Creating fluent readers through instructional strategies

Creating Fluent Readers In the article, Creating Fluent Readers by Timothy Rasinski, the far- reaching effects of reading fluency are illustrated through a series of examples the author has used to ensure his and other teachers' students increase their overall reading comprehension, verbalization, enunciation, expression, phrasing and pace through oral reading techniques. Mr. Rasinski uses the three dimensions of reading fluency to structure the article, its examples and illustrations, and provide strategies for educators to increase the overall level of reading comprehension on the part of students. These three dimensions include accuracy in word decoding, automatic processing which is the ability to decode reading quickly, and prosodic reading, a dimension defined by linguistics referring to the ability of students to syntactically and semantically appropriate units of language. These three dimensions are form the foundation of a series of learning techniques and strategies that look to quantify the reading and fluency levels of students when first introduced to oral reading, and map their progression. In effect these three dimensions anchor several methodologies the author suggests through examples work well in teaching students how to be more effective in their reading. A caveat the author passes on is that speed is not nearly as important in oral reading as comprehension and a balance between all dimensions. As a result of this balanced approach to oral reading and its implications on fluency, which has major implications on future academic success, the authors' application of these three dimensions carries credibility in the results obtained. Further, while the article does not speak to the role of partners as oral reading and oral fluency coaches, it should. When children can hear and see their parents reading, the three dimensions come alive, much more immediate, when also delivered in the home as part of the learning experience. This is an omission the author has in an otherwise thought-provoking and valuable article.