Books by Rasinski, Rasinski and Padak, Samuels and Farstrup, Johns and Berglund, and Brand and Brand

by Sheila Cantlebary

The Fluent Reader: Oral Reading Strategies for Building Word Recognition, Fluency, and Comprehension by Timothy V. Rasinski (Scholastic, New York, 2003)

In The Fluent Reader, Tim Rasinski stresses that oral reading is a vital component of the reading curriculum for students of all grades and at all reading levels. He presents an interesting history of oral reading instruction in the United States from its earliest days when it was the primary mode of instruction to its eventual decline with a shift to silent reading by the 1920s. A convincing rationale for incorporating high-quality forms of oral reading experiences into a twenty-first-century reading curriculum follows. Among other benefits, oral reading builds confidence, creates community, strengthens decoding skills, fosters fluency, boosts comprehension―and is fun!

Rasinski shows, in detail, how to maximize the power of oral reading in and across the curriculum. All stages of teacher read-aloud are discussed, from setting the stage to eliciting meaningful student responses. The book features teacher-friendly suggestions for using many variations of supported, repeated, and performance reading. Sprinkled throughout are "quick guides" for easy access, bibliographies of resources, and ready-to-use forms and logs. The "Fluency Development Lesson" developed by Tim Rasinski and Nancy Padak includes parental involvement. Useful tools―such as a list of phrases and short sentences for repeated reading instruction, oral reading fluency scales, and directions for using one-minute reading probes for assessing word recognition and fluency―are also supplied. The appendix offers reader's theater scripts from great speeches in American history that would be particularly appropriate for older readers.
 

3-Minute Reading Assessments: Word Recognition, Fluency, and Comprehension, Grades 5—8 by Timothy V. Rasinski and Nancy Padak (Scholastic: New York, 2005)

Timothy Rasinski and Nancy Padak acknowledge the importance of using assessment to inform instructional decisions, but fear that time given to it may ultimately take away from instructional time. They developed the 3-Minute Reading Assessments to allow teachers to quickly sample a student's performance level in word recognition, fluency, and comprehension. Four passages per grade level to be administered at intervals throughout the school year are ready for use. The book includes both student and teacher versions of the passages.

Everything needed for administering, scoring, interpreting, and recording the assessment is provided. Rasinski and Padak also include helpful lists of instructional ideas for meeting students' needs.
 

What Research Has to Say About Fluency Instruction by S. Jay Samuels and Alan E. Farstrup, editors (International Reading Association, Newark, DE, 2006)

Fluency is currently a hot topic. S. Jay Samuels and Alan Farstrup predict that although its popularity may eventually wane, teachers will retain what works. The book, part of the IRA's What the Research Has to Say series, provides educators with a solid evidence-supported knowledge base for fluency instruction. Ten chapters by leading reading experts provide findings, definitions, and suggestions for fluency development and assessment. As examples: Samuels offers evidence that extra independent reading does have a positive impact on reading fluency. Topping defines surface, strategic, and deep fluency and provides a specific protocol for effective paired reading (PR). Palumbo and Willcutt address the particular fluency needs of English language learners and students with dyslexia.

Each chapter of this text features plenty of reader-friendly headings and subheadings, a conclusion, and questions for discussion. The editors challenge readers to delve into the research and ultimately discern for themselves which of the fluency definitions and approaches to assessment make the most sense.
 

Fluency: Strategies & Assessments by Jerry L. Johns and Roberta L. Berglund, 3rd ed. (International Reading Association, Newark, DE; Kendall/Hunt, Dubuque, IA, 2006).

Designed with the busy educator in mind, the 8 X 11 format and attractive visuals make this text especially appealing. A quick reference guide inside the cover steers readers to more than twenty-five fluency strategies aligned with classroom practices. Ready-to-go oral assessments using narrative and informational passages for grades 1—8 are also indicated.

In the first part of the book, the authors address questions about fluency. They then turn their attention to evidenced-based strategies and activities and resources. In the last part of the book, they focus on passages and resources for fluency checks.

Throughout the text, helpful figures, tables, and lists abound. Both the "Silent Reading Rates for Students in Various Grades Who Understand the Material" and the list of suggested read-aloud books contain information for students in grades 1—12. Strategies such as "Guess the Emotion" and "Tape, Check, Chart" include a materials list, a description of the activity with its research base, numbered procedural steps, and suggestions for evaluation. Many of the activities also feature reproducibles. Johns and Berglund aptly describe their book as "compact" and "focused." Classroom teachers as well as reading coaches and specialists will find it a valuable resource for understanding fluency and strengthening fluency instructional practices.
 

Practical Fluency: Classroom Perspectives, Grades K—6 by Max Brand and Gayle Brand (Stenhouse: Portland, ME, 2006)

Ohio educators Max and Gayle Brand contend that what makes their book on fluency different from many others is that they are classroom teachers. They incorporate research-based fluency instruction into their daily classroom routines in practical ways. Since the Brands include writing in their fluency definition, their systematic teaching builds upon the reciprocal relationship of reading and writing. For example, a fluency session using poetry may begin with oral or silent reading, but also weave in writing. They offer twenty-two specific lessons that focus on how to effectively use talk and text demonstrations with read-alouds, how to use and encourage rereading across the curriculum, how to use short bursts of instruction for building stamina in reading and writing, and finally how to use ongoing assessment for targeted instruction.

Detailed classroom vignettes show what the Brands' fluency instruction looks and sounds like in action and also how they plan for differentiation. Their explicit fluency instruction constantly invites students to extend their thinking and actively participate with such questions as "What were the challenges with your reading?" Each lesson includes the authors' own reflections and samples of the exact language used with students. This thoughtful text focuses on elementary classrooms, but it is also worthwhile reading for secondary teachers who want to foster fluency. Such practices as oral cloze procedure, "reading to the bottom of it," and "pump it up" writing could be used at any grade level.

Sheila Cantlebary is a reading content specialist at the Ohio Resource Center. As a former teacher in Columbus Public Schools, she taught English, language arts, and reading (7—12), served as a K—12 English language arts coordinator, and was a teacher in the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow program. Her teaching experience also includes facilitating State Institute for Reading Instruction and English Language Arts Academy sessions.

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