it is one of the more common reading patterns for students who have difficulty with context, pronunciation, and understanding. Each student who is learning to read must be taught in a way he or she can understand and to which he or she can relate.

These students can get through the material when they are asked to read out loud, but when they are asked to discuss what they read they cannot do so because they do not understand what they have read (Schwanenflugel, et al., 2004). The second issue pointed out in the article is reading too quickly, which can also be a sign of poor reading comprehension (Rasinski, Yildirim, & Nageldinger, 2011).

It may seem like the student is doing well because he or she reads quickly, but the speed at which a person reads really does not matter if the comprehension is not included. Students who read too quickly often skip through punctuation and implied punctuation - such as natural pauses in the sentence structure. When students do not understand where these pauses should be, and when they fail to utilize the punctuation in the sentence properly, these students are not grasping the context of the sentence.

Instead, they are only reading the words, albeit faster than in the above-referenced discussion of the robotic, slow-reading student. Any reading which does not address context, understanding, and comprehension is reading that is unhelpful for the student. Changes then need to be made so the student can begin to understand what the sentences actually mean, instead of only saying the words.

Teachers who want to help their students as much as possible will consider this issue when they have students read out loud, and they will be sure that they question their students in order to gauge their comprehension (Benjamin & Schwanenflugel, 2010; Frazier, Carlson, & Clifton, 2006). The third issue addressed in the article is that learning to read in phrases can provide many benefits for students. Comprehension, of course, is the main one, but there are others.

When students learn to read properly and understand the value of proper punctuation and pacing in sentences and paragraphs, they also gain confidence in their ability to read correctly (Benjamin & Schwanenflugel, 2010; Schwanenflugel, et al., 2004). Additionally, they become more interested in the subject matter because they find they are understanding what they are reading and, therefore, can focus on learning the information without struggling to understand as they read. This change from struggling to comprehension will not come overnight, of course, and can take time.

How much time will depend on the student, certainly, because everyone learns differently. In the classroom, it is important that the issues addressed in the article are considered and understood, so that changes can be made. Many students say they do not enjoy reading, but often the problem is that they do not understand what they are reading and cannot enjoy something that does not make sense to them (Benjamin & Schwanenflugel, 2010; Rasinski, Yildirim, & Nageldinger, 2011).

Reading in phrases can be applied to the classroom through the technique discussed in the article. It is a great way to help students who are struggling and who may not be sure what they are going to do in order to improve their reading abilities. Sometimes, students become very discouraged and do not think they can do better than the level.