Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction

Each story is different and requires a slightly different approach. Also, teachers and students need variation to maintain interest. We did not want to have a formula lesson; instead, we provided many options for teachers to use. The basic structure of the lesson is shown in Figure 1.

Story Introduction. In Huffman's oral recitation format, the teacher begins by reading the story aloud and discussing it, using a story map. In this way, the teacher deals with comprehension prior to the fluency practice, keeping the lesson focused on comprehension. We followed a similar procedure with the teacher reading the story aloud to begin the lesson. Following this read-aloud, we used a variety of procedures to discuss the story, including traditional questions; student-generated questions; and other graphic organizers, including various types of story maps, plot charts, Venn diagrams, and so on. This usually comprised the first day's lesson.

Children who needed additional help with the story were pulled aside for echo reading. If the story was particularly challenging, echo reading was done with the whole class. In echo reading, the teacher read a paragraph at a time, with the students echoing it back. This was done to scaffold students' recognition of words and to help them successfully read the story.

Partner Reading. The next component was partner reading. Children read the story in pairs, with one member of the pair reading a portion of the story aloud and the other monitoring and providing assistance if needed. The length of the portion was agreed upon by the partners, but most often the students would alternate reading pages.

We tried a number of variations in how partners were assigned. Because of our formative study on partner reading, discussed below, teachers used selfselection for partner reading. One table at a time would choose partners. The pairings varied throughout the year, depending on current friendships. We observed cooperation throughout the year. Students also began to work in pairs on their own during free-choice reading time.

Partner reading was initially difficult to set up. It took several weeks of practice before partner reading jelled and students knew their roles. Odd numbers of students were handled in different ways. Sometimes a group of three was formed. Sometimes the teacher read with the odd child. Generally, however, teachers avoided reading with children because this impaired their own ability to monitor the reading throughout the class.

Additional Instruction. The following day, the teacher worked with the journals that came with the basal reading program. Teachers varied in how they did this. Usually, journal pages were discussed as a whole class as a way of reviewing the story content. Students who were having difficulty were assigned to read the story one more time at home. In addition, teachers sometimes had students reread portions of the story for performance or made the story into a play to provide more practice in reading.