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“Fluency Instruction is one of my favorite books, and one I always keep at hand's reach. The second edition provides some wonderful additions to an already excellent work; new chapters on English language learners and adolescent learners are especially welcome. I have adopted this book as a text for our graduate-level course entitled 'Phonics to Fluency,' and it is also a wonderful resource for our undergraduate reading methods course. The book helps teachers and teacher candidates become better prepared to meet the needs of all learners.”

—William Dee Nichols, PhD, Professor and Head, School of Teaching and Learning, Western Carolina University


“With chapters from leading researchers and practitioners, this second edition addresses the latest theory, research, practices, and programs that influence fluency. It provides necessary information to help classroom teachers better understand the 'whats,' 'whys,' and 'how-tos' of fluency assessment and instruction. The editors dispel the misconception that fluency means reading fast or with expression, showing that fluency assessment and instruction must absolutely not be separated from comprehension. This excellent book is recommended for all classroom teachers and teacher educators who seek to enhance and develop the goal of reading—comprehension.”

—Rona F. Flippo, EdD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Massachusetts Boston


“The second edition has been thoroughly updated and features several new chapters. Updates reflect the changing demographics of today's classrooms and offer teachers and researchers insights into how best to teach fluency to students across grade levels with varying needs. This is one of the most comprehensive books on fluency available. It takes the reader from the history of fluency to instructional applications, including considerations for types of learners rarely discussed in previous literature.”

—William H. Rupley, PhD, Professor and Distinguished Research Fellow, Department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture, Texas A&M University

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Table of Contents

I. Fluency Theory, Fluency Research

1. Reading Fluency: Its Past, Present, and Future, S. Jay Samuels

2. Developing Fluency in the Context of Effective Literacy Instruction, Timothy Shanahan

3. Reading Expressiveness: The Neglected Aspect of Reading Fluency, Paula J. Schwanenflugel and Rebekah George Benjamin

4. The Importance of Adolescent Fluency, David D. Paige

5. Reading Fluency Revisited: Much More Than Fast and Accurate Reading, Barbara J. Walker, Kouider Mokhtari, and Stephan Sargent

6. Fluency: The Link between Decoding and Comprehension for Struggling Readers, David J. Chard, John J. Pikulski, and Sarah H. McDonagh

7. "Hey Teacher, When You Say ‘Fluency,’ What Do You Mean?": Developing Fluency in Elementary Classrooms, D. Ray Reutzel

II. Best Programs, Best Practices

8. Battling on Two Fronts: Creating Effective Oral Reading Instruction, Melanie R. Kuhn, Gwynne E. Ash, and Megan Gregory

9. "Jonathon Is 11 but Reads LikeaStruggling 7-Year-Old": Providing Assistance for Struggling Readers with Audio-Assisted Reading Programs, Meryl-Lynn Pluck

10. The Fluency Development Lesson: A Model of Authentic and Effective Fluency Instruction, Belinda Zimmerman and Timothy Rasinski

11. Paired Reading: Impact of a Tutoring Method on Reading Accuracy, Comprehension, and Fluency, Keith J. Topping

12. "Everybody Reads": Fluency as a Focus for Staff Development, Camille L. Z. Blachowicz, Mary Kay Moskal, Jennifer R. Massarelli, Connie M. Obrochta, Ellen Fogelberg, and Peter Fisher

13. Hijacking Fluency and Instructionally Informative Assessments, Danielle L. Dennis, Kathryn L. Solic, and Richard L. Allington

III. Special Topics, Special Populations

14. Teaching Fluency (and Decoding) through Fast Start: An Early Childhood Parental Involvement Program, Timothy Rasinski, Nancy Padak, and Bruce Stevenson

15. Reading Fluency and Comprehension in English Language Learners, Kristin Lems

16. Fluency Instruction in Reading in a Second or Foreign Language, Etsuo Taguchi and Greta Gorsuch

17. Fluency Scores of English Language Learners: What Can They Tell Us?, Becky McTague, Kristin Lems, Dana Butler, and Elsa Carmona

18. Curious George and Rosetta Stone: The Role of Texts in Supporting Automaticity in Beginning Reading, Elfrieda H. Hiebert

19. Building a Focus on Oral Reading Fluency into Individual Instruction forStruggling Readers, Jerry Zutell, Randal Donelson, Jessica Bevans, and Patsy Todt

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About the Editors

Timothy Rasinski, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Literacy Education in the Reading and Writing Center at Kent State University, where he directed the award-winning university reading clinic for more than 20 years. Dr. Rasinski has written extensively in articles, chapters, and books on working with children who struggle in acquiring full literacy. A former editor of The Reading Teacher and the Journal of Literacy Research, he currently serves on the editorial review boards for Reading Research Quarterly, Literacy Research and Instruction, and Reading Psychology. Dr. Rasinski is a member of the International Reading Hall of Fame.

• Author's website
• All titles by Timothy Rasinski

Camille Blachowicz, PhD, is Research Professor at National Louis University, where she has directed the Reading Specialist Program and the Reading Center. Her research and publications focus on vocabulary and comprehension instruction and on working with at-risk readers. Dr. Blachowicz was a Fulbright Scholar in Italy and is Co-Principal Investigator of the federally funded Multiphase Comprehensive Vocabulary Instruction Project.

• All titles by Camille Blachowicz

Kristin Lems, EdD, is Professor of English as a Second Language/Bilingual Education at National Louis University, where she teaches graduate courses for practicing teachers. She has published a number of books, chapters, and articles in both the ESL and reading fields. Dr. Lems was a Fulbright Scholar in Algeria for 2 years and is an English Language Specialist with the Office of English Language Programs at the U.S. State Department.

• Author's website
• All titles by Kristin Lems

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Contributors

Richard L. Allington, PhD, Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, College of Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee

Gwynne E. Ash, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas

Rebekah George Benjamin, MA, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia

Camille L. Z. Blachowicz, PhD, Department of Reading and Language, National College of Education, National Louis University, Evanston, Illinois

Dana Butler, MA, Irma C. Ruiz Elementary School, Chicago, Illinois

Elsa Carmona, MA, Little Village Elementary School, Chicago, Illinois

David J. Chard, PhD, Simmons School of Education and Human Development, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

Danielle V. Dennis, PhD, College of Education, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida

Randal Donelson, PhD, Department of Education, The Ohio State University at Mansfield, Mansfield, Ohio

Peter Fisher, PhD, Department of Reading and Language, National College of Education, National Louis University, Evanston, Illinois

Ellen Fogelberg, MS, Evanston–Skokie School District 65, Evanston, Illinois

Greta Gorsuch, EdD, Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas

Megan Gregory, EdM, doctoral student, Literacy and Language Education, Department of Developmental Studies, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts

Elfrieda H. Hiebert, PhD, School of Education, University of California, Santa Cruz, California

Melanie R. Kuhn, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts

Kristin Lems, EdD, ESL/Bilingual Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, National Louis University, Chicago, Illinois

Jessica Mangelson, Department of Education, Benedictine University, Lisle, Illinois

Jennifer R. Massarelli, MEd, National College of Education, National Louis University, Evanston, Illinois

Sarah H. McDonagh, PhD, School of Teacher Education, Charles Sturt University, Australia

Becky McTague, EdD, Department of Language and Literacy, Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois

Kouider Mokhtari, PhD, School of Education, University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, Texas

Mary Kay Moskal, EdD, School of Education, Saint Mary’s College of California, Moraga, California

Connie M. Obrochta, MEd, Evanston–Skokie School District 65, Evanston, Illinois

Nancy Padak, EdD, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio

David D. Paige EdD, Department of Education, Bellarmine University, Louisville, Kentucky

John J. Pikulski, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Department of Education, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware

Meryl-Lynn Pluck, MPhil, Rainbow Reading Program, Nelson, New Zealand

Timothy Rasinski, PhD, Department of Teaching, Leadership, and Curriculum Studies, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio

D. Ray Reutzel, PhD, Emma Eccles Jones Center for Early Childhood Education, Utah State University, Logan, Utah

S. Jay Samuels, EdD, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Stephan Sargent, EdD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Northeastern State University, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Paula J. Schwanenflugel, PhD, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia

Timothy Shanahan, PhD, College of Education, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois

Kathryn L. Solic, PhD, The Benchmark School, Media, Pennsylvania

Bruce Stevenson, PhD, (retired), Worthington City Schools, Worthington, Ohio

Etsuo Taguchi, PhD, Department of Japanese, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Daito Bunka University, Tokyo, Japan

Patsy Todt, MEd, Department of Teacher Education, Shawnee State University, Portsmouth, Ohio

Keith J. Topping, PhD, Department of Education and Social Research, School of Education, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland

Barbara J. Walker, PhD, College of Education, Oklahoma State University, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Belinda Zimmerman, PhD, Department of Literacy and Early Childhood Education, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio

Jerry Zutell, PhD, Professor Emeritus, School of Teaching and Learning, College of Education, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

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Audience

Reading and literacy specialists; classroom teachers in grades K–12; teacher educators and graduate students.

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Course Use

May serve as a primary or supplemental text in courses on reading methods, literacy instruction, fluency, and oral literacy.

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Previous editions published by Guilford:

First Edition, © 2006
ISBN: 9781593852535

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New to this edition:

• Reflects advances in fluency research and the ongoing development of exemplary instructional approaches.
• Three new chapters on English language learners.
• Chapters on adolescent fluency, reading expressiveness, oral reading instruction, and text selection.