Megan Jones

Edok #2 Fluency
Fall 2010
Dr. Jeanie Cozens

Hicks, C. P. (2009). A lesson on reading fluency learned from the tortoise and the hare.
The Reading Teacher, 63(4), 319-323.

CENTRAL THEME:
This article discussed that reading fast isn’t the best policy when it comes to a child’s
fluency and comprehension. It used the old fable tortoise and the hare as an example of how
sometimes speed doesn’t get you to the finish line, this case the finish line was in fact fluency
and comprehension.
MAIN IDEAS:
1.Example of ‘Austin’ and how in his classroom he is timed to see how quickly he can read.
Austin will skip words he does not know and is reading for speeding not for comprehension.
Speed is only one aspect of fluency. Today many teachers are seeing that many students can
read fast but do not comprehend what they just read.
2.Fluency is to read quickly, effortlessly, efficiently with good meaningful expression. The three
components of fluency are accuracy (to know words), rate (the speed) and prosody (the
smoothness). Some students only think that fast reading is good reading and do not understand
the other aspects to fluency. Prosody may provide a connection between comprehension and
fluency. That accuracy is important to reading, and accuracy can not increase when words are
skipped like Austin did.
3.To improve all concepts of fluency and increase comprehension the article suggest some of the
following ideas: use teacher think aloud, partner reading, readers theatre, echo reading, choral
reading, shared reading, provide a variety of texts, match individual reading needs just below
their instructional level, provide good instruction for decoding and comprehension.
AUTHORS’ CONCLUSION:
The author concluded that even though all aspects of fluency are important it shouldn’t be
taken at the expense of comprehension. Context meaning, even through every day
conversations, should take place to help students reflect and engage them in learning. A teacher
must also realize that reading fluency is not something that just magically appears over night;
that it takes time and practice to develop properly. By using different activities a student can not
only learn to be a better reader but also learn what they just read and hopefully become a life
long reader. Being slow and steady won the race in the tortoise and hare; slow and steady
reading will make sure that students reach the finish line for fluency and comprehension.
EVALUATION:
Over all I really enjoyed this article. I think I liked it most the idea of relating fluency
and comprehension to the tortoise and the hare. I consider myself to be a very slow reader, so
it’s nice knowing that speed doesn’t determine my fluency. I also feel as if the concept of slow
and steady can be applied to several different content areas. In a math classroom it is sometimes
best to be slow and steady, work the problems effectively to insure accuracy and understanding.
Great article that I picked!