What is prosody in reading fluency

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Myth: The Correct Words Per Minute is all that matters in reading.

Fact: Fluency includes rate, accuracy, prosody, and comprehension.

Reading Fluency is defined as "accurate reading at a minimal rate with appropriate prosodic features and deep understanding" (Hudson, Mercer, & Lane, 2000).  This definition includes all the key components of reading fluency and lists them in what seems the correct order. These 4 components each contribute to reading fluency.

ACCURACY

Fluent reading is first of all accurate reading. Never consider a reader to be fluent if she made many errors. Nor would you expect a reader to never make a mistake. Acceptable levels of accuracy in reading should range from 95% to 98%.

RATE

Reading rate incorporates correct words per minute, but not at a maximum rate. This is a common misunderstanding about fluency. Fluent readers do not read as fast as they can. What is the 'minimum rate' for my student? This depends on the age and grade of the child. Many experts disagree on what this rate should be, but most agree on a range that is acceptable. Parents are astounded when they find out how "fast" their child should read according to current Texas Standards.

PROSODY

Appropriate PROSODIC FEATURES means that when students read aloud, they should use "good expression" with appropriate rhythm, intonation, phrasing, and stress patterns of syllables. Fluent reading should sound like speech. It should be interesting to listen to the child read. The research on prosody in reading shows that focus on prosodic features can improve overall reading skills faster than a focus on speed of the reader. Common sense tells us that if there is little inflection and sentences are monotone, the reader is not as likely to enjoy the reading process.

COMPREHENSION

The point of reading is to be able to learn something! There is a correlation between fluency and comprehension. The mistaken belief is if you increase the "rate or speed" a child reads the comprehension automatically improves. Not so! Many, if not all of our dys-fluent students have difficulty making sense of what they read. Students who struggle with fluency also read significantly less than their more skillful peers and fall further behind in skills development.

Here is the Bottom Line: If information comes in inaccurately or too slowly for the brain to process, then the brain will not comprehend and reading will not be productive. If a child does not enjoy reading or is not efficient and effective, then you must ask yourself these 3 questions about your child's reading.

  1. Can your child decode (read easily) words that he or she has never read before?
  2. Does your child pause at the punctuation or just run through it as if there is only one long sentence in the paragraph?
  3. Does it take so long to read the sentence that the student does not remember what is read?

If you live in San Antonio, and need more information about your child's reading skills or are frustrated about the progress your child is making, call us at 1-844-TX-LEARN and ask about our Free Parent Information Meetings to learn how to help your child improve her reading.

Reading Fluency and Your Child

by Linda E. Balsiger, M.S., CCC-SLP
director of www.bendlanguageandlearning.com in Bend, Oregon

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Reading fluency is composed of 3 main components: speed, accuracy, and prosody. Let's take a look at each of these:

Speed - Fluent readers read at an appropriate rate of speed for their age or grade level (usually measured in words per minute or wpm). They visually scan 3+ words ahead when reading aloud, and maintain smooth visual tracking line to line.

Accuracy - Fluent readers have highly automatic word recognition, and the skills to sound out unfamiliar words; dysfluent readers make frequent mistakes, have poor word recognition, skip words, substitute similar-appearing words, and struggle with unfamiliar words.

Prosody - Fluent readers use prosody (pitch, stress, and timing) to convey meaning when they read aloud; dysfluent readers typically use less expression, read word by word instead of in phrases or chunks, and fail to use intonation or pauses to "mark" punctuation (e.g. periods, commas, and question marks).

When does reading fluency begin? In 1st and 2nd grade, the focus is on phonics, learning to sound out words, and increasing sight word recognition. By grades 2-3 these skills have solidified, and reading becomes more effortless and fluent.

Why is reading fluency important? Reading fluency is a key measure of overall reading ability. By grades 3-4, the scholastic focus shifts from learning to read to "reading to learn", and students build vocabulary and knowledge through reading. If reading is less effortful, there are more mental resources available for comprehension, analysis, and critical thinking. When reading fluency is poor, comprehension often suffers. Decoding mistakes can change meaning, and a slow, labored pace can make it more difficult to maintain coherency and meaning. Even when comprehension is good, a slower reading pace may cause fatigue or make it difficult to keep up with the volume of assigned work.

Why do some children struggle with reading fluency? Children with poor reading fluency often do not recognize and acquire linguistic patterns with the same ease as others. This is particularly true for children with language-based learning disabilities, such as dyslexia. Typically developing readers need 4-15 exposures to a word to achieve automaticity in word recognition, whereas poor readers need 40+ exposures to achieve the same recognition. Research has also shown that word-retrieval speed is a strong predictor of reading fluency. Children with slow linguistic retrieval take longer to retrieve letter-sound associations, sight vocabulary, and word meanings as they read. Reading is a language-based process, and children with early speech or language delays are also at greater risk for later reading difficulties.

Can poor reading fluency be treated? Children can improve their reading fluency with explicit, systematic instruction. Treatment should be individually designed to address specific underlying weaknesses, which may include: phonological awareness, phonological memory, word attack skills, vowel patterns, common word parts and patterns, syllabification strategies, and linguistic retrieval. Increasing the automaticity of word recognition and retrieval for high-frequency words and phrases is also critical. Other components of an oral reading fluency program include learning to read with expression and intonation, reading in phrases, and visual scanning while reading. Parents can help by modeling fluent reading, and by engaging in tandem oral reading activities (such as "echo" reading and choral reading). Repeated oral reading of a passage also builds overall reading fluency, by giving repeated practice in phrasing, scanning, prosody, and word recognition.

When should I seek help? Many children with reading problems are bright, and able to mask early reading weaknesses by using contextual meaning to guess at unknown words. Reading fluency problems may not become obvious until 2nd to 3rd grade. However, research shows that most children who are reading below grade level in 4th grade continue to read below grade level in higher grades. Children who are behind in reading may suffer reduced self-esteem, and are at risk for becoming discouraged learners who underachieve academically. Concerns about reading fluency should be addressed and treated as early as possible.

Linda Balsiger, M.S., CCC-SLP is a learning specialist and certified speech-language pathologist. She is the owner of Bend Language & Learning, a private practice focused on language and learning disorders. See www.bendlanguageandlearning.com for more information. Disclaimer: Internet Special Education Resources (ISER) provides this information in an effort to help parents find local special education professionals and resources. ISER does not recommend or endorse any particular special education referral source, special educational methodological bias, type of special education professional, or specific special education professional.

What is prosody in reading fluency

Last week we discussed what reading fluency means in reading and how we measure fluency. This week’s post will take a deeper look into prosody.

What is prosody?

Why do we need to focus on it when teaching reading to students? Prosody is the aspect of language that deals with the rhythm, stress, and intonation of words in a sentence. Students need to develop strong prosodic skills because this is what helps them convey a meaning when they speak. In addition, good prosody can make their speech more intelligible to others.

So let’s take a closer look at what prosody is and how we can help our students improve their skills!

As discussed last week, prosody is how one reads aloud with expression, intonation, etc. It’s the music of reading. Good prosody allows readers to read with proper phrasing, intonation, and stress on words. This is important because it enables the reader to understand better what they are reading and makes the text sound more natural when spoken aloud.

What is prosody in reading fluency

Each of these components plays an essential role in conveying meaning through speech. By understanding and utilizing these tools, readers can improve their fluency and comprehension when reading aloud.

There are six components of prosody that we need to be aware of when teaching reading:

  1. Phrasing refers to how a sentence is divided into smaller chunks. Good phrasing helps the reader understand the meaning of the text and makes it sound more natural when spoken aloud.
  2. Intonation: This is the rise and fall of the voice when reading aloud.
  3. Stress: Certain words in a sentence are emphasized more than others.
  4. Rhythm: refers to how words are stressed and unstressed when spoken aloud. A good rhythm can help the reader to understand the meaning of the text and also makes it sound more pleasant to listen to
  5. Pause: Refers to the interruption, voiced or unvoiced, that a reader uses to separate chunks or to help enhance the context.
  6. Pace or tempo: This refers to the speed at which the words are read aloud. A good pace can help the reader understand the text and make it sound more natural when spoken aloud. Speeding up or slowing down to add context to the passage.

Now that we have a better understanding of prosody let’s discuss why it’s so important. As we mentioned before, prosody helps readers understand the text’s meaning better. In addition, good prosody can make speech more intelligible to others.

When students can read with prosody, they are better able to convey the meaning of the text. This is because prosody helps to emphasize certain words and phrases. For example, if a student wanted to emphasize the word “not” in the sentence “I did not eat the cookie,” they would need to use stress. By stressing the word “not,” the student emphasizes the meaning of the sentence. Without prosody, the listener and the reader may miss the term “not” and have a completely different understanding of the passage.

Reading comprehension is a complex task that requires the reader to understand and remember a large amount of information. In addition, readers must be able to make connections between the text and their prior knowledge. This can be a difficult task, especially for young readers. However, research has shown that prosodic cues can help readers better comprehend the text.

The relationship between fluency and reading comprehension skills is complex. Still, it is generally accepted that fluency is a prerequisite for comprehension. In other words, readers must be able to read text quickly and accurately to understand it. However, recent research has shown that prosody—the way we read aloud with expression—is also vital for comprehension. Reading with the appropriate intonation, stress, and rhythm is essential for reading comprehension.

There are several reasons why fluency is essential for comprehension:Fluent readers can focus their attention on the meaning of the text rather than on decoding individual words.Fluency contributes to automatic word recognition, which frees up mental resources to understand the text.Fluent readers tend to have better reading achievement overall.

These benefits of fluency underscore the importance of developing strong reading skills in early childhood.